Peter Todoroff – Moderator
John Crockett – Washoe County Library Zoom-master
Ronda Tycer – Recap Editor [The link to the recording of the meeting is
Peter Todoroff – Moderator
I’d like to start out with announcements first. Let’s start with Mr. Crockett.
John Crockett – Washoe County Library – Head Librarian
It’s simple: 10-6 M-F. So we’re back to our pre-pandemic hours from over a year ago. Just asking folks to wear masks and keep their visit to 1 hour or less. Folks can browse all the stacks inside the library, and also use computers, printing, and wi-fi.
Linda Offerdahl – Incline Village Crystal Bay Association, President
I have a couple of announcements. IVCBA.org is spearheading the organization of a Local Heroes parade on July 3rd. We’ve got all necessary information and should be able to present the application to the Planning Department on Monday. It’s a smaller parade. We’re not going to go down Tahoe Boulevard, so we don’t need Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) or Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) involved. We‘re going down Incline Way from close to the bowling alley to Country Club, and then from there up to Sierra Nevada University. Incline General Improvement District (IVGID) will have a kiddie parade. All the police vehicles will be there. And at the end the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) will have a meet-and-greet. These are preliminary plans not official yet. The community can meet the new deputies. They’ll have all their vehicles for the kids to look at. Rotary is a partner with us and of course the WCSO.
Jeff Cowen – Tahoe Regional Planning Agency – Public Information Officer
Sorry I missed the last meeting. Just some quick updates. On Wednesday, the TRPA Governing Board not only unanimously approved the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that we’ve worked on for several years, but also one of the first significant updates to the Threshold Standards. We’re moving away from nitrous oxide emissions as a category because they’ve been in containment for years; and now make it per capita Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). This will allow a different kind of development pattern in the Basin. You may have seen lots of our emails about the RTP, so I won’t go to deeply into it, but it is very different and we feel confident this RTP will make some significant changes in the Basin with the impacts of tourism, congestion, and giving people more options to get out of their cars.
The three regional Watercraft Inspection Stations open tomorrow. We’re expecting pent-up demand and busy lines at those stations this weekend. But it’s going to smooth out. An optional system is in place that will give people more options for inspections during the week and not just on weekends. Once a boat is inspected, if it only launches in Tahoe, it doesn’t have to go back to the Inspection Station. So every single boat that launches every day doesn’t need to go to one of the Inspection Stations. There are a lot of great improvements this year.
We continue to work on the Sustainable Recreation working group, like a playbook for this summer to try to get all the land managers and communicators around the Basin including destination-marketing organizations to focus on influencing visitor behavior and stewardship; addressing impacts of visitation; parking enforcement; infrastructure with better trash service; and influencing behavior through outreach and education. Lots of great things are happening there including the Ambassador Programs one of which is in Incline Village. So the Ambassador Programs are coming on line all around the region. These are young people out in teams working in hot spots, educating people and reporting on issues, and helping to manage impacts of visitation in an alternative way.
Linda Offerdahl
The Tahoe Prosperity Center is going to conduct a study on affordable housing in what they call Washoe-Tahoe but I call Incline Village and Crystal Bay (IVCB). There’s an extensive committee. They’ve raised $80K for the study. There will be numerous focus groups, surveys, and interviews with major corporations that can speak directly to those needs. They had a person from back in the Bonanza days listed to represent the IVCB Community Forum. Kathie Julian is on the committee, but I believe she is an Independent representative. And if the IVCB Community Forum would like to have someone on the committee, you can reach out to me or to Heidi or Chase at the Tahoe Prosperity Center.
Kathie Julian – Incline Village Crystal Bay Citizen Advisory Board – Member
There is an upcoming CAB meeting on May 3 at 5:30 on Zoom. I’ll put the link in the Chat Box. The County Staff has given us two agenda items for discussion. One is regarding an event by the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the second is regarding the Classical Tahoe Event.
Denise Davis – Incline Village Crystal Bay Citizen Advisory Board – Member; Ordinance 7 – Member
I want to give Kari Ferguson the opportunity to discuss the upcoming community forums regarding Ordinance 7.
Kari Ferguson – Incline Village General Improvement District – Communications Coordinator
We have three upcoming virtual forums for Ordinance 7 with the IVGID General Manager. The first one is May 13 so I’ll put the links in the Chat Box and also send them to you Peter. I’m also going to link the Ordinance 7 webpage so you may want to check there before the forums to get up to speed on all the information.
Kristina Hill – Washoe County Board of Adjustment – Member
I wanted to ask Jeff if at the TRPA Governing Board meeting Wednesday, they recognized that the Washoe County (WC) Commissioners did not approve the matching funds for the Old Incline Elementary School (OES) bus hub the TTD is pushing for.
Jeff Cowen
It didn’t come up at that meeting. It might come up at the next TTD meeting. These things really haven’t come up before us yet.
Alexis Hill – Washoe County Commissioner
It did come up because the TRPA Federal Transit Improvement Program (FTIP) was approved. So I’m happy about that.
Kristina Hill
What was approved?
Alexis Hill
The FTIP with the Bus Hub included. It was an acceptance of the grant moving forward through TRPA because they are the official holders of the grant through the Federal process. It came up. I let the Board know that the Washoe County Commissioners vote did not pass, but it’s coming back to the Commissioners in May. I can get that information out to Pete.
Kristina Hill
Alexis, what’s going to change between now and then—what they voted on last Tuesday and what they will be voting on in May?
