SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – During Tuesday’s South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, lengthy discussions bumped most of the agenda to the next meeting. Still, they came to a decision on the consent agenda items, a first set of amendments for the vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance, and the rec center scoreboards. The council also recognized April 2025 as Neurodiversity and Autism Celebration Month.

Neurodiversity and Autism Celebration Month

Thanks to the efforts of Access Tahoe and the South Lake Tahoe Special Needs community, Mayor Tamara Wallace issued a proclamation recognizing April 2025 as Neurodiversity and Autism Celebration Month, to “celebrate the unique strengths and talents of neurodivergent individuals, support families and caregivers, and support meaningful action towards inclusivity.”

This recognition comes on the heels of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s study on the “autism epidemic”, where he claimed that “autism destroys families.”

Angie Reagan of Access Tahoe thanked the city and quoted Meg Raby, a neurodivergent advocate, saying, “We are not waiting to be saved, we are waiting to be understood. And we’re not going anywhere.” Reagan advocated for the one in four people with a neurodivergence or invisible disability, asking for the city to become sensory and mobility needs-friendly through a nonprofit called KultureCity. She also requested a disability pride flag crosswalk similar to the LGBTQ+ pride flag crosswalk, saying, “We deserve more than just accommodations, we deserve inclusion… let’s not just proclaim inclusion, let’s live it.”

Reagan invited people to the next Access Tahoe meeting this Thursday from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at McP’s Taphouse and Grill.

Consent agenda

On the consent agenda, a few items came into question regarding parking, training at the Motel 6 site, and a cost-recovery study.

Lakeside residential area neighbors came to request changes to their Residential Parking Permit, as what was proposed by their board makes it difficult to park for themselves, their visitors, and any workers in the neighborhood. The current streets are too narrow to issue permits on both sides, hence why some residents would have more trouble with parking. The item passed, though potential amendments are possible in the future.

The city, while it doesn’t own the Motel 6 Property, was asked to make a decision on a license agreement with the California Tahoe Conservancy, which does own the site. The agreement would allow the fire department to use the property for training before it is ultimately demolished. Councilmember Scott Robbins requested that the fire department put up signage and alerts because the site is on Highway 50, making it extremely visible during trainings.

Lastly, the city will be making an agreement with Government Consulting Partners, Inc. for a citywide study on user fees. The study and plan preparation will not exceed costs of $70,835 and will help city council make decisions on adjusting fees for programs. One such adjustment happened earlier in the consent calendar, where the city ratified its agreement to waive the fee for the rec center to enable a third-grade swim program.

Kiwanis scoreboards

City council unanimously approved the donation agreement with Kiwanis of Lake Tahoe to the new rec center. The two $25,000 donations will go to two scoreboards, inscribing the logo and name of Kiwanis of Lake Tahoe to one, and “In Memory of Bob Baunhauser” to the other.

The initial $20,000 will come from the South Tahoe Parks Foundation depositing into the account for the rec center facilities and operations, while the additional $30,000 will be donated in 2025 and 2026. The scoreboards will have those inscriptions for the entirety of their lifetimes.

According to Kiwanis president Eric Guevin, “Bob Baunhauser was a Kiwanian that dedicated his life to this community and the service of kids within this community as well. He went on to hope that other clubs would follow in their footsteps to donate to the rec center, which he felt was a cornerstone of the community.

VHR permit amendments

Since the unconstitutional ruling for Measure T, city staff was tasked with providing recommendations to the council on how to construct the new ordinance regarding VHR permits. City manager Joe Irvin stated at the beginning of staff’s presentation, “Enforcement will be the number one priority. It is imperative for us to be strict with enforcement with VHRs to maintain a high quality of life for residents.” Irvin also made it clear that funding was necessary to make enforcement happen, and expected the cost burden to be on the VHR permittees.

City attorney Heather Stroud presented the possible options for consideration, which included restrictions on where VHRs could be, a cap for the VHRs, and a buffer, among other items. Public comment touched on issues of major concern: noise, garbage, and parking enforcement, density and clustering issues, cost recovery through permits, possible vehicle miles traveled (VMT) impacts, and expediency for re-issuing permits to previous holders.

A few public comments also requested public workshops on the ordinance, especially as Measure T technically passed by majority vote—they hoped it would bring the concerns of those who voted yes into consideration.

City council deliberated long into the night on the topic, agreeing on occupancy restrictions, a need for enforcement, and potentially having a lower cap. However, councilmember Robbins and Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass both disagreed with Mayor Wallace and councilmember Keith Roberts on whether there should be required buffer space, so as to prevent locals from being surrounded by VHRs.

Robbins argued it would be better to be cautious in implementing the ordinance and that rolling back large buffers would be easier than trying to roll out buffers after granting permits—an issue that El Dorado County faced in addressing clusters of VHRs. Bass hoped that the buffers would establish the cap, especially as roughly 600 of the previous VHRs from 2018 were no longer operating as VHRs.

Both Wallace and Roberts were opposed to buffers of any kind, where Roberts argued that buffers could be revised by not renewing certain permits if they were to add permits. He also pointed out that the issue of having to pick and choose which permits were renewed would be aggravated by rolling out large buffers now.

“It’s our job to find the middle ground,” said Bass. He hoped that they would be able to work with AirBnB and VRBO to establish guidelines on their platforms, such as indicating to potential tourists that the residential zone is intended for families, not parties.

Robbins also brought up the citation system, which took a long time for appeals in the past, and a waiting period for the VHR permits after the unit sells, to prevent loss of housing stock. Though he stated his interest in no natural person owning more than one house for AirBnB purposes, Wallace responded that she felt it was fine even if the VHR process became a moneymaking operation for an entity. “Profit is not a dirty word,” she responded.

The motion made, then amended by Tamara Wallace was as follows:

• Make no prohibitions or limits to VHRs in certain residential areas
• Establish a cap lower than 900 VHRs outside the tourist core
• Do not establish any buffers
• Prohibit VHRs in all multi-family dwellings outside of the commercial area and tourist core
• Require a 24/7 response through a local property manager or ownership
• Ensure the VHR permit fee achieves complete cost recovery
• Provide permitting preference for prior VHR and QVHR permit holders in good standing
• Change the VHR permitting authority to the police department
• Phased permitting of no more than 150 VHR permits issued per month
• The Planning Commission decision on VHR permit denial and revocation appeals is final
• Change occupancy limits to two per bedroom plus two
• Require cameras for parking and trash bin enforcement
• Require decibel readers for sound enforcement
• Require in-person check-in, with a signature on a set of rules or code of conduct
• Require a valid, up-to-date defensible space approval prior to issuance of permit

With two no votes from Bass and Robbins, the motion passed. However, the next city council meeting has the first reading of the ordinance on the agenda, meaning amendments could still be made then.

Council unanimously approved the final item heard from the agenda, a first reading of an ordinance designating Very High Fire Severity Zones, referring the second reading and adoption to next city council meeting.

The next city council meeting takes place on May 6.

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.