South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Receives National Grant

South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Receives National Grant
February 17, 2012
By Theresa Souers, 2012 Public Relations Chair

It was recently reported that the California Association of REALTORS® recognized the efforts of the South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® (STAR) to protect the rights of property homeowners throughout the South Lake Tahoe area by bestowing a $5,000 state IMPACt grant.  The purpose of this grant was to pay for S.T.A.R.’s Governmental Affairs Director (GAD), Haley Williamson to attend accelerated Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) meetings focused on the updating of its regional plan.

After hearing the request for the grant, the state association felt that the need for representing the rights of homeowners in regards to the TRPA regional plan update was so great that they encouraged Williamson to apply for a similar grant on the national level, offering their support in the process.  This second grant was applied for and granted.  The National Association of REALTORS® grant funds are aimed toward three primary goals for the South Tahoe Association of REALTORS®: 1) The funds will allow STAR to pay their Independent Consultant/GAD to attend TRPA meetings; 2) the funds will allow STAR to pay their Independent Consultant/GAD to lobby for California REALTORS®’ interests at these TRPA meetings; and 3) the funds will allow STAR members to have educational meetings about the TRPA’s new Regional Plan.

As does the National Association of REALTORS®, the South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® believes in public-private partnerships between homeowners around the lake and governmental entities to further environmental goals.  Our Association also believes that local authorities, in close cooperation with their citizens, should be ultimately responsible for managing growth and building better communities, and that land use planning should provide for a variety of housing types, mixes, densities and pricing to meet the needs of all segments of our population.  The TRPA’s proposed new regional plan incorporates some of these ideals.  STAR’s goal is to have their Independent Consultant/GAD continue to advocate for these ideals at TRPA Regional Plan meetings.

Click here to access a PDF of this article: http://www.staor.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/StarRcvdNAR-grant.pdf