California, Nevada at odds over piers

RENO -- Some Nevada delegates to the governing board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency claim California officials are hampering attempts to reach an agreement over pier construction at Lake Tahoe.

"There are those of us who feel our state is being excluded from the conversation," said Shelly Aldean, Carson City's appointee to the bistate agency. "The shore zone discussion appears to be controlled solely by the folks in Sacramento."

Nevada critics point to California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, calling him an obstructionist, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Monday.

"He certainly is not a catalyst for compromise," Aldean said.

Garamendi countered that he's just trying to follow the law and protect Lake Tahoe.

Over the past 3 1/2 years, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency accelerated its search for compromise amid concern the agency is in a legally vulnerable position after blocking pier construction for two decades.