Homewood ski resort at Lake Tahoe to close for 2024/25 season

In a letter shared on their website and social media, owners of Homewood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe announced they will be unable to open for the 2024/25 season for financial reasons, but the community says it is more than that.

In May 2024, HMR submitted an application to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) for what they say were minor revisions to the 2011 approved Master Plan. On Sept. 25, the TRPA Planning Committee heard a proposal that revises that plan and changed the language of the Community Access Plan.

"The proposed revisions are site plan modifications only," stated the HMR team. "The proposed site plan changes are to move the gondola terminal to a more skier-friendly position, to reduce the massing of the buildings, reduce residential density, and to open the view corridors of the mountain and lake. The revisions make no changes whatsoever to the Master Plan’s central goal of restoring Homewood as a key gathering center for Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Anyone who wants to buy a pass and ski at Homewood will continue to be able to do so on equal footing with anyone else."

HMR has been owned by JMA Ventures out of the San Francisco Bay Area since 2006. They teamed with Discovery Land Company (DLC) in 2022 to develop the popular small resort.

The changes at Homewood included in the original 2011 plan included a hotel with up to 75 rooms, 225 residences (which are now being reduced to 122), the addition of 13 workforce housing units, a new base mountain facility, and a parking garage with the possibility of paid parking.

Their proposed changes to that 2011 plan are moving the gondola's base to the parking area instead of mid-hill where it is now, a slight adjustment to the original plan. The view from SR89 would improve and instead of the view of a big parking lot, drivers would see a village-like atmosphere, much like what is experienced in South Lake Tahoe at Heavenly Village.

To date, HMR says they are still awaiting approval of the amendments, including the Madden Chair replacement (gondola) permit submitted over a year ago, to move forward on ski infrastructure and other investments.

"Hypothetical fears and false rumors regarding public access to the mountain from Keep Homewood Public’s leadership have dramatically slowed the pace of the approval process," said the HMR team.   

HMR tried to make the West Shore resort private, and the plan met a lot of resistance from the community. Keep Homewood Public (KHP) is a group of small businesses, residents, and visitors who have been opposing the privatization of the resort.

"Keep Homewood Public is extremely disappointed in this decision by the mountain,' said the group in a statement on social media. "This is the wrong choice for the community, the mountain’s local employees, West Shore businesses, the rental market, and for the overall project/development."

The resort said its financial partner withdrew support for this ski season without them having a clear path forward. KHP said they didn't buy this statement, saying the decision was coming right after what they called a promising TRPA meeting on Sept. 25, one that they say was paving the way for the public sharing the mountain with members.

"Homewood is the heart of the West Shore - we don’t want to imagine what could happen to our community if that heart were to stop beating permanently," said KHP.

HMR says they made the tough decision not to open, knowing the deep disappointment their announcement would cause.

"The team at HMR remains focused on working through the approval process at this year’s upcoming planning meetings with community members and governing agencies in the hope that we can get the gondola installed next year and someday soon resume operations at the resort," the company's letter stated. "We are also working to support every employee so they have alternative employment or can stay with us while we work through the approval processes."

During the Sept. 25 TRPA planning committee meeting, there was an informational item on HMR. "We consider the West Shore a beloved part of Lake Tahoe," said TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan during the meeting. "We care about your concerns," she told the numerous members of the public who participated. The agenda item was to gather feedback about the master plan at Homewood, especially concerning public access to the mountain, something HMR says was still their goal and part of the master plan.

Homewood presenters said everyone will still have access to Homewood Mountain with no exception. The year-round activities planned included hiking trails, a swimming pool, and year-round food and beverage operations. There is a concern about the use of the words "access with no exception" as the presenters said there would be limits to daily and annual passes, and no definitions of how many tickets for the public have been made public.

Some of the commentators are concerned that annual memberships for the resort will give the private members more access than the public members. DLC, a luxury property brand that offers privacy and exclusively at their "clubs" around the world. They currently have Homewood in their selection of choices on their website of luxury private residential communities and resorts.

One person, Chris Heasman, called into the TRPA meeting from Scotland where they have experienced DLC operations in the Scottish Isles. He said when DLC took over, it wasn't good news for the region. Heasman says DLC displays a total lack of transparency, widespread environmental destruction, and unauthorized construction. He said other communities facing DLC said the company cannot be taken at its word, especially where public access is concerned. He said to look at Barbuda, Portugal, Bahamas, and other areas where the situations are much worse than he said they are experiencing in Scotland.

KHP said the mountain's choice not to open this season suggests they had no intention of being public in the first place, something DLC says isn't true.

Since the meeting was just informational, there was no vote.

The agency has been working with Homewood management, partner agencies, and community representatives to review amendments to the master plan proposed by the property owners and continue to work through critical issues including their public access, employee housing, and fire response," said TRPA in a statement. "When Homewood Mountain Resort finalizes its work, the agency will be able to bring the proposal to the Governing Board for consideration. TRPA understands how important Homewood is to skiers and riders and to the West Shore and we remain committed to keeping the community informed of the public process in the coming months."

Signup for updates by emailing TRPA at HomewoodPlan@trpa.gov. More information, updates and documents are on the Homewood Master Plan webpage.