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Draft River Revitalization Playbook lays out vision, immediate actions and catalyst projects for East and West River streets
Summary
A two-year River Revitalization Steering Committee (R2SC) effort produced a draft playbook that recommends river health protections, connectivity improvements, three catalyst parcels and 29 immediate actions; council generally supported the draft and asked for continued public engagement and tracking of catalyst project lessons.
Town staff and members of the River Revitalization Steering Committee presented a draft River Revitalization Playbook to the Truckee Town Council on June 24 that lays out a vision and an action-oriented implementation approach for East and West River Street corridors.
The plan, prepared with consultant support and two years of public outreach, organizes recommendations around core elements: lead with river health; connectivity for walking and biking; and mixed-use district strategies intended to encourage residential infill, adaptive reuse and economic vitality while protecting riparian resources. R2SC members described a collaborative process that included more than 50 public meetings, one-on-one interviews with property and business owners, open houses and subcommittees focused on community/economic vitality and river health and access.
The playbook includes a short list of immediate actions (29 total) and identifies three catalyst projects intended to test tools such as identifying receiver sites for relocated uses, incentivizing adaptive reuse, and unlocking environmental improvements via partnership and public investment. Examples of immediate actions called out in the presentation include: an active transportation plan update, completing sidewalk projects on West River Street, evaluating legal nonconforming reinvestment policies, assessing potential river setback modifications and studying shared-use path connections in select corridors.
River Health and Access Action Team chair Lisa Wallace said the committee prioritized river protection and recommended conducting a floodplain boundary survey to produce consistent mapping of developable areas and setbacks. The playbook also recommends data-driven river monitoring; the Truckee River Watershed Council urged the town to adopt the state’s SWAMP monitoring framework and volunteered to lead monitoring with results deposited in the state database.
Council members and public commenters broadly praised the plan’s collaborative process and recommended keeping it a living document to incorporate lessons from catalyst projects. Several council members asked that the playbook better prioritize actions for staff implementation and include clearer timelines and resource estimates. Staff said nine of the 29 actions align with the town work plan and that further refinements will be made before a final adoption later this summer or early fall.
No adoption vote was taken; staff asked for council feedback and public engagement to refine the draft before returning for final adoption.
