Whistleblower Accounts of how the Town of Truckee is Harassing Local Businesses, Dismantling Local Homes, Upheaving Local Livelihoods, and PINCHING TRUCKEE LOCALS OUT OF TOWN
In the following accounts you will hear how local workers are living in their cars while rental units that have been around for decades are being Shut Down for suddenly being “non-compliant”.
You’ll hear how local businesses have collapsed under the weight of compliance requirements, while businesses who have resisted have been delivered “cease and desist” threats at 3am by Truckee code enforcement thugs dressed all in black.
You’ll also hear how local business owners are drowning in red tape, and paying big fines for “code violations” just to keep their doors open and their crews working…. Meanwhile the salary of the one particular Town Official responsible for enforcing these new codes has been curiously increasing $25,000 per year, year over year.
Read on to find out WHAT codes these are, WHO put them here and WHY… and what you can do to remove these people from public office.
BECOME AWARE!
- Submit your Anonymous Whistleblower Story HERE and help us document, expose and prosecute the Abuses of Power by Town of Truckee Officials, Board of Education member, and HOAs.
- Sign the Petition HERE, and add your name to the ranks of hundreds of angry locals. The bigger our numbers, the more leverage we will have when we demand reform.
- Circulate this information with anyone you know in Truckee. Awareness is critical. All links open new tabs, so click away.
Meet Pete a local Truckee builder and legendary Squaw skier for over 40 years. A true Truckee citizen, he learned of the local housing crisis and put his guest room up for rent on Craigslist. Within the hour, Caitlin the Code Compliance Officer responded to his ad. She said: update the unit to comply with THE CODE, or rip it out. Meeting “the code” was not possible in his older house, so he ripped his guest room out. She then insisted he sign a deed restriction that he would never rent his extra bedroom out again. He refused, so she scheduled him a court date. All he was trying to do was help, as hundreds of Truckee locals were being pushed out of housing.
Meet Jim a good-natured Truckee ski-coach with a modest lifestyle. He’s owned two Truckee homes in 30 years as a full-time Truckee resident, and has always relied on room-rental income to help pay his bills, while also making it possible for him to eventually retire. His last renter paid no rent for many months, so Jim pressured him to leave so he could rent it to someone who could. Kid finally leaves. In retaliation (and with advice from his lawyer dad), kid called Caitlin the Code Compliance Officer and reported the “illegal” room. While Jim was away, kid and dad come back to (illegally) usher Caitlin around the house using the kid’s old key. Jim returned to his house with a CONDEMNED notice taped to his front door. He refuses to acknowledge it. His lawyer says the Town of Truckee could be sued based on the illegal actions of the Compliance Officer as seen on his security camera footage.
Meet Sam a happy guy who works long hard doubles in the restaurants downtown. He recently lost his housing when the homeowners sold his rental house. He can’t find any place reliable to stay, so he moves into his car with his two elderly dogs. One dog falls into such panic from the upheaval, Sam had no other choice but to put her down. Sam is still looking for a stable place to stay.
Meet Jeff a downtown Truckee business owner just getting by. He had a creative idea to bring more customers to his shop. Great idea, awesome for the downtown experience. Code Compliance stops by and issues a violation: the particular snack he was selling required more parking spaces out front than he had (but isn’t Town Council pushing a walkable downtown? Not to mention, there’s also a major parking lot directly across the street). Tired of all the endless no-you-cant’s, he shuts his business down for good.
Meet Dan a local homeowner who is tired of working long hard hours to meet ends meet. He decides to sell his house and move along. After finding a interested buyer and securing a job in another state, the sale of his home falls through at the very last minute…. because it suddenly cant be sold because it doesn’t meet CODE. He quit his job and moved back to figure out a way to resolve it.
Meet Jack a local Truckee Builder for more than 40 years. Jack loves to build. At almost 100 houses, everyone can clearly see. He runs his crew from foundation to framing at a remarkable pace: Four houses in 9 months, with winters off. During the winter, he hand-draws four more projects for the next build season. Truly larger than life, this old-school Truckee local has mastered practically every skill in his trade, and still swings a hammer with his guys out in the field. When you mention his name around Town, people smile. Everyone, that is, except the Town of Truckee.
