Sign up for the City Newsletter
The City of South Lake Tahoe is pleased to publish its monthly newsletter - "At Lake Level". You can sign up for the newsletter, and other City News, by texting JOIN NEWS to 38276 or going to sign up for notifications on the city's website. The monthly newsletter is prepared by the City Manager's Office in an effort to keep our community well-informed about City issues and initiatives.
Are you looking for a way to participate in Local Government?
Join local government! The City Council is currently soliciting applications for appointments to the following Board and Commission:
Planning Commission: The City Council will be appointing two (2) members to serve two-year terms on the Planning Commission. Applicants must reside within the city limits. The Planning Commission meets monthly assuming there is business to conduct.
Building Board of Appeals: The City Council will be appointing at least two (2) members, but no more than four (4) members to fill a one-year vacancy on the Building Board of Appeals. Applicants must reside and be domiciled within the Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County. The Building Board of Appeals meets on an as-needed basis.
Parks & Recreation Commission: The City Council will be appointing three (3) members to serve two-year terms on the Parks & Recreation Commission and one (1) member to fill a one-year vacancy. Applicants must reside within the Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County. The Parks and Recreation Commission meets at least quarterly.
Arts, Culture and Tourism Commission: The City Council will be appointing two (2) members to serve two-year terms on the Arts, Culture and Tourism Commission. Applicants must reside and be domiciled within the Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County. The Arts, Culture and Tourism Commission will meet every other month.
Police Advisory Commission: City Council will be appointing two (2) members to serve two-year terms. The Applicants shall reside within the Tahoe Basin portion of El Dorado County. The Police Advisory Commission will meet monthly or quarterly as needed.
Applications: Applications may be obtained at the City Clerk's Office located at 1901 Lisa Maloff Way, South Lake Tahoe, California between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Applications can also be downloaded from the City's website at www.cityofslt.us, mailed, faxed, or emailed to interested parties upon request to the City Clerk's Office. Completed applications must be returned to the City Clerk's Office (email preferred sblankenship@cityofslt.us).
The City Council will be making appointments at a regularly scheduled meeting on January 18, 2022. For questions, please contact Susan Blankenship, City Clerk at (530) 542-6005 or via email at sblankenship@cityofslt.us
Welcome to Our New Assistant City Attorney
Dan Bardzell joined City Attorney’s Office as Assistant City Attorney on November 15. He recently relocated to South Lake Tahoe with his wife. He comes to us from the Sacramento office of the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore where his law practice included a wide variety of litigation and counseling matters with a focus on employment and municipal law. He has seven years of experience in private legal practice primarily defending public entities. Prior to practicing law, he worked as a state and federal housing discrimination investigator.
Dan is a New Jersey native and a graduate of Fordham Law School and University of British Columbia. He is also a season pass holder to Heavenly and spent a few winters as a snowboarding instructor in New York State. Dan is going to be focusing on litigation and advising the Police, Fire, and Human Resources Department in addition to sitting with the Planning Commission and Police Advisory Commission. Welcome Dan!
VHR ENFORCEMENT UPDATE
The Police Department is following up on expired Vacation Home Rental (VHR) permits to ensure compliance. VHR phase-out data for November 2021:
- 67 VHR permits expired in November and were closed
- 35 are now changed to long-term rentals (>30 days)
- 25 removed all ads
- • 6 were advised to remove ads that show no availability
- 1 is a qualified Qualified Home Vacation Rental (QHVR)
Our CSO division continues to follow up on VHR enforcement calls for service and all recently expired permits.
As of December 16, 2021 there are 87 VHRs remaining in residential areas in the city (including 18 QHVRs). Year-to-date monthly data on VHR phase-out statistics can be found on the City of South Lake Tahoe’s web page under “City Services” and “Police Department”. For more information, go to the 2021 VHR Phase-Out Stats.
Introducing South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue's new therapy dog
SLTFR would like to introduce our newest candidate, Willy. He will be starting to train this year as a fire house therapy dog. His primary duties will en”tail” responding to the stations to assist firefighters after critical calls.
Why are therapy dogs important? Therapy dogs provide relief to those in anxiety-provoking situations, bring comfort to those who are grieving or lonely, and offer affection to humans who are in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools.
Interacting with a friendly pet can help many physical and mental issues. It can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health. It can also release endorphins that produce a calming effect. This can help alleviate pain, reduce stress, and improve your overall psychological state.
Welcome Willy!
