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In an unexpected move, staff at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on Friday dove into the controversial issue of how vacation rentals in the Lake Tahoe Basin will be defined.
The agency plans to resolve the issue through a consensus process with interested community members, the city, and the counties in the basin. Announcement of the plan came at a meeting of the TRPA Local Government Committee.
People who represent the vacation rental industry said they backed the proposal, despite the fact that it's different than the one introduced last month by the TRPA Local Government Committee. It called for the issue to be dealt with only by local government.
Hal Cole, chairman of the Local Government Committee, said its recommendations have changed two or three times since the meeting last month because the committee realized there is a land-use issue related to vacation rentals that TRPA must address.
"There's no definition in (the TRPA) code to accommodate what's happening with vacation rentals," Cole said. "We need to define a use that's not strictly residential and not a motel room."
Jim Morris, owner of Lake Tahoe Accommodations, accused the members of the Local Government Committee, all of whom are members of the TRPA Governing Board, of bowing to pressure from TRPA staff.
"This agency has got to get its act together," Morris, a 30-year resident, said. "As soon as they adopted the recommendation last month ,there was an immediate war room going on how (staff) can subvert this."
Public debate over vacation rentals erupted when the TRPA issued a notice in August explaining rules it has had on the books since 1987. The rule says a residential building permit will not be issued by the TRPA unless a property owner promises not to use the structure as a tourist accommodation. That rule does not apply if the rental is for less than two weeks, four times a year.
Whatever definition is arrived at will now be decided by a consensus of stakeholders to include homeowners, Realtors, TRPA Deputy Director Carl Hasty and other community members. Jerry Wells, acting director of the TRPA, said work to form the group will begin immediately, but the Local Government Committee's recommendations will not be heard by the TRPA Governing Board until November. The TRPA Governing Board meeting this month will focus on selection of an executive director.
"It's conceivable we might have some answers by November," said Wells, of the vacation rental issue. "If that's the case, it would be wonderful."
If the answer requires the agency to change its code, that could involve environmental analysis, a costly and time-consuming process. Some people at Friday's meeting said it wouldn't be appropriate to make a change until 2007 when the TRPA is due to adopt its next 20-year plan for the basin.
Other than agreeing to a consensus process, real estate agents and others at the meeting asked for assurances from the TRPA that renting vacation homes in residential neighborhoods has been, and remains, a legal endeavor.
"Basically we're taking a time out," Wells said. "The purpose is not to hold this as legal or illegal. We want to put aside that issue. Arguments can be made on either side. We know that."
Cole went a step further. He and other committee members included a similar disclaimer as part of the committee's recommendations to the Governing Board.
"A lot of people are in limbo, a lot of people are nervous," said Cole, who also serves as a city councilman for South Lake Tahoe. "It's an issue of ambiguity, not legality. It's no secret people have been renting homes for vacation. To say that something that's been going for years is illegal -- I don't think government should do that."
Only one person who attended the meeting expressed a desire for the TRPA to get involved in the regulation of vacation rentals.
"People are coming into neighborhoods and buying up multiple homes and not obtaining tourist accommodation units," said Jim Foff, general manager of Fantasy Inn. "You're not doing anything here."
-- Gregory Crofton can be reached at (530) 542-8045 or by e-mail at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com
The agency plans to resolve the issue through a consensus process with interested community members, the city, and the counties in the basin. Announcement of the plan came at a meeting of the TRPA Local Government Committee.
People who represent the vacation rental industry said they backed the proposal, despite the fact that it's different than the one introduced last month by the TRPA Local Government Committee. It called for the issue to be dealt with only by local government.
Hal Cole, chairman of the Local Government Committee, said its recommendations have changed two or three times since the meeting last month because the committee realized there is a land-use issue related to vacation rentals that TRPA must address.
"There's no definition in (the TRPA) code to accommodate what's happening with vacation rentals," Cole said. "We need to define a use that's not strictly residential and not a motel room."
Jim Morris, owner of Lake Tahoe Accommodations, accused the members of the Local Government Committee, all of whom are members of the TRPA Governing Board, of bowing to pressure from TRPA staff.
"This agency has got to get its act together," Morris, a 30-year resident, said. "As soon as they adopted the recommendation last month ,there was an immediate war room going on how (staff) can subvert this."
Public debate over vacation rentals erupted when the TRPA issued a notice in August explaining rules it has had on the books since 1987. The rule says a residential building permit will not be issued by the TRPA unless a property owner promises not to use the structure as a tourist accommodation. That rule does not apply if the rental is for less than two weeks, four times a year.
Whatever definition is arrived at will now be decided by a consensus of stakeholders to include homeowners, Realtors, TRPA Deputy Director Carl Hasty and other community members. Jerry Wells, acting director of the TRPA, said work to form the group will begin immediately, but the Local Government Committee's recommendations will not be heard by the TRPA Governing Board until November. The TRPA Governing Board meeting this month will focus on selection of an executive director.
"It's conceivable we might have some answers by November," said Wells, of the vacation rental issue. "If that's the case, it would be wonderful."
If the answer requires the agency to change its code, that could involve environmental analysis, a costly and time-consuming process. Some people at Friday's meeting said it wouldn't be appropriate to make a change until 2007 when the TRPA is due to adopt its next 20-year plan for the basin.
Other than agreeing to a consensus process, real estate agents and others at the meeting asked for assurances from the TRPA that renting vacation homes in residential neighborhoods has been, and remains, a legal endeavor.
"Basically we're taking a time out," Wells said. "The purpose is not to hold this as legal or illegal. We want to put aside that issue. Arguments can be made on either side. We know that."
Cole went a step further. He and other committee members included a similar disclaimer as part of the committee's recommendations to the Governing Board.
"A lot of people are in limbo, a lot of people are nervous," said Cole, who also serves as a city councilman for South Lake Tahoe. "It's an issue of ambiguity, not legality. It's no secret people have been renting homes for vacation. To say that something that's been going for years is illegal -- I don't think government should do that."
Only one person who attended the meeting expressed a desire for the TRPA to get involved in the regulation of vacation rentals.
"People are coming into neighborhoods and buying up multiple homes and not obtaining tourist accommodation units," said Jim Foff, general manager of Fantasy Inn. "You're not doing anything here."
-- Gregory Crofton can be reached at (530) 542-8045 or by e-mail at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com