Today, Jack is saddled with more hundreds of thousands of dollars in Code Compliance costs, fines, and stalled projects as he fought tirelessly on behalf of his clients to get their modest homes built amidst extreme covid delays and difficulties. When Truckee’s Permit Dept was backed up 8 months (offices closed, phones, emails unanswered) Jack chose to break ground without a permit (in a 30-year old subdivision)or he would be out of work for the entire season… and lose the team he’d trained for years. But breaking ground without permission is bad, even if Permit Staff is on Covid Vacation! Soon after, Truckee compliance officers red-tag his two major projects due to obscure Code violations, while insisting authority over the Title Company (after 3 parcel sales already), the Nevada County Registrar, the Licensed Surveyor, Tahoe Donner’s own parcel maps, and the neighbors themselves… while leaving him waiting “any minute” on their verdict for 6 months, effectively shutting both projects down for the whole year and forcing a redesign of one. 40k in extra costs to each homeowner. Much, much more losses for Jack. Appeals were rejected, only reinforced with more stipulation.
Which codes have strangled this builder? These codes are new… Jack has never seen these curious Codes in all of his 40 years. This strangulation is enough to cripple a new builder. But Jack? He’ll probably just quit and go build elsewhere. The fun here is gone. Truckee once was a wild and free mountain town, a rip-roaring good time. The soul of Truckee is now dead. Thank you, Town of Truckee! Now we stand to lose another Badass Local.
So what’s your verdict? Should these Locals STAY? Or is it time to GO.
WHY LOCALS ARE ANGRY
COMPLIANCE COMPLIANCE COMPLIANCE DAMNIT!!
Town of Truckee CODE ENFORCEMENT Officers are actively citing Truckee Locals with obscure Codes, while insisting absolute authority, offering no exceptions, inflicting thousands of dollars in compliance damage and putting local livelihoods at risk, while wasting plenty of precious time and offering no recognizable benefit to anyone. If we argue, they have been known to cite more codes to burden us even more as we comply for Permit (permission), or they will send us to court. This used to be a community of Neighbors who built this Town together (we had our own Town Code), but suddenly, over the past few years, the codes have been supplanted by outsiders… in exchange for outside money.
KNOW THE CODES
#1: CA GOVERNMENT CODE This Outsider Rulebook is responsible for much of the harm caused to Local residents, contractors and business owners. Despite California technically being a Home Rule State (localities are free to govern themselves on local matters), and Truckee being a Charter City (we have our own constitution aka “charter” which further guarantees our power to determine local matters)… despite all this, Truckee Town Council has, in multiple instances over recent years, adopted fat sections of the California Government Code in exchange for big chunks of money, the latest money “deal” funded the Artist Loft scam.
This CA Government Code is in addition to, and claims authority over, our own Town Code. At many thousands of pages, it is impossible to know what is actually in it. Up until the past few years, this California Code was only reasonably enforced locally. However, it suddenly has been the root of many curious and highly-controversial code conflicts this year. CA Govt Code has proven itself to be arbitrary, with no recognizable benefits, goes against common sense, wastes loads of time and money, restricts our community’s ability to grow uniquely and naturally, and most importantly, it has crippled local businesses and put locals on the streets. Truckee Code Enforcement has suddenly been all over these Codes, putting locals’ time, money, housing and livelihood at jeopardy. The question is… why?
#2: TRUCKEE DEVELOPMENT CODE This is our Hometown Code, Truckee locals are supposed to write it. This is the Codebook that executes the Truckee General Plan, which is this town’s Long Term Development Plan. Who knows what’s in this 500 page document either. It gets updated every 15 years, the latest update (2040 Plan) was just ratified by Truckee Town Council this May, despite plenty of pushback from Truckee Locals.
Why the pushback? The Town of Truckee strangely brags of 115 community meetings involved in this new 2040 general plan, but if you ask around town, hardly anyone knew they were going on. Even the town’s own hospital district wasn’t informed of important dates and deadlines. Not to mention, nearly all Truckee Development Plan meetings were VIRTUAL , with NO dates regularly listed on the official Town Hall Calendar (screenshots available as proof). One has to wonder: why didn’t we have regular, real life Town Hall meetings with our own Truckee General Plan Committee?? Real Truckee Locals don’t do ZOOM. What is going on in these virtual meetings, anyway?
On closer investigation, in this General Plan process (as opposed to our General Plan process 15 years ago), the town took community input via a 12 person volunteer panel called the GPAC. The excuse was that the General Plan process is too cumbersome and complex for hundreds of people to weigh in, which is probably true (yes, planners make even the simplest of things extraordinarily complicated). So locals took comfort in the idea that their neighbors are representing them. This sounds fine, except a twelve-person panel is no where near the statistical sample needed to get an accurate representation of what Locals want and don’t want. In reality, hundreds of local residents and business owners want FEWER Truckee codes, but Town Planners never “noticed”, probably on purpose.
