Letter: Shady Glenbrook VHR politics

Dear fellow Douglas County residents. Some things are not adding up regarding the proposal to ban VHRs in Glenbrook at the November 16 Board of Commissioners meeting. Please let me explain.

My name is Kevin Kjer and I am a lifelong resident of Douglas County. I am a small business owner who has a property management office inside the gates of Glenbrook. The rental office in Glenbrook was established in the late 1970s. We have been quietly providing short-term rentals and paying room tax to Douglas County for over 40 years without one complaint filed. We have strict occupancy limits and rules and we only rent to Glenbrook families and friends through “word of mouth” advertising.

Short-term rentals have worked well in Glenbrook because the vast majority of homes are second homes that are only used occasionally. Over the years, we have had low rental density and low rental usage. For 35 years things were peaceful with an average of 25-30 rentals in the Glenbrook area.

About five years ago, there were rumors that a couple of wealthy, powerful second homeowners from Southern Nevada and California decided that they no longer wanted to encounter “renters” while visiting their second homes, even if the renters were friends of other owners. They decided that somehow and someway they were going to get rid of short-term rentals inside the Glenbrook gate by changing Douglas County rental zoning.

I have no idea if the rumors were true, but let me explain what has happened the last couple of years at the commission level of Douglas County and let you be the judge. Enter Danny Tarkanian from Las Vegas, a new resident of the Carson Valley who was narrowly elected to represent the residents of the Gardnerville Ranchos.

What was one of his first actions as Commissioner? He proposed to ban short-term rentals in Lake Tahoe gated communities (Glenbrook). What? Wait a minute, how does he even know about Glenbrook and why would he care? Strange. The other commissioners did not agree with him and this rental zoning change did not make it into the new rental ordinance.

Over the next year, Commissioner Tarkanian kept trying to get banning rentals in Glenbrook on the agenda. Why? He said no one who has purchased property in Glenbrook would have expected short-term rentals. Who is he kidding? My rental office has been in the heart of Glenbrook for 40 years. Many of my renters have ended up purchasing property in Glenbrook.

Second, he said rentals had been banned by the Glenbrook Homeowners Association (GHOA) so they should not be allowed anywhere in Glenbrook. This is not true. The GHOA passed a “members only” rental rule for short-term rentals. It is only a rule, not a change of CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions). It can be changed back with a majority vote of the membership. Again, why does he care about the inner workings of one community?

Oddly, at a board meeting in October 2022, after he had called me out publicly, I asked why the fascination with Glenbrook, was he trying to make some wealthy donors happy? He stated in his comments that he really doesn’t know anyone in Glenbrook and that he has never received a donation from anyone who owns property in Glenbrook. Then he went on to give a long presentation about why rentals should be banned in Glenbrook. What is going on? This is kind of crazy. The board did not take any action on banning VHRs at this October meeting.

The latest spin is that Commissioner Tarkanian wants to ban all rentals north of Cave Rock (Glenbrook) because it is too far away from the ski resorts and casinos and there is nothing for “tourists” to do.

Again, you have got to be kidding. Only someone from the land of fake pyramids and Eiffel Towers would miss the biggest attraction in our region, Lake Tahoe. The folks that come to Glenbrook are the families and friends of people who live in Glenbrook. We are a summer resort, and the focus is on spending family time at the beach, on the water, reconnecting with friends, and making memories. A tradition that has been going on for decades in Glenbrook. You have to ask yourself, who is Danny Tarkanian to decide what part of Lake Tahoe is off-limits to family recreation and why does he care?

This is all coming to a head on November 16 when the board will vote on whether to take away rental permits from law-abiding owners who have been following the rules for many years with no complaints just because they have a home in a certain area of Tahoe Township that someone has decided is too fancy to have renters. This is flat-out wrong. Can anyone say “spot zoning”?

The question I keep coming back to is why the obsession with Glenbrook? You don’t see Glenbrook homeowners complaining during public comment at the many meetings the commissioners have held regarding VHRs, so why the focus on this one community? Commissioner Tarkanian has never had to answer that question. Maybe a curious reporter will look into it. I for one have connected enough dots.

Respectfully yours,
Kevin Kjer
Glenbrook Rental Program, LLC