How Did We Get Here?
Barton Health and the Cleveland Clinic are proposing a $300 million building at the former Lakeside Inn & Casino location in Stateline, NV. TRPA and Douglas County have been working behind the scenes for over two years to create special approvals for Barton. The building will stand over 89 feet tall and will be located just 50 feet from single-family homes. It will encompass 230,000 square feet and include helicopter service within 200 feet of nearby residences.
Why haven’t you heard anything about this project and its specific details?
Purple highlighted info has been added to this website as of 1.30.25
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To be clear, our group is not opposed to a state-of-the-art hospital and we fully support quality healthcare and improved options for saving lives. But we believe the current established hospital at the location in CA is where it should remain. We are against the special amendments proposed by Barton, TRPA, and Douglas County, as well as the impacts they will have on the area and neighborhood. These amendments grant unconditional hospital use instead of following the standard special-use designation. This distinction is significant because it bypasses protections designed to balance development with community interests. Some of the objections we have are: 1) the tall buildings; 2) the increased traffic; 3) the sirens; 4) the helicopter for noise, safety, and pollution reasons: 5) the walkway over the highway; 6) the parking and increased traffic problems for the neighborhood and Rabe Meadow; 7) the impacts to wildlife and the meadow. It is unfortunate that Barton has allowed its hospital buildings in California to fall behind the times. Instead of remodeling now and/or over the years to bring them closer to their desired "state-of-the-art" status, they have decided things are so bad it is better to walk away and start over at a new $13 million dirt site. Barton has had over 20 years to address the seismic issues with the one existing building, but has chosen to do nothing. The organization reportedly has $100 million in reserves—why not invest in updating the California hospital location to make it safe and state-of-the-art?
In our opinion, a more suitable use for this Nevada property would be residential development for workforce housing, combined with a mix of commercial spaces. The Lakeside Inn & Casino was a valued neighbor and partner in our community for many years. As you will see from the information on this website, Barton Health has chosen to make its relationship with the residents of this area difficult and strained.
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The Details
Barton Health Executive Board and the Cleveland Clinic have consistently prioritized their own interests in the project design and plan, disregarding the negative impacts on the Oliver Park neighborhood and this environmentally sensitive area of Lake Tahoe. Despite our multiple requests to meet and engage in meaningful dialogue about our suggestions and potential solutions, they have refused to collaborate with us (concerned citizens, including neighboring homeowners).
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The evidence provided on this website clearly demonstrates that their actions are motivated solely by self-interest. The bottom line is that we do not need another hospital in Stateline, NV, nor the negative impacts it will bring to our neighborhood. Here is an article written by a physician who has practiced in our area for 43 years, outlining the situation in detail. ​​​​
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More than two years ago, Barton Health, Cleveland Clinic, Ascent Environmental, Feldman Thiel Law Firm, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Douglas County began working on the concept of a health sub-district amendment for the Douglas County South Shore Area Plan. Specifically for this Barton property in Stateline, NV, this plan would increase current height restrictions on buildings, create work-arounds to address the very complex water issues on the property, attempt to skirt the current special-use permit ... create advantageous property owner development and use rights (see special use section below), and create options for a helipad and helicopter services to and from the property. Instead of embracing transparency, they made it exceedingly difficult for the public to access accurate information. None of these groups made any effort to engage the public in meaningful discussions about the project's true scope and potential impacts. Instead, they deliberately misled the public and scheduled quick-turnaround meetings beginning in August 2024, aiming to push the project through without adequate or proportionate public input.
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Email from Douglas County on 12.5.24- I am told by staff that it is hard to attribute the idea of the health district amendment to any one individual. “It came out of early discussions with Ascent (environmental consultant), TRPA and maybe Kara Thiel…we were talking about Barton’s current location in South Shore and Nanette from Ascent mentioned they did an amendment and created healthcare district in that area plan(Tahoe Valley Area Plan). It came from that research and discussion.”
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August 2024 Fast Tracked Approval Cycle Plan
Here is the original plan Douglas County, TRPA and Barton had in place to fast track this project through, leaving little opportunity for public input. The quick hitting set of meetings would suggest Barton, TRPA, and Douglas County were going for approvals before anybody found out about their plans.
8-13-2024 Douglas County Planning Commission Hearing (First Reading of the proposed amendment changes)
8-14-2024 TRPA Advisory Planning Commission Hearing
8-15-2024 Douglas County Board of County Commissioners (1st reading)
9-5-2024 Douglas County Staff states 2nd reading may occur this date.
