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Please join me and Vicki Sanders, El Dorado County Parks Manager on Monday, September 17th at Forebay Park, 5581 Gail Drive in Pollock Pines from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. for a community meeting to discuss updates on Forebay Park and the Pollock Pines area.
I will be at the Freel Perk Coffee Shop along with El Dorado County Planning staff on Wednesday, September 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to chat about the County's proposed Meyers Advisory Council.
Please stop by as we will be available to discuss the Advisory Council and answer questions about the process to establish it. If you cannot attend, call 530.573.7905 for any questions and comments.
The Resolution for Establishing the
Meyers Advisory Council:
WHEREAS, an ad hoc Meyers Advisory Council was formed with the sole purpose of drafting language for the Meyers Area Plan (MAP), which has since been disbanded; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors adopted the MAP on March 20, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Policy 1.2 in Chapter 7 of the MAP states that the County of El Dorado shall establish a formal Meyers Advisory Council (MAC) with regularly scheduled and publicly noticed meetings to provide recommendations to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the Planning Commission and/or Board of Supervisors on the implementation of the MAP; and
WHEREAS, the MAC shall include no fewer than five members and not more than seven members that are residents or property owners in the Lake Tahoe Region of the unincorporated County; and
WHEREAS, the MAC shall include community members representing business, environmental, recreation, and other appropriate interests necessary to carry out the vision of the MAP; and
WHEREAS, the MAC shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors of the County of El Dorado; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of El Dorado hereby establishes a Meyers Advisory Council with the following provisions:
SECTION 1. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. At the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission or the TRPA Governing Board, the MAC shall have the following responsibilities:
A. Review potential projects within the MAP boundary for conformance with the Plan’s vision, goals, policies, and design standards and guidelines.
B. Advise and make recommendations to the Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, and/or TRPA on matters relating to project conformance with the MAP’s vision, goals, policies, and design standards and guidelines.
C. Serve as a conduit between the Meyers community and County government to foster enhanced communication, provide feedback and make recommendations on community and development projects and other associated issues.
D. All members shall actively participate in the Council and any ad-hoc committee(s) thereof whose membership shall be comprised solely of less than a quorum of the Council.
SECTION 2. MEMBERSHIP. Members of the MAC shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors as follows:
A. The MAC shall consist of no fewer than five (5) and not more than seven (7) direct apointments, selected from the pool of applicants.
B. All members shall be appointed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors after completion of a County application process.
C. All members shall at the time of appointment and at all times during term of office be residents or property owners in the Lake Tahoe Region of the unincorporated County. Failure to maintain such status shall result in a vacancy in office.
D. The MAC shall include community members representing business, environmental, recreation, and other appropriate interests necessary to carry out the vision of the MAP.
E. All members shall have relevant knowledge, experience, and/or expertise in community and/or development issues.
SECTION 3. MEETINGS. The MAC shall hold regular meetings at least quarterly or more often, if necessary. The MAC, in coordination with County staff, shall establish a regular time and place for meetings. Special meetings of the MAC may be called at any time by the chair or a majority of the members of the Council and shall be noticed as required by law. All MAC meetings and members shall comply with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. The MAC shall endeavor to avoid unnecessary meetings.
SECTION 4. PROCEDURAL RULES. The Council shall propose rules, regulations and procedures as are reasonable and appropriate for its activities and shall submit such rules, regulations and procedures to the Board of Supervisors for approval. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, the Council shall adopt and be governed by such rules, regulations and procedures. In the absence of procedures to the contrary, the Council shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
SECTION 5. TERMS OF OFFICE. Members of the MAC shall take office upon their appointment by the Board of Supervisors. The term of office for MAC members shall be four years. MAC members may serve more than one term if reappointed by the Board of Supervisors. The terms of the inaugural members shall be staggered in the following manner to ensure continuity in the membership:
· 2-3 inagural members shall serve a four (4) year term (Depending on whether there are 5 or 7 MAC members)
· 3-4 inagural members shall serve a two (2) year term (Depending on whether there are 5 or 7 MAC members)
For the inaugural membership appointment process administered by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, applicants to the MAC will be asked to voluntarily state their preference of a four (4) or two (2) year term on their council application. Based on these preferences, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors will include a notation as to the term preference for each applicant on the Board agenda item to effect the appointments. In the event there are greater or fewer volunteers to serve a given inaugural term, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall select at random a sufficient number of applicants to fulfill each inaugural term category from the pool of applicants. All MAC members shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors and may be removed by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors at any time.
