SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) hearing on Thursday showed that the property owners are willing to work with the public and retain their access to the “Pie Shop Boulders” through their site. However, the hearing officer determined that the site would not receive a special zoning.

The Pie Shop Boulders are accessible through the property on 1663 Sawmill Road, which has been privately owned since at least 1963. However, because it has been vacant and undeveloped, the public has accessed the site to climb the boulders since the 1970s, if not earlier.

During the hearing, the officer noted that over 70 comments were received from the public. TRPA attorney Jack Mensik said the legal team determined that they do not have the legal authority to require the applicant to provide public access to the 20% of boulders that would be on the private land.

Stephanie Davis and Glen Majszak shared their sentiments about the site during the hearing. “When we sold our small place on Kingsbury Grade back in 2016, we remained on the lookout for the perfect place, because we knew that Tahoe is where we always wanted to be,” said Davis. “We bought the land in good faith. We deeply respect the natural beauty that’s around… and we have no intention of preventing climbers from passing through our property.”

Andy Edwards, treasurer and representative of the Tahoe Climbing Coalition, asked about if the TRPA would consult with the community given the special use designation for the site. TRPA’s code did not require the single-family home to get an environmental review, and the parcel did not trigger anything under their environmental checklist for restricting access to public lands.

Edwards expressed that the TRPA process was lacking pieces that could have allowed better public input.

The brief hearing concluded after 30 minutes.