Alexis Hill
It may be a funding source change. It is also going to be a clarification that the funds may be for the purchase of the Southwood site, but the Commissioners are really pushing for TTD to look for alternative sites. The Commission has some concerns that will be done. So that will be put on the agenda item. There may not be a change. It may not pass with the Commission. There may be some changes in the project and the project may not move forward. But the Chair wants it back on the agenda with those changes. We’ll see how it goes.
Kristina Hill
One more thing. It seems like all the Commissioners were opposed, but you voted for it. And you represent our community. And it’s pretty clear that our community doesn’t want it. How do justify your vote for something your constituents don’t want?
Alexis Hill
Right. I understand there is real concern about the location of the bus hub for the community. I think we’re going to do a really good job of getting community input and finding the right location. I think this will help solve some major traffic issues in the community. And I have been hearing the community about the major problems that you’ve been experiencing with tourists coming into the region. And I think that overall with the TRPA plan cutting down on VMT, I think that a really great bus system will help with that.
I’m also not thrilled about the Southwood site. It feels like a backward process—that’s how it felt to me when it first started—but Federal grants allow for you to purchase the site and then move forward with the public process, which we plan on doing and being very transparent and finding the best location. So we’re going to take it slow and make sure we’re listening to the community during that process.
Margaret Martini – Ordinance 7 Committee – Member
Alexis, I totally agree with Kristina. I think you’ve thrown this community under the bus—no pun intended. I think your representation is very poor for what you found the community wanted… what we sent down to you. I believe you are totally not representing our community no matter how you spin it. I think you have voted incorrectly for representing what we want here. I just want to reiterate what Kristina said.
Steve Price – McCloud Homeowners Association, President
I’d like to say to Alexis, that we want a bus stop—but that’s a bad location. I understand what Carl Hasty is doing. But the first thing anyone would do is to conduct a traffic safety study of the site. And anybody who conducts that examination would tell you it’s a horrible location. Why would you even start looking at a place before assessing whether it’s right or wrong? It’s not the right place for that bus hub.
If you really look at what’s going on around the lake, except for certain times during the day, there is very limited use of the buses. The size of buses and what they’re doing now is wrong. I understand if you have big buses in the summertime, that’s fine. But I’ve been to Tahoe City and Truckee and I’ve seen buses empty. In Truckee I saw 5 buses with only 3 people in all 5 buses. I’ve been to the bus hub in Tahoe City. It is not used at all. We walk up and down the trail. Why they put it there and destroyed the park I don’t know. A lot of things are done before we do the right thing. Carl Hasty should have done a safety survey first and then come back and done something else. Look at other locations. You know we had a little child who was injured very badly. So many people live in that area. It’s already jammed. Parking and putting a bus hub there is not the right solution. Someplace else may be fine.
I’d like to announce that the Veterans Club of Incline Village and Crystal Bay is going to hold their Memorial Day ceremony at Burnt Cedar Beach, out on the point—the same venue as last year. It will start at 10am. We hope people will arrive early. Last year we had about 75 people plus 30 on beach. Everybody had a great time and saluted those who gave their ultimate… their lives… for the defense of our country. So 10 am on May 31st, Memorial Day. We hope a lot of you will come out to remember those people.
Joe Farrell – Incline Village Resident
I would just like to agree with Kristina and Steve’s comments about this transit hub, Alexis. There have been an overwhelming number of emails to you since your tenure began. Sometimes I feel as our Commissioner, you’re not really listening to us. So I’m hoping in the near, coming future, that you’ll take to heart what the constituents really want. We live here. We have to put up with a lot of messes. This summer will probably be worse than the last. I’d say let’s put some money in controlling people coming in.
And the bigger issue is regionalization of the Reno and Washoe County. I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area. And one of the troubling things there is the All Bay Area government to regionalize the governments of SF Bay. It was a nightmare. I hope you’re not trying to push that on our County.
Jackie Chandler – Sustain Tahoe
As a community— with the East Shore Trail and this summer coming out of the pandemic—we know we’ll be incredibly inundated. The problem with transit is twofold now because people are afraid to take the bus—which is why I think we’re seeing a lot of empty buses—and we don’t have a reliable frequent bus system that links continuously from Reno to Truckee to South Lake to be able to move people here without cars.
I understand the point of Federal dollars that had to be used or TTD would lose them, and that’s the justification TTD gave for trying to secure these funds, even though the funds were tied to a site that really doesn’t work. Aside from all the other reasons, it’s mainly because it’s not where visitors want to go. They want to get to the Ponderosa. So we’re dropping them a mile and a half short from where they want to be.
That’s the biggest problem, because even though we are a “gated community,” so to speak, you are part of the Tahoe Basin. You can’t get away from that. So I’d like to say two things about this.
One, for this group in general moving forward, I would suggest anytime anybody says something isn’t working, you offer a solution for it. If I say I don’t want people parking in front of my house, or speeding in front of my house, then I need to also say, so here’s my idea. And, if you can make it about the lake or the bears you can rally a bigger group of people who will care about speeding and parking. But if I just say… “I don’t like what’s happening in front of my house” … there are very few people who actually care about me. But there are millions of people who care about the lake and the wildlife. So we should look at solutions from a broader context—and know that we’re part of a watershed. About parking, there’s a lot of parking here, you may have a personal problem with it, but it is also not good for the lake. That’s something we can get traction on. Things that aren’t good for the lake or the wildlife have more traction. Having people commute because they can’t find affordable housing is not good for the lake or the wildlife. So I’d love it if we can pull out of our little community somewhat, and see we’re part of the bigger picture and realize people are coming here for the same reason we live here. And if we put out a reason we’re unhappy with something, put out a solution.
