South Lake Tahoe housing forum brings out passionate crowd

It was an overflowing crowd at the Tahoe Beach Retreat on Wednesday evening at the housing forum hosted by the Tahoe Regional Young Professionals. A well informed panel of experts in the field of affordable housing answered a slew of questions from both the in-house crowd, and those able to ask from home via a live-stream telecast.

What was evident after two hours of discussion is that there is no one single answer to the issue of affordable housing and it will take much more than a wave of a magic wand to bring about a solution.

The panel of five experts in the fields of housing, planning and issues around the lake were Heidi Hill Drum, Executive Director of the Tahoe Prosperity Center, Sara Schrichte of the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, City Manager Nancy Kerry of the City of South Lake Tahoe, Nick Haven of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Mark Irving of Urban Housing Communities and Susan Simon, of Simon Planning.

Moderator Jena Palacio took the gathered group through what affordable housing is and is not. Affordable housing is not motel rooms, old, out-of-code cabins, dilapidated trailers, even though these types of dwellings are where many people in the region reside.

According to HUD, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the definition of affordable housing is: In general, housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities.

"What is affordable?" asked Irving. "It's a different answer to everyone."

When asked why the Tahoe region has a housing crisis, Schrichte said there are not enough housing units, some owners hold the house for their own vacation uses, lower income and increasing costs to build. The Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation recently completed a 400-age regional housing study (seen here) that shows a slightly declining population that works predominately in the fields of accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and construction, much like other communities around the lake. Those jobs tend to be more seasonal and lower paying. A large part of the region's housing stock is over 30-years old, also like other communities around the lake.

The Foundation's study now has a baseline on which they can measure future findings and gives them create a plan and solutions for the area's problems.

Another report was completed by the Tahoe Prosperity Center as well, one that measured the prosperity of the Tahoe Basin. Even with a predominance in seasonal employment, Drum said the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the region, one that brings in higher paying jobs and the ability to pay more for housing.

"I'm thrilled, and thank you TRYP for bringing this issue to the public," said Sue Novasel, El Dorado County Supervisor, who was in the audience. "Every day I hear about the need for affordable housing. Local government needs to work together."

With the Lake Tahoe region a desirable place to live, work and play, the laws of supply and demand will always rule, and that won't change. With no large scale developments, and most builders creating just one home at a time, the government isn't able to require allotments of low-income housing to be built as part of the project.

"Low-income properties have to be funded by the government, which means the people fund it," said Kerry. The City was able to have 455 affordable housing units created within the city limits as part of grants from redevelopment agencies (RDAs) which have since been dissolved. Projects built for low income residents are able to receive take breaks and funding, and it can still happen without RDAs though its a very competitive process.

The topic of housing in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and specifically South Lake Tahoe, is a big one, and one that has many facets and challenges. South Tahoe Now will be looking at these in the coming days:

A Lake Tahoe Housing Authority and Funding
What's Happening on the North Shore and Truckee
The Good That Can Come Out of the Loop Road Project
How to Make Affordable Housing Affordable
Programs to Help Low Income Home Buyers