S. Tahoe voters to decide on paid parking

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe voters will get to decide whether there are parking meters in town.

The City Council unanimously decided Tuesday to put the question before voters June 3. If the majority says no to paid parking, then the program ends Aug. 31. If voters say yes, then it stays.

No matter what happens, the kiosks on Bellamy Court and Transit Way will remain and the parking garage at Heavenly Village is not affected.

Tahoe 4 Tahoe, a group of concerned citizens, had brought an initiative forward in hopes of asking voters to do away with paid parking. But during the process it came to light that this was not the legal way to change the parking policy. Plus, the initiative reached beyond the original intent and would have far-reaching consequences involving other ordinances.

The Tahoe 4 Tahoe group, represented by attorney Bruce Grego, formally withdrew its initiative Feb. 18 with the caveat the council put its own question before voters.

The council then immediately voted to rescind the fiscal impact study that it had approved at an earlier meeting to study the impacts of Tahoe 4 Tahoe’s ballot question. That study was going to cost no more than $25,000.

A June election will cost the city approximately $10,000.