South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates answer housing questions

There are eleven people vying for a spot on the city council in South Lake Tahoe. With only three open spots, it is not easy to narrow down the choices.

South Tahoe Now reached out to all 11 candidates and received replies on all questions from just seven of them. Each day this week their answers have been posted and today is the final day.

It will be different this election because of the crowded field. See the previous day's replies: Find photos and answers to question #1 here, Question #2 here, Question #3 here and Question4 here.)

Question #5: Housing is an issue across the country, not just SLT. Taking into mind property rights, zoning, and TRPA commodities, be specific on how you propose addressing the situation in our community.

David Jinkens: The city can and must address our share of the affordable housing shortage in the South Shore. County government and our friends in Nevada must do the same. We can’t solve all of their affordable housing. They need to help. In the city, we need to take a hard look at vacant and non-environmentally sensitive lands to see if they can support quality workforce housing. Large employers must also contribute to the solution by either providing housing for employees or helping their employees afford housing. Existing workforce housing in old motels should be preserved and upgraded using Federal and State funds and grants and loans and remain available to our workforce. Working people should not be kicked out of motels so that the motels can become homeless shelters or empty lots as the CTC proposed to do with Motel 6. I vigorously opposed the demolition of Motel 6 and fortunately it was saved. City government must also ensure that TRPA is working with and supporting our efforts to see that affordable housing is provided. Property rights must be respected even as we encourage private sector investment in affordable housing. I do not support imposing a tax on people’s homes who do not live here full time. They are already paying for water, sewer, garbage, and all other property taxes that help keep the cost of full-time residents down. Existing programs that encourage second homeowners to rent their houses to working families should continue and be supported. In the end, the focus of a housing policy must be to help existing residents of the City find quality affordable housing.

Finally, the City should be looking at how vacant commercial properties might be turned into housing for community members seeking quality affordable housing. The City has the authority to do this and State funding may be available under new legislation just signed into Law by the Governor.

Tamara Wallace: I can be specific because, while others have studied and talked, I have acted. These are the actions I have taken or fought for. I have pushed for all the agencies, from the Utility District to the Conservancy, El Dorado County, TRPA, and the City of South Lake Tahoe to lower their costs for commodities and in some cases actually provide land and the commodities they own at low or no cost to affordable and workforce housing projects. The lower the cost to build the lower the rents can be charged. We have applied for and received state and federal grants that have resulted in between 400-500 units breaking ground over the next year. We are not done yet! We need about 1,800 total low-cost rental units, in addition to market rate and moderately priced housing for purchase. To achieve this, we need to go all out on all fronts, from tiny houses, to converting old hotels, giving incentives to homeowners to rent out their empty homes, to allowing mixed-use residential/commercial projects. I am proud that I have had a part in making it happen. For instance, I was recently instrumental in getting the land at 3900 and 3908 Lake Tahoe Blvd dedicated for affordable housing. There will be up to 30 units built there. We are just getting started.

I believe that the good relationships I have developed with many state legislators in Sacramento and national legislators in Washington DC over the past two decades have resulted in doors being opened for Tahoe projects. I have learned how to get things done. But, we aren’t done yet. We have to keep fighting for each and every housing unit we can get. I will be out there with my sword and shield every day until the battle is won.

Chantelle Schenning: Having access to stable housing is a key determinant of an individual and communities health and well-being. It is not a singular issue and usually coincides with other factors such as high cost of living, lower income, and health. While I am excited about the Sugar Pine Village construction, there will not be enough units to solve the entire housing crisis and the completion date is many years away. We also need more immediate actions now. We also need strategies for diverse housing options. I'd like to work with community members struggling with housing to understand what would best meet their needs and gather more data to identify best solutions. Some actions that could be taken include rezoning, ADUs for local workers, big corporations contributing housing options for their employees and funding for housing others, adjust eligibility qualifications for Sugar Pine Village, repurposing distressed buildings and vacant homes, subsidized housing, better support and access to 1st time home buying programs, Federal/ State programs or grants, lowering taxes, programs for fire and emergency response personnel, and skills/ educational programs to help individuals achieve higher paying jobs in our community.

