South Lake Tahoe vacation rental fines to change

Concern over national attention on "South Lake Tahoe being the home of the $2,000 parking ticket" may soon be a thing of the past after action initiated by City Council Tuesday.

Fines will be restructured and modified, lessening fines per occurrence of many of the violations of the vacation home rental (VHRs) ordinance. Some of the fines will be against the home owner only, while others to the renter only.

Six months ago, the City Council initiated a $1,000 fine going to the renter and $1,000 fine going to the owner per each violation of the new ordinance. Concern over the high amount of the fines hurting the community and national image has led staff to re-evaluate the cost of violating the ordinance.

With Council member Jason Collin not in attendance at the meeting, and with Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis unable to vote on VHR items, all three remaining council members had to agree on the changes as three members had to approve.

There is concern that some of the proposed changes had the words "Occupant and/or Owner Responsible" in the fine structure and that was not specific enough. The fines with that verbiage were pulled from the vote until a future meeting so staff and the City Attorney can look at modifying them to get the intended result.

Vacation Home Rental Fines
Approved by a 3-0 vote Tuesday

Parking Space Availability-Owner Responsible - $250
Compliance with SLTCC-Owner Responsible - $1000.00
Posting of Permit-Owner Responsible - $1000
Marketing/ Advertising Requirements-Owner Responsible - $1000
Authorization to Inspect-Owner Responsible - $1000
Interior Signage-Owner Responsible - $1000
Exterior Signage-Owner Responsible - $1000
Emergency Lighting-Owner Responsible - $1000
Lighting Design-Owner Responsible - $1000
Records Relating to VHR-Owner Responsible - $1000
Trash/Bear Boxes Required-Owner Responsible - $1000

Council is bringing back the following to define the "and/or" portion of the fines, and determine if the amount is viable:

Maximum Occupancy-Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $500.00
Commercial Activity Prohibited-Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $500
Outdoor Spas/Hot Tubs prohibited between 10 p.m.-8 a.m. - Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $500
Noise and Amplified Music prohibited between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. - Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $500
Parking of Commercial Vehicle-Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $250
Parking Requirements-Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $250
Camping Prohibited-Occupant and/or Owner Responsible - $500

Mayor David wanted the $250 fine for parking, but Councilmember Austin Sass wanted $500. That issue had the "and/or" verbiage so was pulled.

If any of the penalties are not paid within thirty days after issuance of a notice of violation of citation, there shall be a late payment penalty of 25 percent added to the penalty amount.