Douglas County commissioners vote to keep VHRs, but direct staff to update areas of concern

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - After a marathon Douglas County Commissioner meeting at Lake Tahoe Thursday, the commissioners did not vote to ban vacation home rentals (VHRs) but they did give staff input on updating the current ordinance.

Commissioner Walt Nowosad made the motion to disband the VHR program and for staff to bring back an ordinance to eliminate them. It failed to get a second and therefore the VHRs remain.

Hours of public comment were offered from both sides of the emotional and contentious issue during the meeting held at the Hard Rock Tahoe. Complaints were about noise, traffic, trash, the density of the rentals, and the number of people at homes for parties and weddings, especially at the large homes. Those voicing support of VHRs spoke of the number of local jobs the rentals provide, the sales tax vacationers supply to the county, and the millions of dollars of collected transient occupancy tax (TOT) and fees the rentals provide to the County.

Currently, the maximum number of permits allows for VHRs is 600 and there are 542 permits issued. Since July the cost of permits for vacation homes has almost doubled (and in some cases more than doubled). Tier 1 rose from $350 to $590 for new permits and $250 to $475 for renewal; Tier 2 rose from $1,200 to $2,070 for new and $800 to $1540 renewal; and Tier 3 rose from $2,000 to $4,735 for new permits and $1800 to $4260 for renewals. Fire inspection fees of $200 per year are also added along with the addition of monitored smoke alarms. All fees have a four percent technology fee added.

Tier 1 homes are owner-occupied at all times when the unit is rented and have four or fewer occupants. Tier 2 are units with up to 10 occupants, and
Tier 3 are units with 11 occupants or more and which require a VHR
special use permit development application.

People on both sides of the issue want increased enforcement so the bad apples can be phased out with penalties and ultimate loss of permit. Currently, the code enforcement team is based in Minden and works a daytime shift Monday-Friday. There was input that hours move to include weekends and evenings when the noise and parking issues tend to increase. There was also a lot of support for a local contact on VHRs to be within 30 minutes, and they must be the property manager and not a maid without authority.

The County's Vacation Program Manager Ernie Strehlow and Community Development Director Tom Dellaire updated the commissioners on the VHR program. Strehlow has been on the job for four months and jumped into creating a robust program. He has done extensive studies on the Tahoe Township (Douglas County portion of Lake Tahoe) neighborhoods, uploading data into an app to create ratings on roads, parking, density, and streets. When VHRs come up for renewal, they use that data to aid in decisions. They created numerous maps and graphs detailing all information about rentals.

"We have been accomplishing a lot in the last two months," said Strehlow and looks forward to a robust program.

"Staff has done an excellent job with information they never had before," Commissioner John Engles said of Streholow's extension neighborhood reports.

A few of the public comments concerned a "goal post" that keeps moving. They asked for updated rules to take effect and have a chance to work.

"It is a win-win for all residents to let the department continue its progress," said Commissioner Wes Rice who lives in Round Hill. "Thank you for what you do," he told the VHR Advisory Board which has been in place since October 2021.

The commissioners gave the VHR Advisory Board information for them to take back to work out and create recommendations to tighten up the current ordinance with clear and concise rules and regulations.