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Washoe commissioners to reconsider Tyrolian Village STR appeal, move forward with court reno

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners have decided to reconsider their decision to decrease the parking and occupancy numbers for a short term rental in Incline Village, sparking concerns from many concerned neighbors.  

Commissioner Chair Alexis Hill requested to bring back the appeal that had been made at a previous board meeting on May 9, which reversed the decision of the Washoe County Director of Planning and Building, denying a Tier 2 STR permit and further decreasing the maximum occupancy from 10 to eight people, based on the findings that there were only two parking spaces for the property. 

Hill brought this item back because she felt that she got caught up in the conversation of the what the homeowners association’s rules were for the property rather than what the actual county code for the parcel was. 



Although many public commenters who live in Tyrolian Village pointed out that all homeowners in the village are only allocated one parking space, the homeowner Sanjay Gupta felt that the board needed to make a decision in fairness, and commented that there are other people in the village that have multiple cars parked on their property at times, even with an allotted one space. 

While Gupta pointed out that one space may be able to hold multiple cars, District 2 Commissioner Michael Clark was hesitant to agree, pointing out the circumstances of full time residents versus STRs are different when assessing the amount of cars on a property. 



“When other people who are full time residents there have several cars, do they have four people showing up every time they’re in their cars?” said Commissioner Clark. “In my opinion, I thought we did a real solid for Mr. Gupta last time by allowing him to have two cars there, eight people. I think it’s kind of going to be a roll of the dice.”

He continued to explain that if he supported the decision to bring the item back for reconsideration, he would go with the rules of the homeowners association, which allows less than what Gupta was granted by the board. 

“You could potentially lose on this,” said Commissioner Clark. “So if you want to be a gambler, this might be the time not to do that.” 

Hill and District 3 Commissioner Mariluz Garcia seemed to disagree with Clark, and felt the item needed to be looked at again in order to determine if a fair choice was made. 

“I thought we were here as a body to look at process and make sure that errors were not made,” said Garcia. “That letter from the HOA said it all, from their legal counsel. Our staff did what they are here to do. I felt uncomfortable that we had a homeowner that suffered from our body getting into the weeds on things that really don’t have anything to do with us.” 

The letter referenced by Garcia was sent by the HOA of Tyrolian Village along with their legal counsel that stated the Gupta’s property could have three cars, which could bring the max of 10 people under a Tier 1 permit. 

Commissioner Hill commented that the Tyrolian HOA would be considering eliminating Tier 2 short term rentals in the village completely, but with the letter from the HOA stating the property could have three parking spaces, there needed to be another discussion. 

There were a few modifications made to the motion before it passed, including the discussion to determine the adequacy of parking available and the corresponding number of occupants that should be allowed, and whether or not the property should be designated as Tier 1 or Tier 2. 

The earliest it could come back to the board with proper public notice would be the June 27 meeting, which would be after the Tyrolian Village HOA will meet to discuss if Tier 2 permits should even be allowed in the village. 

The board also voted in a block vote to approve an agreement to the lowest responsible bidder of the Washoe County Incline Village Justice Court renovation project at the Incline Community Center, along with approving the acceptance of $450,000 from the United States Forest Service. 

The block vote also included the approval of awarding a bid and construction agreement for the Lower Wood Creek Phase II water quality improvement project in the vicinity of Job’s Peak Road, Southwood Blvd., Mays Blvd., Feels Peak Dive, and Lakeshore Boulevard in Incline Village. 

To view the entire agenda and the meeting visit http://www.washoecounty.gov/bcc/board_committees/index.php


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