Housing

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) has awarded the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for maintaining the "Custodial Facility of the Year."

Their jail was selected for the prestigious award from over 500 jails and prisons across the country.

DCSO representatives attended the NCCHC ceremony to pick up their award.

An Affordable Housing Task Force has been formed to assist Douglas County in its efforts to develop quality affordable housing opportunities. This has been in the works since July when they entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nevada Rural Housing Authority “For Creating a Viable Path to Achieving Affordable Housing for Douglas County, Nevada.”

Part of the Board of County Commissioners Strategic Plan includes evaluating the potential of offering affordable housing development incentives through the update of the Housing Element of the Master Plan.

Since escrow on Kingsbury Middle School fell through over a year ago, the school has remained vacant and unlisted at an annual cost of $45,000. Now the Douglas County School District is considering putting the property up for sale once again.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Eight hours, and testimony from 29 people later, the City Council has crafted a new ordinance that attempts to strike a balance between locals and vacation home rentals (VHRs).

"While tourism is the lifeblood in our town, the residents are the heart and soul," said SLT City Councilman Jason Collin.

Passionate testimony from all sides was presented at Tuesday's meeting as has been the case for the 20+ meetings on the subject of VHRs.

The direction from the City Council to staff is to create an ordinance that will contain the following:

The residents of a local affordable housing complex are looking forward to a facelift of the place they call home. The Sierra Garden Apartments, located at 1801 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe, are set to receive a $15 million renovation funded through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bonds.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Barton Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Troy Matthews as its new Executive Director.

Matthews’ commitment to serving his community is exhibited through his involvement and leadership in multiple organizations including Tahoe Regional Young Professionals, the South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, Progress for Tahoe, El Dorado County Housing Task Force, LTCC Theater Arts Task Force, Leadership Lake Tahoe, and serving on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District School Board.

As the world changes around South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) is evolving to meet the new demands of education and the student body. As there is a decline in community college enrollment across the country, LTCC is being creative in recruitment of students to the campus and investing in not only the environment, but in removing barriers many have in getting a secondary education.

That was the message during Lake Tahoe Community College President Jeff DeFranco's first State of the College Address on Thursday.

More than a few people have asked me if I was frustrated by this last city council meeting and the 6.5 hour discussion regarding the revised VHR (Vacation Home Rental) ordinance. I thought the City Manager's introduction on why we were looking at a revised ordinance and the staff presentation on the revisions were excellent and on point. At first I was a little confused about some of the council questions of staff but reminded myself that the VHR sub-committee made up of Mayor Pro Tem David and myself have been living, sleeping and eating the VHR issue for over two years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two topics that fills the City Council chambers: Marijuana and Vacation Home Rentals (VHR). Interested residents and other stakeholders in the City's proposed changes to the VHR ordinance not only filled chambers, but filled seats surrounding televisions in the lobby where the proceedings were aired.

After almost six hours of presentation and conversation, the City Council voted to bring back the new ordinance in one month on October 5.

"Our job is to make a decision, not continuing to kick the can down the road," said SLT Mayor Austin Sass.

The Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) will be hosting the next installment in the Tahoe Town Hall series on August 30 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Tahoe Beach Retreat Conference Center at 3411 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The event, Tahoe Town Hall: Addressing Homelessness, is free to the public, and will feature a panel of experts to discuss the homelessness issue in South Lake Tahoe.

It's back to the drawing board for the Douglas County School District (DCSD) Board of Trustees after they officially decided to not give Patrick Taylor and Lake Parkway LLC another extension in their effort to buy Kingsbury Middle School.

Citing no confidence in the buyer's ability to put a deal that can close together, the trustees voted unanimously to take the steps needed to put the old middle school back on the market.

"I think the School District made a poor decision today," Patrick Taylor of Lake Parkway LLC told South Tahoe Now. "They are very unrealistic."

The sale of Kingsbury Middle School to Lake Parkway LLC is still on, for now.

At a special meeting of the Douglas County School District Monday, the board voted unanimously to give the buyer until Monday, July 31 to come up with the rest of the $3.15 million purchase price for the middle school which has sat vacant since the 2008-09 school year.

