SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – For one of their two annual visits to South Lake Tahoe, the board of supervisors for El Dorado County met to receive updates from the Department of Transportation and the Planning and Building Division on their fiscal years—an important topic given the county’s major budget cuts.

Snow removal

Snow started to fall outside city hall during deputy director Brian Mullens’ presentation on snow removal updates for the Tahoe Basin. El Dorado County provides snow plowing for 10 different zones, covering Tahoma to Meyers to Strawberry.

Staff shortages were a major issue brought up at the Meyers’ snow meeting, and Mullens said that this past year, they had a shortage of eight full-time positions, and that their 10 extra help positions have not all been completely filled for over a decade. However, Mullens also added they were interviewing candidates in the summer, along with beginning recruitment in June or July for the extra help positions.

This past winter, the six extra help staff worked until April 4, receiving a daily cash incentive of $230.77 for each pay period worked. Luckily, there were no catastrophic equipment failures, though three of the four snow blowers they use are from the 1970s. Lastly, the four rental loaders they utilized were funded through the discretionary transient occupancy tax (DTOT) funds totaling $250,000.

In the coming year, the department wants to secure snow rental houses due to the low staffing success and replace a snow blower through Measure S funds—Mullens mentioned that the replacement was thankfully not going to be subject to tariffs, which would have inflated the cost significantly. Lastly, the department will also be looking to review the no parking ordinance before winter comes.

For the fiscal year of 2025-2026, the proposed budget items include an additional mountain blower to be received in 2026 and two replacement graders with plows and gates, all funded through Measure S. The department will also use $250,000 for the loader rental program, $250,000 for two replacement sanders and two replacement plows, $337,000 budgeted for extra help, and $481,000 budgeted for sand, salt, hauling of sand and salt, rental houses in South Lake Tahoe and Tahoma, snow stakes, beet juice, chains, cutting edges, and plow guards.

Mullens made a note that the closest state supplying sand to the region is Utah—the Nevada Department of Transportation allocates its own sand in Nevada and the Bay Area is not supplying Tahoe.

Supervisor Brooke Laine thanked the local crews and said they did “a tremendous job this winter,” as many locals gave glowing reviews of the snow plowing for this winter. She inquired after the 11 unfilled full-time positions and suggested a potential pool of qualified drivers for the city and county to hire from, which Mullens said they would look into.

Supervisor George Turnboo asked about the housing issues in the area. Mullens said they have a Tahoma location secured, but that they are looking for housing in South Lake Tahoe, which has posed more of a challenge. He added that some drivers indicated their preference for simply renting an AirBnB or finding other lodging when necessary, though the department wants to have housing to provide faster snowplow response times.

Planning division

The planning and building department presented a fiscal year update for 2024-2025, also adding a few more items of discussion for the board.

In the past fiscal year, the department achieved major accomplishments in discretionary planning, permit centers, and their long-range planning goals, including updating the initial studies template for CEQA, establishing the Tahoe permit center and reviewing nearly 1,800 building and grading permits, and making headway on the 2024 housing element and general plan.

For this fiscal year, the department plans to prioritize process improvements, state compliance, and working on the Tahoe El Dorado Area plan, among other items. They also plan to improve customer service and response.

During public comment, some attendees expressed their irritation with the changes to the long-range planning matrix, which they felt helped the department remain transparent with the public. Sue Taylor voiced her concern with the focus on state compliance rather than the general plan and county goals.

Supervisor Brian Veerkamp brought up the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) changes they’d made with regards to parcel sizes, and emphasized the importance of code enforcement, “especially if we are going to be a heavily tourist economy,” Veerkamp said.

Veerkamp and Supervisor Lori Parlin went back and forth on the topic of setbacks, which was another item brought by the department, especially as Parlin used to serve on community groups that discussed the issue while Veerkamp was serving on the board.

Ultimately, the board motioned to direct staff to look into the ADU ordinance, to bring back to the board research into setbacks and cannabis ordinances, on rezoning the two Dickson parcels, and providing an update on Pinehill Preserve properties and ancillary items.

The next time the board of supervisors will meet in Tahoe will be September 30.

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.