Solving the nagging Ski Run Marina parking woes may ultimately determine the financial success of its businesses, a new study states.

The 1999 Ski Run Marina Parking Management Plan – which assesses the parking needs and evaluates solutions available to marina businesses, their guests and employees – was presented Tuesday to the South Lake Tahoe City Council.

To temporarily alleviate the parking shortages this summer, the council designated a portion of Paradise Avenue as a one-way street, with angled parking along the closed lane.

After further discussion, and once several affected business owners shared their concerns, council members decided to form a subcommittee of city representatives who would discuss the issues with tenants and business owners to find solutions all parties could live with.

The parking shortage, according to Councilwoman Brooke Laine, is partly due to business owners not implementing special use permits and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency requirements relating to employee parking and shuttle service.

“(The marina) is asking us to designate a one-way street but they’ve cut back on their shuttle service, they haven’t nailed the (Coordinated Transit System) deal and they’re not utilizing the top of Ski Run for employee parking,” Laine said. “I’m not in favor of designating a one-way street until I see them come through on their end with things they ought to have done in the first place.”

According to the study, the parking shortage during peak summer months is severe. An estimated 321 parking spaces would be needed during the noon hours of those months, but the marina only has 98 on-site parking spaces. That means 223 cars would either have to seek parking elsewhere, or leave the marina entirely.

“Basically, the marina was poorly planned. For the last two years, since redevelopment, we’ve been struggling with parking,” said Michael Phillips, owner of the marina. “This is not a simple thing to solve. There’s no one solution.”

During the summer, Phillips said he hopes to route Tahoe Queen guests to park on the 59-space Paradise Avenue and on the 25-space Blue Lake Motel lot on Ski Run Boulevard. He also said he planned to buy an $65,000 authentic San Francisco trolley to bring guests down to the paddlewheeler. Employees would have to park on side streets along Ski Run Boulevard and take a shuttle to the marina. This, along with parking attendants at the marina entrance directing cars to parking spots, could at least temporarily alleviate some of the overload during peak season.

“Next year, I’m hoping to condemn some property near the Blue Lake Motel lot to create additional parking space,” Phillips told the council. “I will pay for it but I need the city’s help to make that happen.”

The marina parking subcommittee will return to the council in October with suggestions from their discussions.

In further City Council business:

– Approval of a temporary grant of easement allowing Canada Cove, developers of the Upper Truckee Campground near the Lake Tahoe Airport, to tie into the city water line that serves the airport property. Canada Cove must pay the airport $65,000 – half the cost of the initial water line installation.

– Approval of an additional $29,652 in landscape work on Linear Park, to be reimbursed from the California Tahoe Conservancy grant for the project. Linear Park is scheduled for completion by the end of July.

– A public hearing for proposed amendments and clarifications to South Tahoe Redevelopment Project No.1, or the Ski Run Marina project, was set for July 6.

– Approval of a temporary lease agreement with Tahoe Air for additional office space at the Lake Tahoe Airport.

– Approval of a concession agreement with Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. at Lake Tahoe Airport.

– Approval of $53,000 for immediate maintenance and repair work at Lake Tahoe Airport, and $61,000 to be included in next year’s budget for further repairs at the airport.