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Tioga Road - State Highway 120 will open for the season on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. for all vehicle traffic.  No commercial services are available along the road; however, there will be gasoline available 24 hours per day (credit cards only).  Additionally, the Tuolumne Meadows Campground, other campgrounds along the corridor, and the Tuolumne Visitor Center will remain closed.  All visitor services, including the campgrounds, store, gas station, etc. will open over the next several weeks. 

Visitors who are planning to visit Yosemite National Park over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend are urged to take extra safety precautions, especially along the Merced River.

With the current warm weather and accelerated snowmelt, the river is running fast and water temperatures are very cold.  

The park is expecting a very busy weekend.  Visitors to Yosemite Valley are urged to take the free Yosemite Shuttle Bus to help with traffic congestion over the weekend.  Visitors should remember that the busiest part of the day to enter the park is during the lunchtime hours.  Short delays at entrance stations and heavy traffic within the Valley should be expected. 

Please call the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center for additional information at (760) 924-5500.

Mammoth Mountain Extends Season Ski and ride up to June 14, 2009 and possibly longer at Mammoth Mountain. With nearly 40 feet of snow, and a 5-10 ft. base, sensational spring conditions prevail once again at Mammoth.

Spring Fest

Spring Fest continues at Mammoth Mountain thru May 31, 2009 so grab your gear and enjoy tons of sun and great spring skiing and riding with $69 lift tickets!

Ski & Golf

Visitors to Mammoth on Memorial Weekend will be able to Ski and Golf at either Sierra Star - Mammoth's only 18-hole golf course, or the fabulous Ted Robinson designed 9-hole Snowcreek Golf Course. 

Planning moves forward with Mammoth Crossing
By Catherine Billey
Mammoth Times Staff Writer


An open house at the Mammoth Crossing Development (MCD) offices on April 28 was harbinger to an informational  presentation that developer Doug Regelous will make for the planning commission May 13.

MCD proposes a combination of resort lodging and visitor-oriented commercial development with some ground floor retail at three of the four corners of the Minaret Road and Main Street intersection within the North Village Specific Plan area.
Planning in the current economic climate is particularly difficult. “The earth is moving under everyone. And it’s so difficult to try to comprehend what the world might look like 12 months from now,” Regelous said.

The open house attracted a good cross-section of the community who availed themselves of refreshments while taking a gander at conceptual renderings of the proposed project.

“We actually had 65 people sign in, and I’m quite sure there’s more than that who didn’t, so I’m guessing 75 to 80,” said manager Mark Deeds.

Regelous said that 260 groups and individuals had been invited to the open house. “We will be inviting those same people to the May 13 planning commission meeting,” he said.

“Interestingly enough, it is the first time that this long-imagined and often-discussed corner will make a public appearance. We’re looking to put for the first time the underlying concept and proposed program for the three corners in front of the planning commission and the community.”

Conceptual renderings at the open house by Paul Merrick Architecture reflected the strong mountain architecture desired by the town for future development.
“We’re moving forward in this process simply to obtain an amendment to the North Village Specific Plan,” Regelous explained. “This is just to get us positioned so that we can begin to design a building.”

The current North Village Specific Plan, as it pertains to Mammoth Crossing site, has them at 48 rooms per acre.  
“We simply want to amend it so we are at the same density as everything else in the North Village [80 rooms per acre]. We’re not asking for more than what’s already there.”

According to senior town planner Ellen Clark, the most controversial aspect of the Mammoth Crossing project involves this request for increased density (up to 80 rooms per acre aggregate across the site) and height (from 35 feet up to 103 feet).
At the last public hearing on proposed development on Sept. 10, 2008 (pertaining to the draft EIR), criticism abounded – primarily from Fireside Condominium residents who said their views and lighting would be impacted.

Since then, Regelous said he has held meetings with Fireside and other homeowner association groups in the immediate neighborhood of the proposed project.

“We were always meeting with them. We are great believers in the public information sessions,” he said.
Although he doesn’t anticipate their taking issue with the Mammoth Crossing proposal, inevitably some individuals will. “We will do everything we can to accommodate their concerns and address them.”

The 2007 General Plan identifies the areas of town that are more accommodating of increased density than others. Mammoth Crossing is proposed in the resort corridor where such density nodes are deemed appropriate.

The next series of public hearings will take place in June at the planning commission, moving on to town council by August, Clark predicted.


In the meantime, the May 13 informational presentation at the planning commission will begin the dialogue with the community.
“It’s a chance for the commission and the public to be reintroduced to the project, since it’s been out of the spotlight for a while,” Clark confirmed. “It’s certainly not a hearing on the project. It’s a study session or workshop just to review.”

