Opinion ID: 781246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Moving the IPES Line

Text: 12 The IPES Line is not permanently fixed. Rather, if and when certain objective criteria are met, and the environmental status of the Basin as a whole becomes more secure, the IPES Line is lowered, permitting more development on individual parcels. 13 In December 1988, the Agency set the initial level of the IPES Line at 725 points, effective upon implementation of the IPES System on July 1, 1989. However, the 1987 Plan provides that the Agency must annually conduct a review of each county in the Basin and determine if the IPES Line shall be re-set according to a specified formula. Only if a particular county meets specified criteria does the Agency apply the formula to lower the IPES Line — and permit more development — for that county. One of the critical threshold criteria that must be satisfied before the Agency can lower the IPES Line is the vacant lot equation, measuring the countywide proportion of sensitive parcels available for development. See TRPA CODE § 37.8.C(1)(e). 5 The vacant lot equation must drop to 20% in California counties and 33% in Nevada counties before the IPES Line is lowered. This means that before the IPES Line can be lowered in a California county, for example, 80% of the parcels designated as sensitive in 1986 must have been permanently protected from development. Id. By 1990, the Agency had surveyed the land within the Basin, and had calculated the vacant lot equation in each county. The result was roughly consistent with early estimates in Nevada, but higher than initially predicted in California. 6 14 Thereafter, on an annual basis, the Agency recalculated the vacant lot equation, made the additional findings mandated by the Plan, and determined whether it was required to adjust the IPES Line. 15 In Nevada, no-development agreements on sensitive parcels caused the vacant lot equation to reach 33% in 1993, which permitted the Agency to lower the IPES Line, which in turn permitted more development. After a public hearing, on January 27, 1999, the Agency's governing board (Board) set the IPES Line at 325 in Washoe County, Nevada, and at 639 in Douglas County, Nevada. On December 15, 1999, after another public hearing, the Board again set the IPES Line at 325 in Washoe County, Nevada, but moved the IPES Line to 606 in Douglas County, Nevada. The IPES Line remains at these limits today, leaving only a relatively small number of environmentally sensitive lots in Nevada below the threshold necessary to apply for development permits. 16 In California, however, enough sensitive parcels remain available for development that the vacant lot equation has not yet reached its California trigger level; the equation has not reached the 20% required by the Agency Code before the IPES Line will move. At its January 27, 1999, meeting, therefore, the Board held the IPES Line at 725 for both California counties in the Basin. On December 15, 1999, the Board again confirmed that the IPES Line would remain at 725. The IPES Line remains at 725 today in both California counties.