city manager

The City of South Lake Tahoe put the finishing touches to the new Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance Tuesday, paving the way for what community members have asked for: More enforcement, better monitoring and rules to bring reasonable calm to their neighborhoods.

"This is a code with real teeth," said SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler. "It's a clear and simple message that we're not fooling around. There are strong laws for staff to carry out."

At the last count there were 82 homeless persons and ten homeless families living in South Lake Tahoe, and to help protect them during the winter, the Lake Tahoe Homeless Coalition has operated a Warm Room in the city.

They too are now homeless and asked the City Council on Tuesday to move into the city-owned building at 1195 Rufus Allen Boulevard, the former home of Unity at the Lake church.

Chief Jeff Meston of South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is the recipient of the Ed Bent Training Excellence Award in recognition of being the Outstanding Fire Instructor of the Year at the California Training Officers Symposium held this week in Fresno, California.

The award was created many years ago on behalf of Ed Bent for his contribution as a founding father of statewide training and curriculum for the California Fire Service.

Those interested in operating the food and beverage concession services at Lakeview Commons at El Dorado Beach Recreation Area in South Lake Tahoe may now submit a proposal.

This process was initiated in 2012 when Lakeview Commons first opened. The City of South Lake Tahoe said they would seek bids by concessionaires for the location every few years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The long awaited 11 foot tall bronze sculpture "Spirit of Competition" perched on top of a 4.5 ton boulder was unveiled during a ceremony at Champions Plaza Friday.

Sculptor Gareth Curtiss transported his creation from his studio in Fortine, Montana just two days ago in the back of his van, early Thursday morning the bronze sculpture was picked up with a crane and placed on top of the boulder, bolted in and wrapped up for the ceremony.

Award winning photography by South Tahoe High School (STHS) students is now on display at the Lake Tahoe Airport's art gallery.

Some of the photographers were on hand a reception hosted by the City of South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Arts Alliance on Monday, the second since the gallery was opened in June of this year. Work of local artists will hang on the walls at the entrance of City Hall at the airport throughout the year and will be rotated quarterly.

I read with great interest Mayor Sass’s recent editorial of how he and Wendy David have been living, sleeping, and eating the VHR issue for over 2 years. I internalized these words and reflected how we, as responsible vacation home rental managers, have been dealing with inept City Councils and City Management for over 12 years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two topics that fills the City Council chambers: Marijuana and Vacation Home Rentals (VHR). Interested residents and other stakeholders in the City's proposed changes to the VHR ordinance not only filled chambers, but filled seats surrounding televisions in the lobby where the proceedings were aired.

After almost six hours of presentation and conversation, the City Council voted to bring back the new ordinance in one month on October 5.

"Our job is to make a decision, not continuing to kick the can down the road," said SLT Mayor Austin Sass.

Is SnowGlobe an event that should stay in South Lake Tahoe?

The answer is "yes" according to the City Council, but exactly how the future working and financial relationships between the City and SnowGlobe will look still needs to be worked out.

Chad Donnelly, founder of SnowGlobe, made a presentation at the SLT City Council meeting Tuesday, outlining a plan to keep the annual December 29-31 music festival in the community.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - "We've been waiting to be in South Lake Tahoe for a long time," said R. Adam Smith, Executive Director of Store Development for Whole Foods in Northern California. "Couldn't be more thrilled than to be here today."

Smith took part in Monday's groundbreaking at the new Bijou Marketplace along with the Jim Halferty and Chris Peto of Halferty Development Ground, the owners of the property along Highway 50 and the corner of Ski Run Boulevard, and local officials.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe City Council has been working with the public, home owners, residents and vacation rental companies for years in trying to get a vacation home rental ordinance that works for everyone.

The balancing act will continue during a Vacation Rental Workshop during the next City Council meeting on July 11.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is pleased to announce the appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the Mitigated Negative Declaration of the Bijou Park Creek Marketplace (former Knights Inn) project has been withdrawn. The City appreciates the Appellant’s admission of the project’s benefits to the environment and her disclaim of the appeal.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dr. James Tarwarter, Superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District, was at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting to explain why LTUSD should receive $150,000 from the City for ballfield maintenance. He walked away with $75,000 with a strong recommendation that he join the Community Field Consortium Tarwater chose not to join in November, 2015.

The much anticipated socio-economic study of the impact vacation home rentals (VHR) have on South Lake Tahoe has been released.

Michael Baker International was hired by the City to complete the study and create the report to identify emerging impacts of a growing industry, particularly impacts that may be directly affecting residents and persons who work in the city. They teamed with California State University, Sacramento on the project.

During Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, the City's financial forecast over the next five years will be presented. Included in that will be a review of how the City prepared to meet anticipated increases for South Lake Tahoe programs and services by budgeting conservatively. What could not be budgeted for though was a 100% increase by the California Public Employee Retirement Systems (CalPERS).

Portions of the land where Knight's Inn currently sits and the corner lot at Ski Run Boulevard and Highway 50 were sold today to the Halferty Development Corporation for $3,100,000.

During a special meeting of the City Council two agreements were approved. The first was a Commercial and Disposition and Development Agreement (CDDA) and the second was a Purchase and Sale Agreement by and between the City of South Lake Tahoe and Halferty.

There was one thing all speakers during Wednesday evening's Town Hall on recreational cannabis agreed on: People need to get involved, educate themselves and share their opinions with their elected leaders at local, county and state levels.

A panel of six people spoke to the crowd of almost 100 people (and another 300 who were viewing online) during the Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) fourth Town Hall meeting in South Lake Tahoe.

Representatives from several agencies met with the public Thursday night at El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel's second community meeting to discuss traffic issues and the "invasion of neighborhoods" by non-local drivers.

It's been one year since the City of South Lake Tahoe was denied a grant by the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) for their Bijou Park Creek Watershed and SEZ Restoration Project, and today, the Conservancy Board did it again.

What is officially known as the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project, or unofficially the Knight's Inn Project, will be brought before the South Lake Tahoe City Council to be approved during a special meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 4:00 p.m.

The three phase, 850-acre project will be both an environmental and economic development project, something the City has been working on for several years.

The City of South Lake Tahoe now has a new vision statement to guide all of their decisions: "We will reflect the national treasure in which we live."

During a two-day long retreat and strategic planning session, the City Council and staff leaders met to discuss their strategies over the next two years, something they do right after every Council election.

City leaders will now get other agencies on the South Shore to join them in this mission, as well as the community. The vision will be reflected on City materials, a new logo, and be the "guiding principle in decision making."

Eligible retirees from the City of South Lake Tahoe will soon be able to opt out of the City's medical insurance plan and get the money to use as they wish.

The City Council voted Tuesday to give the one time offer to their 145 retirees. How much they'll get is based on their years of service and number of years to being eligible for Medicare. They will be notified what their compensation offer will be.

Friday was the end of voter approved Measure T in South Lake Tahoe.

During a January 27 court hearing in Placerville, EL Dorado County Superior Court Judge Jim Wagoner said that Measure T was fundamentally flawed, unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The roads around Lake Tahoe have been hard to navigate this week after several feet of snow fell in the basin after the last series of storms over the weekend. Many streets in South Lake Tahoe remain narrow and thick with snow, making it hard to drive through neighborhoods.

Just as residents struggle with all that snow left on their roofs, driveways and walkways, City snowplows are also struggling with what seemed at times as nonstop snow.