Yeah, maybe Alexis made a vote that we’re not happy with. But you can see the pressure they’re under trying to secure the funds. And the TRPA has a threshold agenda that means they have to put bus hubs around the lake. Obviously the OES is a bad choice for the lake and for the visitors at the lake and for us. But if we forget about us for a minute and think about the lake and the visitors, we’ll get more traction. We’d start thinking about solutions like expanding the existing transit route without even putting up a bus hub right now before they start coming, which will be in a few weeks. We don’t have time to build out that toxic site on Southwood. There’s no time. The time is now to put in another transit line.
So those are my two concerns about this group. One is that you look at the whole picture of the lake and the visitors and our responsibility in that. And if you put in a complaint, you put out a solution and think about how we can bring those solutions into being, rather than just, “I don’t want this. I don’t want this. We don’t want this. We don’t want this. We just moved here. We just want to. It’s our lake.” That’s difficult for me. Amen.
Denise Davis
With all due respect, Carl Hasty told us at this Community Forum, the OES is the only site that meets his criteria. We asked him several times what the criteria are for a bus hub, and he declined to share any of that information. I understand you believe other sites will be considered, but just based on what Mr. Hasty has told us, he’s not interested in considering any other site. So that’s why we’re very concerned.
Peter Todoroff
I’m going to chime in on this too. Several years ago, I offered TTD alternate sites along Highway 28 where the old Chevron station and Stanley’s restaurant were. It’s right along the highway. It’s easy to get up there and catch the bus and go right down to Sand Harbor. It has never even been considered. I sent it to TRPA, I sent it to Devin, and I copied Hasty; and like Denise said, the only place Hasty has considered in all the years I’ve been doing this is the OES.
My comment at the Commissioners meeting was why don’t you clean up Southwood Boulevard with parking on both sides of the road as an extended parking lot for Tahoe Incline Apartments? There’s no reason for those people to use Southwood Boulevard as their extended parking lot. I find this unacceptable. So there have been alternate sites … but they will not look. I have to agree with Denise 100%. So I want to correct that item.
Ronda Tycer – Incline Forum Recap Editor, IV STR Citizen Advisory Group – Co-Chair
I want to report on a new development in the legislation (AB 363) having to do with Short-Term-Rentals (STRs) now before the Revenue Committee in the Legislature. As of yesterday afternoon we were shocked to find that a new amendment had been proposed that basically revised the law so that it only applied to Clark County. The way they did that was by setting a population limit on the bill of 700,000 and above. It would only apply to parts of Nevada—that is counties—with 700,000 plus population. Washoe has 465,000 so that effectively eliminated all of the rest of Nevada and only Clark County would be affected.
Immediately we protested as much as we could, and several of our residents have put in protests based on “equal protection under the law.” If this law only applies to Clark County, why is it a State law? We’re hoping lawyers will look at this and realize that carving out a bill that only applies to Clark County, is probably going to bring lawsuits. We all know that Incline residents refuse to be partitioned from the rest of the County or the rest of the state for frivolous reasons. And frankly we can’t find any reason why AB 363 shouldn’t apply across the board or at least to the two largest counties in the state—Clark and Washoe. That’s where we are with that bill. We’ll be asking residents again to chime in given this latest development. But now instead of just addressing the Revenue Committee, we’ll be addressing our representatives Ben Kiekefer and Lisa Krasner to see what they can do for us.
Peter Todoroff
Could you send me something to that effect so I can pass it out to everybody, because I think that this is something that really needs to be addressed? I think this is something the community needs to get behind. I don’t understand why they would discriminate against Washoe County.
Ronda Tycer
It will be addressed, for sure. I’ll be happy to send something to you. I don’t think Washoe County is being “discriminated against.” I’m sure Washoe County Commissioners and Airbnb are behind this amendment. Washoe Commissioners want to ensure their own Ordinance—which they feel is good—is not undermined by the Nevada law. But we all know the Washoe County Ordinance as written does not protect IVCB residents in terms of limiting the location or number of STRs. There is no cap. Douglas County has more restrictions and more protections for the neighborhoods, but Washoe has nothing. So Washoe will fight this tooth and nail to make sure they don’t put any limits on the number of STRs from which they get transient occupancy tax (TOT) from their favorite cash cow of IVCB.
Margaret Martini – Ordinance 7 Committee – Member
Ronda, I agree with what you say, 100%, that it’s in the laps of the Washoe County Commission. In listening to the Commission reports and attending the meetings, I have to say the Commissioners—for the most part… it used to be 3 and now it’s 4 … it seems we only have Jeanne Herman’s ear—I’d say that this needs to come from the Commissioners also. We need representation on our Commission, which at this point we don’t feel we have with the bus hub. So with the STRs, I feel the same way. We in IVCB have no representative for our STR concerns.
And the other thing we don’t have support from is our own IVGID. The beaches are the big draw here. The deed certainly says beaches are for “property owners.” There are issues with employees not being property owners who are being allowed access to the beaches, which violates the deed. Then we have the Silver and Gold Card people who have unlimited access to the beaches. If IVGID would enforce—and I’m hopeful that being a member of the Ordinance 7 committee we can get the concept across that you can get your 5 Picture Passes and Punch Cards (and purchase 5 more per parcel), but there’s no opportunity to buy unlimited Punch Cards. I know at the meeting last night it came out there were over 2000 Punch Cards purchased last year for the beaches. So IVGID needs to step up, do their job, and say the beach deed is very clear it’s for property owners and their guests. And there are other issues with that. I think that eliminating White Passes and Daily Access Passes is a step in the right direction. It has to be your Picture Card Pass to get on the beach, or your guest with your Picture Card Pass. And then a limited number of Punch Cards could be available for purchase. That will go a long way to eliminate some of the STRs if you don’t have beach access.