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11/2023 TRPA Accepts Initial Environmental Checklist Prepared By Barton
TRPA had no intention of ramping things up to an EA and/or EIS and instead was hoping for a fast track project approval in Aug 2024. Push back and questions from the public forced TRPA in October 2024 to go to the next step and require Barton to do an EA.
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The Barton IEC had 91 specific questions asking about the project's impacts on the environment. Here is a summary of Barton's responses-
91 total questions
54 No
31 Data Insufficient
5 Yes
1 No, with mitigation
TRPA accepted Barton's IEC document with the 54 "No" responses and 31 "Data Insufficient" responses. Keep in mind the scope of this project along with the known site and area sensitivity and TRPA is ok with 54 responses suggesting this project will have no impact on the environment and 31 responses suggesting the data is insufficient. This IEC has no signature or date for who prepared it and no signature or date for who accepted it at the TRPA. This IEC was all the TRPA was requiring Barton to do for environmental impacts leading up to the fast track project approval in August 2024.
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Link for more info about this IEC
​Link for more info about the Scoping Meeting and Scoping Meeting Review
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1/9/2024 Barton has LSC Transportation Consultants and Leslie Suen to do a traffic "study" for the proposed project
Per your request, LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. has prepared a trip-generation and vehicle-miles-travelled (VMT) analysis for the proposed Barton Hospital Relocation project.​​​​​
Here are a couple of findings from LSC's study:
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The net impact of the Barton project is a reduction of 7134 one-way daily vehicle trips (DVTE) (or a reduction of 57%)
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The net impact of the Barton project is a reduction of 35,158 average annual VMT (or reduction of 59%)
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Obviously this information does not make sense. The TRPA accepted this traffic info and then shared the "reduction" claims with the public with no plans to require Barton to complete an EA and/or a EIS.
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Link for more information about the traffic study
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Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
On 2/16/24, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) held a hearing to determine the new hospital Certificate of Need (CON).
You didn’t hear about the meeting? The meeting was noticed at the following locations:
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Announced via the PCO listserv
However, the DHHS website failed to provide the proper links and information regarding the Barton CON hearing until questioned by our group in the first week of January 2025. The website was subsequently updated with the meeting links on January 8, 2025.
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Over 20 people attended or submitted written correspondence in support of the Barton CON, including Senator Titus, Assemblyman Gray, Douglas County Commissioner and TRPA Governing Board Member Wes Rice.
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Not a single person with questions or opposition to the Barton Hospital CON and relocation plan was aware of the hearing or able to participate.
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Instead of fostering transparency and constructive dialogue, Barton, TRPA, and Douglas County failed to inform local residents about this hearing.
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To our knowledge, the NDHHS collected no data on the impacts this proposed $300 million hospital would have on the neighborhood.
​Click Here For more info about the CON
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State of Nevada Department of Transportation Barton Endorsement Letter 3/1/25
Tracy Larkin Thomason, Director
The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is providing a letter of endorsement for Barton Health's proposed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) near 155 Highway 50, Stateline, Nevada 89449, in recognition of the mountainous terrain stipulated by Code of
Federal Regulation (42 CFR 485.610[c]), which highlights the unique challenges posed by the region's topography.
Both the existing Barton Health Hospital and its proposed new location in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range are pursuing a CAH designation due to the specific engineering and landscape challenges presented by the mountainous terrain, which satisfy the distance criteria for CAH qualification.
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Douglas County
Two+ years working on the project with little information shared with the public: Douglas County has clearly suppressed information about the project
​2/16/24: Wes Rice's Comment at the Certificate of Need (CON) Hearing
On February 16, 2024, Wes Rice, a Douglas County Commissioner, attended the Certificate of Need (CON) hearing for Barton's hospital approval with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. During the hearing, he made a public comment expressing full support for Barton's project while also stating that he did not see any downsides. However, he failed to inform or engage with the residents of the Oliver Park neighborhood or the Oliver Park GID, both of which would be significantly impacted by the project.
It’s important to note that this specific project location falls within Wes Rice's district, and these are the constituents he is supposed to represent. Additionally, Rice chose not to address this project during the project/group involvement reporting segment at any Board of Commissioner meetings. Adding to the concern, Wes Rice also serves on the TRPA Governing Board, making his silence on the matter even more controversial.
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6/14/24 Town Hall Meeting
The Douglas County Planning Department (Ms. Moroles-O’Neil) held a meeting to present the special amendment plan but referred to the meeting as a "town hall." Why was this town hall format used? When questioned, Douglas County admitted that a town hall did not require formal notification to the residents most affected by the project. As a result, very few people from the Oliver Park neighborhood were aware of the meeting or had the opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback.
