City responds to computer glitch during Monday's application process for Sugar Pine Village

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A computer glitch caused a delay Monday morning for applications being accepted online for the South Lake Tahoe affordable housing project, Sugar Pine Village.

Related California and St. Joseph Community Land Trust hired The John Stewart Company to be the onsite property manager for Sugar Pine Village and to manage the lease-up process, including community outreach. Although the City has been working with Related California and St. Joseph Community Land Trust to finance and develop this much-needed affordable housing, the City has no legal authority over the property management or the application process.

In advance of the process, The John Stewart Company notified the City that the housing applications would be made available at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 15 and applications would be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.

Unfortunately, the application link was not active on The John Stewart Company website until 8:30 a.m., understandably causing confusion and frustration for those wanting to submit their application as soon as possible. As soon as the issue became known, Related California, The John Stewart Company, and City staff worked to make the online application available as soon as possible and will continue to distribute information to the public and interested applicants.

The City said there were no applications submitted before the link was available on the website, so the outage did not provide any preference to applicants in the process.

The first phase will be opening in September with 67 rentable units and one on-site manager apartment. Only those that fall into the 30 percent to 60 percent of the Area Median Income level for El Dorado County will qualify. Rents will be based on a few determining factors including income and family size.

South Lake Tahoe City Council has directed staff to engage in a disparity analysis to determine if adding a "local preference" to those renting would cause any type of housing discrimination not consistent with the Fair Housing Act. There is a study underway, but there is no current ordinance so the current phase won't have any stipulations except for the required income. If the study finds there would be no discrimination in "local preference" an ordinance could be created and enacted on future housing projects and phases.

By way of background, the City has been distributing information from the project team to the local community about the lease-up process and supporting efforts to ensure that locals were notified of the opportunity to apply for housing at the Sugar Pine Village project. Over the last several months, City staff have conducted outreach through the Family Resource Center, El Dorado County Health and Human Services, El Dorado County Office of Education, El Dorado County Library, and other local nonprofit organizations, encouraging residents to sign up for the project interest list so they will receive updated information directly from The John Stewart Company.

The application is available here https://jsco.net/property/sugar-pine-village/ - go to the bottom left and click on "click here to apply." There may be an application fee involved.

If interested applicants need assistance completing the application or do not have access to a computer, in-person support will be provided at the following locations:

- South Lake Tahoe Branch | El Dorado County Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd.
- South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center, 2501 Spruce Ave #B

Anyone with additional questions should contact The John Stewart Company at 916-561-0323.