Well… turns out The Town pushed 325 new policies and action items (aka NEW CODES!) on Truckee locals, including some very burdensome Reach Codes. Moreover, the General Plan mentions no metrics or measurable benchmarks! Without metrics and benchmarks, there are no goals… there are only BURDENS. For example: the entire state of California produces less than 1% of the worlds carbon footprint*, yet Truckee is dead-nuts on MORE restrictions. When do we get to stop??? We don’t! Because we don’t have benchmarks! * CA 370 million tons greenhouse gasses per year / WORLD 50 billion tons per year = 0.74%
A number of local homeowners protested these Reach Codes at the May ratification meeting with the Council, saying these codes would ultimately push them out of town. The concerns of these locals fell on deaf ears and blank stares by the Truckee Councilmen and Planners. The Council passed the Plan anyway, claiming it’s all or nothing, now or never.
May’s Council Meeting was also attended by a number of Hospital District representatives that were quite upset that the Town never included them in the General Plan (they somehow missed some obscure deadlines, so much for open meetings). Tahoe Forest Hospital CEO Harry Weis wrote a reasonable public statement showing his understandable disappointment, and our Council Woman Anna Klovstad retorted with this snide reply, as documented in Moonshine Ink’s April 17, 2023 article:
“I was terribly disappointed in Harry Weis’ op-ed,” Klovstad continued. “… I do not expect this to be the way that we create partnership in the future. I hope that the board will hold Harry accountable for the disintegration of that partnership, at least for the time period that it took me to calm down.” Hmpf! In other words…. Talk to The Hand, Harry.
The Brown Act (link) California’s Open Meeting Law: Meetings of public bodies must be “open and public,” actions may not be secret, and action taken in violation of open meetings laws may be voided (§§54953(a), 54953(c), 54960, 54960.1).
#3: CA REACH CODES On a 4-1 vote, Truckee Council recently established Truckee as a “flagship town” for Reach Codes last year… Truckee is now included in a group of the most elite municipalities in California… who now force tens of thousands of dollars of extra expenses on each local home owner in the name of being fashionably green. Again, California is the 4th largest economy in world yet produces less than 1% of the planet’s greenhouse gasses…. but somehow our earnest conservation efforts are still not enough. Damn us! We must now sacrifice more!
The adoption of Reach Codes in Truckee means we will soon be banned from Natural Gas in new construction. No more gas cooking, gas fireplaces, fire pits. Oh the joy. These Reach Codes also expect us (stupidly) to use solar panels to charge our cars, heat our hot water, and heat our house all at the same time, on 15 degree days in a power outage with solar panels buried under snow. Anyone who has had a pipe burst recently can attest: insurance companies won’t reimburse for damages without dropping you for good. Better be ready to remodel your water-damaged house in cash.
Reach Codes are fashionable requirements that a CA Town may choose to inflict upon itself, in the name of “doing your part” to fight climate change. They claim to be cost-effective (read: pay $$$ upfront, get payback over lifetime), and would require tens of thousands more to already sky-high construction costs (A tiny 750 sqft ADU already costs $400k to build). These Codes are so lofty, pre-code houses can’t be renovated without $$$ code compliance upgrades, if they can even be renovated at all. When you can’t renovate, your home becomes obsolete, and worth less. These codes make it even more expensive to live in Truckee, and when locals try to sell their house and leave, they will take a big hit on their house value… because it needs big $$$ to be renovated to meet code… if it can even be renovated at all! PINCH.
Reach Codes are expensive and downright risky. Understand this: codes always increase costs, otherwise they wouldn’t have to be forced on people. California’s current “safety” and “green” codes have doubled the cost of construction already. Now, these additional Reach Codes aim to move CA to a 100% electric state… which funnels everyone onto one single energy source (utility monopoly) that is hinged on a hostile nation (china) which has a (monopoly) on our batteries and grid components. We will be pushed onto a power grid that hasn’t been built yet (dream), while our current grid blacks out and sparks fires (reality). This is resilience?? Meanwhile, our biggest Forest Fires so far were caused by down Power Lines and manic (radical-left) College Professor arsonists. (Oct 22 Moonshine Ink).