Judy Simon – Incline Village Resident
My question is about the AB 363 legislation and Washoe County’s position on it. I looked at the analysis that came from Washoe saying that if AB 363 passed it would be a big deal for enforcement, and they would need more money. It didn’t seem like the County had a favorable position toward the bill. Then suddenly yesterday—and I did listen to the hearing on zoom—Washoe appeared to be against the bill—or at least maybe behind the scenes – made the bill inoperative in Washoe County. I’d like Alexis to comment on that if she would.
Alexis Hill
That bill never came to the County Commission. We take official stances on bills, and I think we’ve only taken 6 official votes on bills that have gone before the legislature. Staff has been given the ability to make comments on how bills would affect operations. But again, none of this has gone to the Board. I reached out to our lobbyist after I got your email because some of those comments concerned me. I’m open to the State looking at these kinds of distancing regulations. As I’ve told this group, that’s something that the Board will look at ourselves after we’ve gone through a season of this to see how we can better look at locational criteria which is required by TRPA and is something we need to do long-term with our Ordinance. I want to make it clear this never went to the Board for approval. I made it clear to staff I had no problem with these changes. And I thought the bill seemed like something that the legislator had a lot of passion for dealing with and also a lot of knowledge about. So I just want to correct the record on that STR issue.
Judy Miller – Incline Village Resident
I also watched the hearing for AB363 and found it especially disturbing that it would not apply to Washoe County. A part of the discussion was about grandfathering in existing permittees, because you told someone, “We’re just issuing you a permit to operate as an STR and now we’re going to take it away.” And I see that problem could be surfacing in Washoe County. We’re starting to take applications on Saturday (May 1) for the new STR permits and those will be issued as of August 1. So it seems to me because we have this existing regulation in Washoe County—with no limits on the number of permits to be granted—we’re going to be facing this down the road if we try to do anything to restrict STRs. That’s why I was opposed to our newly implemented regulations because it will cause a problem in the future if we try to make a limit. We’ve seen limits everywhere around us. Douglas county is looking at even further limiting STRs by neighborhood because even if you have a cap of 10% of 600 or whatever it is county-wide, that doesn’t prevent any one neighborhood from becoming absolutely decimated. I think Washoe County should put a moratorium on permits. Let’s wait and see what happens with these other areas. And having those permits is really pretty useless. We already have regulations for trash and noise and hopefully in July we’re going to actually have some Sheriff’s deputies to enforce those existing laws. So I don’t see the STR regulations doing anything for this community. There needs to be a moratorium until we figure out the effects of having just too many STRs.
Kathie Julian
I had a question for Ronda. What was the final decision on the minimum-distance issue? How many feet did they decide between STRs? I realize this is now just stated for Clark County. But I’m just curious.
Ronda Tycer
Kathie, I didn’t hear any final decisions on anything. I heard a lot of opinions over 3 hours. There were probably more speakers commenting against the bill than for it. Right now it looks like the bill will be amended to enact a minimum distance of 500 feet—circularly—meaning in any direction from another STR. Judy did you hear any decision on that?
Judy Miller
No, there weren’t any decisions. What may happen is they’ll schedule a workshop, and that’s where a vote will take place once there’s been a workshop. And that’s up to the Chair of the Committee on Revenue.
Kathie Julian
Okay. And as a follow up to that, with respect to the County’s position, it seems to me that Alexis has said we’re going to get data at the end of 6 months. It would be great to hear clarification on what kind of data and the timing of data, and make sure that data would be robust enough to feed into the question of limits and caps and density issues—including answering the question, “What is an appropriate distance to prevent evisceration or hotelification of neighborhoods?” What percentage? Where are we now and what percentage might be too high? Those are the discussions we need to have and we need the data to do it.
Frank Wright – Ordinance 7 Committee – Member
I’m going to tag onto Margaret’s comments. I don’t think this community is aware that we give IVGID employees Gold and Silver Cards with complete access to our facilities for free. They never pay into the cost to operate. They never pay into the lawsuits. They use everything for free. We as parcel owners have to pay. And to give them all these amenities for free—to Gold and Silver Card holders—it’s for life. This means a person living in Reno never pays a penny, never is involved in any way financially, and uses our amenities.
Not only that, but when you get into beaches, you’re looking at a violation of the beach deed. They’re not mentioned in the beach deed at all. I think this is a huge problem if we don’t address it. I’m on the Ordinance 7 committee and keep trying to bring it up, but can’t get them to pay attention. The problem we have is those who aren’t willing to address it are the ones who are benefitting from it because they are employees living in Reno and Tahoe City outside our district. They’re using everything we have for free, but we’re paying for it, as well as paying to get in to the venues and they don’t pay to get in. I don’t know what it takes to grab onto this and figure this out. But I’m telling you, I’ve been trying to tell people. Now there’s a May 7 meeting of the Board and our attorney is going to come in and explain all this and how maybe they’ll get away with it. They shouldn’t get away with it. Does that mean employees will be on the beach but we have to have Punch Cards or Picture Passes? But the employees just roll in with their guests? It’s unbelievable. If you don’t start paying attention to what’s going on here, you’re going to lose everything. That’s all I have to say.
Carole Black – Incline Village Resident
I was going to jump back to STRs and piggyback on Judy’s comments about permitting over the summer. While I agree with the points she made, there may be some value to begin the process of application and to beginning safety inspections. It’s my belief—and it was the observation of the Douglas County Fire Department inspectors—that 90% of the STRs he inspected failed. It’s my belief that a number of these STRs are simply not going to pass the safety inspections. And it would behoove us—I think—to begin to get those done – independent of permitting. One could not issue the permit yet but get the inspections begun so that some of the safety risks get addressed either by remedy, or by stopping the rental if the facilities are not suitable for the way they’re being used. Just a thought.