6/26/24 TRPA Meeting
Douglas County Assistant Manager Scott Morgan attended and made a public comment praising the project, describing it as a "gift" for Douglas County. However, he did not communicate with any residents of the Oliver Park neighborhood or share information about the project with the Oliver Park GID. Scott Morgan retired at the end of 2024 after 31 years in Douglas County.
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TRPA
Leading up to their plan for an August fast tracked approval cycle, TRPA hears the special amendment presentation at the June Regional Planning Committee Meeting. Keep in mind, TRPA already knows about this project and special amendments because they have been working closely with Feldman and Barton for over 2 years to create this exact plan for Barton. TRPA chooses to not inform the community about this project and special amendments leading all the way up to the fast track approval cycle in August.
6/26/24 TRPA Regional Planning Committee Meeting
Pulled from these meeting minutes/notes:
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Ms. Moroles-O’Neil (Douglas County Planner) said several of these amendments have been in the works for many years, and the County was not able to follow through with them or move them through the approval process. I have been personally working on this project for about two years.
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Dr. Purvance (Barton Health President & CEO) said we're here to serve the community and to do so effectively. The more engagement we have early in the process, the better the project will be and the better the needs of the community will be met
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The new hospital design will be sensitive to the neighborhood, with entrances from Kahle Drive and Highway 50, and will feature a well-designed, landscaped environment.
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The back side of the building, which faces the steepest drop, will feature a five-story structure.
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Had Douglas County properly notified the neighbors, we would have learned about this plan at the Town Hall on 6/14/24. This would have given us the opportunity to be informed about the special amendments for this project and to provide public input at the TRPA Regional Plan Committee meeting on 6/26/24.
Dr. Purvance's approach to community "engagement" has been questionable (see details below). His presentation package shows pictures of buildings that are much smaller than what he is proposing. At this meeting he chose to describe the building as "five stories" rather than stating its actual height of 89 feet above Laura Drive. His idea of "engagement" with the community is dubious.
Leading up to the fast-track approval process, TRPA required only an environmental checklist for the Barton project. This is the quickest and easiest option and provides the least amount of data for reviewing potential environmental impacts. We raised questions to TRPA in July/August/September, and TRPA has since decided the project should advance to the next level; they are now requiring an Environmental Assessment. However, it really should be an Environmental Impact Report/Statement. TRPA will make this decision after reviewing the information collected from the scoping meeting and/or after they review the completed EA.​
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​If TRPA spent as much time attaining environmental thresholds as it does on partner programs, lobbying and weakening ordinances that create developer loopholes and workarounds we’d know the true health of Lake Tahoe. It’s time to end TRPA’s greenwashing and lip service to the environment.​​​
​-From Nevada Current Article
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Barton Health Executive Board
For over three years, the Barton Executive Board worked on this project, leading up to their plan for an expedited approval cycle in August 2024. However, Barton created and presented misleading information throughout this process.
8/3/23 & 4/29/24 Barton's Misleading Letters to the Oliver Park Neighborhood
Barton created and distributed two letters to the Oliver Park Neighborhood with scant details. These letters were hand-delivered to a limited number of properties near the project site. Barton claimed the letters were only distributed to the first two streets close to the site and not the entire neighborhood.
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Barton stated that they personally delivered the letters because they couldn’t figure out how to access the homeowner mailing addresses on record to send them via USPS. However, they kept no record of how many homeowners actually received these letters. No explanation was provided for their decision to exclude the rest of the neighborhood and the Oliver Park GID. Furthermore, the letters contained no meaningful details about the project they had been working on for years [see copies of letters].
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Barton Property Water Release Incident Spring/Summer 2023
​In the Spring and Summer of 2023, Barton’s Stateline property faced significant water accumulation issues. In June, several residents noticed that the wattles (temporary barriers used to control water runoff) had been moved from inside Barton’s fenced property. This change was illegal, allowing water to flow out onto Laura Drive, where it drained into the neighborhood’s storm drains and ultimately into the lake. [See additional info here ]
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Misleading Presentations in Spring/Summer 2024
In the spring and summer of 2024, Dr Purvnace began presenting his plan to various groups in the area, including the Rotary Club, Tahoe Beach Club, local VIPs, and the Douglas County Planning Commission. However, the slides and images he presented were misleading and did not accurately reflect the project he had been working on for over two years with Feldman, TRPA and Douglas County [see images here for an examples of Barton's presentation vs. what they are planning.