THE NONSENSE Why are we insisting on going 100% electric if the globe is critically warming? Electric devices need to stay cool or they shut down. If Truckee desperately needs affordable housing, why does Truckee enforce the CA Govt Code which is already proven responsible for the largest homeless crisis in modern US history? And our “safety” codes are now so extreme, it is now impossibly expensive to addon to pre-code homes. (God forbid a tiny crack in your sheetrock!) In some cases, the compliance gap is technically unbridgeable (already local engineers are declining add-on projects for this reason). Housing is now harder to find, twice as expensive to build and impossibly compliant. To fix the mess they made themselves, Council now wants to subsidize “workers housing”… for anyone who… works! What a racket.
AT WHAT POINT DO WE STOP allowing these OUTSIDER AGENTS to dictate how we live in our own Local Community? At what expense to our time, money and precious enjoyment? We’re the ones who ultimately pay the price. And for what, the prestige our Town Council women receive for leading a “flagship” town to a Safe (risky) and Fashionable (fake) existence?? No thanks! Truckee Locals don’t buy this nonsense. Town of Truckee’s prideful mission to be a Flagship Do-Gooder comes with a price tag that pushes the Real Locals out. Pay to Play, Truckee! Pay to play.
WHY THESE CODES ARE HERE
We didn’t vote for these laws, and who are these code enforcement stooges anyway? Truckee didn’t used to be like this. Sorta seems like a gang of CA Code Agents took over Truckee, paid themselves nicely with our “state money”, then hired their own henchmen to push us around and make life painfully difficult and expensive…. then pinch us out. BUT WHY???
Well, think about this: if you’re a long time local you probably bought your house for something like $200k. If you become disgruntled enough to sell your house and leave… your house will sell for about $900k (avg cost of 3bd/2ba house today)…. which means new owner will pay more than FOUR TIMES the property tax. Same principle applies to modest old school business owners occupying rental space that can rent for much higher, and command larger commercial property tax. Our turnover is what they are interested in. In other words: If you follow the money, there is a benefit to harassing Locals out in exchange for a higher paying tax base (wealthier residents and businesses) that can afford the taxes, fines, and fees which fund Town of Truckee’s ridiculous pet projects and employee benefit packages.All the while, our town “leaders” achieve the particular ego-stroking status of being “in charge” of one of the most beautiful places on earth.Basically, its an elitist RACKET. Think about it. When was the last time YOU got paid $293k in one year (salary + fat benefits) to do nothing besides point fingers and push people around?
Angry yet? Sign the Petition HERE, and stand with Truckee Locals as we demand reform.
KNOW WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
Let’s take a look at the latest TOWN OF TRUCKEE LINEUP to explain why Locals have been hit over the head with COMPLIANCE! the past few years. In this snapshot, we can see some interesting talent, leadership and experiences, but also can see an insiders group with questionable transparency, potential red-flag associations and possibly more outside $ deals in exchange for…. enforcing our compliance, perhaps? There are also reports of various members side-stepping the very rules they enforce on others. In other words, their rules don’t apply to them, just us. Typical. This group should be removed.
PLANNING DEPARTMENT Led by top-dog “Director of Community Development” DENYELLE NISHIMORI ($293k salary+benefits), this all-female planning department has the highest administrative authority in all of Truckee. Denyelle was not elected, she was appointed in 2017 by the Town Council, and her tenure remains somewhat untouchable for this reason. Today, the planning department Gang that Denyelle assembled insists on absolute authority with absolutely no appeal, while simultaneously being absolved of any responsibility for the damage of their actions. Their ruthless enforcement of the outsider CA GOVT CODE has angered hundreds of local residents and big-time business owners who have suffered greatly (hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases) from costly code compliance damages… inflicted by the whimsies of this not-from-Truckee Gang.
Nishimori and her department believes it is THEY who know better, and so THEY should be responsible for “planning” all aspects of Truckee… from what you get to do with your own property, to what color and how many signs you can put up in your own business storefront (or else!), to what kind of public art we are forced to enjoy, to updating the General Plan 2040 on your behalf during virtual club meetings. Nearly every single angry local resident with grievances against the Town of Truckee cites Denyelle Nishimori as the aggressor. Curiously, Denyelle also has the highest “benefits” package of anyone employed by the town, by as much as $40k in some cases. Also curiously, her “benefits” have been increasing $25,ooo year over year on average….. Some locals speculate she could be getting a cut of each fine that gets paid. Sure looks suspicious! Pay to play, Truckee.
