EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – For the last several months, El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine has coordinated a 13-member advisory group of locals to evaluate the current Vacation Home Rental (VHR) situation and find solutions for any problems that have occurred since its implementation. All viewpoints on VHRs were represented on the advisory group, including those against and for VHRs, and those in the industry.

The Supervisors met in South Lake Tahoe for its weekly meeting on Tuesday, with VHRs one of the Tahoe Basin-focused agenda items.

The County’s Deputy Director of Planning Brendan Ferry led the presentation that was followed by several members of the public speaking both for and against the current ordinance.

There are currently 804 active VHR permits in the unincorporated area of the county in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The West Slope has 142 active permits. There are 104 total hosted rentals county-wide, and 219 people on the wait list, with 204 in the Tahoe Basin.

Ferry laid out six recommendations for the supervisors to incorporate into an updated VHR ordinance:

1. Reduce the cap from 900 permits to 600.
2. Modify hosted rental requirements like requiring a permit.
3. Create a dedicated VHR enforcement unit.
4. Develop a centrally managed complaint tracking and response system.
5. Enhance illegal rental enforcement.
6. Strengthen compliance standards for parking, noise, parking, trash, etc.

There is currently a clustering portion of the ordinance along with the cap. Some thought a 500-foot distance in between VHRs was enough, but it was proposed to keep both the 500-foot rule and a reduction in permits in the Tahoe Basin. With 804 permits issued against the 900 cap, not all available permits have been issued. Staff said the West Slope is seeing an increase in permits issued while the Tahoe Basin is seeing a decrease.

Two-thirds of the current hosted rental permits are on the West Slope. Staff knows there are people not playing by the rules on hosted rentals which are only to be rented when the owner is in residence. Staff will work on verbiage on the rentals for the updated ordinance which will come back to the supervisors for a vote this summer.

There is a new enforcement team for Lake Tahoe. The supervisor has been working with Placer County on their program and has brought his expertise to Tahoe. He has two team members who dedicate their time only in the Tahoe Basin, something that hadn’t been done. More enforcement of the rules is the common complaint, and a new team along with new software that helps immediate response and tracking will be key to success. They are paid for by the transient occupancy tax (TOT) generated by VHRs.

The supervisors thanked Laine and the advisory committee for their hours of dedication to working on the updates.

“They worked through tough issues,” said Ferry.

For the full committee report, visit https://southtahoenow.com/story/05/13/2024/el-dorado-county-supervisors-meeting-south-lake-tahoe-tuesday and https://eldorado.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6661741&GUID=2423A730-AD32-4FD8-BC98-64D1060286AF.