Letters to the editor for Sept. 11

Council handled vacation-rental issue correctly

I can understand Jim Morris' angry Guest View ("Council mishandled vacation-rental issue") in the Sept. 9 issue - he is protecting his livelihood. However, I am on the other side of this issue: There are several second homes and vacation-rental homes on our street. Some have signs and some do not, but everybody knows which are the unoccupied houses, and none has been broken into for the eight years I've lived here. As good neighbors, we keep an eye on those properties and let the owners know about any problems.

The posted signs tell us which agent to contact with complaints. The agents don't like to hear complaints, so they oppose posting signs. Those agents are also not in the office on weekends or holidays or evenings, when we suffer the party noise and excess parking. Not everybody has access to computers to look up whether a house was a vacation rental, so we need signs, and we need our police department to respond to our complaints.

The city has not received many complaints about the rentals, as nobody knew whom to call. And the police did not consider noise and parking issues even during snow removal. God forbid that one of us locals had planned a dinner party - there was no parking on the street when 57 people in 18 cars descended recently on the three-bedroom, two-bath house across the street from my home!

While Mr. Morris would remind us that the owners have a constitutional right to rent their properties, I would remind him that those vacation-rental homes are violating our zoning ordinances: They are commercial businesses conducted in our residential-zoned neighborhoods, and they often interfere with the local homeowners' right to enjoy their own home in peace. These are the locals who work in our shops, hotels, restaurants, hospital, etc., and have to get up on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays to go to work early in the morning. We are entitled to enjoy our residential neighborhoods in peace and quiet.

I am grateful to council members Jerry Birdwell, Kathay Lovell and Bill Crawford for protecting us locals. I will remember next election those who did not.

Erika Toth

South Lake Tahoe

Well-built trail can handle different uses

I need to address a couple of issues brought up by recent letters:

1. "Mountain bikes cause most or all trail damage." The truth is that water and poorly constructed trails cause all trail damage. Any user group can cause damage. I invite you to hike any of the front-side trails up to Mount Tallac and look at the damage to trails that have never seen a mountain-bike tire. A well-constructed trail can handle all user groups with minimal maintenance and little impact to the resource (and is also the most effective use of funding). We need to stop pointing fingers and blaming different groups.

2. "Mountain bikers would be just as happy using the dirt roads." This was proposed, in a recent letter, for High Meadows. I would venture to say that for most hikers, the enjoyment is getting out into the environment more than the specifics of the actual trail. For many bikers, it is just the opposite. It is about the trail first and the scenery second. The riding is the activity, the trail is the ride. With this information, it is probably better to put the hikers on the old road, since then they could walk side-by-side, which is better to hold a conversation while seeing the sights on the way to the same destination.

I see two main groups upset at the current trail situation. The folks who have been hiking these "local" trails are upset that the trails and use have changed, and on the other side, the bikers who are looking for a greater challenge, something the old trails provided, yet the resource couldn't support and damage was caused. For the rest of us, and I would venture to say most of us, these new trails, whether hiking or biking, are great. And yes, they are multiuse, meaning everyone gets to play. After all, these are "public" lands, which means that sustainable opportunities are for the benefit of all, not just certain groups. The trails are not perfect, and parts will be works in progress, but well done, Forest Service.

Dave Hamilton

South Lake Tahoe