SECTION 6. LAPSE OF MEMBERSHIP. If a member of the MAC fails to attend two consecutive regular meetings, the Chair of the Council shall notify the absent member. If the member fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings, the Chair of the Council shall notify the Clerk of the Board. The Board of Supervisors then may declare the office vacant and fill the vacancy by appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term.
SECTION 7. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. At the first meeting of the MAC held after January 1 in each calendar year, the Council shall select one of its members as chair, one of its members as vice-chair, and one of its members as secretary; all of whom shall hold office for one year and until the election of their successors. The chair shall be responsible for chairing Council meetings and conferring with staff regarding meeting agendas. If the chair is absent, the vice chair shall assume the chair’s responsibilities. The secretary is responsible for drafting meeting agendas, taking notes at the meetings and preparing the minutes of meetings.
SECTION 8. VACANCIES. a. In the event of a vacancy in the position of the chair, vice-chair or secretary, there shall be an election at the next meeting of the Council to fill the vacant position. b. In the event of a vacancy of any MAC member, the chair or staff shall notify the Clerk of the Board who will publish a Notice of Vacancy.
SECTION 9. AD HOC SUB-COMMITTEES. The MAC may establish a limited-duration ad-hoc subcommittee or sub-committees comprised of less than a quorum of Council members to assist the Council on such specific issues, programs and projects as the Council identifies and assigns.
SECTION 10. COMPENSATION. All MAC members shall serve without compensation. Participation shall be on a strictly volunteer basis.
 Roberta Mason, Lisa Maloff and myself at the grand opening of the Lisa Maloff University Center at Lake Tahoe Community College.
El Dorado County's Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) will soon be implementing a 2-1-1 system. The 2-1-1 system is a free and confidential service that helps people find the local resources they need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, HHSA is asking for service providers to submit their information for be included in the system.
So, please forward this information and encourage representatives of organizations, agencies, etc. that provide health and human services to the community to go to this link, click on 211eldorado.org, scroll down to the "Want to be included in our database?" section, review the inclusion/exclusion criteria and submit.
On July 24, 2018, the Board of Supervisors voted to conceptually approve amendments to Title 5 - County Business License Ordinance of the El Dorado County Ordinance Code, Chapter 5.56 - Vacation Home Rentals in the Lake Tahoe Basin and directed staff to return to the Board with a revised ordinance.
The changes that were conceptually approved were:
1. Limit overnight occupancy to 12, regardless of the number of bedrooms or the size of the home.
2. Establish quiet hours of 10:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.
3. Impose penalties for violations on the entity directly responsible for the violation.
4. Include fire and life safety requirements.
5. Require owners and managers to take an online course and test covering VHR rules as part of the VHR permit application process.
6. Notify neighboring residents of VHR permits issued.
7. Limit the number of VHR permits in the unincorporated area of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
8. Establish penalties for operating a VHR without a permit.
Following conceptual approval by the Board, the Ad Hoc Committee held a public meeting in the Tahoe Basin to gather public input and feedback on the concepts. Based on the Board's discussion and direction, further direction from the Ad Hoc Committee, public feedback, and County Counsel, the conceptual changes have been incorporated into the ordinance code, with two notable exceptions:
1. The overnight occupancy limit of 12, regardless of the number of bedrooms or the size of the home, is not included in the ordinance.
This policy change was recommended originally to address some of the most commonly-heard complaints from residents, including noise, parking issues, parties, and trash. Many of these concerns related to very large homes, built for the purpose of renting as a VHR, and the unique issues resulting from that intensity of the use. The conditional use permit process was proposed in order to place additional requirements on large VHRs to help mitigate their impacts to neighborhoods.
