SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As is always the case when vacation home rentals (VHRs) are discussed in South Lake Tahoe City Council meetings, the March 10 meeting brought passionate comments from all sides of the issue for a few hours.

The new ordinance updates were approved 3-2, with Mayor Cody Bass and Councilmember Scott Robbins opposing. Mayor Pro Tem Keith Roberts and councilmembers Heather Horgan and David Jinkens voted for the following updates to the ordinance:

  • The 150-foot buffer is removed and replaced with a cap of no more than 900 VHR permits in residential areas.
  • To complement the cap, a waitlist is established when the cap is reached.
  • A minimum age of 25 is established to rent a VHR.
  • Attached condominiums are allowed to get VHR permits unless the applicable homeowners’ association rules prohibit VHRs (apartments do not fall into this category).
  • Requires advertising platforms to include “family-friendly” language for VHRs in residential areas.
  • Appeals of permit denials go to an independent hearing officer instead of the Planning Commission.
  • Commercial and recreational areas are regulated with rules applicable to the Tourist Core Area Plan.
  • Room night reporting is required.
  • The prohibition on permit transfers is clarified to match existing practice, where a permit may be transferred into a family trust in which an owner is a trustee for estate planning purposes.
  • The preferred application period provision has been deleted as that period has closed.

The ordinance will come back for a second reading at the council’s March 24 meeting, with it going into effect 30 days later.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmember David Jinkens provided this comment:

This will of course be the energetic conversation and debate on the first reading.  After the court ruling throwing out Measure T, the city council held several hearings and ultimately made serious changes in the way vacation rentals are handled and managed. The city council compromised on the matter and placed protections in place (enforcement, rules of conduct, reduction of the number of units, fee increases, strict permitting requirements, strong penalties and fines, and increased police staffing to manage the system etc.) Residents need to understand that there is no more pre–Measure T VHR ordinance in place because after the Measure was declared illegal, the City Council made amendments to it to strengthen protections for neighbors and establish rules of conduct that will be fairly but strictly enforced. Repeat violators will have their VHR permits revoked.

Horgan said she appreciated all of the comments on the issue during the meeting and said she wished “we could all have everything we want.”  She said the ordinance can be fine-tuned further if deemed necessary for a successful outcome.

After Measure T was overturned in court in 2025, a new ordinance was created to handle new applications. The 2018 measure fully banned short-term rentals in residential areas in 2021. The court ruled Measure T was unconstitutional due to a provision favoring local resident owners over non-residents. This is still making its way through the court system, though changes in the court decision are not obviously likely.

Bass said he wanted to wait for any decisions until the appellate court makes a final judgment, but that is an unknown on timing or resolution, and the three councilmembers who approved the ordinance didn’t want to continue pushing its passing down the road.

Under the 2025 ordinance, 382 permits have been issued in the residential areas, with 291 applications denied, mainly due to the previous 150-foot buffer between permitted homes.

Robbins said he will always be a no on VHRs.

Tourist Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenues grew a little during the four-year ban on VHRs in neighborhoods due to a few reasons, including their availability in the Tourist Core and growing room prices at hotels. Increases occurred post-pandemic when people started traveling again, but the average daily room rate (ADR) increased and room nights booked trended down for the three years before a gain was finally experienced in 2025, according to Roberts.