SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Lake Tahoe city council convened to hear the first vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance reading, approve the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plans for citywide parcels and potentially amend the ordinance on shared mobility devices like Lime and Byrd scooters. The council also heard reports from Climate Action fellows, heard a report on the affordable housing waitlists and discussed the city budget for capital improvements.

Bike Month and climate fellows

The city officially declared June 2025 as Bike Month, celebrating with the Lake Tahoe Bike Challenge, which runs the entire month. “The residents of the city of South Lake Tahoe and its visitors will experience the joys of bicycling by getting out and going for a ride,” read Mayor Tamara Wallace in the proclamation.

Carlie Murphy, a board member for the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, received the proclamation and stated, “It’s really important for bicyclists to be safe and have a moment in Tahoe to celebrate. We really appreciate all the work council has done to make Tahoe more bicycle-friendly.” Murphy also called for people to sign up for Bike Month festivities.

Sara Letton, city sustainability coordinator, introduced the project success report from the California Climate Action Corps members Indigo Albani-Bombard, Cricket Baldwin, Katie Sloan and Lily Summerville. These fellows were affected by funding cuts to the Americorps program, but were able to complete their service through other grants and funding opportunities, particularly by the state of California.

The California Climate Action Corps focus on urban greening, organic waste diversion and wildfire resiliency, where the fellows focused their efforts on the latter two items.

Sloan and Summerville were hosted at the city and South Tahoe Refuse (STR), helping to educate on diverting food waste, the three-cart system and educating youth in the school district. They also helped to host the Earth Day celebrations earlier this year, as well as tabling at community events.

Albani-Bombard and Baldwin were hosted at South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) and helped to coordinate wildfire preparedness week events, improve outreach on defensible space and home hardening, increasing prescribed burn notification outreach, teaching students in the district and collaborating with local agencies and organizations to do outdoor education programs.

Sloan, Summerville, and Baldwin will all be continuing their work in the city within new positions, while Albani-Bombard will be heading to the University of California, Los Angeles to pursue law. Sloan is the recycling outreach coordinator for South Tahoe Refuse, Summerville will be working with the Marcella Foundation as the FeedTahoe coordinator, and Baldwin will continue doing outreach with SLTFR.

Consent agenda

Councilmembers David Jinkens and Scott Robbins both requested items from the consent agenda for questioning and further presentation.

Jinkens requested further questioning for item 9, regarding the economic mobility and opportunity grants, asking city manager Joe Irvin for further details. Irvin and Jinkens had discussed the item prior, and Irvin assured him that he was intending to work on creating a business retention program, along with needed evaluations for other related items.

Robbins requested Lydia Zuniga to present a report on the affordable housing waitlist. Zuniga reported there are currently 855 people on the waitlist, showing a small decrease from the previous quarterly report. She also stated that the Lease to Locals program manager Chase Janvrin reported a “dramatic drop in new leads after Measure T was overturned.”

Janvrin spoke during public comment, saying, “In response to council increasing the incentive amounts… we had a noticeable increase in interest and new leads generated. There’s a several months sales cycle… and the pipeline that was created as a result of those changes is coming to fruition now.”

Robbins suggested listing the item on the business agenda in the future rather than putting it on the consent agenda.

VHR ordinance

The first reading of the VHR ordinance was met with many public comments from VHR owners, who implored the council to consider not implementing the buffer, in-person check-ins and potentially instating an age-limit instead.

Wallace spoke on the buffer, saying that she was paying attention to the VHR industry. “It was in their information that they wanted a buffer,” said Wallace, who also confirmed with city attorney Heather Stroud that the buffer was not discriminatory.

Council members fretted about the uncertainty of the decision as Judge Gary S. Slossberg did allow the Tahoe Neighborhood group’s request to appeal the decision on Measure T, which would be heard in appellate courts if the case were to continue. They also discussed the original ordinance the city had in place prior to Measure T, called “11.14” for short, and its merits and flaws.

Robbins stated, “It might be better for the city government overall… to simply say, ‘Perhaps the perfect should not be the enemy of the good.'” He recommended that the council not continue to deliberate endlessly on the topic.

Councilmember Keith Roberts made a motion to pass the first hearing, to hear the second reading at the next June city council meeting, and to receive a review in the first September meeting. The council would likely amend the ordinance in September after receiving the report.

The motion passed with three yes votes and two no votes from Jinkens and Robbins.

Scooters

City council heard two staff members discuss the liability protections and increased safety measures on shared mobility devices, specifically the rentable scooters available in the city through an agreement with the companies Byrd and Lime.

Dan Bardzell, assistant city attorney, presented on potential changes for liability protections, which were informed by research and meeting with the companies. Bardzell suggested changes to the End User Agreement Liability Waivers which would specifically waive claims against South Lake Tahoe, adding a permitting requirement that operators (Byrd and Lime) would pay the city attorney fees, making riders scan their ID on a yearly basis and meeting with operators to receive their suggestions on claims processes.

Lieutenant Jeff Roberson presented on the safety measures that could be added, including standardizing flow of traffic, requiring serial numbers on both sides of the scooter, codifying that extra passengers are not allowed to ride (such as parents with children) and requiring scooters to be walked across crosswalks. These would be enforced by photos and would bring the ordinance more in line with the California Vehicle Code.

The motion directing staff to prepare an ordinance with the above amendments passed unanimously.

ADU parcels

Since ADUs have quickly become another tool in the housing sphere to increase constructed housing in the basin, the council previously requested an analysis of parcels to understand which parcels could actually have an ADU constructed on them.

Of the vacant parcels in the city, 3% would not have adequate coverage, 66% could have an ADU of 300-800 square feet, and 31% could have an ADU of 800 square feet or greater. Of developed parcels, 38% have excess land coverage, 38% have less than 800 square feet of coverage, and 24% have more than 800 square feet of coverage available for an ADU.

The motion directing staff to continue with the contract to develop pre-approved ADU plans in accordance with their parcel findings passed unanimously.

Capital improvement projects budget

The final item was on the five-year capital improvement program and budget recommendations, which include work on public safety, the airport, the Complete Streets program, and stormwater and environmental improvements. These projects are funded through sources like Measure P, Measure S, the gas tax, cannabis revenues, general funds and grants, among others.

Staff recommended funding for the Regan Beach Upgrades and El Dorado Beach revetment, airport fence repair, the Tahoe Valley Greenbelt Project, capital upgrades, a new parks shop, golf course improvement, police department parking and drainage improvements, second-level upgrades supporting the VHR program, electric vehicles, a geothermal feasibility study, and the Complete Streets program.

The total funding recommendations for the 2026 fiscal year was $12,015,248. Their five-year projection anticipated a cost of $340 million or more. Staff also suggested the city focus on grant funding and other options to match funds.

The motion passed unanimously.

The next city council meeting will take place on June 17.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.