With tree mortality issues so prevalent in the Sierra, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors today launched a Tree Removal Grant Program for low-income seniors.

“The tree mortality issues in our county remain very serious. We’re just happy to have this program available to assist private homeowners, especially our seniors with limited income, who have no other means to remove dead or dying trees from threatening damage to their homes,” said District IV Supervisor, Michael Ranalli.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In the works since 2002, construction has begun on a new housing development project underneath the gondola in South Lake Tahoe.

When the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted on a new Vacation Rental Ordinance in 2015 they also promised to hire a consultant to prepare a socioeconomic study on the impact vacation home rentals (VHRs) have on the community.

The results of the study were presented to the City Council and the public during a special meeting on Tuesday.

The Board of Directors and membership of St. Joseph Community Land Trust would like to thank Mike Bradford of Lakeside Inn, Jeff and Rosie Cowen, owners of Blue Angel Café, and Gabriela and Rafael Aguirre, proprietors of Margarita’s Mexican Café, for their generous donations of gift certificates to their charming eateries.

It isn't cheap to care for hundreds of wild birds and animals each year so Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is holding their annual membership drive. Funds raised go to medicine, housing, equipment and food for the injured and orphaned wildlife.

Memberships start at $35 and go up to $10,000, or more. Memberships account for 20 percent of the agency's budget. Click here for membership information.

During a special meeting of the Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees on Thursday, Russi Egan was hired as the college's new Vice President of Administrative Services.

Egan is currently the Vice President of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer at Palo Verde College in Blythe, Calif. She will begin her new job at LTCC on July 1.

The position has been vacant since Jeff DeFranco became the school's new Superintendent/President in January, 2017.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council is looking for three community members to take a spot on the Building & Housing Board of Appeals.

Those who apply need to reside within the Tahoe Basin portion of EI Dorado County.

Board members hear appeals regarding requirements of the City relating to the use, maintenance and change of occupancy of buildings and structures, including requirements governing alteration, additions, repair, demolition and moving. In addition, they hear appeals relating to new building construction and appeals relating to existing buildings.

It's been a decade in the planning, with a long permitting and environmental process broken up by a lawsuit, but Sierra Colina is finally on the last lap of becoming a new housing project on the South Shore.

The 18-acre parcel in-between Lake Village and Sushi Pier will have 44 single-family homes and side-by-side townhouses ranging in sizes from just under 2,200 sq. ft. to 2,900 sq ft. They will be three- and four-bedroom homes to meet the different needs of the buyer according to Brian Helm, of Paradigm8 Partners, the developers of the project.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) honored four people with Lake Spirit Awards Wednesday who have shown exceptional commitment to protecting Lake Tahoe and fostering a spirit of collaboration in their work and volunteer time.

This year’s award winners do everything from helping protect Lake Tahoe communities from wildfire and aquatic invasive species to promoting alternative transportation and sustainable lifestyles.

Several hundred new affordable housing options will be created if the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project goes in at South Lake Tahoe. Where they may be, and the release of environmental analysis documents will be announced during the next Tahoe Transportation District's (TTD) meeting on the plan Monday, April 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

South Lake Tahoe resident, and Tahoe Prosperity Center DEO Heidi Hill Drum was awarded Citizen of the Year by the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, Chamber, Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hill was given the honor during the 63rd annual Community Awards Banquet on April 6.

“I was very surprised and I am grateful to be recognized, but I am just the messenger," Heidi noted at the ceremony accepting the award. "Our dedicated Board of Directors and staff are just as deserving of the honor recognizing the importance of our work in the region.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. – Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless hosted over 100 people at the second South Lake Tahoe Warm Room Open House event on February 22, 2017. We were proud to honor City Councilwoman Wendy David for her participation in the establishment of the Warm Room. David was facilitator of the Lake Tahoe Collaborative when a committee was established to create a vision and a plan for the Warm Room. Her support through nonprofit collaboration and in her role at the City of South Lake Tahoe has been greatly appreciated by all at TCH who have had the honor to work with her.