No moratorium on vacation rentals in El Dorado County

Tuesday's El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting was just as all other meetings about vacation home rentals have been: A full house and a large contingent passionately representing both sides of the issue.

Supervisor Shiva Frentzen sought conceptual approval of an urgency ordinance to place a moratorium on the issuance of new vacation home rental (VHR) permits in the unincorporated portions of the County located in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The divisive topic got about two hours of testimony from the public along with board discussion. Debates have filled social media from those who oppose short term rentals in their neighborhoods, those who manage vacation rentals and the real estate industry, and all three opinions were voiced at Tuesday's meeting.

South Lake Tahoe Councilman Tom Davis spoke to the supervisors, not as a part of City government, but as part owner of the Tahoe Keys Resort, a property management company that specializes in home rentals.

"We are all in favor of strict enforcement," said Davis. "We don’t want parties in our houses, our owners don’t want parties in their houses and we care about the community. I think a good resolution is one nobody agrees with but everyone can work with.”

Meyers resident John Adamsky, a vocal opponent of VHRs in neighborhoods, said he and others have been asking for an indefinite moratorium, not a temporary one, and an ordinance that isn't antiquated and poorly written. He told the board the ordinance had to cover four main issues: Nuisance problems eliminated; Break up clustering of VHRs; Reduce the number of VHRs in the County to 600 (from the current 727); Address safety issues and have the Fire Marshal and Building Inspector look at each property. He also wants properties to have home's defensible space enforced, BMPs completed and a property looked at before a permit is issued.

"I feel a moratorium isn’t going to fix the problem," said Kathy Jo Liebhardt, owner of Tahoe Destination Vacation Rentals. "There hasn’t been enforcement or rules and regulations." She suggested the County look at the flyers and other information the City of South Lake Tahoe is handing out to property managers, renters and residents.

"Everyone needs to come together as a team and get rules and regulations done," she added.

A South Lake Tahoe contractor said companies are already seeing the impact of the South Lake Tahoe cap (the City has a cap of 1,400 VHRs permits). He asked the board to vote for jobs and revenue creation for the community, adding he has already had some homeowners pull back on improvements to their homes with the uncertainty of future permits.

The permits for vacation rentals in El Dorado County are issued by the Tax Collector and enforcement is done by the Sheriff's Office. Violations have been issued and some home owners have been fined, yet many said they feel this isn't enough as their neighborhoods are being overrun by noisy renters.

"Tourism is an economic driver, but at what cost?" said Supervisor Michael Ranalli.

Ranalli, is on the County's ad hoc committee focusing on VHRs with Supervisor Sue Novasel, the representative for the County from Pollock Pines to Tahoma and South Lake Tahoe. Since forming, the committee has been on a fact-finding mission, gathering facts and information, meeting with staff members and community members. Novasel has to recuse herself from this portion of the meeting due to a possible conflict. She and County Counsel have asked the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for clarification on business her husband conducts as a mortgage broker on the South Shore. They expect an answer soon.

"I believe it would be a disservice to the Lake Tahoe community to not have their supervisor on this committee," said Supervisor John Hidahl.

The BOS voted 3-1 to not have County staff start looking into a moratorium, with Hidahl, Ranalli and Brian Veerkamp voting against the concept of a moratorium at this time, and Frentzen against.

The conversation will be continued at a BOS VHR meeting in South Lake Tahoe on February 1. It will be held in the City Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m.

"I’m disappointed that the problems with VHRs will be compounded by the predicted rush of permits in the County due to the denial of a temporary moratorium," said Leona Allen, founder of 'Tahoe Residents First, a group focused on preserving safe and peaceful enjoyment of neighborhoods and residential properties. "It would have allowed all facets of the issue time to work together to create a stronger ordinance. But our neighborhoods will continue to work together to prevent the noise, trash, danger to our wildlife, parking issues, fire hazards, threats to our safety, and overloading of our law enforcement, fire suppression and emergency medical systems."

"An immediate Moratorium prohibiting new VHR permitting is the right course of action to allow us time to re-draft an enforceable Ordinance," said Adamsky. "Unfortunately three of our County Supervisors (Ranalli, Veerkamp and Hidahl) failed their constituency with their opposition to a Moratorium that would temporarily discontinue enhancing the VHR nuisance problem. These Supervisors reasons for declining a Moratorium are suspicious and disturbing. Our action group is not discouraged - we're just getting started."