Planning Commisson set to vote on conversion of old storage units to tourist accomodation units

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Planning Commission has an item on their agenda Thursday that will discuss an application for a special use permit and design review proposing to convert an existing 3,300 square foot commercial building to four tourist accommodation units that would be named Camp Tallac.

The 14,810 square foot property at 839 Tallac Avenue in the Al Tahoe neighborhood has been used commercially for years and has an aging storage unit business along the road.

Owners are not seeking to make it a vacation home rental, which is not allowed, but instead four units that would be a hotel, motel residential design use. Each unit would include a kitchen.

The agenda says: "The proposed project is located within the high-density residential land use designation of the City General Plan. The high-density land use designation provides for high-density single-family and multi-family dwellings. This designation is applied to areas that are currently developed as multi-family and areas near commercial, employment, transit, and public services. Although this high-density district is primarily residential uses, the PAS 099, Special Area #1 does recognize that there are legal existing tourist accommodation uses in the district. Thus, the PAS (Plan Area Statement) 099, Special Area #1, allows for tourist accommodation uses, provided that the Planning Commission grants a special use permit.

The old storage unit is currently a legal non-conforming use that isn't currently allowed but since established before the PAS it can be replaced with a conforming use. PAS 099, Special Area #1 permits hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast facilities with the granting of a special use permit. A home on the property would be used for an on-site property manager

If the special use permit is approved, the property owner would then have to go to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) to convert the commercial floor area to tourist accommodation. TRPA cannot approve the project without the special use permit approval.

There have already been some emails and phone calls received by the City's planning department, voicing concern for the change of use in the neighborhood. As required, the City sent out notices of the meeting to surrounding homeowners.

The meeting starts at 3:00 p.m. on May 13. The agenda can be found here.

To participate, follow the instructions on the agenda. The meeting can be viewed on Channel 21 or on the agenda webpage (HERE).