Kristina Hill
Frank, what you said about IVGID employee passes is not true. There are only two people who have IVGID Gold Cards that we know of, and they live in Incline Village. And I know one other person who has a Silver Card and lives in Incline Village. And these people worked for IVGID for 30+ years. They deserve those privileges. And they pay into the Recreation Fee like everybody else as a resident. They are residents, they can have a Picture Pass card, but they have a Gold Card and they deserve it. So there!
Frank Wright
I’d like to add to that. Jane Madgefield (spelling?) who was an IVGID Trustee has unlimited use of our facilities and she lives in Reno. And as far as the numbers you’re coming up with, I disagree. As far as employees, they don’t deserve anything just because they worked here. I worked for the Washoe County School District (WCSD). Does that mean I own part of the school because I was there for 35 years? This is not right.
John Crockett
I want to remind people that we have a few comments in the Chat Box—one from Doug Flaherty—and Ronda will include those with the minutes.
Peter Todoroff
If they don’t want to speak and just put the notes in the Chat Box, I don’t see those and can’t send the information out to the community unless they send me an email.
I have a question for Alexis. You sent me an email about the marijuana proceeds for this community. When the law was passed— and I went down to fight for this community to have only 1 outlet and not 3—some part of the sales proceeds money was to stay in this community. It wasn’t to go into a slush fund where the County decides what to do with it. And I want to know how did that get changed? Because this community could use that money to do some upgrades. Like a few years ago when the High School furnace wasn’t working and they had to raise money to fix it. They thought they had to replace the whole furnace, but it was just some minor work that needed to be done. I would like to find out why this changed from money staying in this community, and now it goes to the County and the people there decide where they want to spend it.
Alexis Hill
I don’t know the background of why there’s some ability for the County Manager to recommend the marijuana fees the County receives to go to different programs and grants, and there’s no set requirements for different districts. I can absolutely look into that, but it seems the staff didn’t know about that discussion. I can certainly get back to you. I will tell you the Commission is looking at approving a budget for the County for the next Fiscal Year on May 11. I have asked for funds for an Affordable Housing study, which you heard Linda Offerdahl bring up. That’s $30,000 for Incline Village. I’ve asked for Nevada Tahoe Conservation District funds for the work they do in Incline Village. I’ve asked for Incline Village Planning Funds that could include traffic and parking studies. When I talked to Linda I know there was a big push in the community to look at beautification. And we can look at planning for that as well and create more of a Main Street feel in Incline if that’s something the community wants to see. And other ways we can get involved in Incline Village. So we’ll definitely be in touch on that. I also asked for support for a Clean Tahoe program that Placer, Washoe, and IVGID are partnering on starting in June. So we’ll have the Clean Tahoe folks going out twice a week to pick up trash on the East Shore Trail and in various hot spot locations in Incline Village, and the beaches. So we hope to deal with the trash ina better way with that. So if the community wants to come out and advocate for those things, or other things you think we should be investing in for Incline, that would be great. That meeting is May 11th. So I can follow up on your question Pete and let you know. I have a meeting at 10 and have to run.
Peter Todoroff
Thank you Alexis. Is there any other topic anyone wants to talk about? Any announcements?
Sherry Butler – Incline Village Resident
I wasn’t in on the first 20 minutes of the discussion. Does Alexis understand how angry some people in town are with the recent things that she’s done—the votes she’s cast? That many of us actually feel that she’s not representing Incline Village in the way that we thought she would when she got voted in? [Peter Todoroff – Yes, I think… ] I just wondered if anyone voiced that at the beginning of the meeting that I missed because she was right there….
John Crockett
Yes, Sherry, there were a couple of comments.
Sherry Butler
Alright, I’ll read the transcript. Thank you.
Bruce Townsend –Ordinance 7 Committee – Member
I was just wondering why Washoe County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t been on. I just wonder what’s going on with the deputies coming online.
Peter Todoroff
That’s a good question. I saw Jeff Clark who has been promoted since he was Lieutenant during the Bonanza days. He gave an update on the prison… I’ll call Sheriff Balaam for an update.
Kristina Hill
I want let you know I’ve been in correspondence with the County about the abandonment of the roads in Crystal Bay—specifically Reservoir Road that goes right down to the highway in front of the Post Office. It is being abandoned. That seems to be a problem. The reason it’s being abandoned is so Boulder Bay developers can construct “Wellness Way” down the hill instead. That’s based on the TRPA approval for the Boulder Bay Development that was done in 2013, which is 8 years ago. They’re using the same traffic analysis—the same everything—to allow for this abandonment of a county road. And the County is not requiring an updated traffic report. They’re saying NDOT will do that as a condition of approval. So they’re going to approve it, and then require a traffic report. And who will do the report—the developer because it’s a private company. And the developer is also required to obtain public input on the traffic report. So do you think that’s going to happen? No.
So it’s very frustration for those of us who are concerned about county roads being eliminated in our residential neighborhoods for the biggest project approved on the North Shore, which was approved 8 years ago. Since then we’ve become a zoom town, and the population has doubled. We need more transparency. What will be the traffic impact of eliminating these roads? I’m really upset about it. I hope we can all contact County Planner Chris Bronczyk at Washoe County Planning (775.328.3628; 775.328.3612 cbronczyk@washoecounty.us) and tell him this is putting the cart-before-the-horse. We need to see what is being proposed at Boulder Bay and what the environmental impacts are, and an updated traffic report… transparency. We should be able to comment on it before they approve this abandonment of our county street.