Denyelle was also (somehow) elected to the TTUSD School Board last November, where locals are also reporting corruption over there (click HERE to whistleblow). Judging by the sheer number of locals enraged by DENYELLE NISHIMORIs aggressive actions and palpable arrogance, she should not only be removed from office for her clear Abuse of Power, but she should also be investigated for potential Fraud. It should be noted also, that only 25 of the most elite towns in California have “Community Development Directors”, which means it’s hardly an essential community role. In fact, Truckee didn’t have a “Community Development Director” until 2017, when Denyelle lobbied herself to become the very first appointee. Six years later, its clear how abusive this position has become. Truckee locals should remove Denyelle, and the Truckee Community Development Director office in general. While we’re at it, lets change the “Planning Department” to “Review Department”. They shouldn’t be “planning” anything anymore, we’ve had it with planners.
Planning Department Roster: Planning Manager JENNA GATTO ($201k salary+benefits) oversees Sr. Planners Yumie Dahn, Jaime LaChance ($154k / $71k salary + benefits), Associate Planners Chantal Birnberg, Laura Dabe, Lucas Kannall (between $101k and $150k salary + benefits). Below them are Plan Checkers for new construction (new to town since 2020): Heather Benson, Christy Lyle ($79k pay + benefits). In 2019 there were only 3 planners in the Planning department, not Nishimori’s army of eight. (CA GOVT CODE Money = CA GOVT CODE Stooges).
TRUCKEE TOWN COUNCIL This elected panel consists of 5 members who receive $10k per year for their community service: 3 are far-left (COURTNEY HENDERSON, ANNA KLOVSTAD , JAN ZABRISKIE), 2 others prefer the safety of the band wagon and easily sway left (LINDSAY ROMACK, DAVID POLIVOY). All were elected since 2018. Polivoy and Klovstad were elected in 2018, Henderson, Zabriskie and Romack were elected in Nov 2020 (7 months after covid begins, just after Truckee locals lost their housing by the hundreds). Courtney Henderson is a Berkeley PhD with a climate agenda, Anna Clovstad is a TDPUD utility contractor with a climate agenda, Jan Zabriskie is a government lawyer (who prosecutes fraud against the government, ha!) and Romack and Polivoy are two working Locals. Three of the five seats were just up for election in 2022… with only one (far-left) contestant! Two council seats remained by default! Boy was Truckee was sleeping. Two seats (Klovstad, Polivoy) will be up for election again in 2024, so get ready. All Council Members can be recalled by petition.
MAYOR (Not elected) Nominated from within Council to be their Figurehead (note: no checks and balances here in this council-manager form of local government). COURTNEY HENDERSON is a young, “well educated” PhD (Brown, Columbia, Berkeley), degrees in climate + public safety (agenda), advocates for (rubs elbows with) Alternative Energy Companies in exchange for….? According to her own resume, she “leverages behavioral science to effect change” (pure manipulation). Courtney is a Bay Area transplant with MAJOR red flags.
PLANNING COMMISSION (Not elected) Nominated by the Town Council from within the community (aka friends). Commission’s duty is to make policy recommendations to the Council, and pre-accept / decline development applications. Commissioners are: Suzy Tarnay (chairman), Daniel Fraiman (luxury home contractor), Dave Gove (realtor), Nikki Riley (designer, prior commission chairman), all skilled and experienced in their field but also in a strong position to influence (benefit from) development decisions.
PLANNING COMMISSION CHAIR SUZY TARNAY posed as a modest “local” Bus Driver in Moonshine Ink when she ran for Town Council in 2022 (and lost), omitting the fact that she was actually the (far-left) active Planning Commission Chairman, under Klovstad. Resume reports Master in Civil Engineering. She drives a bus to “see what the traffic problems are like”, and thus “hopes to make driving a car the most inconvenient option for people, instead, focus on public transportation and making the town more walkable”…. in one of the coldest, snowiest places in the country that happens to cover 30 square miles. Like Klovsted and Henderson, she is Far Left, has a climate /safety (compliance!) agenda, and already knows the ropes. She did not win a seat in the Council…. BUT she is still pulling strings in the Planning Commission.
GENERAL PLAN Together, the Town Council, Planning Department and their Planning Commission Friends combine to make all decisions for the Town. This powerful posse is responsible for the direction of the Truckee General Plan, which dictates the Truckee Development Code, which code agents enforce. They get community input via the General Plan Action Committee (GPAC), a 12-member volunteer community panel… via ZOOM. Unfortunately for Locals who want to know where their tax money is going: NO meetings were listed on the Town Hall Calendar. JENNA GATTO oversees the GPAC.
