city council

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (Tahoe Chamber) was proud to be one of the fourteen organizations and individuals who spoke in favor of the proposed City Council Resolution establishing renewable energy and carbon emissions reduction goals at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

A standing room only crowd applauded enthusiastically when the Council voted unanimously to support the resolution after proponent Nick Exline offered several minor but important amendments on behalf of the community-based “100% Renewable Collaborative.”

Cities around the country are having ongoing discussions and debates about single family homes in their community being used as short-term vacation rentals. South Lake Tahoe is not alone in this issue which has pitted home owners vs. home owners vs. community members. As with any divisive issue, there is no easy answer.

People driving through South Lake Tahoe have mostly likely cringed as their car finds a pothole on a local street. That, or dodged them all by driving in a zig-zag pattern that appears to be that of a drunk driver.

After a winter with extreme rainfall, constant snow removal and high groundwater, there is most likely no street that has been spared an outbreak of potholes.

After Tuesday's City Council meeting, help is on the way!

With the warm spell of late, at lake level it looks like the big snow storms never happened. However, go up above 8,000 feet and you see a much different picture. Atop Heavenly’s Dipper Chair there is an information shack that is between 8-10 feet high. Next to it is 10 foot high signage indicating where the runs are. As of today, you can’t see either of these. Over 50 feet of snow fell up there and even with the melt and the settling, there is still a ton of white stuff. I expect our streams will be flowing into August and our mountains might stay white throughout the summer.

A letter sent to the South Lake Tahoe City Council and Lake Tahoe Unified School District has prompted Angela Swanson, a member of the City's Planning Commission, to resign from her position.

Swanson was appointed to the commission after submitting an application and being appointed during the January 17, 2017 City Council meeting. She was one of 11 people vying for the five open positions, each for a two-year term.

Lake Tahoe must improve its internal transportation systems before they can expect visitors to the region to get out of their cars and use different, and better, ways of getting around. That was the message during last week's Tahoe Talks presentation by Lake Tahoe transportation partners, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and El Dorado County.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made it official Tuesday and unanimously approved the purchase of the Knight's Inn for $5,935,000, paving the way for the 850-acre Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project. The 110-unit Knight's Inn, a motel built in 1956 on Highway 50 near Ski Run Blvd., has been owned by the Patel family since 1994.

"This project has been in the works for 10-12 years," said Pradip Patel. "This is the best for me, my family, and the community."

Sierra Boulevard is about to get a whole new look that will include a better experience for bicyclists and pedestrians, streetlights and water quality improvements.

During Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, NCE, Inc. was awarded a contract to design the project which will run from Barbara Avenue to Palmira Avenue. They will be paid up to $610,110.

South Lake Tahoe – Tahoe Chamber would like to thank Councilmember Davis, Mayor Sass, and the Council for the invitation to attend the City Council February 14 special meeting and for the opportunity to present the business community’s priorities to the City as they prepare for their strategic planning retreat.

Several years ago, the Tahoe Chamber and its members established a vision and a set of priorities for the South Shore community titled Tahoe Future 2020. The vision statement from that document reads:

Eligible retirees from the City of South Lake Tahoe will soon be able to opt out of the City's medical insurance plan and get the money to use as they wish.

The City Council voted Tuesday to give the one time offer to their 145 retirees. How much they'll get is based on their years of service and number of years to being eligible for Medicare. They will be notified what their compensation offer will be.

With the passage of Proposition 64 in November, South Lake Tahoe and other cities around the state are taking a look at their codes and regulations to be consistent with requirements that came with the legalization of marijuana for personal use. Californians voted 57.13 percent in favor of the proposition. On a local level, the vote was very close in El Dorado County with 50.07 percent of the voters against the legalization of marijuana.

It’s been great seeing all of my friends and acquaintances who have lived here for less than 10 years posting photos and sharing how Snowmageddon 2017 has blown them away. I did the same when I first moved to Tahoe back in the 70’s and storms like this were not uncommon. Back then playing was more important than clearing the snow. I had a big Dodge Ram 4x4 pickup and I j drove over the snow in my driveway and packed it down. I did not own a snowblower and can’t remember shoveling much. One year the packed snow was so high I could not get the truck under the carport.

Friday was the end of voter approved Measure T in South Lake Tahoe.

