permits

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have voted for a temporary ban of commercial licenses for both medical and recreational cannabis in El Dorado County with the exception of medical cannabis dispensaries allowed to operate under ordinance 4999.

At the same time, they voted to create a new ad hoc Cannabis Advisory Committee to study and create ballot measures for different cannabis commercial uses tied to
taxation for a local election.

Supervisor Sue Novasel, who represents the South Shore will join Supervisor Ranalli on the new committee.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District christened Marine 24 Monday, giving Lake Tahoe its first year-round firefighting boat.

At a cost of almost $500,000, Marine 24 is able to fight fire from hoses on board as well as hooking up to pipes along lakefront homes in Douglas County and piping water from the lake into water tenders. The boat can send water 300 feet, but their main function will be to pump water into pipes at the shore that water tenders will hook up to.

"We need the community to get together and collaborate," said SLT Councilman Jason Collin during Tuesday's Council meeting. "Its polarized the community."

Collin was discussing the South Lake Tahoe Vacation Home Rental Ordinance after another full day of a City Council meeting focused on the subject of vacation homes in the community.

As with meetings concerning vacation rentals (VHRs) in the City of South Lake Tahoe, many residents from the county turned out to voice concerns with the El Dorado County's Tax Collector C.L. Cherie Raffety Wednesday.

What was different than the City's meetings, Raffety limited how the public could speak about noise, parking, occupancy, hot tubs, zoning and other issues they have in their neighborhoods. She broke up the issues and heard concerns, one subject at a time.

If anyone thought they knew how the South Lake Tahoe City Council was going to vote on the proposed Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Ordinance on Tuesday they were most likely surprised with the turn of events after hours of public comment and Council discussion.

City staff had two weeks to create a new Vacation Home Rental Ordinance based on input and bring it to the Council to vote on a first reading October 17.

The City Council has sought to create an ordinance that both recognizes and protects the City's vibrant VHR industry while also improving the quality of life of the citizens.

On Tuesday, a majority of city council agreed on a revised VHR (Vacation Home Rental) ordinance. In two weeks we will vote on the first reading of the ordinance and if a majority supports it, on November 7th would be the final vote to adopt the revised regulations and rules. The ordinance would then go into effect 30 days later.

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.

This past week is one for the record books in South Lake Tahoe. I know, you’re thinking record temperatures, attendance at one of our special events or our filled-to-capacity lake. All wrong -- I’m referring to ABC’s Emmy Award-winning hit TV comedy series Modern Family and the filming of the show’s season premiere here at South Shore.

Renting a home while on vacation is the trend in many tourist destinations, not only in Lake Tahoe, but across the globe. This new way of vacationing has not come without issues so many towns are creating ordinances or, like in Anaheim and other cities, banning them.

Kingsbury Middle School has fallen out of escrow after the buyer, Lake Parkway LLC, failed to secure financing on the $3.15M purchase by the required date of July 31.

A special meeting of the Douglas County School Board will be held on Monday, July 24 at 4:30 p.m. to discuss, review and vote on one of two options surrounding the sale of Kingsbury Middle School.

The district closed the school during the 2008-2009 school year due to declining enrollment. Zephyr Cove Elementary School and Whittell High School adjusted the grades the serve to absorb the middle school students. The district put the school building and property on the market in 2012 and it has now been vacant for over eight years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - What does a win-win-win vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance look like?

It may not yet be known after today's workshop held during the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting in front of a full house, but all sides appear to be committed to creating something that works for everyone in the community.

Cities across the country are grappling with their own ordinances for VHRs as the new trend towards vacationing centers around renting a home instead of staying in a motel or hotel.

In an effort to encourage visitors to the South Shore to stay over on Sunday night during the Labor Day weekend, the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) started a fireworks show in Lake Tahoe in 1998.

With a changing school year calendar and lack of Sunday night stays, the Labor Day fireworks show is no more.

"The lodging and tourism board (LTVA and Tahoe Douglas Visitor's Authority, TDVA) have had discussions for awhile about the Labor Day fireworks," said LTVA and TDVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin. "Lodging was finding their Sunday night reservations were soft."

When the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted on a new Vacation Rental Ordinance in 2015 they also promised to hire a consultant to prepare a socioeconomic study on the impact vacation home rentals (VHRs) have on the community.

The results of the study were presented to the City Council and the public during a special meeting on Tuesday.

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.

Going away is the Knight's Inn, and in its place will be Bijou Market Place. Halferty Development today announced the name of their South Lake Tahoe project that was formerly known as Bijou Park Creek Watershed Management Southwest Corner Project.

During Thursday's Planning Commission meeting, the commissioners unanimously adopted the resolution that certified the project's Initial Study, Mitigated Negative Declaration, Initial Environmental Checklist and Mitigated Finding of no significant affect. They also approved the permits so now Halferty Development can move forward.

It took just minutes to fill up Lake Tahoe Aleworx Taproom & Pizzeria Thursday when they opened their doors officially for the first time. Friends, family, firemen and those looking for a great selection of beer and wood-fired pizza all came to see what the newest spot to open in South Lake Tahoe was all about.

Housed in the former Factory Stores at the Y, Aleworx is the first of two restaurants that will make their home at the new Crossing at Tahoe Valley.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners have declared a State of Emergency in preparation for the potential of flooding associated with spring runoff and for stormy conditions such as this weekend. . The declaration has been submitted to the State of Nevada and will allow regional partners to expedite mitigation efforts as well as speed up the delivery of resources required to more effectively respond to an emergency.

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.

Achieve a smooth and effective business relationship with the City of South Lake Tahoe during the next workshop of the Tahoe Chamber Level Up Series: Doing Business With the City. Learn requirements for planning, developing and permits needed to build or grow a business on the South Shore on Wednesday, March 15 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Tahoe Mountain Lab.

Potholes are a reality anywhere water is able to get under pavement, and after a long, hard winter as South Lake Tahoe is experiencing, our local roads are not immune. All across the country potholes wreak havoc with drivers each winter, causing damage to cars and tires as well as fraying a few nerves.

They seem to be everywhere, and drivers on many roads can be seen using defensive driving skills warranting an "ace" on a Sega GT or Daytona USA video game.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - As the State of California figures out how commercial sales of recreational marijuana will be handled in 2018, the City of South Lake Tahoe has adjusted the marijuana ordinance to handle residential grows.

With the passage of Proposition 64 in November, residents can grow up to six plants in their homes, and the City changed their medical marijuana ordinance to match the requirements of the new law legalizing recreational use.

It’s been great seeing all of my friends and acquaintances who have lived here for less than 10 years posting photos and sharing how Snowmageddon 2017 has blown them away. I did the same when I first moved to Tahoe back in the 70’s and storms like this were not uncommon. Back then playing was more important than clearing the snow. I had a big Dodge Ram 4x4 pickup and I j drove over the snow in my driveway and packed it down. I did not own a snowblower and can’t remember shoveling much. One year the packed snow was so high I could not get the truck under the carport.

The vacation home rental (VHR) businesses in South Lake Tahoe have joined together in an effort to address, not only issues residents have with their homes, but to address their relationship with those who control and vote on their regulations.

"Our biggest fear is that the City has changed the intent of the ordinance without the council approval," said Josh Priou, Director of Product Development at Lake Tahoe Accommodations and a member of SLTVRA, South Lake Tahoe Vacation Rental Alliance.