TOWN MANAGER After careful search, interview, and selection, this Council hired JEN CALLOWAY in Nov. 2020 as the new Town Manager ($296k salary + benefits). She arrived in Town with the Bay Area covid wave. She executes and enforces the wishes of today’s council (as their direct agent). Admin background. Hires all the staff, with Council oversight. Manager + Dept Heads (Denyelle Nishimori, Jenna Gatto) also help Jen Callaway oversee the execution + enforcement tone according to Council’s wishes ( Nishimori really runs the show though). The Town Attorney, ANDREW MORRIS ($294k salary + benefits) is at her disposal to prosecute locals and defend the actions of her agents.
CODE ENFORCEMENT Out in the field, CAITLIN SAFFORD, KERRY TABBER swoop neighborhoods to find CODE violators. Officers legally are not allowed to hunt down violators, but must wait for neighbor complaints instead. However, reports show this is not the case. The officer especially adept at hunting down violators and giving all kinds of Locals hell (major stooge, and ALSO the first one to find and sign-up on this site before it went live, of course!), is Caitlin Safford. Caitlin has a degree in criminal psychology (thus trained to see the criminal in us all). Aside from many aggravated reports from locals, she is most importantly on video unlawfully abusing her power while on the hunt for “code violators”. An angry local resident just recently brought criminal charges against Kerry Tabber for her foul actions in code enforcement also. This is the new Truckee, folks.
This post-covid Town of Truckee lineup has quite a few red flags. Coupled with their abusive code enforcement practices that have knowingly put local livelihoods at risk, they frankly should be shaken down and retired.
WHAT WE CAN DO
It’s time for Truckee Locals to remember that we have a right to local self-governance, which is specifically established by our own Town Charter. This means, it is fully within our right to remove all outsider codebooks that don’t serve us. To do this, there are certain procedures, below, that we will need to follow, according to the Council-Manager system of governance we have setup here in Truckee. The procedure is as so:
STEP #1: Demand that the Town Council repeal all offensive Outsider Codes and remove all Town Employees responsible for implementing them.
1) We insist on the immediate resignation / removal of Denyelle Nishimori from office, investigation into potential fraud, and ultimately the position of “community development director” to be eliminated.
2) We insist on swift revocation of Truckee’s status as a “flagship CA Reach Code city”, and the removal of all Reach Codes from the General 2040 plan.
3) We insist on the ability to remove any other items in the 204o Plan which do not serve us as a community, and/or are installed by way of the outsider California Government Code.
4) We insist on full public disclosure of any and all money received in exchange for enforcing CA GOVT CODE in Truckee. Where does this money go in exchange for our “compliance!”. What benefits do we receive for our difficulties. How many more code administrators were hired to implement these codes, and how much are they paid. Also, what mechanism is in place to prevent Enforcement from pulling obscure codes out of their pocket to punish locals at will?
5) We insist on the full reinstatement of our home rule Town Charter, and cancellation of any CA State programs that “pay” us for their adoption but do nothing to actually serve our community.
6) We insist on the elimination of one code for every new code implemented, starting with the 325 new codes just introduced with the new General Plan.
7) We insist that the Planning Department be held liable for their actions, so they can no longer say one thing then say something else later, after damage has already been done. We also insist on 30 days maximum to wait for their code checks.
8) We insist that the Town Attorney investigate any evidence of fraudulent and criminal activity performed by any of Truckee’s elected officials, appointed department heads, or department employees, and report those findings to the public. We also insist the Town Attorney prosecute where necessary.
Step #2: Gather evidence and collect signatures
Recall only applies to elected officials. Unfortunately, removing Denyelle Nishimori and other problematic un-elected officials requires action by Jen Calloway, the Town Manager (Town Manager hires and fires department heads and employees). The Town Manager only takes action on orders given by Town Council.
- SIGN THE PETITION – for Council to take action, we need to show them the sheer size and determination of this movement, by the following online petition. Please add your name to this list.
- COLLECT EVIDENCE – to document how the Town’s hyper aggressive code-crackdown has put Locals’ businesses, homes and livelihoods at risk, please submit your anonymous whistleblower story HERE, and ask others with grievances to do the same.
Step #2: If Town Council members and/or the Town Attorney DO NOT accommodate these requests, we will take action to recall every council member who obstructs, and elect new council members via Special Election, who will agree to carry out these requests.
If this is the case, a formal recall petition must be circulated, in paper format. Please subscribe to our newsletter to find out petition signature times and locations, if indeed a recall is indeed needed. Recalling elected officials involves the following process, for reference.