During a January 27 court hearing in Placerville, EL Dorado County Superior Court Judge Jim Wagoner said that Measure T was fundamentally flawed, unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The one constant in Lake Tahoe this season is snow. The City of South Lake Tahoe is responding to several community complaints and questions about how they have, and will be dealing with removing the snow:

1) Concern – City has rotary blowers sitting idle at the corporation yard.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - There are basic rules when behind the wheel, not only in fair weather, but also in stormy and snowy weather as South Lake Tahoe has been experiencing.

Here are tips for driving in snow from the American Automobile Association (AAA):
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly
- Drive slowly
- The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds
- Know your brakes
- Don't stop if you can avoid it
- Don't power up hills. ...
- Don't stop going up a hill
- Stay home

The South Lake Tahoe City Council members voted unanimously to declare a state of emergency in the city after widespread flooding occurred after an atmospheric river passed over the community on January 7 and 8, 2017. The flooding was replaced by several feet of snow through January 12.

While the total impact on the community during the storm has yet to be tallied, making the declaration directs state and federal funds to South Lake Tahoe to alleviate the financial burden should major repairs be needed.

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, Paul Reder of PR Entertainment will make a presentation about the possibility of his company holding one or two concerts a year on the South Lake Tahoe Community play fields.

Reder, the owner of The Loft at Heavenly Village, is also the man behind the Reggae Festival and Electronic Dance Music's (EDM) Bass Camp Festival, both held on the South Shore.

The vacation home rental (VHR) businesses in South Lake Tahoe have joined together in an effort to address, not only issues residents have with their homes, but to address their relationship with those who control and vote on their regulations.

"Our biggest fear is that the City has changed the intent of the ordinance without the council approval," said Josh Priou, Director of Product Development at Lake Tahoe Accommodations and a member of SLTVRA, South Lake Tahoe Vacation Rental Alliance.

Interested in representing your city on the El Dorado County Commission on Aging? They are accepting application from those interested in serving until February 1.

The Commission on Aging (COA) is an advisory Committee to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors that works with the Director of the Area Agency on Aging on

The deadline is rapidly approaching for locals to apply for 19 open positions on City of South Lake Tahoe commissions and boards.

Two year appointments are now being accepted for Airport Land Use Commission, Building/ADA Board of Appeals, Parks & Recreation Commission and Planning Commission.

Completed applications must be returned to the City Clerk’s Office no later than 5:00 p.m., on Friday, December 30, 2016. The City Council will be making the appointments at a regularly scheduled meeting in January 2017 (to be announced).

AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSION:

At the beginning of Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, Austin Sass was voted in as mayor, Wendy David as vice mayor and new Councilmembers Jason Collin and Brooke Laine were sworn in.

It was an unanimous vote for Sass, but with three Councilmembers interested in being vice-mayor, the vote for that position was a much closer 3-2. Both Brooke Laine and Tom Davis also expressed a desire to serve under Sass. Collin was the only one not interested in either position, citing his being "the new kid on the block" and wanted to learn the job he was elected for first.

Outgoing South Lake Tahoe City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner was honored for her four years of service to the community during a special Council meeting Monday. She was awarded a plaque, but didn't leave her former position without a few words to say.

Conner's term was not a quiet one. As she said she "fought for the little people," Conner also filed a lawsuit against the City and was censured by her colleagues.

As she spoke to the small group gathered in Chambers to bid farewell, Conner said she would continue to fight for the those that can't fight themselves.

The were some questions surrounding Monday's special meeting of the South Lake Tahoe City Council, a meeting that will both certify the November 8 election results and honor outgoing City Councilmember JoAnn Conner with a plaque of appreciation.

In 2014, a special meeting was held to honor outgoing council members Angela Swanson and Brooke Laine, both who lost in their bids for reelection. Conner lost her reelection bid this year.

There are two items on the agenda for a special meeting of the City of South Lake Tahoe City Council on Monday, December 12, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.

Outgoing City Councilmember JoAnn Conner will be recognized with a plaque for her four years of service on the Council.

The other agenda item is the official acceptance of the November 8 election results which put Brooke Laine and Jason Collin on the Council, and passage of Measure P and T. Once accepted, Tuesday's Council meeting will entail the swearing in of the election winners.