Planning Commission approves new boutique lodging property in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Planning Commission on Thursday narrowly passed the special use permit and design review for a tourist accommodation project for 839 Tallac Avenue.

A long list of neighbors called into the meeting and wrote letters to share their disapproval of the project which will be called Camp Tallac. It will replace an aging and "dilapidated" 3,300 square foot 16-unit storage business with a compound including a four-unit motel and on-site lodging for a manager.

The owners of the property, Steve and Deborah Barton, said they want to create a spot for visitors to create memories and fall in love with Lake Tahoe just as they have. They also own several other long-term rental units in South Lake Tahoe with long-standing tenants and said they couldn't make it work out financially to add apartments to the Tallac Avenue property.

"This is meant as an enhancement to the area, not a detriment," said a representative of the Bartons during the meeting.

Planning Commissioner Doug Williams said it would be about $2,200 a month for a one-bedroom just to break even on four units due to today's building costs, something that isn't going to solve affordable housing in town.

Another barrier to building multi-family units was the parking situation. When they started working on the project two years ago, two parking spaces were required per unit, something that could not fit on the 14,810 square foot property (that has since changed to one-per-unit). Short-term use with Camp Tallac requires just one parking space for each unit. All parking will be self-contained and within the fence and not on the street.

"It is quite different now than when we first started," said Steve of the building costs for a multi-family unit. "We don’t want to impact or change Tahoe, we love Tahoe."

The old storage unit is currently a legal non-conforming use that isn't currently allowed but since established before the Plan Area Statement (PAS) it can be replaced with a conforming use. PAS 099, Special Area #1 (which covers that area of the Al Tahoe Neighborhood) and permits hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast facilities with the granting of a special use permit.

"With this, we want to share Tahoe in a safe environment," said Steve Barton. "We want to make a legacy property other families can enjoy."

The Bartons own an adjoining property with a house and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). They said those will be long-term rented out once ADUs are approved in Lake Tahoe as a housing use.

Measure T, the citizen-supported measure to ban vacation home rentals in the non-tourist core areas, bans short-term rentals and they will not exist after a homeowner's permit expires in 2021. The Measure doesn't cover the Tallac property since it only affects residential uses, and this property is commercial use.

Many of those with calls and letters into the meeting against the project are members of the Tahoe Neighborhood Group, the group that started Measure T. They raised several objections to the project, stating the project was not a desirable use of property in the Al Tahoe neighborhood and would bring traffic on an already over-used street. Some were concerned with the staff report stating Camp Tallac is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

When asked if they didn't get the needed special permit for Camp Tallac, the Bartons said they'd leave the property as-is.

With the approval of the special use permit, the owners can now go to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to convert the existing commercial floor area to tourist accommodation units.

The Planning Commissioners voted three in favor (Williams, Mason Hibbard, Kili Rahbeck) and two against (Gavin Feiger and Natalia Wieczorek).