STEP #4: Get Involved
- SIGNUP TO HOST A RECALL PETITION STATION Are you a local business owner aligned with this cause? Email admin@notothecode.org to host a petition and collect signatures at your business location. If a Recall is in order, your business will be circulated as one of the signature collection stations.
- TOWN HALL TUESDAYS @ 5pm Town Council Meetings are on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 5pm, see Town of Truckee calendar. Get off work, bring popcorn and be vocal. Elected officials can’t pull tricks if people are watching.
- RUN FOR TOWN COUNCIL – Truckee Locals can’t gain the majority this next election cycle, but 2 out of 5 positions is a start. However, if we recall any Council member who obstructs this movement, we can gain one or two seats early, then ultimately grab a majority by November 2024. Now that’s some local hardball. Email admin@notothecode.org to connect.
- OFFER COUNSEL – Are you a local lawyer interested in prosecuting this funny bunch? Please email admin@notothecode.org to join the team.
A BETTER WAY
We know this to be true: EVERYONE in Truckee wants Green Energy and a cleaner, healthier planet. We all share this concern, this is Truckee after all. As with all issues important to Truckee (affordable housing etc): the difference is in HOW we make that happen. Instead of forcing CODE and Regulation with hefty fines and displaced locals, there is a powerful alternative we can implement instead: the incentivized free market.
CA Reach Codes ultimate goal is for every home in the state to be zero-waste and “off-the-grid”. Awesome! Who doesn’t want that! Need proof? It’s trending hard (#vanlife). A state-wide public service campaign (info / hype) + tax breaks ($ incentive similar to LEED), would be far more effective than government regulation, with far more dynamic and “equitable” results. For example:
Let’s look at Organic Foods. At first, only wealthier people could afford organics, they pushed the demand. Ten years later, costs have come way down with scale, efficiency, and competition (always does). Now we see a market flush with affordable organics, available to nearly everyone. Goal achieved. ($incentives = hit goal faster) The same can happen with off-the-grid housing. Pioneering a movement isn’t cheap! So when a town forces all residents to participate in an early, expensive movement, it only pushes out the non-wealthy. The wealthy were going to do it anyway. Great strategy for a land grab (invasion), if you’re into that kind of thing (Country Club of California). Yes, we know Tahoe is pretty. No, you can’t have it. Reach Codes are for thugs, and the other naive Town Council members (and voters!) who believe that Government policy (regulation) is the answer to everything.
A WORD ON THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT
There is a thing about Government: it is NOT the answer to everything. In fact its structure is inherently corruptible and requires careful vigilance. Why? For one, Policy Makers (aka PLANNERS) job description is to plan life and make rules. A job well done is to make rules (policy) 40 hours a week. So of course we suffocate in code. Planners should be on-call only (sidelined), otherwise they’ll plan the socks off you. Afterall, it’s their job.
Secondly, there are 3 types of people attracted to Planning / Government positions: 1) eager people who feel joy performing a civic duty for their awesome community. 2) micro managers on steroids, possibly with a chip on their shoulder 3) Authoritarians and Sociopaths (statistically 1-4 in 100). Let’s just assume #1 for Truckee.
Example of Eager People: When a group of talented people come together to achieve reasonable objectives, its #1. Works great with public participation and basic transparency.
Example of Micromanagers with a Grudge: When code-compliance officers give you an inexplicably hard time, they’re either naively following orders, or they are abusing their power to punish those who they find offensive (did you not get my permission first?? Oh no you don’t!) How many hoops can they get you to jump through, and at what cost. Oh fun! Payback time. This is also cause to question the organization’s motives… who is sitting higher up? What’s their objective?
Example of Sociopaths: THIS IS WHY governments fail. Sociopaths FLOCK to government positions for power and prestige. They believe they know how to live your life better than you. They are usually at boss level, are highly “educated” in trending topics, and see their job as critical. They believe humans are always the problem. They often have training in Behavioral Science (manipulation), and use crisis as an opportunity to scare people into doing what they want. They don’t have much private sector experience (can’t hang), usually just government jobs (fat benefits little work). They fixate on pet projects, and are happy to use people as lab rats for the sake of their prideful objectives. They chant “compliance!”, virtue-signal loud and often, and are very clever hypocrites…
… You can do whatever you want, as long as you do what they tell you. They talk organic but want to masterplan every decision a person can make. They scream “Progress!” while obstructing any way to make your life easier and more manageable. They talk resiliency, but build energy grids off resources sourced from hostile nations. They plug “Local” while overwriting your local culture with outside rules and expectations… if this sounds like you, please take a seat.
