According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) voted against an appeal to stop Verizon from digging. Verizon was in the midst of digging a hole for the concrete needed to support a 112-foot monopine cell tower when a challenge was launched regarding the depth of the hole. Local residents Allen Miller, David Benedict, and Benjamin Lebovitz asked the TRPA to conduct further ground and water studies before allowing Verizon to proceed.
Verizon agreed to temporarily put the project on hold until the TRPA’s expert soil consultant took a look at the site. Marchel Munnecke, an experienced botanist, vegetation ecologist and soil scientist inspected the site where Verizon had already dug the permitted 7.5 foot depth. Munnecke determined that excavating an additional six feet showed that “no ground water was intercepted and no evidence of seasonal high groundwater was encountered.”
Reviewing the expert’s findings, the TRPA denied the appeal to stop digging. The agency determined that the additional depth was the only change to the original request, which had already been studied and approved. With no new factors to consider, Verizon was given the okay to continue with the cell tower installation on Ski Run Boulevard.
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