SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — City Council on Tuesday took several actions to address housing shortages in South Lake Tahoe.

The council approved a professional service agreement with Landing Locals to tackle the shortage of long-term rentals.

Landing Locals started in Truckee in November 2020 to convert short-term rentals and vacant vacation homes into long-term rentals. They offer financial incentives to homeowners who rent their homes on a long-term basis.

Since partnering with the Town of Truckee, they’ve placed 67 tenants, awarded 37 grants, and have 20 pending grants.

In South Lake Tahoe, single family, townhomes and privately owned condominiums are eligible for the incentive program. Property owners can earn $2,000 per resident housed, up to $10,000, as long as the residents are housed for at least a year. Each unrelated or single resident must have their own bedroom.

To fund the program, council approved $500,000 of their American Rescue Plan Act to be allocated to the program. Of the $500,000, $200,000 would be used for housing grants, $214,000 for a property maintenance incentive program and the rest will be spent on marketing and administration.

Mayor Tamara Wallace said this is a “right now solution,” while the city continues to pursue housing development projects.

The council also approved a contract with the Tahoe Prosperity Center to help address housing shortages. TPC has conducted a detailed “South Shore Region Local Resident Housing Action Plan.”

The city awarded TPC a three-year, $210,000 Professional Services Agreement to help implement housing solutions. Councilmember John Friedrich recused himself from the vote.

Council also provided staff feedback on adding tiny homes and mobile residences into the accessory dwelling units.

The council agreed to pursue mobile dwellings as another housing solution, directing staff to add a required minimum of a six month lease to the ordinance.

They also directed staff to add aesthetic requirements to the ordinance, so that these mobile residences aren’t just RVs parked in someone’s driveway.

The ordinance also has to meet Tahoe Regional Planning Agency standards.

The council also heard a bid protest for the winter program concession services at the city campground. The city had requested bids and the final decision came down to Shearer Activities and Budgell Enterprises, with Shearer Activities narrowly winning the bid.

The bids were reviewed and rated by five reviewers. Budgell noticed discrepancies with one of the reviewers, so they asked the council to throw out that reviewer’s score.

After hearing from both parties, council voted to grant the protest and give Budgell the contract. Councilmembers Cristi Creegan and Friedrich recused themselves from the vote.

During the meeting, the council appointed members to the Art, Culture and Tourism Commission. Stacey Ballard, Eleanor “Bon Bon” Brennan, Scott Forrest, David Hamilton and Bryan Yerian were selected and Tony Lyle with Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority was chosen as a non-voting member.

The consent agenda was approved with the exception of the contract with Huntington Beach Electric, Inc. for supply and installation of LED lighting along U.S. Highway 50 which was pulled by Friedrich.

The LED bulbs that were to be installed were too bright to be considered dark sky compatible. The council agreed that public works should look into dimmer bulbs and other ways for the city to become dark sky compatible.

Finally, the council voted to end the state of emergency declared due to the Caldor Fire.

The council’s next meeting will be held at 9 a.m.Tuesday, Nov. 2.