Opinion: Trial and Error City Government

The recent reversal of sign ordinance fees reflects on the poor leadership of South Lake Tahoe’s government. After an eruption of dissent from the business community, the City had to reverse its onerous sign permit fees and acquiesce to the demands of the business community.

If we go backwards, let’s look at another blunder by the City involving the parking meter fiasco. After holding multiple hearings and meetings, the City, under Nancy Kerry’s leadership, pursued parking meters over the objection of all of the local citizens. Finally, after expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the citizens of South Lake Tahoe voted with an initiative for the meters to be removed from the City.

Now, the council, under the leadership of Hal Cole, Mayor, Nancy Kerry, City Manager and Tom Watson, City Attorney has passed an onerous and horrible vacation rental ordinance. This ordinance is sponsored by less than a half dozen disgruntled permanent residents who want to destroy one of the most viable economic boosts to the local economy, the vacation rental industry.

In the guise of handling an over-abundance of noise complaints, the City has imposed an inspection regime requiring the hiring of at least three new building inspectors to impose radical conditions on vacation home rentals. They are trying to impose defensible space requirements just on vacation rentals requiring owners to emasculate adjacent pine trees in the name of fire safety while doing nothing to permanent residences, second homes or long-term rental homes in the City.
They are also pitting neighbor against neighbor in requiring an approval policy by neighbors in the sanctioning of new vacation rentals in the neighborhood.

Even though in the hearing relating to the ordinance, all representatives ensured the public that inspections would not be retroactive in relation to changes in building ordinances, the inspectors are not complying with those promises. They are even trying to bring into compliance land coverage issues on properties that were constructed prior to TRPA’s existence.

The City is imposing a TAU (Tourist Accommodation Unit) application to neighborhoods which violates changes that were approved years ago by the City allowing vacation rental homes to exist. Mayor Cole did a 180-degree reversal by sanctioning the TAU concept, as he was a prime supporter of the original change in ordinance proposed by our prior City Attorney, Cathy DiCamillo.

And now the City Council has reversed itself again by rejecting all proposals for a comprehensive and objective study on the socio-economic impact of vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe. They rejected a superior proposal by a company that had great credentials and a lot of knowledge about the Tahoe Basin in favor of trying to promote a study by students who haven’t finished their education yet. The Council feels that they can brainwash their impressionable minds into neglecting the fact that vacation rentals are overall a positive outcome for South Lake Tahoe in promoting tourism, our main industry.

The Vacation Rental Alliance proposed that the “holistic study”, as announced by City Manager, Nancy Kerry, should be performed prior to the adoption of the radical vacation rental permit application process. Six months’ worth of consultants’ and staff time were wasted while the Council’s “Ready-Fire-Aim” mentality proceeds as usual.

- Jim Morris