SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Whenever vacation home rentals (VHRs) are discussed at South Lake Tahoe City Council meetings, one can assume the debate will be lengthy. Tuesday night was no different as the council went past its own 10 p.m. deadline, and ended the meeting near 11 p.m.

After a judge overturned Measure T, the discussions began on what a new ordinance on VHRs would look like – Would it change? Would it remain the same as the 2017 version? Would it slowly be rolled out?

Several people spoke during public comment on the agenda item, and they were from all sides of the issue, from those in the industry, homeowners, and those against having VHRs in their neighborhoods.

Mayor Tamara Wallace made a motion to make the following amendments:

Do not limit permits in certain areas

Have no buffer, but 900 maximum permits outside the tourist core

Ban in multi-family units outside the tourist core and commercial area. (The previous ordinance did allow them, but only in effect before 2015, and they were being phased out through attrition)

Have a 24/7 property manager response

Ensure all fees achieve complete cost recovery of the program

Allow preference to previous VHR and QVHR permit holders in good standing

Give the permitting tasks to the police department

150 permits issued per month

Planning Commission ruling on revocation of permits is final

Two people per bedroom plus 2

Require cameras on parking and trash

A sound decibel reader is needed

All defensible space done

If a home is sold, the owner must wait two years before applying for a VHR permit to preserve existing housing

The motion passed 3-2, with Cody Bass and Scott Robbins voting against it. Staff will bring back an ordinance based on what was outlined in the motion for a first reading at the council’s May 6 meeting.

Bass said he couldn’t support the motion as it puts the City fight back to what caused the issues that led to the voter-initiated Measure T. Wallace amended her motion to help a little with his concerns, with making a 900 permit cap instead of 1,400, and adding the two-year waiting period on home sales. Bass said he is worried investors may come in and start buying.

Of the nearly 1,400 permits eliminated with Measure T, almost half of the homes were sold in the last two years.

Bass said they need to be mindful, find middle ground, and know the council can come back later and adjust the ordinance. He and Robbins wanted a buffer zone and said they could loosen that up, but once the floodgates are open, it will be nearly impossible to go back. They both stressed the council was in a unique situation with a clean slate, and they could monitor effects and avoid future litigation if they were mindful now.

Robbins said they needed to roll out the new ordinance slowly and carefully, and could change the steps more easily.

Wallace said the situation that led to the measure had more to do with bad actors than clustering of VHRs in neighborhoods, and didn’t want to add a buffer zone. She said giving the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) the tools they need to enforce it, the ordinance will work.

Permits could be issued by June 20 if the ordinance is approved in first reading on May 6. The second reading would be May 20. The current moratorium on the VHR program goes through May 15. City Attorney Heather Stroud said staff is proposing an extension of the moratorium until June 20, 2025, to allow for the proposed ordinance to become effective.

“I want to do what’s right for all the people in the community,” said Wallace.