permits

The North Lake Tahoe Visitor Center has run out of Christmas Tree cutting permits, but there are still some available at the Forest Supervisor’s office in South Lake Tahoe, the USFS office in Incline Village and at El Dorado National Forest offices.

Permits cost $10 each with a limit of two per family. They must be purchased in person, are not transferable and are sold on a first come, first serve basis through December 23, if available.

For the first time in several decades, the Eldorado National Forest will sell Christmas tree cutting permits. Permits for pine, fir or cedar trees up to 6 inches in diameter at the base will be available beginning November 14, 2016. "The goal of this program is to provide an enjoyable holiday experience for families and friends in the natural setting of their national forest" said Forest Supervisor Laurence Crabtree.

Nevada is one of the few states that celebrate its Admission Day, and boy do we throw a party. A parade, competitions of strength and facial hair, hot air balloons, bloody marys, a carnival, pow wow, and free chili are just a few of the festivities awaiting the capital city on Saturday.

The party begins Friday this year with a ribbon cutting celebration of the 'new' downtown. The Nevada State Museum hits its 75th Anniversary this year and will have a day full of fun and surprises. Keep reading to see where you need to take advantage of all the best this holiday weekend has to offer.

For a 90-day trial period, the City of South Lake Tahoe will hire an outside security firm to assist with enforcement of the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) ordinance.

Many complaints have been voiced at City Council meetings about the lack of enforcement and the fact that part of the justification of the increase in fees for the vacation home permits was to go to staffing that department.

A home being built on Overlook Court near Heavenly Mountain Resort is the first one to be denied a Vacation Home Rental permit under the Planning Commission's interpretation of the new VHR guidelines created by the City of South Lake Tahoe.

During their monthly meeting at the airport on Thursday, the commission voted 2-2 to uphold the denial of the permit made by the zoning administrator, John Hitchcock. The fifth member of the commission, Shannon Eckmeyer, was not at the meeting due to another engagement.

What gained in popularity with the movie and book by Cheryl Strayed, "Wild," people are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in record numbers, and many of them stop by South Lake Tahoe on their way from border to border.

To date, Lake of the Sky Outfitters at the South Lake Tahoe "Y" has seen about 650 of the PCT hikers stop by. Being the largest city near the 2,650 mile trail that takes most hikers about five months to complete, the community offers what many of them seek on "zero days": supplies, motels, a shower, lots of food and mail.

Work along Pioneer Trail will continue through mid-October to move power lines underground from Black Bart Court to just south of Golden Bear Trail.

A contractor for Liberty Utilities has already started on the project which could result in traffic delays.

Approximately 5,800 feet of overhead power lines (as well as communication lines owned by AT&T and Charter Communications) are being relocated underground. The work is expected to continue through mid-October this year, and will be completed next year during the allowed construction time period of May-October.

The California Tahoe Conservancy today announced that free firewood gathering permits and firewood locations are now available online. Permits are valid until December 31 of the year printed or downloaded.

“The new online system will make our program more accessible to people throughout the Tahoe Basin and will save people time because they will no longer need to come into our office to obtain a firewood permit. The rest of the program remains unchanged,” said Milan Yeates, the Conservancy’s Community Firewood Program Coordinator.

Just as it is when the topic of vacation rentals is on the South Lake Tahoe City Council agenda, a large, and at times, angry, crowd gathered.

The task at hand Tuesday was to review changes to the current Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Ordinance which included 11 changes which will take effect 30 days after the June 7 Council meeting if approved.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is hosting a free workshop for local defensible space and tree removal contractors on Friday, May 28 to be held on Friday, May 27, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency offices, 128 Market Street, Stateline, NV 89449.

Contractors attending this workshop will be included on the 2016 Tree Removal and Defensible Space Contractor List provided to residents participating in defensible space grant programs, requesting tree removal permits, or receiving defensible space inspections.

Attendees will receive training on:

Rude Brothers, the popular bagel and coffee spot in South Lake Tahoe, was set to close March 27 but will keep its doors open on Harrison Avenue through April.

The building housing South Tahoe Stand-Up Paddle and the bagel shop was sold to local investors in February, 2016. At the moment they are waiting for building permits for the remodeling of the two-story building that will make way for new tenants.