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Barton Talking Points-Every one of Clint’s talking points in favor of the new hospital is misleading and false
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​Clint claims we need this new hospital to accommodate an aging population. What aging population? Look at our demographics or use common sense. As people age, it becomes increasingly dangerous to live in Lake Tahoe so older people move out and/or spend less time in the basin.
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Clint insists the new hospital must be in Nevada to offer state-of-the-art services. We have found no evidence that California prohibits state-of-the-art hospitals or medical services, as Clint suggests. More concerning is the implication that he has allowed the current hospital to deteriorate rather than invest in necessary updates.
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Clint argues he cannot meet California’s seismic requirements or the deadline with the existing hospital. This is simply not true. He could retrofit the current facility or demolish and rebuild—just as many other California hospitals are doing to comply with seismic standards. California implemented these requirements after a hospital failed to withstand an earthquake, rendering it unsafe and unusable. Clint has had over 20 years to address this issue. Given that we live in an earthquake-prone area, wouldn’t everyone in our community prefer a hospital that meets California’s higher seismic standards?
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Clint claims staying in California and retrofitting the current hospital would disrupt services. Of course, there will be some interruption, but nothing that cannot be managed. Had he initiated a plan years ago, the impact could have been minimized.
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Clint suggests the proposed new hospital is to improve things for the community. Barton reports they have $100 million in reserves, indicating that its current business model is highly profitable. Based on this, some might argue the hospital could lower prices (instead of building a new $300M hospital in NV) to better support the community. Additionally, tax records show that Barton’s executive team earns substantial salaries—another area where costs could be reduced- if his true goal is to benefit the community.
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9/18/24 Barton Executive Board Serves Oliver Park GID with Extensive Request for Records
This relatively small GID, operating on a very limited budget, is located in the area where Barton plans to build its new hospital. The Request for Records (click here to see the letter) made by the Barton Executive Board appears to be a strategic move, potentially aimed at applying pressure or retaliating against the GID and local homeowners for raising concerns about the hospital development plan. It seems to serve as a form of harassment or a tactic to drain the GID's resources, especially since it will result in significant attorney fees. Many corporations and large entities use legal mechanisms to overwhelm smaller organizations with limited resources. To date, the Barton Executive Board has never met with the Oliver Park GID and had no plans to do so prior to the fast-tracked approval of their development plan.
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Dr Purvance's Attorney Excuses Him From Meeting With Us
The Oliver Park Homeowners and the Oliver Park GID have been requesting a meeting with Dr. Purvance and the Barton Executive Board for six months. In October, we approached Douglas County Manager Jennifer Davidson to see if she would facilitate a meeting between our group and a member(s) of the Barton Executive Board. She agreed to ask Dr. Purvance if they would meet with us? However, Dr. Purvance stated to Jenifer that his attorney advised him against meeting with our group if any of the attendees were also members of the Oliver Park GID Board.
Our GID is very small, and board members must be homeowners within the district. As a result, there is a high likelihood that a concerned GID board member is also a concerned homeowner. To date, the Oliver Park homeowners and the Oliver Park GID Board have never sat down for a meaningful discussion with Dr Purvance and/or the Barton Executive Board.
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Questionable Decisions and Risky Investment
Barton repeatedly stated that this project could not move forward without special TRPA & Douglas County amendment approvals. Despite having no approvals in place, they proceeded to take a significant financial risk, purchasing the property for $13 million.
This raises an obvious question: was this a calculated risk, or did Barton Health, Cleveland Clinic, Feldman Thiel Law Firm, TRPA, and Douglas County believe they could quietly sneak the project through the approval process?
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According to TRPA’s Public Information Officer Jeff Cowen, even TRPA finds Barton’s “plan” unusual. “Not many developers would have done the demolition first without a sure plan,” Cowen explained. “They don’t want to make that kind of investment unless they have approval. We don’t really know what Barton’s idea was with [demolition prior to approval], others might have waited,” Cowen added. Link to article
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Concealing Controversial Details
It appears the entire group was well aware of the Barton plan and working on it behind closed doors—an 89-foot building with helicopter landings within 200 feet of nearby homes—would spark significant opposition from the community. To avoid this, they altered and obscured key information in their communications.
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In July 2024, Oliver Park homeowners discovered the plans for this proposed project in our neighborhood and began asking questions. Once we raised concerns about this project and the fast-track approval process, Douglas County and TRPA decided they needed to make changes. They decided to postpone or modify the previously scheduled meetings (see article).
8-13-2024 Douglas County Planning Commission Hearing
8-14-2024 TRPA Advisory Planning Commission Hearing
8-15-2024 Douglas County Board of County Commissioners 1st reading
9-5-2024 Douglas County Staff states 2nd reading may occur this date.