Coral Asmende – Incline Village Resident
I’ll just mention that the traffic study was done in 2008. And I believe the initial approval for Boulder Bay was in 2011. Regardless, it’s old news. And they’re not providing any additional evacuation roads out of the basin and will be adding 2450 people on that corner lot where the Biltmore is.
But the bigger issue for me is that all these decisions by Alexis, by the Commission, by the Planning Department, by TRPA affect Incline, but none of the Incline residents’ comments are taken seriously at all. “We are just doing what we want to do. We don’t care what you guys want.” It’s the same thing with the STR regulations and with the transit hub.
Steve Price
I have a couple of things. At the cleanup around the lake last week, we had 25 people volunteer whereas last year we had 125. I have a recommendation. When I was teaching high school ROTC, we cleaned up streets on weekends once a month. We cleaned up the campus. And I’m wondering why the organizations that get money from various sources with kids, can’t be going out, and adopting a street to make sure that street is clean maybe once a month rather than just sitting on their haunches saying how great we’re doing. I think there’s an opportunity to get young people involved. Young people become old people of the community, and they’ll learn what it means to keep your community clean no matter where you are.
The second thing I want to talk about is STRs. I live in a condominium association with 256 units and we are inundated by STRs. We’re paying for those people who come in and dump their trash, and it costs us money for that—and a variety of other things. We cannot charge them any more than the other owners. So what’s happening is people are operating a business, and they are off-loading those business costs to us. I think in terms of what’s going on—and I made my opinions to both our legislators. I think it is time for us to stand up and say these are businesses and they need to conduct themselves as businesses and be classified as such. Until we do, we’ll never get a handle on this, and our association will continue to pay for people who don’t contribute anything other than to rent their unit.
Judy Miller
I want to respond to Steve. I know there have been recent court cases in Douglas County where a HOA was justified in having different fees for units where a STR is operated. Let me see if I can find the case for you to check out. However, if yours is one of the HOAs where the majority of board members are STR operators, then you won’t have success.
Steve Price
We don’t have that problem—yet.
Judy Miller
Okay then this court case might be of interest.
Kathie Julian
I just want to follow on what Kristina was saying. There is a Planning Commission meeting on June 1 that will be discussing the Boulder Bay project and the abandonment variance for the road. This had come before the CAB in March. We found the application was not complete, and therefore we weren’t able to judge it except to say redo it and strengthen it because you don’t have enough information. They went back and added in that Wellness Way which addressed some concerns, but should have been there to begin with. And I agree completely with Coral that all those road studies and approvals are very dated. I’d like to find from Coral and Kristina, where the number of 2500 people came in, what documentation. Also, people who want to see this on the CAB agenda, should know it didn’t come back to the CAB. You should come to the upcoming CAB meeting and make a public statement that this should have come back to the CAB for review if that’s what the community feels like. The CAB is one vehicle where you can get up and say “I think this should be on the agenda.” We don’t set the agenda. The County staff sets it. So that feedback needs to get to them.
Peter Todoroff
I was chair of the CAB at the time when Boulder Bay went through. There was no mention of 2500 additional people. If the studies are that old, why let everything go through? And they need to clarify exactly what the use of that property is going to be—which was never done. If there’s going to be a CAB meeting focused on that, let me know and I’ll pass out the agenda info.
Kathie Julian
Regarding the Board, we elected Kevin Lyons for Chair to replace Judy Miller, and the Vice Chair is still Michael.
Margaret Martini
Just as an FYI, in the Costco Connection magazine that goes out to every Costco member they have a blurb about Terrific Tahoe.” Lake Tahoe and its surroundings offer opportunities for recreation and play on and off the water.” With this kind of advertising going on plus everything else, we can expect to be inundated with an influx of tourists and STR renters.
Peter Todoroff
The same thing happened with Red, White, and Tahoe Blue. We had a person who brought in people from all over the place, and we could not accommodate 10,000 extra people.
Going back to the TTD, I think what needs to be done is Reno needs to concentrate on having its shuttle service come up here and divert the traffic and parking to Reno. All they’d need to do is bring them up from Reno, and drop them at the old Chevron and old Stanley’s property on Highway 28, and then go to Sand Harbor. The California and Nevada Highway Patrol need to put electric signage along Hwy 80 that informs drivers of when Sand Harbor is full. That would help alleviate traffic in Incline. Because if we have a fire, and in the summer coming from west to east—we can’t get out. How do we get out of here when 28 is a parking lot coming and going from Carson City? We have an absolutely horrible problem. Instead of concentrating on purchasing property for a hub up here, get a system where you divert traffic to Reno and then they come up here. I don’t think a bus hub will be used—people can walk to the store for groceries—I don’t see anyone using the bus—3 or 4 people at the most.
Carole Black
I want to say that one of the keys here with the mobility hub, TRPA, and Incline Village—the lynchpin in my mind— is the park-and-ride issue. What I’ve been trying to push in the TTD and TRPA meetings is we cannot accommodate additional parking safely in this small village for people coming to use Route 28 recreation sites. If they want bus stops along the way, that’s okay to consider, but the problem is the cars. We managed to get some traction in the Regional Transportation Plan at TRPA. I’m less clear of traction with TTD. And I’m very worried about Commissioner Hill’s perspective on this point. The key here is—and I think Jacqui was talking about it—the real issue is all the vehicles coming in. That’s just a suggestion, but I’ll keep poking away at it and hope others will join. I don’t think we want to find an alternative bus hub in Incline Village. If they want a place where they get off the bus and rent their bike—a drop-off—yes, but no more parking lots in Incline. The answer is not more cars in Incline. The answer is to stop the cars from coming. We need signage that says if the parking lots that are available are full – don’t come.
