Vacation home rental ordinance on the South Lake Tahoe City Council agenda

There are proposed amendments to the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental ordinance, ones that came about because of feedback from VHR permit applicants and those enforcing the ordinance.

The most recent VHR ordinance change took effect on October 1, 2015. Since then, there have been over 300 inspections scheduled, including new homes and renewals.

According to Amanda Nolan, the City's VHR Clerk, many of the properties inspected so far have required owners to make corrections to address inspection requirements.

The October 1, 2015 ordinance called for:

*New permit applications require a one-time inspection to ensure the home was up to code and safe for renters
*A discretionary review process established for the rental homes in residential zones
*Required findings to be made to issue a VHR permit
*Notification of affected property owners within 300' and provide an opportunity for a public hearing on any new VHR permit located in a residential zone.

There have been over 30 applications for new permits, with none having been denied. There has been only one request for a hearing in regard to a new application to date, which was approved by the Zoning Administrator after taking public comment on the merits of the application.

During the Tuesday, February 16 City Council meeting, staff will present solutions to some issues which have come about with the new VHR permitting process:

Hot tubs - It was found that most VHRs have hot tubs that were installed without a City Building Permit being issued. It has been determined that TRPA required site assessments to verify coverage will not be needed in order for hot tub owners to get a permit.

Application Process - Decisions on permits were to be made within 30 days, and with the requirement of notifying residents within 300 feet the application reviews were taking longer, thus potentially affecting escrows. They are now mailing '300 foot notices' at the same time as inspections are ordered instead of completed.

Driveway Paving - They found that many homes did not have the BMP required paved driveways. Winter months prohibited this from being done so they are now accepting a $3,200 bond from the home owner that will guarantee the driveway be paved by June 1, 2016.

City staff is seeing several issues that they want to bring in front of the Council:

Fee structure - The new fee structure started in 2015 charges by the number of bedrooms and number of people that can stay in the home (two per bedroom, plus four). Some homeowners would rather pay a lower fee and allow fewer people than allowed.

Non-conforming parking places - Staff wants direction on existing paved parking since homes need to be in conformance with all yard, building coverage, setback, parking area and other applicable standards of the Code to get a permit. They are finding VHRs with existing parking do not conform to the required number of spaces and do not conform to setback requirements. Perhaps owners can reduce the the occupancy rate, but staff wants to verify intent of the ordinance, and whether it is to require parking to be brought up to full compliance with City Code,including setbacks, in order to operate as a VHR.

Land Coverage - Are site assessments required for a VHR?

In other business, the Council will look at a purchase agreement for the purchase of the Knights Inn and various surrounding parcels in the Amount of $6,000,000 contingent upon award and acceptance of a grant from the California Tahoe Conservancy.

NDOT will make a presentation on the new Cave Rock tunnel project which will affect traffic around the lake for 120 work days this summer.