Buoys and boat lifts
A buoy, a boat lift, and a slip are all moorings. Putting a new lift on a pier you already have is not as simple as it may seem. It is a new place to keep a boat, and it needs its own permit path.
Annual registration is not a construction permit.
Two different drawings
New buoys and lifts are drawn yearly. New private piers are drawn every two years; the next window is June 2027. A buoy does not become a pier.
Can I add a boat lift to the pier I already have?
Yes, sometimes. A new boat lift is a new Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) mooring, not a hardware add-on and not a June pier allocation. It counts toward the two-mooring cap on a single-family lakefront parcel (buoys, lifts, and slips together).
If the parcel is under the cap, a new lift may need the annual mooring lottery (typically October 1 through November 14). That window is not the June pier lottery. Visible mass from the lake includes the lift and the boat sitting on it.
If the pier itself is also changing, that work lives on modify an existing pier. A legally existing buoy converting to a lift, or a lift converting to a buoy, stays on this page.
This page is for a new buoy or lift, existing-mooring registration, or converting a buoy to a lift (or the other way). It is not the pier lottery. A buoy does not become a pier. New piers are a separate allocation. Pier structure: modify an existing pier. Send the address or APN, what is already on the parcel, photos, and whether you want a new mooring, a registration, or a conversion.
FAQ
Can I add a boat lift to the pier I already have?
A new lift is a new TRPA mooring. It counts toward the two-mooring cap and may need the annual mooring lottery (typically October 1–November 14), not the June pier window.
How many moorings can one residence have?
A single-family lakefront parcel is capped at two moorings total: buoys, boat lifts, and slips counted together.
Is the mooring lottery the same as the pier lottery?
No. Moorings are a separate inventory. The pier allocation runs in June on odd years. The mooring lottery is annual.
I already have a buoy. Can it become a lift?
A legally existing buoy can convert to a boat lift, and a legally existing lift can convert to a buoy. That is still a shorezone change, not a hardware swap.
Does the boat on the lift count in scenic review?
Yes. Visible mass includes the lift and the boat on it.
Different agencies require different permits.
A Tahoe project is not just a TRPA permit. It often includes TRPA, plus state, county, and city agencies. That process is complex. We work with them all.
TRPA is the bi-state shorezone permit. State lands is a second permit, and the two states do not run it the same way.
On the California shore, structures on the lakebed typically need a California State Lands Commission lease. On the Nevada shore, the Nevada Division of State Lands (NDSL) issues its own permit. NDSL permits typically die when the property sells or the owning entity changes. TRPA permits transfer with the property.
Sister agencies run at the same time, not after TRPA is done: state lands, the Corps of Engineers, water quality, and fish and wildlife. We start those on the same clock as the TRPA permit.