November 6, 2008                                                                                                        Issue No. 38

Recent Quotes & Excerpts about the Positive Signs in the Real Estate Market:

Real Estate Numbers Looking Better … This Week

Ø  Resales of existing homes jumped by 5.5 percent last week -- that was the largest monthly increase since July 2003, in the middle of the housing boom. In the western states, sales were up a record 34.4 percent!

 

Ø  Sales of newly constructed homes also were higher in the latest month, according to the Census Bureau -- up by 2.7 percent on average nationwide, but by an impressive 22.7 percent in the West.

 

Ø  A quarterly survey by the Wall Street Journal released last week found inventories down in a majority of the 18 markets studied.

 

Ø  Across the country, the backlog of unsold but listed houses dropped 1.2 percent to a 9.4 month supply last month, according to the National Association of Realtors^® -- that was down from an 11 month supply the previous month.

 

Ø  One week of good news does not mean we're officially in turnaround mode … But you've got to start connecting the dots. Week after week, month after month, housing and real estate numbers are starting to look better and better.

 

-- “Real Estate Outlook: Home Sales Rise,” by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times, Nov. 5, 2008.

 

A Sign that Home Buyers on Sidelines Want Back In

 

Due to falling real estate prices and rising foreclosures on the West Coast, sales of existing homes rose to its highest level in 13 months and highest percentage increase in five years, according to a report issued today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

 

Ø  “This is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels. Credit tightened at the end of September, but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who’ve been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future.” -- Richard F. Gaylord, NAR President and broker in Long Beach, Calif.

 

Ø  “The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island.” -- Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

 

-- “Good News For Real Estate? Largest Monthly Home Sale Percentage Increase In 5 Years Reported,” RISMedia, National Association of Realtors^® press release, Oct. 27, 2008.

 

 

Existing Home Sales at Highest Levels Since August 2007

 

Ø  “It’s still a great time to buy real estate when you look at the pricing in the marketplace. It is a good time for people to move up, move sideways or even move down.”

 

Ø  “You have to be credit worthy to get a mortgage. You have to show that you pay your bills on time and you have to show that you have some money to put down. There is money out there and the interest rates are great.”

 

-- Tom Kunz, president & CEO, Century 21, “Good News For Housing?,” Fox Business News (video), Oct. 24, 2008.

 

Mortgage Rates Fall

Mortgage rates continued riding a seesaw this week, plunging one-third of a percentage point compared with the week before.  The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 33 basis points, to 6.44 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.35 discount and origination points.

 

 

-- “Mortgage Rates Plunge,” by Holden Lewis, Bankrate.com, Nov. 6,, 2008.

 

 

Regional Update: Good News from Markets around the Nation

 

Colorado

"This is the best buyers' market I've ever seen in 32 years with the industry. Financing is available for those who are qualified. Both government and conventional private sector loans are available.

“As the excess inventory in the lower prices are absorbed, we'll start to see activity in the move up markets. First-time homebuyers that bought six, eight, 10 years ago can now move up and afford a better, nicer, more expensive home. For now, the decline in interest rates and a significant rise in affordability may be enough to offset some of the other negative economic news.”

-- Steve Murray, CEO, Real Trends, “Housing Market Recovering At The Entry Level,” Denver Nine News, Oct. 29, 2008.

 

 

Springfield, Mo.

Springfield's housing market has remained largely unaffected by market turbulence and could be heading for an upturn once the national market stabilizes, area Realtors say.

 

-- “Bargains to be had locally for first-time home buyers,” by Ryan Colvard, News-Leader (Springfield, Missouri), Nov. 2, 2008.

 

 

South Florida
Broward and Palm Beach County saw double-digit sales gains from a year ago in sales of existing homes and condos in September, while prices continued to fall. Statewide, sales were up 24 percent, the Florida Association of Realtors said Friday. It marked the first year-over-year increase in the housing market since 2005.

 

-- “Despite The Ailing Economy, Home Sales In South Florida Were Way Up In September,” by Marcia Heroux Pounds, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 25, 2008.

Technorati Tags: positive signs, real estate market, homes, sales

Technorati Tags: coldwell banker, mammoth, real estate, best of mammoth, 2008, real estate agents

The update on upcoming meetings related to the North Old Mammoth Road District Special Study (NOMRDSS), related policies, and the Clearwater Specific Plan, the schedule is as follows:

10-28: PAOT discussion

11-3: Incentive zoning/community benefit discussion

11-5: NOMRDSS discussion and close-out.  Open public hearing for Clearwater SP if there is anyone wishing to comment.  (Will be continued to 11-19.)

11-19: Clearwater Specific Plan public hearing.

