Vacation rentals again on South Lake Tahoe City Council agenda

Renting a home while on vacation is the trend in many tourist destinations, not only in Lake Tahoe, but across the globe. This new way of vacationing has not come without issues so many towns are creating ordinances or, like in Anaheim and other cities, banning them.

There is a Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Ordinance in South Lake Tahoe, and there has been for a number of years. The City Council worked with stakeholders in 2015-16 to come up with the most recent ordinance which took effect October 1, 2015.

When that ordinance was approved the City promised to get a socio-economic study completed by an outside agency/company and that was released in June, 2017.

The rules in the 2015 ordinance clearly defined compliance, and homeowners wanting to rent them home out for periods of less than 30 days had to meet the criteria in order to be permitted. This included paved driveways, quiet hours and home inspections, among others including a hearing in front of the Zoning Administrator (ZA). The ZA would listen to neighbors, vacation home management companies and home owners, and either put stipulations on permits, or deny or approve them.

After hearing continued complaints of traffic, noise, trash and a change in the make up of a neighborhood, the South Lake Tahoe City Council created a subcommittee made up of neighbors of VHRs, the public, members of the real estate community, VHR management companies and City staff. They were tasked with figuring out how many VHRs should be allowed in any neighborhood, introducing new code enforcement strategies, minimizing economic impacts to the local tourism economy, creating certainty for homeowners that the home they are buying could be (or not be) a vacation rental, and how much penalties should be.

During Tuesday, Sept. 5's City Council meeting, the subject of VHRs is on the agenda. The results of the committee with be presented to the Council with a range of options that would change current operations.

Some of the proposed changes: Permits will not be issued if a home is within 250 feet of an existing VHR (condos excluded from this), put in a cap of 1,500 permits in the City limits and homes for rent must be at least 1,100 sq. feet in size.

The committee wants to add to the code that the residential character of a neighborhood must be maintained and preserved by the vacation rental, bear box requirements for trash and the home shall not be detrimental to the health, welfare and safety of residents in the neighborhood.

After the meeting, the Council could suggest another workshop on the subject, propose new alternatives, modify the subcommittee's recommendations or adopt a new ordinance.

The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall which is located at the Lake Tahoe Airport.