KINGS BEACH, Calif. – The Placer County Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday had much to do with North Tahoe’s buildings. The Tahoe Justice Center, which was recommended to have new facilities, is beginning the process of renovation. Meanwhile, the short-term vacation rental (STR) program had its annual update—along with a back-and-forth on ordinance amendments for STR owners.

Tahoe Justice Center

The Tahoe Justice Center was constructed in 1959 and was intended to be a temporary substation for the sheriff during the 1960 Olympics. Currently, the Burton Creek location is used to house sheriff functions, staff, and equipment, along with the trial court for the Placer Superior Court.

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In 2019, it was recommended that there be new justice facilities constructed adjacent to the Placer Superior Court facility. The Burton Creek site was also determined to be the ideal location to co-locate with the superior court because of its history of use and its place in the Tahoe Basin.

The five-year capital improvement plan was then amended to include the Tahoe Justice Center replacement project, with an anticipated 2024-2025 fiscal year start.

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Thanks to Senate Bill 706, this project, which is classified as a public works project in excess of $5 million, can use the Progressive Design-Build approach. This allows for the design-builder firms to work closely with the owners on the programming—making it more collaborative and transparent for the county.

Genevieve Vargas, the capital improvements manager of the county’s facilities department, stated that once the design-build entity is selected, the total cost will be estimated and a funding request would be brought to the board.

Update to the Short-Term Vacation Rental Program

Deputy county executive officer Stephanie Holloway presented an annual report on the short-term rental program to the Board, and Interim director of the Community Development Resource Agency Crystal Jacobsen spoke about details of the report. As of November 4, nearly 80% of the STR permits have been used—there are roughly 3,245 current permits with 656 remaining.

Trash, noise, and parking violations are the top three violations outside of operating without an STR permit. For fire-life safety inspections, 3,000 STR properties have been completed, with 245 remaining.

During the public comment period, residents expressed that there were complaints that weren’t included in the violations that impact their quality of life, including extremely bright lights from STRs and illegal barbecues from those visiting and staying in STRs.

However, John Falk from the Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors, said “The passions run high as we know with this issue—always have, and probably always will. It’s important that we not legislate based on instances, but on overarching policies.” He stated that he wanted data-driven policy and a more stable sense of ordinances, rather than constant amendments. “Before we legislate, we better inform,” said Falk.

Gustafson stated she wanted to ensure that complaints were recorded and that agencies and affected groups should collaborate to make sure those were reflected in the data. “I’m looking forward to the committee making recommendations. Most important to me is that we learn from others who are doing it well.”

Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinances

Emily Setzer, land use planner and community staff development for East Placer programs and projects, brought a presentation regarding the Short-Term Rental (STR) Advisory Group’s requests to the board on the Short-Term Rental ordinance in Placer. The group requested a change for the requirement for minimum number of nights required to be rented, the number of units allowed to be rented on a property, and a requested extension for the defensible space deadline.

The STR Advisory Group asked for enforcement on renting a minimum of 30 nights per year to only begin once the STR permit cap was reached. STR permits are capped at 3,900.

They also requested allowing historical STR owners to permit historical permit holders to rent multiple units per property. As of March 2022, it was determined that permit holders can only have one STR per property, whereas in city centers, they can have up to four STRs per property. The advisory group came up with new eligibility for legally operating up to four STRs per property outside town centers, as there are almost 60 known properties with more than one STR (though the total number is unknown.)

Lastly, the ordinance currently requires STR permit holders to have a passing defensible space inspection by the end of the month. The proposed extension went to June 1, 2025.

Attendees who spoke during public comment expressed their desire to keep the original deadline, as they felt there was plenty of time for STR owners to become compliant with the defensible space inspection guidelines. Others also expressed their desire for the cap on permits to be brought down, as they believed the market was oversaturated with STRs.

Cindy Gustafson began the motion to exclude the section of the ordinance amendment regarding the deadline, which passed unanimously. That means STR owners are still held responsible for the November 30^th deadline to comply with defensible space guidelines.

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.