Community Planning Blog

The “The Truckee Railyard” what I used to know as “The balloon track” when I lived in Truckee? Remember the town picture that we took there? That was fun.

So Holliday Development bought a good chunk of that land? and it even has it’s own Master Plan now? Cool. Is that mater plan available online? would love to check it out. Cool just looked a bit further at the page, and see the link. will have to keep track of that one too. downloading the PDF now.

Will stop back and see who shows up in this forum/comment area.

Cheers! Ricco

When I think of the Truckee Railyard I also think of the town photo we took there. It would be so great to have it be a community space where more gatherings similar to that one (maybe smaller scale) could happen.

Check out the developer’s website: http://www.truckeerailyard.com for some insight on what they are planning. It’s a little more lay-person-friendly than the master plan.

We are wondering if thought has been given to living space in the Railyard plan for seniors who do not want to leave Truckee. Would the development include smaller sized units, such as modest town houses, condos or apartments?

I like having the memory of the photo. It would be great to post the photo taken in 1900 so we can see the comparison. In 1900 almost everyone in town was in the photo. In 2000, if I remember correctly, it was about half of the year round residents. I remember at the time thinking it was a little silly, then as I saw it come together I was truly impressed with the sense of history. Maia Schnieder still deserves kudos for putting that together. I hope someone is around in 2100 to do it again.

Al, we have put a lot of thought to creating smaller sized units, including everything you mentioned (townhouses, condos, apartments, as well as live-work spaces). In fact, we consider it a critical component of successfully developing the Railyard and will want to get input from you and others on what elements and design you think would best create this opportunity for seniors to move downtown. We consider it a top priority to have a range of housing, from trade downs to first time buyers, to continue to enrich the downtown core.

Kevin.

thanks for your reply. We are happy to hear of the priorities. 2 bdrm/2bath
and of course affordable. How is that for a short order? We love Truckee, we have lived here 10 years and do not want to leave because of the heavy snow load where we are.

Will there be any type of fitness center included?

thanks for all your plannning and help.

Happy Holidays,

Al and Josi Noyes

Al,

There is the potential that there could be a fitness center put into a building for homeowners or that a privately run center could operate a location out of the Railyard, but these are issues that are still to be determined.

Right now, the EIR process is in many respects is a two-dimensional plan, trying to work with the town and the public on an overall framework and layout that will guide the Railyard development. Once that is done, then we are able to look more closely at specific buildings, working on the exact design, scale, and contents of buildings. Even if the EIR and Master Plan are approved, there is still a design review and public process on specific buildings when they are proposed.

This is great feedback to receive as we want to hear more ideas on what elements are most important to people looking to move downtown, especially before getting too far into designing.

Kevin: I think the issue of getting a good mix of housing is going to be key to a successful project here.

First, the current market does not have enough activity to absorb much of any single type of housing right now, or in the next couple of years.

Second, the benefit to the community is achieving a certain critical mass of housing downtown with a diverse mix of residents to drive business development and retention.

Third, the community wants to see the preservation of open spaces and recreational opportunities at the edge of the developed areas of town, the best way to do that is to absorb new growth in the town core.

Finally there could be tremendous benefit in starting to plan our urban cores so we minimize the use of fossil fuels, and hopefully some CEQA benefits from doing so in the future. Truckee would be a great place to start thinking about that. The City of South Lake Tahoe is already doing this with their community sustainability vision: http://www.regionalplanningpartners.com/CSLT.html

This is a pretty illustrative graph comparing carbon emissions per capita:

http://nzdl.sadl.uleth.ca/gsdl/collect/aedl/archives/HASH9b6b.dir/p151.gif

Steve

I am disappointed at the rather commonplce design presented by Holliday for the railyard. The usual square block design with some open space. I had envisioned a more arcing (sp) design that would more or less follow the arc of the existing ballon track. I envisioned a central focus plaza with the buildings in an arc around the plaza with lots of outdoor seating and cafes etc. Really taking more from European towns with their focal town plazas or squares which are wonderful gathering places for people to meet , eat, and party. Events would be held in the plaza. This configuration would be at the center of the development with other development radiating out from there. I also envision a centerpiece such as an old railroad turntable such as exists (ed) at Norden. I don’t know if that is still there in the train sheds. That this actually be functional with a narrow gauge steam train running from that location through downtown to the West end of town. Shuttling folks back and forth throughout the day. People could get on and off at frequent stops. And that would get folks out of their cars. It would be attractive , unique and fun so people would actually want to ride it. All this visioning is outside of the box but seems doable.