South Lake Tahoe community group attempts to get new initiative on the ballot

The "South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rentals Restrictions Initiative" may be added to the ballot in November should proponents get enough signatures to put it there.

Created by the Sustainable Community Alliance (SCA), a group in South Lake Tahoe, the initiative is giving voters another chance to voice their opinion about vacation home rentals (VHRs) and should be on the ballot along with another initiative that wants to ban VHRs.

"No on the ban, yes on restrictions" is their motto according to Jerry Williams, SCA executive committee member. "We're not trying to go the other direction from the ban, we want serious regulations but getting rid of them completely is a terrible idea," said Williams.

The SCA was formed from a stakeholder group of local residents including restaurant owners, lodging properties, small business owners, builders, carpenters, plumbers, chamber members and others concerned with the success of South Lake Tahoe.

"A ban would devastate small business," said Williams. "There would be job loss, the service industry crushed, VHR cleaners and maintenance staff would be impacted. No matter the profession, you are impacted by tourism."

SCA is about the community and is concerned about peace, tranquility and safety said Williams. They too want a cap on VHRs, the same number as allowed by the current ordinance - 1400.

He said he doesn't blame the anti-VHR camp for being upset. The original 2003 ordinance had rules and fines, but it wasn't enforced to the liking of the community. No homes lost their permits due to failure to follow the rules of that first ordinance.

"It [the VHR issue] festered and festered until we're at this point," said Williams. "There is an ordinance in place now, but that isn't good enough for them. It's too bad they've been pushed to this point."

The group with a VHR ban in their sights has been in grocery story parking lots, pleading their case with everyone walking by in hopes of signatures supporting their initiative.

If both groups get the required signatures before the deadline, voters in South Lake Tahoe would see both choices on the ballot in November.

"The stone dropped into the lake, and that ripple is now a tidal wave," Williams said of the fight over VHRs.

The SCA executive committee is made up of Williams, Mark Salmon, Craig Woodward, Melissa Wong and Shannon Witt.

The group did research and collected a lot of data from the public and found that a "hot button" was the desire for the City to be accountable on VHRs and collected Tourist Occupancy Tax (TOT). Passing of the initiative would create a community oversight committee to watch expenses and actions of the City surrounding the ordinance.

The biggest point SCA wants to make is that they truly care about the well being of our City.

"We know that tourism is our one and only industry" said Williams. "Everything else is a by-product. There is justifiable concern about a ban and what its going to do to our economy."

"Small businesses can get killed just with a hiccup in the weather," added Williams. "Any kind of blow to our tourism is felt by the everyone, especially the service industry."

The best interest of the community is at the heart of SCA, according to Williams.

"It's not about the almighty dollar," said Williams.

"Folks that want to see VHRs stay around have compromised and peaceful solutions have been made," said Williams. "There are logical solutions."

The next steps for SCA will be to publish the City Attorney's final wording on their initiative, most likely this weekend, and then they can start getting signatures.

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