City asks for public input on draft Shared Rental Ordianace for South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With a changing vacation home rental (VHR) landscape in the City of South Lake Tahoe, those wishing to rent their homes may be turning to "shared rentals."

There currently is no ordinance that covers shared rentals as the current VHR ordinance addresses the rental of an entire dwelling for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days, Shared rentals deal with renting less that the entire dwelling on a short-term basis.

Since 2003, the City has regulated Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs) through an ordinance that has been periodically amended to address health, safety, and welfare concerns. This amendments have included enhanced code enforcement provisions, detailed regulations regarding trash, noise, and occupancy, the imposition of a cap on the total number of VHRs outside the Tourist Core Area Plan, and a revocation process where substantial violations of the City Code have occurred.

To date, shared rentals are permitted by obtaining a business license and are required to pay transient occupancy tax. Due to the increase in demand for shared rentals, and their potential impacts on neighborhoods, there is a need to regulate and monitor shared vacation rentals.

With voters banning VHRS in the city limits by the end of 2021 (though that matter is currently tied up in the courts), it is expected shared used rentals will grown. Recently, City Council reviewed draft regulations from multiple jurisdictions and provided feedback and direction to staff for a draft Ordinance regulating Shared Rentals.

Click for a link to the June 9, 2020, City Council Meeting.

The City is asking for comments from the public on the new ordinance by August 21, 2020, to allow enough time for staff to consider all comments prior to September's Planning Commission meeting.

For more information or to submit comments please email sharedrentals@cityofslt.us or call Courtney Weiche, Assistant Planner, at 530-542-6022.

You can also submit comments online by filling out this form.

The Draft Shared Rental Regulations:

6.55.295 Hosted rentals
A. Purpose.
The purpose of this section is to establish reasonable standards for the use of dwellings as hosted rentals to preserve neighborhood character and quality of life by avoiding adverse effects on the surrounding neighborhood by limiting the scope, size, intensity, and nonresidential traffic from hosted rentals.

B. Definitions.
For the purposes of this section, the following terms, phrases and words shall have the meanings hereinafter set forth:
“Accessory dwelling unit” means an attached or detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary residence, and includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation on the same parcel as the primary dwelling.
“Director” means the Director of the Development Services Department.
“Dwelling” means a building, or portion thereof, designed exclusively for residential purposes, including single-family and multifamily dwellings, condominiums, and timeshares but not including hotels, motels, boardinghouses and lodging houses.
“Homeowner” means the natural person or persons or personal or family trust consisting solely of natural persons that owns a dwelling. Business entities are excluded from the definition of “homeowner.”
“Hosted rental” means an activity whereby the owner hosts a visitor or visitors in the homeowner’s home, for compensation, for a period of 30 or less consecutive calendar days, while the homeowner lives on-site in the home throughout the visitor’s or visitors’ stay. Neither vacation home rentals as defined in section 3.50.370 of this code nor bed and breakfast facilities where bedrooms are rented for overnight lodging and at least one meal daily is provided are “hosted rentals.”
“Multifamily dwelling” has the same meaning as set forth in section 3.50.370 of this code.

C. Permit required.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, maintain, or advertise a hosted rental without a permit issued under this section. Hosted rental permits are issued for a specific dwelling and are not transferable between owners or dwellings. Hosted rental permits are valid for one year after issuance.

D. Application requirements.
A homeowner applying for an annual hosted rental permit shall submit an application to the director containing, at a minimum, the following:
1. Homeowner(s) name(s), mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
2. Address and assessor’s parcel number of dwelling proposed to be used as hosted rental.
3. Homeowner’s property tax exemption or other documentation to verify that hosted rental dwelling is primary residence of homeowner(s).
4. Total number of bedrooms in dwelling and number of bedrooms to be used for hosted rental.
5. Number of off-street paved parking spaces on property.
6. Names of all advertising platforms to be used to advertise hosted rental.
7. Agreement to comply with the performance standards in this section.
8. Application fee in an amount set forth by resolution of the city council.
9. Applications to renew a hosted rental permit shall be submitted prior to the expiration of the existing hosted rental permit. If a timely renewal application is filed, the hosted rental permit shall not expire until the director approves or denies the renewal application. If a timely renewal application is not filed, the hosted rental permit shall expire one year from the date it was issued and shall be considered null and void. The city does not have a duty to provide notice to the homeowner of a forthcoming hosted rental permit expiration date.

E. Permitted structures.
1. Homeowner must reside in the same dwelling as the hosted rental.
2. Hosted rentals are not permitted in multifamily dwellings, accessory dwelling units, or timeshares.
3. Camping and sleeping in tents, travel trailers, campers, or recreational vehicles is not permitted at the hosted rental property.
4. Bedrooms shall meet minimum size and other requirements as defined in the building code.
5. All applicable building and fire codes shall be met.

F. Performance standards.
Hosted rentals shall comply with all of the following standards:
1. At all times when a hosted rental is occurring, the homeowner shall be within a fifteen-minute drive of the property. The homeowner listed on the application shall stay overnight at the dwelling while it is being used as a hosted rental, and shall be available by telephone at all times when a hosted rental is occurring to respond to complaints regarding the hosted rental.
2. Homeowner may only enter into a hosted rental contract with one party at a time.
3. Homeowners shall include the hosted rental permit number on all advertisements and shall not advertise that the entire home is available for rent.
4. The maximum number of guests allowed in a hosted rental shall not exceed two people per hosted bedroom, and shall not exceed six total guests. Rental to unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 is prohibited.
5. Limit of one vehicle associated with the hosted rental use. One paved off-street parking space shall be dedicated for use by hosted rental guests.
6. Outdoor amplified sound is prohibited. Quiet hours shall be from 10:00pm to 8:00am. Use of outdoor spas and hot tubs is prohibited during quiet hours.
7. Events such as weddings and receptions are prohibited.
8. Homeowner shall remain current on all required transient occupancy tax payments.
9. Homeowner shall maintain records of every night for which hosted rental is rented, including the name and contact information of the guest signing each rental contract and the number of occupants under each rental contract for a period of three years, and shall to provide such records to the city within 15 business days of receiving a written request.
10. Homeowner must meet guests in person at check-in to go over these performance standards.
11. These performance standards shall be included in the hosted rental agreement and posted inside the hosted rental in a location readily visible to all guests.

G. Revocation of permit.
1. A hosted rental permit may be revoked by the director if he or she concludes any of the following:
a. Homeowner has submitted false or misleading information in the application.
b. There has been a violation of any of the requirements or performance standards in this section.
c. The hosted rental has not made transient occupancy tax payments to the city in full by the date they are due.
2. A homeowner whose hosted rental permit has been revoked may not apply for a new hosted rental permit for one year from the effective date of the revocation.

H. Appeal.
A homeowner may appeal the director’s decision to deny, not renew, or revoke a hosted rental permit to the Planning Commission under the administrative appeal procedures in chapter 2.35 of this code.