South Lake Tahoe residents may remember Courtney Walker when she worked for the Tahoe Resource Conservation District and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, but now she has a new job as the newly hired Douglas County Stormwater Program Manager.

She is bringing with her over 10 years of experience with stormwater and watershed management. With much of her experience in the Tahoe and Carson River Watershed area, Courtney is well versed in local stormwater and watershed coordination.

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:

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Friday, January 29, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Lake Wind Advisory 1/29/16 from 4:00 a.m. to 1/30/16 at 4:00 a.m.
Winter Storm Watch 1/29/16 from 4:00 a.m. to 1/30/16 at 10:00 a.m.
Flash Flood Watch 1/26/16 from 10:00 a.m. to 1/30/16 at 10:00 a.m.

A couple from San Jose, Calif. has filed a lawsuit against the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) over a lot they purchased in the Angora Fire area they have been denied building permits on.

Ray and Teresa Burns purchased a piece of property at 889 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The house that had once been located there burned in the 2007 Angora Fire and the Burns bought the lot when it went into foreclosure in 2009.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Thursday, December 10 by the firm they hired, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is seeking comments on a proposal for the management and uses of existing roads, trails and facilities located on National Forest System (NFS) lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The popular Lake Tahoe basin Christmas tree permits from the U.S Forest Service go on sale Monday, November 16 on both the South Shore and November 18 on the North Shore.

Permits cost $10 each with a limit of two per family. They must be purchased in person, are not transferable and are sold on a first come, first serve basis. Even though USFS lists noon on December 24 as the last day for sales, they are normally sold out well before that date. In 2014, tree permits sold out on December 4. The last day to cut a tree down is Christmas Day, December 25, 2015.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday approved a $7,500 settlement agreement with the Tahoe Keys Marina and Yacht Club, LLC.

The settlement is for the Tahoe Keys Marina and Yacht Club’s unauthorized grading and creation of coverage at a California Tahoe Conservancy property located near the end of Venice Drive in South Lake Tahoe. The property impacted by this violation is not classified by TRPA as a stream environment zone or wetland.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, El Dorado County, and members of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance announced today they are partnering to create a coalition of stakeholders to maintain and enhance public access for winter backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

“We’re optimistic about this opportunity to work together to get back some of the access that we have lost in the past, and work to enhance access in the future. Let’s together reclaim and preserve backcountry access in the Tahoe Basin,” said Mike Schwartz and Todd Offenbacher, of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance.

The 13th annual Tour de Tahoe bicycle ride around the lake is on Sunday, September 13. More than 1,800 riders are expected to take on the 4,000 feet of climbing involved in the ride which continues to gain in popularity. Besides recreational riders there will also be teams riding to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Early in 2015, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), as well as our partners at the National Weather Service, predicted 2015 to be a significant year for wildland fires throughout the Western States. A combination of a sustained period of drought, coupled with weather that is conducive to nearly perfect burning conditions, have challenged local firefighting resources. Those predictions have rang very true as we continue to hear about new fires occurring almost daily all over the Western States. This year will go down as one of the most hazardous years for wildland fire.

A multi-sport expedition that took participants from mountain top to mountain top, up rocks and into the lake and along rivers has wrapped up in South Lake Tahoe. Eleven teams with four members each spent the past several days running, biking, orienteering, mountain climbing, kayaking over 520 miles of some of the world's most beautiful terrain.

In order to improve customer service, the South Lake Tahoe Permit Center expanded their hours of operations.

Beginning today, August 17, the center will be open 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, with no closures during the day.

The City recognized the need to provide quality customer service to the development community. The new hours of operation will help assist individuals and businesses who want to invest in the community, improve their buildings, and build new projects by providing more opportunities for permit processing needs.

A new vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance will take effect in South Lake Tahoe on October 1, 2015.

The new ordinance will require all homeowners who want to rent out their homes to get it inspected by the Zoning Administrator prior to being issued a license. Since the real estate community told City Council that not having a permit prior to escrow may cause homeowners to lose sales, the current homeowner may now get it inspected prior to the sale in order to take as much uncertainty away from sales as possible. This inspection will be valid for one year.