For anyone considering real estate in South Lake Tahoe, there has been a lot going on surrounding vacation rental permits. In the last few months there have been many changes regarding the proposed vacation rental ordinances and on June 16th the city had a meeting where anyone could voice their opinion about said changes. The day after the meeting this message was released from the South Tahoe Association of Realtors:
RECAP of June 16, 2015 City Council Hearing – On Establishing a Discretionary Permit Process for Vacation Rental Permits
Yesterday, the city council heard testimony from twenty-seven (27) members of the public that ranged from REALTORS®, property managers, business owners (contractors, and restaurant owners) and residents, on possible new local requirements on VHR’s. At issue was to consider adoption of a new discretionary public permit process and the establishment of new restrictive standards for VHR’s. For example, one of the proposals was to give the Zoning Administrator a vast array of new code requirements on VHR’s including building code upgrades and changing existing city requirements that would solely apply to one or more VHR’s.
Council member Wendy David successfully argued that the council should appoint a subcommittee comprised of two city council members and a small number of stakeholders from the community. The subcommittee would be tasked to work on remaining issues and the find solutions. Council Member David also observed the need for the recently approved VHR ordinances to be implemented – particularly enforcement. In the end she convinced her fellow members of the council that there was a “lot more work (to be done).” She hit the nail on the head when she closed her argument by stating Lake “Tahoe is a vacation community.”
WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED
As a result of the outreach to the business community who called, emailed and talked with the city & who also attended the city council hearing, the council modified its direction on VHRs. Your voice was heard!
VHR’s are a vital issue for REALTORS®, businesses and our community. This issue highlighted how we advocate for and personally invest in our community.
The redirection of the council would not have been possible without REALTOR® dedication and involvement.
THE FUTURE
While council members came to consensus to take ADA (a big change in the direction of the council!) off the table, there are still items that remain. Those issues include:
- Requiring annual inspections based on the latest Uniform Building Code standards (UBC);
- Imposing prohibitively high costs involved in the public hearing review process;
- Ability of the city zoning administrator to impose any condition he or she chooses including prohibiting additional vehicular travel and imposing new architectural standards on existing housing;
- We simply don’t know where the City will go regarding conditions that it may impose on VHR’s; and
- Until these and other matters are resolved, uncertainty for all buyers and sellers may be at issue, home improvement contractors, and all other business owners that provide goods and services to the tourism industry may financially suffer.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
We will request to have a seat at the table for the new city council subcommittee.
We will continue to provide important updates to our membership.
THANK YOU
Thank you, thank you, thank you – once again – for all of the time and effort that all of you have put into responding to our Red Alerts and Calls to Action. Together we can continue to make a difference.
To stay up to date with the most current information please check out the city’s website at http://www.cityofslt.us/ as well as http://www.keeptahoevacationrentals.com/.