Joby Cefalu: Within the basin, and specifically South Lake Tahoe, housing is our biggest issue. Within the scope of the Council, we can take multiple steps to foster new development, as well as upgrades and additions to existing housing within the very complicated building process in the City. First, we need to look at the area plans, and where appropriate, find ways to increase densities and height limits to maximize the use of property. Some areas simply can’t be changed, while others we have a great deal of potential to incentivize affordable and workforce housing. The term “highest and best use” guides a developer in planning and building. If we can identify locations and planning to increase densities we have the ability for the development of housing rather than luxury homes and condos. In most cases, developers will choose the latter as it is the most profitable. Planning must have a CAN DO response and needs to streamline the process for upgrades and development that will benefit our local multi-cultural and lower-income residents to bring these projects from concept to completion in a much shorter period of time. TRPA must understand the need for affordable housing. It must look at both the commodities that are utilized in the building process and work with the City and County Building Departments to facilitate streamlining the process and finding locations where we can increase densities while still maintaining the delicate ecosystem of which we are so fortunate to live. As well, the State is offering grants and lending for this type of development. Collaboration between all is the only answer.

Nicole Ramirez Thomas: The housing crisis is decades in the making and therefore does not have a “magic bullet” solution. Time and money are what are needed to address the housing situation in any community, including South Lake Tahoe. Consistent with the Strategic Plan, a funding study to determine how to create a dedicated funding source for housing is underway. A complex variety of funding sources are necessary to support any type of housing construction or housing rehabilitation project. When using local, state, or federal funds for any housing project the pot of money for a project may be larger but the project may take more time. Streamlining housing options in South Lake Tahoe will require enhanced local funding options.

Currently, the construction of Sugar Pine Village is underway. It is the biggest affordable housing project to be constructed in the Basin. This was accomplished by a steady commitment from the City Council, city staff, other public agencies, and private and non-profit partners. This level of commitment will be necessary to be able to see success in creating more housing in South Lake Tahoe.

Scott Robbins - In the last twenty years, our community has increased the total number of housing units by 20%, but in that same time we’ve lost 10% of our local population and a staggering 36% of our school enrollment. Second homes which sit empty most of the year account for over 50 percent of all residential units in Tahoe, some 8000 mostly empty homes. We’ve built vacation homes, and lost locals and families. This is not a healthy path.

The city's own housing study has identified a shortfall of over 2000 units of affordable workforce housing. Yet the two premier actions the city has taken on this issue, the Sugar Pines housing project, and the Lending to Locals program have fallen vastly short of addressing the scale of this need. While both programs are a good step in the right direction, Lending to Locals has, to date, housed a total of 23 individual people. Sugar Pines has not yet broken ground, and only phase 1, with 64 housing units, has been fully funded. These small steps have simply not been enough - we need dramatic action on affordable housing.

We need to develop strong incentives to convert some of the 8000 mostly empty homes we already have. A vacancy tax, a fee charged to the owners of second homes that sit mostly empty, and which are not rented to local residents, is one way to do this. The city of Vancouver had a similar problem of vacant second homes (used as investments) and instituted a steep vacant property tax of 5%. As a result, 30% of their empty 2nd homes were converted into rentals. Just this year, the city of Oakland, here in California, started a similar fee, a flat annual rate of $6000 per empty second home. If we can replicate Vancouver’s success here in Tahoe, using the model developed in Oakland, we would add 2,400 new housing units to the local market virtually overnight, without needing massive, and extremely slow construction projects. It would also raise some $30M dollars annually, which would allow the city to aggressively purchase the derelict motels along highway 50 and renovate them into modern affordable workforce housing.

This problem is only getting worse, and we need a local government that is willing to act with courage and urgency that meets the scale of this crisis.

Kevin Brunner - As I mentioned during the past four days, I think there is a possibility of working with existing buildings here in Tahoe. What about the small cabins that have been empty for decades, who owns them? Could the city locate these folks and engage them in renting to locals? Could we use properties like the defaulted motel in the middle of town, get a grant or encourage a developer to rebuild/renovate into family units? We have so many resources at our disposal, I’d like to see a task force to specifically dive deeper into making these things happen.

Here are the websites and contact information for each of the seven candidates who answered the questions above (in alphabetical order):

Kevin Brunner - mrbrunner1212.wixsite.com/kevinbrunner4sltcity, kevinbrunner1991@gmail.com
Joby Cefalu - voteforjoby.com, jobycef@gmail.com
David Jinkens - www.david4slt.com, djinkens4council2022@gmail.com
Nicole Ramirez Thomas - nicoleforcouncil.com, nicole@nicoleforcouncil.com
Scott Robbins - www.scottforslt.com, scott@scottforslt.com
Chantelle Schenning - chantelle4citycouncil.com, chantelle4citycouncil@gmail.com
Tamara Wallace - www.facebook.com/wallace4sltcitycouncil/, wallace4sltcitycouncil@gmail.com