SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, the South Lake Tahoe city council held another lengthy discussion on VHR permits and other items on the agenda. During the seven-hour meeting, council formally adopted its strategic plan, approved a parking lot rental agreement, and approved a contract for the Pioneer Trail pedestrian project.

VHR permits

After the previous evening meeting where city council eventually came to a few agreements, they conducted another hearing for the vacation home rental (VHR) ordinance and its eventual adoption. The eventual items that were approved were as follows:

• 150-foot buffer instead of a cap
• Condos are allowed if they had an active permit on September 1, 2016 and will be exempt from the buffer
• Either an in-person or electronic face-to-face check-in, with a wet signature or electronic signature on rules, before or at check-in
• 24/7 response to complaints, with a change for indoor noise monitoring and outdoor cameras for trash and parking
• Requiring animal-resistant carts when available (South Tahoe Refuse does not currently have animal-resistant recycling carts)
• Occupancy will be two per bedroom, exempting up to five kids who are 13 and under. Studios will have a two-person limit plus two children.
• No two-year waiting period after the sale of property
• Defensible space requirements
• Increased consequences for violations
• Permits will be issued by the police department, with a limit of 150 permits per month based on staff discretion
• If the VHR permit holder appeals, the Planning Commission has final decision. First and second violations go to a hearing officer, while the third goes to the Planning Commission, which will also discuss revocation.
• Complete cost recovery for the VHR program
• Permitting preference goes to those with previous VHR/QVHR permits that were in good standing

Councilmember Scott Robbins again brought up that the city has not yet proved that it has done proper enforcement, though Mayor Tamara Wallace argued that the current enforcement for QVHRs and the new council and commissions would be able to provide that enforcement. Robbins also opposed the removal of the two-year waiting period, as he believed it would incentivize landlords to evict current residents in the name of profit.

Wallace was particularly interested in allowing condos to be approved for VHR permits, pointing to the condos in the Tahoe Keys as a possible example.

The motion passed with one dissenting vote from councilmember David Jinkens. The first official reading will take place in June, with the expectation that the second reading and adoption will be done by the end of that month.

Strategic plan adoption

The city formally adopted the strategic plan created during the strategic planning retreat. After some consideration from public comment from Stacey Ballard, a Sugar Pine Village resident and accessibility advocate, city council agreed to add more language specifying disabled and differently abled people in the plan—continuing the city’s commitment to accessibility.

Council also discussed a residential area plan, which would be more specific to the city of South Lake Tahoe and could potentially challenge current Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) standards that have limited the city’s decisions before, especially for land use.

City manager Joe Irvin cautioned the council on the cost of a residential area plan. Mayor Wallace said that during her first year on council, creating the plan was something everyone wanted to do, and that she was interested in the current council “fully exploring what we can do… because if we don’t push the envelope, nothing will change.” Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass added that the TRPA would have to also approve the residential plan, and that council should be aware of what would be allowed.

The topic of affordable housing came up again, as Jinkens continued to push for affordable housing for locals and not allowing spillover from other counties. Jinkens argued that because there is less affordable housing in neighboring counties, it puts an undue burden on taxpayers in the city to pay for affordable housing for the entire basin.

Robbins suggested that council be proactive in attending meetings for other counties to push them to build their own affordable housing, and suggested Jinkens could be a good fit as a specific councilmember with that duty.

Parking lots, Pioneer Trail, and parks and recreation

City council approved several items on their new business agenda, one of which had been pushed from the previous meeting.

Mary Johnson McCall received a license for the use of the Bijou Golf Course parking lot from May 1 through October 31 for 2025 to 2027. The city has maintained a short-term renewable lease agreement to use the privately owned land as parking for the golf course. An additional $4,645 was approved from the general fund to be added to the parks and recreation golf course account in order to reach the $30,000 needed for this year. The agreement also stipulated an annual payment of $30,000, slightly up from the previous three years’ annual payment of $22,574.

The motion carried unanimously with four votes, as Bass recused himself from the item. Councilmember Keith Roberts thanked Mary McCall for her patience on the delayed item.

Parks and recreation brought forward an ordinance amendment that would establish a commercial use permit for city-owned parks, which could be issued to anyone desiring to use a portion of the city parks for commercial purposes such as activities, classes, or meetings where a fee to participate is charged. A motion unanimously passed to hold the first reading and to refer the second reading and adoption to the May 20 council meeting.

The Stateline Transit Center, which is owned by the city, currently has old signage and outdated city code sections for the parking enforcement authority, causing issues with parking violations. The police department is currently unable to issue parking citations to illegally parked vehicles in the Transit Center or on Transit Way. The estimated cost would be $3,000 for the new signs and $100 for yellow paint to repaint the parking site. The motion unanimously carried.

The Pioneer Trail Pedestrian Improvement Project is in phase 2 and a construction contract with B&M Civil LLC and an agreement with CDM Smith for engineering services was proposed. Part of the funding would need to be transferred from the Road Rehabilitation account and the James and Eloise Drainage Project.

Bass brought up that B&M Civil LLC had previous labor complaints, but project manager Stephen Anderjack said that they were in compliance with the previous projects done in the city and were in compliance based on their audit. The motion unanimously carried.

Month and week recognitions

Mayor Wallace issued proclamations recognizing May 2025 as Military Appreciation Month, as well as Mental Health Awareness Month.

Angie Reagan of Access Tahoe accepted the Mental Health Awareness Month proclamation and spoke to Barton’s lack of mental health and psychiatry services, saying that they tended to prioritize athletic health and orthopedics.

“Mountain towns like ours already have a higher suicide rate and substance abuse rates than national averages, we are more vulnerable and doing less.” Reagan called for year-round support for mental health and accessibility. “South Lake Tahoe, we are losing lives and we are losing hope. Let’s stop pretending this is someone else’s problem. This is all of ours.”

Wallace also issued a proclamation recognizing May 18 to May 24 as National Public Works Week.

The next city council meeting will take place on May 20.

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.