Public open house to discuss South Lake Tahoe Housing Plan

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In Lake Tahoe, only 21 percent of the residents can afford the median home price and 3,290 new homes are needed by in the next six years to meet local demand for housing, according to a study funded by the Tahoe Prosperity Center.

Join the conversation about a Housing Action Plan in South Lake Tahoe and around the whole South Shore at an open house put on by the Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at the Lake Tahoe Airport. Three will be two drop-in sessions, one from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and a second from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Both will contain the same information.

There are a lot of key trends contributing to the housing gap according to the draft plan:

- Since 2000, year-round households have been decreasing. Resident-occupied homes are now 46 percent of the housing stock, the rest being vacant and second-home owners. During the recession when job loss on the South Shore was high, many sold their homes and where those were bought up by a population that could afford it...those living out of the area.

- There is an aging population on the South Shore with 43 percent now being ages 65 and older. They aren't selling and moving to a different town, but staying at a greater rate than before.

- Of the 825 homes built since 2010, over 75 percent have a value over $550,000, 23 percent are locally owned, and 48 are low-income rentals at The Aspens.

- There has been a growing number of units out of commission. 4 percent of renters moved due to poor condition/irreparable homes, six families were displaced due to condemnation, a 155-unit mobile home park was replaced by a resort community, 15 percent of renters had to move due to owners selling the property, and 10 percent had to move (625) due to home becoming a vacation rental.

- Incomes don't match homes available. A household income of $133,800 is needed to buy the median home price, $111,420 to buy the median condo/townhome. The average wage on the South Shore is $41,825 (median household income is $68,000).

Topics included on Tuesday will be incentives, funding, regulations, partnerships, preservation, and programs. Drop-in anytime during either session to provide your thoughts on the top priorities for ways to increase local resident housing.

Help refine ways to create homes on the South Shore that local residents and employees can afford. This is the second workshop TPC has hosted since November and they are in the second phase of creating the plan. Information will continue to be gathered and a third community open house will be held in March, prior to the final plan being created and released.