South Lake Tahoe resident asks City to ban street parking on Regina Road

Noel Farmer, a South Lake Tahoe resident, has been a vocal opponent to Vacation Home Rentals (VHRs) in his Heavenly Valley neighborhood. Farmer is present at City Council and Planning Commission meetings, as well as Zoning Administrator meetings when the topic is VHRs.

During this Tuesday's meeting at the airport, the City Council members will discuss Farmer's petition to ban street parking on the dead-end street where he lives, Regina Road, in the 3600 and 3700 blocks.

On August 25, Farmer asked the Council to establish a "No Parking" zone, and since then, City staff has both surveyed and met with the residents, as well received emails from the street's residents on the subject. They sent out 62 letters to property owners and received 15 back. Of those 15, eight are in favor of no parking on their street, while seven are not. Of those 15, four rent their homes out as VHRs and 11 do not.

Farmer's documented complaints center around an unsafe street, one he says isn't wide enough for emergency personnel to access in case of an emergency if cars are parked on the sides of it.

"No parking will ensure our residents' safety and peace of mind," Farmer said in a letter to SLT City Manager Nancy Kerry. "Emergency vehicles will have guaranteed access. VHR properties will have to abide by their permitted number of allowed on site vehicles, reducing the parking complaints that affect their permit status."

City Code says the city traffic engineer is authorized to place sign or markings indicating no parking upon any street when the width of the roadway does not exceed 20 feet, or upon one side of a street as indicated by such signs or markings when the width of the roadway does not exceed 30 feet.

Regina Road at its widest is 33-feet where it intersects with Ski Run Blvd. At its narrowest, it is 22-feet wide at the dead-end.

City staff is recommending the Council vote to make one-side of Regina Road a "no parking" zone, and allow the other side to have parking. They said some of the homes on the street don't have adequate off-street parking. The Council can either agree, make both sides "no parking," keep the street as is, or come up with another solution such as permitted parking.

Farmer's neighbors have been weighing in on the situation both via email, and at the October 6 meeting with SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler, two executives from Heavenly Mountain Resort and Tamara Wallace, a City Council candidate at the time. At that meeting, 18 people were present representing eight homes.

Farmer submitted a petition to Kerry, one he asked all residents of Regina Road to sign except for the owners of the vacation home properties. He stated he didn't ask those three homeowners if they'd sign or not. Nine homeowners signed the petition and another five via email.

Wendy Hvolboll, who is a 2nd home owner on Regina, and also a firefighter, wrote a letter to the City, expressing her concern for what she labeled as harassment from Farmer over the parking situation in her neighborhood. "We have let the anger and vendetta of one man control so much of our community," Hvolboll said in her letter. "His obsession over vacation homes has become harassment."

If parking is banned on Regina, no visitors would be allowed to park in from of a home, whether its a vacation home, or a full time resident.

The November 16 City Council meeting at the airport starts at 9:00 a.m.