Steve Price
What are the times they’ll be resurfacing Mt Rose Hwy this summer? Do we know the time and the impacts. This will affect people coming up. That needs to be published.
Peter Todoroff
There is going to be something in the news. I’ll try to get information from NDOT.
Margaret Martini
They have a sign up saying it starts on May 3rd on Route 431.
Sally Miller – Incline Village Resident
I’ve been opposing STRs and opposing the bus hub like most of the rest of you, but I was listening to the livestreaming of the IVGID meeting and it wasn’t clear if they’re saying we get 5 punch cards per parcel and then they can buy 5 more.
Carole Black
I was told they passed the Emergency Resolution that an owner could have a combination of 5 Picture Passes and or Punch Cards as usual, and then could purchase 5 more.
Sally Miller
I think that’s ridiculous. Don’t you?
Carole Black
I don’t know what the right answer is. But I think limiting additional Punch Cards to 5 more is better than infinitely more, which is what it was.
Sally Miller
And you have to wonder when and how did that happen—that people could just go and buy more? Each Punch Card is worth $166. So you have 5 times that added to 5 times that, and I just think it’s too much.
Jacqui Chandler
They did it because a lot of people had more than 3 kids. So with 5 cards per property it accommodated 2 parents and 3 kids, which was the original thinking. But there are so many extended families, and then people have guests. I think that’s why they did it. They realized they were limiting it and controlling how many people could be in a family. That was their intent. Now it’s definitely got out of control. So I agree with Sara, you can have 5 more on top of 5 and that should cover it….
Sally Miller
Then think about the fact STRs are going to be able to buy those too.
Jacqui Chandler
That’s the problem. That’s why this has come up.
Denise Davis
Sally, I’d like to address your question. I’m on the Ordinance 7 Committee along with Bruce, and Margaret, and Frank. The resolution discussed and passed last night is just for this season at the beaches. We’re still dealing with COVID regulations. And they are trying to eliminate staff handling money at the beach. That’s why last year you had to have a Picture Pass or Punch Card. This year they’re trying to limit the number of additional Punch Cards that can be purchased. We’re still working on Ordinance 7. As I said earlier, we’re having community forums in May so we welcome your comments. But the resolution passed last night is not a change to Ordinance 7. It’s just a resolution for this beach season because of COVID.
Carole Black
I think it will also give us information in terms of behaviors as we look at more long-term approaches. It will give us more data.
Denise Davis
Yes it will. I’ll just add that a lot as been made about how many Punch Cards were purchased last year. A contributing factor of the number of Punch Cards sold last year was because there were no Day Passes, so the only way you could get anybody without a Picture Pass on the beach last summer was with a Punch Card. That accounts for a lot of the increase in Punch Cards.
Ronda Tycer
The 2000 number—whether it’s Punch Cards or Day Passes or whatever—is huge. So yes it included all those other passes that weren’t available which were added to the Punch Card purchases. But when you think of that, you realize how many more people were on the beach. I think the primary intent of the Ordinance 7 committee is to reduce congestion on the beaches, so limiting the number of Punch Cards that can be purchased, is critical. I agree that 5 sounds like a lot when you already have 5 assigned per parcel, but that may be the best we can do at the moment. And as Carole said that will give us some data as further input to changes to the Ordinance. That’s what we’ll be talking about in the May forums. So it’s really important that we encourage everyone to read the Ordinance and to understand what the past practices were and what the current practices are. Just as we did regarding STRs at the CAB, we should all be weighing in at those IVGID forums. We will be promoting those forums avidly through this forum and also through our IV STR Short Term Rental Citizen Advisory Group.
Doug Flaherty
I didn’t read my Chat Box post because it’s long, but here’s the deal. We all need to
Google “NEPA” – and “cumulative effect.” The reason is it gives you an idea of what NEPA requires in their analysis and it basically says that the cumulative impact analysis that NEPA requires “ensures agencies don’t impermissibly subject the decision-making process under NEPA to the tyranny of small decisions.” I think this is a big key in the Tahoe Basin. If we rally around ensuring TRPA should conduct a cumulative effect analysis of these projects—whether it’s TTD, Washoe County, the Tahoe Area Plan, Boulder Bay, whatever it is—this holds the key to change the way things are happening and impacts on Tahoe.
Since its inceptions TRPA and its government partners have enjoyed the luxury of the tyranny of small decisions at Lake Tahoe Basin’s expense. And the TRPA Code of Ordinance has left out the requirement to conduct a cumulative effects impact study. This is I believe very important.
Peter Todoroff
Thanks for sending me that information from the Chat. I’ll pass it out to everybody.
Doug Flaherty
I’ll send it to you.
Gail L –
Thanks Peter for doing these meetings. I really enjoy them. I think Ronda had made a statement that the Ordinance 7 committee’s charter was to look at overcrowding of beaches. I think that’s just one issue that the Ordinance 7 is to look at. Overall—and members of the Ordinance 7 can correct me—is that Ordinance 7 needs to be looked at from many different aspects. But keep in mind, we have over 8000 residences/lots, and if you times that by 5 (a combination of Picture Passes and Punch Cards) that’s 40,000 that can be on our beaches at a given time by our own residents.
Peter Todoroff
Thank you for attending the meeting. Let me know if you didn’t get the notifications or the minutes. This community forum is for you to speak to our elected officials to let them know what you do and don’t want. I’m here to make that happen. I want everyone to participate. The more participation, the more likely agencies will listen to what we have to say. Thank you.
CHAT BOX
09:08:08 From kathie julian : CAB Mtg Link: Below is link for the May 3, 2021, Incline Village/Crystal Bay Citizen Advisory Board meeting. The Zoom link is available on the agenda and also copied below.
