VHR permits in El Dorado County meet 900 cap; staff working on clustering update to ordinance

EL DORADO COUNTY, Nev. - Homeowners in the Lake Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County rushed to get their vacation home rental (VHR) permits before the cap of 900 was met and any new clustering rules were added to the ordinance. The 900 number only pertains to the Lake Tahoe Basin and not the West Slope.

As of late Friday, May 21, 900 permits had been issued. For those who have submitted an application after Friday, staff will be in touch with instructions on how to get on the waiting list. The waitlist application is on the County's VHR website. Staff will address each application in the order it was received.

The Board of Supervisors (BOS) has approved the addition of a cap to the ordinance on December 2, 2020. At that time they asked staff to come back with a buffering presentation on the situation if 150 feet, 300 feet, and 500 feet between VHRs would pan out, as well as a buffering of 1,000 feet for large, or "McMansions," homes.

During its May 11 meeting, the BOS directed staff to revise the ordinance with the 500-foot buffer and bring it back to them within 90 days for a first reading. Upon approval, there would be a second reading at a future meeting with changes going into effect 30 days after that date.

All people with a VHR permit in good standing will be grandfathered in and the new rule should not affect them. If a home is sold, or the permit-holder loses good standing, the ordinance would pertain to that property once it is approved. The staff will answer any questions emailed to them at vhrpermitrenewal@edcgov.us.

The buffering addition to the VHR rules came about due to some neighborhoods full of short-term rentals and the character of the neighborhood changing from full-time families to temporary visitors as well as an increase of noise and traffic issues.

Many second homeowners have expressed their concerns that this change will limit their ability to sell their property.