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Special Use Permit
When Barton purchased the property in 2021, they were fully aware of the 56-foot building height restriction. Despite this, Douglas County, TRPA, and Barton have been working to create special approvals to build an 89' structure —towering above the single-story homes on Laura Drive. Barton was also aware in 2021 that they could use a special-use permit to build a hospital on the property. However, these entities worked to secure special approvals granting unconditional hospital use instead of using the standard special-use designation. This distinction is significant because it circumvents protections designed to balance development with community interests.
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12.3.24 Barton finally submits a project application to TRPA (this was found on the TRPA parcel tracker) posted on 12.20.24. Re-posted 1-9-2025 that notified the public that had signed up for the Barton Project notification list and is posted on the TRPA Major Projects webpage. Douglas County, TRPA and Barton worked to create these special amendments to the South Shore Area Plan for approximately 2+ years, but Barton never submitted an application with TRPA and/or Douglas County... until December 2024.
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12/3/24 Tom Dallaire (Douglas County Community Development Director) responds by email to our multiple complaints with pictures showing failed BMPs and sediment in the water leaving Barton's site.
The site BMP is not failing in my opinion and appears to be in good working order. There are some sheets of the ground cover mat that has been blown around and Steve is monitoring those. Either way, the dirt coverage still produce less runoff than a paved sloped parking lot and a building with any roof. I did not see any evidence on site or off the Barton site that shows there is sediment moving from the site onto or into the street or gutter.
Oops- here is what happened
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2/1/25 Barton Cease And Desist for Site Water Issues
​​​Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) issues a “cease and desist” letter to Barton. Link to article and Link to Barton Site Water Issues
TRPA staff met with R.O. Anderson representatives in September 2024 and expressed concerns with winterization and stabilization on the site. TRPA asked for a plan to infiltrate more water into the large existing basin and received pushback. No additional steps were taken and no plan was submitted. After multiple BMP failures, TRPA staff met again with R.O. Anderson and Barton representatives on January 15, 2025, where Barton committed to installing additional BMPs over the next 10 days to prevent additional discharge following the BMP failures during the December and January events. The plan was not submitted to TRPA until Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 13 days after the meeting. The late submittal did not allow enough time to implement the plan, resulting in additional discharge of sediment on January 31, 2025, and February 1, 2025. -TRPA Cease and Desist Letter to Barton (click letter below to enlarge)
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This is the largest project—nearly double the size of the event center and almost three times its cost—yet no one from Barton, TRPA and/or Douglas County feels they should actively involve the public in the process.
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We recommend you consider whether you want to continue supporting Barton with your $1500 association donation and/or your large donations to the Barton Health Foundation. The Barton Executive Board has shown that it is not a true community partner.​​​
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​Click Here For More Information On How You Can Help With The TRPA Scoping Meeting 1/16/25 5PM -7 PM
​Click Here For More Information On How You Can Help With the Environmental Assessment Comments Due 2/7/25
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2/7/25 Clint Files Baseless Claim with Douglas County Sheriff to Harass and Intimidate the Neighbors
Clint Purvance had the police show up and question a "person of interest" because he believed one of his failed wattles had been vandalized. As you all know from the cease and desist, his entire site and construction plan are a complete disaster, yet he chose to file a formal complaint with DCSO, naming someone who had previously questioned his failures—without any proof of wrongdoing (see attached report below).
The police officer went to the front door of xxx Laura Drive and confronted -----. Laura Drive is the main road in the neighborhood, meaning many people witnessed the entire incident, so imagine being in her shoes. This was clearly Clint’s way of harassing and intimidating both ----- and the rest of the neighbors. Based on the evidence listed in the police report, it appears Clint instructed his subordinate to file a baseless claim with DCSO.
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Click to Enlarge
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2/11/25 Letter to TRPA- FAILURE TO PRODUCE A TAHOE BASIN WILDFIRE EVACUATION ANALYSIS
We remain deeply troubled that the TRPA continues to fail to produce a comprehensive roadway-by-roadway wildfire evacuation capacity timing analysis, based on the best available data, and best achievable technology, indicating how long it will take to get residents and visitors safely out of the basin. Nor has the TRPA utilized its regulatory influence to require such an analysis as a condition of approval in connection with Tahoe Area Plans and major projects.
​​NEITHER THE TRPA, ITS’ REGIONAL PLAN GOVERNMENT “PARTNERS”, OR ANY DEVELOPER, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MAKE IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO ESCAPE DEADLY FIRES.
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