California Ex Rel. California Department of Transportation v. City of South Lake Tahoe
Opinion
Opinion
Peckham, J.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff, the People of the State of California acting through the California Department of Transportation, filed this action requesting injunctive and declaratory relief. The complaint sought to prevent defendants, the City of South Lake Tahoe (City) and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) from constructing the California segments of the so-called “loop road project” at the south end of Lake Tahoe without first complying with certain allegedly applicable state and federal laws. This matter comes before us now on plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction and on defendants’ motions to dismiss the complaint and/or for summary judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
The Lake Tahoe basin comprises a 500 square mile area of spectacular beauty located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the California-Nevada border. Mark Twain described his first view of the lake, with its still reflection of the surrounding snow-capped peaks, as “surely . . . the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” M. Twain, Roughing It 156 (Harper & Rowe 1899). The lake is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet and a natural surface elevation of 6,223 feet above…