When: May 3, 2021 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: IVCB CAB
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
Or One tap mobile :
US: +16699009128,,87976852684# or +12532158782,,87976852684#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
Webinar ID: 879 7685 2684
09:09:28 From Kari Ferguson- IVGID Communications Coordinator : https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/ivgid/general-managers-committee-on-ordinance-7
09:10:43 From Kari Ferguson- IVGID Communications Coordinator : More information on the Ordinance 7 Virtual Community Forum: https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/events/ordinance-7-virtual-community-forum-session-1
09:23:35 From kathie julian : Jackie. One solution is to negotiate with Northstar, Diamond Peak, and Mt. Rose to use their existing parking, feet from the Hwy, for summer tourist parking and buses. It can be done now. Install some portable toilets. It ski resorts agreed, it could begin now.
09:33:42 From Doug Flaherty : In Line with Jacquie’s earlier comments: Significant and adverse cumulative effect impact occurs from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions. The cumulative impact National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) analysis requirement ensures agencies do not “impermissibly subject the decision making process under NEPA to the tyranny of small decisions.”
Since it’s inception, the TRPA and it’s government “partners” have enjoyed the luxury of the tyranny of small decisions at Lake Tahoe Basin’s expense. This by not including a cumulative adverse effect impact environmental analyses in the TRPA Code of Ordinance Rules of Procedures thereby avoiding the preparation of the same. This includes incremental changes in TRPA Code Sections to satisfy their government “partners” and special interest groups without any requirement whatsoever to identify and discuss adverse cumulative effect impacts.
09:46:08 From Jacquie Chandler : good point. Always a challenge when permit fees are used to pay salaries. Agree the TRPA does not always follow their Threshold directive, leaving us without a moral, environmental compass. Also frustrating that extending current transit lines isn’t a TTD priority before adding another transit station (The obvious location is Ponderosa). And yes, other locations for the Mobility Hub have been suggested and maybe after securing these funds they will be considered. Wondering why the League has not been alerted, since they lead lawsuits for issues that compromise lake clarity and violate the Thresholds
09:50:07 From Jacquie Chandler : Yes, Northstar, Diamond Peak and Mt Rose make sense as park and ride locations – thank you for sharing a solution
09:53:32 From Jacquie Chandler : What if our community put our weight behind a transit solution proposal that included ideas like Northstar, Mt Rose, Spooner/Hwy 50, Chimney Beach, etc. —a strong viable transit solution that did not include the school site but was in service to visitors, the lake and the wildlife. It would get regional if not national traction and many NGO’s would get behind it. This way we define the transit narrative with public backing.
10:02:23 From Jacquie Chandler : the reason Incline’s voice is not well heard, is because the County, State and TRPA respond to public needs in terms of being able to access the National Treasure without damaging the water. Clearly there are many examples of how they violate their own directive, but that is why our community voice is not always heard.
10:06:08 From Jacquie Chandler : One advantage of Boulder Bay remodeling their lodging accommodation is to take pressure off STR demand and more justification to limit local STR’s, which are a result of limited lodging options
10:07:31 From Jacquie Chandler : good idea Pete – an easy to update electric sign in South Reno, KB and SLT that showed Sand Harbor parking lot is full
10:08:02 From Jacquie Chandler : Buses are not being used because of the Pandemic. This will change, esp when the transit service runs every 15 mins
10:19:45 From kathie julian : Hi Jacquie, that may be true if Boulder Bay adds tourist accommodation. My point was simply that the proposal for variance/road abandonment should have come back to the CAB for its agenda. It the application is improved with more information, then that helps the community understand better the development. Since the issue comes before the Planning commission in June, there would have been time to come back to the CAB. But this is my personal perspective.
10:20:35 From Jacquie Chandler : understand
10:21:13 From Jacquie Chandler : Thank you Doug
10:23:24 From Joe Farrell : Thanks Pete!
WASHOE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE IV SUBSTATION
No updates were posted regarding WCSO activity in Incline Village and Crystal Bay.
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Incline Village Substation
WARNING! Starting Monday, May 3, 2021 the speed limit on Country Club Drive is changing.
Currently, between Mount Rose Highway and Tahoe Boulevard, the speed limit on Country Club Drive is 35 mph. Next week, that will be reduced to 25 mph.
Our Incline Village Patrol Deputies will be monitoring drivers on Country Club Drive.
#ProudSheriff #SlowDown #DontSpeed #DriveSafe
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office
Overnight and into the early hours this morning our Patrol Deputies in Incline Village were busy helping motorists who were not driving for the weather conditions.
Remember, temperatures still get below freezing once the sun goes down. Especially in our high elevations.
Take it slow when there’s snow!
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office
This time last week a 5-year old boy was in the hospital after being hit by a car in Incline Village.
Deputies Tone and Pelfrey were the first on the scene, and they were the first to respond to a hospital in Incline where they boy’s father immediately drove him.
“Manuelito” then was flown by Care Flight to a Reno hospital where he was treated for a broken femur and lacerated spleen.
He has since been released and is up and walking around with the help of a walker.
Deputies Tone and Pelfrey found out that Manuelito likes Spider-Man, so this week they stopped by to say “hi” and deliver some get-well goodies.
They say he’s awesome, and they were so impressed with Manuelito’s happy and infectiously positive attitude in light of what had happened.
He and his parents were very grateful for ALL the first responders who were at the scene!!! And want to say thank you to everyone involved in his care and recovery, from the North Lake Tahoe Firefighters to the flight medics and staff at the hospital.
We at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office are so glad Manuelito is doing better.
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