South Lake Tahoe City Council approves rise in VHR violation fees

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a vote of 4-1, the City Council voted Tuesday to raise the range of fines for VHR citations from $250-$1,000 to $1,500-$5,000.

The agenda item said, "The intent of increasing the fines, however, is
not to increase revenue, but to discourage and penalize violations, so the hope is that the number of citations issued will decrease with the increased fines."

During their November 2023 presentation to the city council, code enforcement staff said they had 145 total citations to VHRs, all for operating a VHR without a permit. Since the implementation of Measure T and VHRs were phased out of residential zones, the staff has received few complaints and issued few citations for nuisance-type violations such as noise, parking, and hot tub issues. Most of the enforcement is now focused on unpermitted VHRs.

Senate Bill 60 authorizes local jurisdictions to establish fines for violations of an ordinance relating to short-term rentals that are
infractions and pose a threat to health or safety. The Council's resolution to increase fines states all violations of the VHR ordinance pose a threat to health or safety and are a public nuisance.

Future fees for all violations:

First occurrence - $1,500
Second occurrence within year - $3,000
Subsequent occurrence within year - $5,000

Councilmember Wallace was the lone dissent. She said she thought they were trying to solve something that wasn't a big problem.