Major Improvements made to Radio Communication System
With the support of the City Council, the Police, Fire and Public Works departments started major improvements in 2021 on their radio communication system. These improvements will allow dispatchers in Fire and Police to quickly get all our first responders to emergencies. In addition, Police, Fire, and Public Works can seamlessly communicate with one another over one communication system rather than multiple. Another key feature is the ability to provide dispatching through GPS location, ensuring the closest resources are sent to an emergency. Improvements to the communication system will also allow the city departments to better serve the community and keep everyone safe. Funding for this project was made possible through Measure S.
Local Fire Agencies establish SOUTH SHORE RESPONSE PLAN
2021 was also a landmark year for local wildfires. The community was hit by both the Tamarack Fire and the Caldor Fire. These proved challenging in how the fire was behaving given the impacts of climate-change and the lack of resources available through the state and federal mutual aid system. We were fortunate to have help from our neighbors throughout El Dorado County, Lake Tahoe Basin and Nevada. But with the reduction in the firefighting workforce throughout California and the high demand for the resources that remained, we did not see the massive influx of fire engines that we may have seen just a few years ago.
Fortunately, what is predictable is preventable. In this context, the local fire agencies recognize that we need to all work together to ensure resources are available for when a major incident occurs. We addressed this in 2021 through our South Shore Response Plan. This is an agreement between local agencies to ensure closest resources are sent to an emergency regardless of the name of the fire department on the side of the fire engine. What the community wants.
DID YOU KNOW?
Each time a hotel or motel property is sold, Finance staff conduct an audit of all Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) paid and the associated property records supporting the payments.
During fiscal year 2020/2021 the Finance department initiated 16 audits and continued to work on 6 audits from the previous fiscal year. By 09/30/2021 Finance completed or closed 14 TOT audits resulting in revenues of $162,815. Some audits were not completed or closed due to various factors such as properties falling out of escrow, and COVID and the Caldor fire delaying and/or preventing information gathering. So far in fiscal year 2021/2022, the Finance department has initiated 2 audits, and nearly completed 2 audits from the previous fiscal year. The estimated revenue as of December 2021 is $55,000.
Section 3.50 of the South Lake Tahoe city code provides in part:
If any owner and/or operator of any business or the real property upon which such business is operated sells, transfers, assigns, leases or otherwise quits the business, and any person who takes ownership or operation of the business and/or real property upon which such business is operated shall, in escrow, or otherwise, pay such amount in full. The amount to be paid shall be determined by an audit for the last three fiscal years of the property being transferred conducted by the city, less the security deposit, if any, held by the city. No escrow shall be allowed to close concerning any property subject to this chapter unless sufficient funds are retained in escrow to cover any delinquency and paid over to the city from the escrow upon demand; provided, however, that such audit shall, in all cases, be completed within a reasonable period of time after all records necessary to the audit have been provided to the city. All sums deemed due the city at the completion of the audit shall be paid to the city at the completion of the audit, shall be paid to the city by the escrow holder upon written demand of the finance director. Records audited include TOT payment history, property financial statements, bank records, income tax returns and other items as deemed necessary to validate the TOT filings made to the City.
Grateful to Celebrate Winter and the Community
The Parks and Recreation Department would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all who made the inaugural Festival of Winter Lights a successful and memorable experience. Clearly, our community was eager to gather, and welcome winter as evidenced by the hundreds of people who came out to sing, shop, eat, and be merry together throughout the weekend festival.
On behalf of the City of South Lake Tahoe we could not have pulled it off without the participation of the local businesses that were there each night and without the support of the following partners:
- Lake Tahoe Historical Society
- El Dorado County
- Winters Electric
- Borges Sleigh & Carriage Rides
- Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe
- Cold Water Brewery
- Tahoe Art League
- TAMBA
- South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena
And a very special thanks to our Parks and Recreation Commissioners that came out to volunteer at the event; Greg Bergner, Kira Smith, Pete Fink, David Gregorich, and Jerry Bindel.
One last thank you to Mother Nature who aligned the winter storms perfectly for a safe and beautiful winter festival atmosphere. The storm door is open, and winter is officially here!
South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue continues to partner with local agencies to administer COVID Vaccines
With the pandemic continuing through 2021, the fire department worked with the County and community partners hosting seventeen COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Through these clinics, we were able to vaccinate almost 20% of the community’s population. The last clinic took place at the Boys and Girls club focusing on vaccinating youth ages 5-15 years old.
Credits:
Photo Credits for background images (in sequential order) (1) Shutterstock image (2) Shutterstock image (3) Pixaby image (4) Pixaby image (5) Shutterstock image (6) Pixaby image (7) Shutterstock image (8) Pixaby Image (9) Shutterstock image (10) Shutterstock image