Easier and cheaper process looked at in South Lake Tahoe City Codes

What once took hours of City of South Lake Tahoe staff time as well as weeks for applicants to get answers may soon be a one hour process.

Since it was organized in 2014, the City Attorney has been working with departments to update each section of the City Code. For portions that pertains to zoning, land use, development standards and building standards, City staff looked at ways to streamline the process and remove permit process portions of the code where possible.

The City charges fees based on the cost of doing service in order to recoup their expenses. Staff was receiving complaints from the public about the amount of time it took for certain permits to be approved, thus costing them more since the fee charged was based on staff hours.

The Planning Commission Thursday heard from City staff and approved two new procedures that will make it easier, and cheaper, to do business with the Development Services Department.

Signs were the object of the first change. Not all businesses can have the same sized sign which is determined by number of factors including the speed of the traffic passing by, the number of access streets and size of business. Even though code always for these sign size differences, City staff still had to use an antiquated system to determine what size fit for each business. They will now be able to apply the TRPA Code to signs which will result in less staff time and lower costs to the applicant. Sign standards approved for the Tourist Core Area will not be affected by this new policy.

The second change concerns minor temporary activities where permits were required that involved extra staff time, and charges reflecting time spent. The Commissioners approved a policy that will not require applicants to get a permit for temporary activities unless the event causes road closures, private security, amplified music, ground disturbance, temporary structures larger than 10' x 10', and activities from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.