New rental rules in North Tahoe
The last Lake Tahoe community to regulate shortterm vacation rentals now has new rules on the books.
On Tuesday afternoon, Washoe County commissioners voted to adopt an ordinance designed to address issues associated with shortterm rentals, primarily in the popular vacation destination of Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe. The small community of about 8,700 residents is home to more than 90% of the county’s shortterm rentals — known as STRs. The vote passed 41, with the dissenting vote cast by commissioner Jeanne Herman.
“We feel like we’ve reached a balance with this ordinance of competing interests,” Washoe County senior planner Chad Giesinger told the commissioners. “But we realize the ordinance is not going to be perfect,” and it will likely be revisited later this year after having taken effect, he added.
The ordinance, which has been in the works for two years, establishes a permit system for STR hosts, sets property occupancy limits and quiet hours, and emphasizes enforcement on rules about house parties, parking violations and litter. It follows similar ordinances recently passed in Truckee and Placer County as Tahoe’s communities seek to rein in issues associated with vacation rentals.
However, it stops short of capping the total number of STRs allowed in residential neighborhoods, a key provision many Incline residents would like to have in place to limit their spread.
The advent of online booking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo has given way to an emergence of STRs around Lake Tahoe in recent
years. There are now several thousand operating around the lake, and they have pitted neighbors against one another in the region’s small communities.
STRs allow homeowners to tap a revenue stream from Tahoe’s flow of millions of annual visitors. But fulltime residents in Incline Village and elsewhere have complained for years about nuisances associated with rentals — specifically loud parties, overparking, fire danger and litter.
Dozens of Washoe residents chimed in at Tuesday’s meeting to give final input on the new rules.
Several STR hosts said the new permit system,
which includes an annual permit fee and infrequent property inspections, was onerous and unfair to hosts who have been careful to keep their rentals quiet and in order. Many said it infringes on their property rights.
“This is an overreaction to a fairly minor problem ... but punishes the entire community,” said resident William Carlson, who rents out his property.
Other Incline residents who spoke at the meeting complained that the influx of renters into residential areas has transformed their neighborhoods into party zones.
“They have disrupted the peace and quiet of our entire neighborhood,” said Mary Lahren, an
Incline resident.
By the accounts of many Tahoe locals, the coronavirus pandemic didn’t slow down travel to the region but instead underscored the issues associated with STRs.
“The pandemic really highlighted that local government needs to have these protections and regulations in place, especially in residential areas,” Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, who represents the Incline VillageCrystal Bay area, told The Chronicle.
The new rules take effect in August.
In her closing remarks, commissioner Herman said she had personally received a lot of public comments about the ordinance, the majority of which were skeptical about the possible longterm effects of the spread of STRs in Incline Village.
“If this were an issue that were put on the ballot, I’m pretty sure it would be voted down,” Herman said. “We could be actually harming the economy of one of our main tourist attractions.”