All meetings will be at 6pm in Suite Z.  Please contact me if you have any questions.  To obtain copies of the agenda or agenda packet, you should contact Anita Hatter at ahatter@ci.mammoth-lake.ca.us or (760).934.8989 x227.

Oct. 16, 2008:  Synopsis of the speech delivered by Leslie Appleton-Young at the California Assn of Realtors Convention, taken from the Long Beach Press-Telegram

Statewide home prices will continue to slide in 2009, but sales should inch up as affordability improves.
" The current uncertainty about the financial system and economy is likely to persist over the next several weeks and could extend into next year," according to C.A.R. President Bill Brown. " Our forecast assumes that the financial system will begin to show signs of stabilization late in 2008 and into early 2009."

"Single-family home prices should dip about 6% next year, while sales will rise about 12%," said Leslie Appleton-Young.

Sales for 2009 are projected to increase 12.5% to 445,000 single-family homes, compared with 395,600 projected in 2008.

" Having observed the way the housing cycle has behaved in the past, in both the '80s and '90s, this is not surprising," said Robert Kleinhenz, CAR's deputy chief economist. " The nice thing is that we've already turned the corner in terms of sales activity.

" The real question is... when will prices turn around?"

Appleton-Young did not forecast an immediate upswing in prices, which dipped a stunning 32% this year.
C.A.R. predicts median home prices will dip to $358,000 from the current $381,000.

Still, Appleton-Young said, a sales recovery has already been seen in some of the hardest hit regions in the state because prices and foreclosures allowed some first time buyers to enter the market.

" It is really a mistake to paint home sales in California with a broad brush," she said. " It's really inaccurate."

Unlike 2005 and 2006, when about 40% of first time buyers put nothing down on their homes, the newest buyers are making down payments.

" That world is over," said Appleton-Young of the zero down era," and I think we would all agree that's a very positive thing."

This has led to a spike in the sales of lower priced homes-those less than $500,000.

The percentage of lower end sales has increased dramatically from 45% a year ago to 72%, Kleinhenz said, adding that sales of everything above $500,000 has gone from 55% of the market to 22%.

" It's more severe than has actually ocurred in many parts of the state,"Kleinhenz said." The number of distressed sales has increased the most dramatically in areas where sales have increased the most."

Appleton-Young cited the Inland Empire and sections of Northern California that took big price hits, only to rebound with strong sales.

Technorati Tags: home prices, affordability, CAR

Mammoth Lakes, CA – At approximately 5:45 p.m. on Friday, October 10, 2008, the Lake Mary Road Tunnel that provides access to the Lakes Basin and the Eagle Express Chairlift collapsed. The cause of the collapse has not been determined at this time and no injuries occurred.



As a result of the collapse, Lake Mary Road is closed to vehicular traffic above Bridges Lane. Access to and from the Lakes Basin is available via Old Mammoth Road. Electronic message boards and detour signs are in place along Main Street and Lake Mary Road advising motorists of the alternate route. Vehicles using Old Mammoth Road are advised to use caution due to snow and ice on the road. Large vehicles including trailers and campers (RV’s) are not advised on Old Mammoth Road. MLPD are currently in place on Old Mammoth Road monitoring vehicle access.

The Town of Mammoth Lakes, Spiess Construction, Inc., the United States Forest Service and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area are working collaboratively and expeditiously to remove the collapsed tunnel and re-open Lake Mary Road to vehicular traffic by early next week.

The process of designing and constructing the new permanent bridge will begin immediately with completion anticipated by November 26, 2008 - the scheduled opening day for the Eagle Express Chairlift.
“We are committed to ensuring that the new bridge is in place by Thanksgiving in order to accommodate our holiday visitors,” stated Town Manager Rob Clark.

For additional information please contact Stuart Brown, Community Relations Manager for the Town of Mammoth Lakes at (760) 934-2712 ext. 1210.Technorati Tags: lake mary bridge, mammoth, snow

On Friday, October 10, 2008, around 2:30pm the snow began to fall very lightly.  So much so that it was difficult to tell if it was really snow.  The clouds in the sky gave proof that if it wasn't snowing yet, it was certainly on it's way.  By 3pm it was dumping like a true Mammoth winter storm.  Unlike last year when the snow came late, we are quite early for such a large dump.  Yet to be reported on MammothMountain.com, it looks like this storm dropped about 6-8 inches of light fluffy snow.  Not enough to open the ski runs, but with it being the first hard freeze of the season, a few more storms like this in the near future may allow Mammoth Mountain Ski Area to open early.  The currently scheduled opening day is November 13.  Keep your fingers crossed and pray for snow!



10/11/08 @ 8:45am in front of Coldwell Banker Mammoth and Schat's Bakery


Technorati Tags: snow, mammoth mountain, mammoth