However, there are concerns as to the onerous nature of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process. A CUP is a discretionary permit, applications for which are subject to review by the Department of Planning and Building and approval by the Zoning Administrator or the Planning Commission at a public meeting. This process adds to the length of time before an owner would receive a permit, and costs are much higher due to the need for professional studies and County staff time.
Given these factors, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended that the Board direct that staff instead work with stakeholders to determine a set of stricter regulations that could be applied to VHRs with a total proposed occupancy of 12 or more. These regulations would be crafted to reduce issues associated with larger VHRs, such as noise monitoring, requirements for on-site parking, or other requirements in addition to those required of smaller VHRs. As staff works to implement the new ordinance and gain compliance, it is anticipated that any need for additional performance standards for larger VHRs will be identified and can be incorporated into the ordinance for Board consideration at a later date.
2. The 900-permit limit for VHRs in the unincorporated area of the Lake Tahoe Basin is not included in the ordinance.
At their June 11, 2018 meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee asked for feedback from the public on several other options for reducing over-concentration of VHRs, including establishing separation distances between VHRs, prohibiting VHRs in residential areas, requiring a use permit for all VHRs, limiting rentals to "hosted" only, an overlay zone, and a cap on the total number of permits.
Feedback from participants shows that there is a lack of consensus among the community on this issue. In order to address the issues occurring in the Tahoe Basin due to the large number of VHRs, as well as to recognize the economic benefits of retaining VHRs, the ad hoc committee originally proposed to continue allowing those currently licensed VHRs to operate, and impose a temporary limit the total number of VHRs in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
However, at the July 28th Ad Hoc Committee meeting, a number of participants from the real estate and construction industries voiced their concerns over the cap in number of permits, since so many potential home owners are looking for the option to rent their homes on a short-term basis. Some residents experiencing issues with established VHRs in their neighborhoods were also not in favor of the cap on permits, since existing VHRs would be able to retain their current permits. With other options available for limiting the concentration of VHRs, imposition of a cap may be premature.
The Ad Hoc Committee has continuously heard from proponents of VHRs, as well as from critics, that enforcement of the rules and regulations is of the utmost importance. It is recommended that the County increase enforcement efforts to combat the problems expressed by residents in the Basin. As previously stated, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended that the Board direct staff to gather data over the course of the next year, and use that data to determine whether other options to address over-concentration (such as separation distance between VHRs) are needed in the Tahoe Basin.
Then on September 11, 2018, the Board approved the passage of Ordinance 5092 amending Title 5 - County Business License Ordinance of the El Dorado County Ordinance Code, Chapter 5.56 - Vacation Home Rentals in the Lake Tahoe Basin with the above changes.
The approved Ordinance 5092 can be viewed here.
For more information about vacation home rentals in El Dorado County, visit our website at edcgov.us and go to the link on vacation home rentals or click here.
Looking for a Job? Free Employer Presentation
Scheduled on September 27, 2018
(Placerville, CA) - Looking for a job? El Dorado County Connections - One Stop is hosting an upcoming employer presentation on Thursday, September 27, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the County Child Support Services building (Carlton meeting room), located at 3883 Ponderosa Road in Shingle Springs. The event is free and open to the public. During the presentation, representatives from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will share information about their organization, current job openings and how to apply for jobs. The event will start promptly at 2:00 p.m. Seating is limited.
This event will provide an opportunity to speak directly to Caltrans recruiters and ask questions. Caltrans has hundreds of job openings throughout the state. For information about this event, or to reserve a seat, please visit: https://bit.ly/2LXXFlk
Employer presentations are offered as a community service through El Dorado County Connections - One Stop. Connections - One Stop is a program of the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency, and a member of America's Job Center of California, a network of employment service agencies across the State.
Connections - One Stop assists El Dorado County residents with job searches, job skills training and workshops, resume development, work experience and more. For information about these and other free job assistance services in El Dorado County, please call (530) 642-4850 in Placerville, or (530) 573-4330 in South Lake Tahoe, or visit www.edcgov.us/humanservices.
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