Olympic Valley, CA – Residents of California’s Squaw Valley ski resort have formed a new organization, Incorporate Olympic Valley (IOV). More than 275 registered voters out of a total of 538 have signed the petition, well exceeding the 25 percent required by law to move forward with the incorporation process.
IOV’s mission is “to preserve the integrity and spirit of our mountain community; to pursue incorporation as a means to great self-determination.”
Olympic Valley (file photo: Jeff Engerbretson)
The group began meeting in November and had previously considered including neighboring Alpine Meadows in the incorporation efforts. “In addition to two community meetings, we conducted a survey of registered Alpine voters who signaled to us they were not interested in becoming a part of our movement,” said Fred Ilfeld, one of the group’s founders. “We felt it was extremely important to move the process forward and so we circulated the first petitions late last month for Squaw Valley being incorporated.”
IOV sees many benefits to incorporation including reviewing and approving new development projects, keeping tax dollars local, and providing services prioritized by local residents.
“Incorporation efforts have been successful in diverse communities, such as Riverside, Goleta, Citrus Heights, and Truckee. We believe our future should be controlled by our mountain community, not a county seat on the other side of Donner Summit,” said Peter Schweitzer, co-founder of the group. “And as indicated by the petition drive, many voters do, too.”
Fundraising efforts have begun to assist with costs for legal and financial consultation, application fees to become a town, and a Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis to determine the fiscal viability of the proposed town. Additional information, a FAQ, and a link for online donations can be found at www.IncorporateOlympicValley.org.
