Opinion: Vacation rental controversy

Although vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe have received a bad reputation in regards to loud parties echoing down our streets, and trash not being disposed of properly, they do help the local economy by bringing in tourist dollars. Even with all of the problems, the assets outweigh the liabilities for both tourists and town residents. For example, tourists will be given a sense of being at home, rather than hearing gamblers stroll the halls late at night. Residents, if they own a vacation rental, will earn money for themselves, while the entire City benefits from the process bringing in much needed money to many businesses in town.

Lake Tahoe residents rely on vacationers for the economy, so complaining about the noise is fine as long as we can find some common solutions to allow them to stay, while bringing that money into the city. Since the economy in town is heavily reliant on tourists, without them, Tahoe would be a hard place to live. Without all of the small businesses in town, owned and run by residents, many of the people in town would have no other way of making a living.

The City Council has teamed up with local law enforcement and come up with many new laws and ideas to deal with the problems. According to a recent newspaper story, “27 percent of the City’s nuisance calls, like excessive noise complaints, occurred at vacation rentals.” One new proposed rule was, “Renters would not be allowed to use a home’s hot tub after 10 p.m.” and in relation to that, “amplified music would have to be turned off by 10 p.m. as well." City staff reports showed that most complaints that came in about noise were from people hot-tubbing later than 10 p.m. and trying to talk over loud jets. Another proposal by the City Council is the “funding a full-time enforcement officer to respond to calls.” As some of these problems in town in some ways jeopardize the moral integrity of the City, it should also be noted that most vacation rental owners who do take great measures to inform their guests of local rules should not be punished because of a few bad properties. As long as the new laws are reasonable and protect the rights of both residents and business owners, these new laws will allow the vacationers to come to Tahoe for a great trip and bring money to town.

Tommy Cefalu, a junior at South Tahoe High, wrote this opinion as a project in Mr. Filce's English Class.