Communal Narcissism (reference) is a clinical condition, and an offshoot of megalomania (Denyelle). This is why ALL Governments require careful vigilance (not just Truckee), because there is a very high chance there are manipulative and self-serving agents in its ranks. The higher up the Government, the more shadows, and the more corruption (Sacramento, DC). Be warned! But there is a safety stop: Elect your local Enforcement Arm, so you can always make sure your neighbors are the Police Officers, not some outsider thugs. Always remember: If no one agrees to enforce the code, it simply does not exist.
HERE’S LOOKIN AT YOU
DENYELLE NISHIMORI Start packing your bags. You have an entire town fully of people who WANT YOU REMOVED from office. This is what happens when you enrage enough local residents with your self-serving “I know better than you” nonsense.
TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS We kindly ask that you honor our requests to reform. If you do not accommodate our requests, we will take action to recall every council member who obstructs, and elect new council members who will carry out these requests.
CODE ENFORCEMENT (Caitlin Safford, Kerry Tabber, and entire planning department) You seem to be making more enemies than friends in this town. Are you OK working for a council who is selling us out? Do you revel in giving your neighbors hell? Remember, you work for the Truckee community, not the state of California, and you are here to enforce the laws WE give you permission to enforce. If you can’t use discretion when enforcing code, maybe it’s time to find another job (read: we will have you removed).
TAHOE DONNER ASSOCIATION So… “compliance” is the new cool, hu? Your Oct. 22 magazine cover announced a brand new Long Range Planning Committee… to “oversee” the Five-Year Strategic Plan and Annual Workplan already in existence…. because someone needs to plan how the planners are going to plan. Incidentally, its very first objective is “safety and compliance” its last objective is “member enjoyment”. Can’t get more boring than that folks. Yay Big Brother is here, with a bunch of new rules! And now someone gets to feel important. Frankly, all “planners” should feel ashamed of their self-aggrandizing position… so let’s start with this group: Jim Beckmeyer (Long Range Planning Committee chair), Jerry Meek (Vice Chair), Joe Balan, Denise Gauny, Jackie Ginley, Laura Lindgren, Rob McCray, John Mitchell, Dan Simmons, Ward Sproat, Michael Sullivan, Mike Vivas, Keith Williams… and the entire TD Board who installed this group to begin with: President Don Koenes, VP Benjamin Levine, and Director Jim Roth. Next?
CLIMATE THUMPERS (Town Council and sympethisers) Humans weren’t around the last time the glaciers melted, remember? There was also an ocean in Utah. Yes, climate is changing, but why do you insist WE caused it?? We’re on a rock hurtling through space. But if climate change bothers you so, go beat your drum in China or India. Truckee is not the problem. You have NO excuse to get on some high horse and punish Truckee locals in the name of your vigilantism.
SO YOU JUST MOVED HERE? (Bay Area Transplants) Show some respect: Don’t vote. This is a Red County. Do you always enter someone’s house without knocking, rearrange all their furniture, setup your own tea party, then kick the homeowner out? Because that’s what you’re doing when you’re a New Bay Area Voter in Truckee. Live like we do first, before acting like you know better. No more “I want people to do THIS, so I’m going to petition the Town Council and make it a law. Hmpf!” That behavior is unacceptable in this town. You already ruined your own cities, so don’t even think about ruining ours. And if you don’t like the way we live here, you can leave. And for chrissake quit snitching on your neighbors.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
One dark night at 3am, a Truckee Code Enforcement agent dressed head-to-toe in black, crept up to the door of a local business and boldly posted a “cease and desist” order. The note threatened the owner with lofty fines plus one night in jail for every day they continued operating “in violation”. The owner had too much to loose if he obeyed, since he was a fledgling new business shouldering a hefty new business debt. He consulted a lawyer.
The lawyer simply made a few phone calls to the County Sheriff’s department and a few other law enforcement offices, and came back with a reply to the troubled business owner. He said: “no one is interested in enforcing this violation. Just ignore them and carry on.” So he did, and his business is alive and thriving today.
There is an important detail every person should understand: if a law is written but no one is willing to enforce it, it does not exist.
THIS is why it is so critical for citizens to elect their local code enforcement agent (Sheriff)… because they are always the last line of defense in the event any government goes rogue. Electing your local law / code enforcement arm ensures, via checks and balances, that your NEIGHBORS are responsible for your safety and well being… not some hired outsider government thugs like the sell-outs in our current Town of Truckee lineup. The difference is critical.
And this is how it all ends.
Thank you for reading, and please…
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION.