SLT parking to include reduced fines, locals pass
By Kathryn Reed
Paid parking is going to remain in South Lake Tahoe – for now. But it’s going to look different than it did last summer.
The South Lake Tahoe City Council on Feb. 18 had a two-part session – morning and evening – so the public could hear where the program is, learn about proposed changes, and give their input.
Venice Drive in South Lake Tahoe will not have paid parking, and the future of boat trailers will be decided later. Photo/LTN file
Changes include:
• A $35 fine for violations at kiosks. It has been $55. (There are now times when warnings are issued.)
• The city will have no paid parking on Venice Drive. The issue of boat/trailer parking will be addressed at a future meeting.
• Annual passes for locals will be $40. A local is defined as anyone living full time on the South Shore in ZIP codes including South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Stateline and Zephyr Cove. The passes will be valid Monday-Friday.
• The hours of enforcement will be from 8am to 8pm. It had been until 10pm.
Exactly when these changes take place has yet to be decided.
Because the council on Tuesday morning opted to put a question before the voters in June asking if they want the paid parking program to remain, improvements that require money will not take place this summer. The thinking is that it would not be fiscally prudent to make improvements that may turn out to be temporary. (If voters say no, it will not change Bellamy Court, Transit Way or the Heavenly Village parking garage.)
This means the dirt at Lakeside used for parking would not be paved in May as was the original plan. The street was going to be realigned, along with the possibility of creating an employee parking area.
Striping, lighting and signage improvements are also on hold anywhere there are kiosks.
If the entire program were to be scrapped today it would cost about $620,000. This includes $191,000 to pay off the kiosks and losing projected revenues that have already been allocated.
The manufacturer of the kiosks has told the city it would not buy them back. They city could on its own try to sell them.
That $620,000 includes getting rid of Transit Way and Bellamy Court. Revenue there is about $85,000 a year. And if the city were to get rid of those kiosks, it would have a ripple effect involving the Heavenly Village parking garage. This is because people who purchased the bonds were told there would not be competing free parking nearby.
“Termination of the program is based on what is budgeted,” City Manager Nancy Kerry said. “These are estimates.”
She added that estimates are on track. For the first three months of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 $28,000 has been collected from parking.
Some of the new kiosks were installed in June, others in July. This means the city has not had a full year to know if its projected revenues are accurate. There have been about 63,000 transactions since the inception.
“If parking stays, it’s a real opportunity to see what kind of revenue is generated over the long run and where those funds could be spent,” Kerry said.
Besides using the parking revenue for operations and maintenance in the areas where the kiosks are located, other ideas for spending that cash include a bike path from Lakeview Commons to Ski Run Boulevard and improvements at Lakeside Beach area. But those ideas will not be fully explored until after the June election.
If parking stays, there is talk of having the neighborhoods with kiosks form groups to have input on how revenues are spent.
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In other news:
• There will be a special council meeting Feb. 24 at 5:30pm to iron out the ballot arguments for the parking question.
• Tahoe Prosperity Center’s board is meeting Friday with the goal of hiring an executive director.
• In April the council will hear from the fire chief about how prepared the city is when it comes to dealing with a dry summer.
• Lakeview Commons is officially closed because when there has been snow people were riding the rails and sledding. The city would be liable if anyone got injured.
I think the definition of “local” should include property owners. Like many others who call South Lake Tahoe our second home, we pay property (& other) taxes, pay utilities, and feed the SLT economy with our visits. I am a stakeholder – much more than a seasonal visitor from outside USA.
Second home owners/property tax payers also are paying for all that infrastructure – and Zephyr Cove and others from Nevada are not.
The best solution is to remove the paid parking completely. Get out and vote in June. Let’s get rid of this anti-tourist program in our city.
I am confused why people are against this. Seems like easy revenue for the city. Tourists are not going to vacation somewhere else because of parking meters. $40 a year for locals also sounds extremely fair. Maybe someone could enlighten me as to why there is so much negative feedback.
I agree with you Irish Wahini
I agree with Tahoe Resident. I will just have to get more excercise walking to avoid paying!
Annual passes are a great idea and I believe very reasonably priced. I really hope voters don’t decide to pull this program and waste the money and equipment spent, and also the future revenue. Let’s face it, this city can use every bit possible.
I dont believe that paid parking is a anit tourist issue, otherwise there would be no tourist visiting baldwin, pope, nevada, camp rich, or any of the other beach in our area, or for that matter, state or federal beaches and parks in the entire state. Tourist are used to paying for parking. This is mainly a local issue, as locals have not had to pay for parking. Too bad lakeside beach will now never get paved over as it has now been moved on to the huge maintaince and repair list of our failing streets. If TRPA ever get their panties in a bunch and deciede that they dont want any dirt parking so close to the water I would bet this will become a no parking zone.
Tahoe resident- There are at least 2 major reasons from my perspective. One is that paid parking was installed at private property in Lakeside. This is a beach which is owned by the property owners in Lakeside Park. Now they can’t go to their own beach without having to pay to park, yet they pay all taxes, maintenance, labor for lifeguards and cleanup crews, bathroom costs, garbage costs, etc.
In other words the property owners of this beach, who allow public access, are now being deprived of parking at their own property without paying. And the city has NO COST TO MAINTAIN this property. Everyone can use the beach from Sept until May at no cost except you have to pay the city to park at a privately owned beach. During the months of June, July and August non-property owners are asked to pay $5 to help cover the maintenance costs. But, you still have to pay the city to park.
Second, the neighborhoods around Tahoe Commons and Lakeside have been turned into permit parking only zones in order to force people to the paid parking areas. This is an inconvenience to the property owners who must now get passes for their own cars and their guests cars to park in front of their homes. You can’t visit a friend in these neighborhoods or attend a party at their home without them having to get you a pass to park on their streets or you get a ticket.
Please get out and vote in June to remove this unpopular ordinance. Every survey reported both before and after the council forced this on us has been 80% against paid parking. Only Tom Davis listened to the voters and now when the Tahoe 4 Tahoe group collected more than enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, did the city devise a way to try to fool the voters into thinking it was their idea. But, they are going to launch a huge campaign to try to convince you that they are going to lose money, which they shouldn’t have spent to buy the kiosks, hire new employees, etc.
Don’t let them fool you through politics as usual. Those of you who signed the initiative, even after a city council member was yelling at you, need to keep your fortitude and get rid of this anti-tourist program.
VOTE YES FOR PAID PARKING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paid parking can’t be a positive for tourist, can it?
I’m glad to hear they are going to have a annual pass for locals. That’s one thing I have wanted from the beginning. But it should include ALL days of the week, not just M-F. Most of us already pay for the Forest Service park pass, so a little extra for the City beaches is no problem.
$40.00 for a locals pass is worthless if you work Monday thru Friday 8:00 to 5:00. Edgewood’s new beach in the city limits will be free. The Nevada chamber wants paid parking on our beaches. Its about the business in the areas, property owners, locals and tourists. Lets just get rid of this mess?
“Second, the neighborhoods around Tahoe Commons and Lakeside have been turned into permit parking only zones in order to force people to the paid parking areas. This is an inconvenience to the property owners who must now get passes for their own cars and their guests cars to park in front of their homes. You can’t visit a friend in these neighborhoods or attend a party at their home without them having to get you a pass to park on their streets or you get a ticket.”
And this is worth thousands in property value. Who would pick a home there when you can get a comparable home right down the road with none of these problems.
I’m glad the residents of this city will be able to decide this issue in June!
I believe part of the problem with the paid parking for city residents is the way it was slipped in, and a perception that the fines etc were being ruthlessly applied.
City residents recognize what they see as a tendency for the city to go for the bucks in any way they can to balance the budget, and that the City Council does not really represent the residents. Instead, the City is placing its loyalty toward any and all who promise to reinvigorate the economy. Tourism is god, king, queen and the answer to our economic woes.
I further believe the city’s admission that they had already allocated assumed revenue from the paid parking program, (even before it had been in effect for an insufficient time to understand how lucrative it could be) is a huge problem for many residents.
Question: how much will the lack of paid parking damage the City’s balanced budget. Is the balanced budget a sham?
Absolutely so typical of the City: spend it before you get it on the assumption that it will come.
Only governments get to do this. If private citizens do this it is often called bankruptcy.
Vote your consciences, and live with the consequences.
That being said, I so appreciate and applaud the activists who pushed the ballot decision for parking. Your perseverance is admirable, and it shows the City that they cannot continue to operate in the vacuum of ignoring residents. The city council was obviously stunned that the anti- paid parking resistance was more than just talk. Their weak attempt to use the city attorney to place obstacles in your way is clear evidence they believed they could do whatever they wanted with no consequences. I sincerely hope at the next opportunity that the consequence is an upset in the old guard version of City government.
@Buck – which Nevada chamber said they want SLT beaches to have paid parking?
I think he meant Carl Ribaudo, from the front row.
Many of the people who’ve commented on this and other stories regarding paid parking say that the “City Council does not really represent the residents.” That is by design. In our democracy, the City Council represents the voters, not the residents. I voted for most of the members of the current City Council, and, by-and-large, I think they’re doing a good job. Democracy by its nature is compromise. Very rarely will anyone get exactly what he or she wants.
It’s expensive to run this city, and not because the people who work for it are overpaid. The city’s infrastructure is run down, roads most of all. Repairing them will cost tens of millions of dollars over the next 10-20 years. Paid parking is an appropriate way fund road repairs, because it is a tax on people who drive cars. It makes more sense than, for example, raising property or sales taxes.
A season parking pass is a good idea – for city residents, because we already pay property taxes to support its infrastructure. The city is a too generous in offering this benefit to people who don’t live in the city. After all, we city residents already pay several hundred thousand dollars each year to subsidize an airport that mainly benefits those who don’t live in the city.
Those that don’t want paid parking will surely be the first to complain about snow removal and the poor conditions of our roads if paid parking is voted down. Then when they have to foot the bill in some other form of revenue generation method for those aforementioned issues they’ll gripe about that and call for the council’s heads.
Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
And to those that are second homeowners and feel they aren’t represented, feel free to categorize your home in SLT as a primary residence and vote here, and give up your voting rights where you actually live. You can’t have it both ways and you knew that when you purchased a second home outside of the jurisdiction of your primary residence.
I am voting YES for paid parking. I have lived in town about 40 years; have not paid yet. Let the turkeys pay for parking.
Before the not-so-bright city council bestowed such a generous giveaway to out-of-state and other non-city taxpayers in the form of identically discounted season parking passes, why wasn’t some type of reciprocal benefit negotiated from such jurisdictions? Even a promise to help contribute to the costs of operating the airport would have been beneficial. No wonder more and more city taxpayers are moving to Nevada and Meyers for relief, leaving the dunderheads behind to pay for the infrastructure and recurrent blunders.
As long as these roads are repaired , I really dont care if its a damn if I do ,and a damn if i dont,To many pot holes.Time to fix them ,or cars our going to be a big repair job,There goes our money again,
I continue to be astounded at the colossal degree of cheapness by so many people who reside in this City and who don’t feel compelled to help support their town; or perhaps it’s the apparent number of destitute individuals who seemingly can’t afford to pop a lousy few bucks to park and help support their community in attempting to improve its largely rundown appearance; or maybe it’s just the ignorance of so many that they don’t seem to understand that money is the needed component to making improvements, such as fixing our roads and making our town look better.
Like the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Can’t help but wonder how much money a lot of you folks leave behind at the casinos or at the cocktail lounge though.
And after seeing the opponents to paid parking speak at the City Council meetings, it would be in the best interest of the majority of those people to park a few blocks away and walk. The exercise would do them good.
I live in Meyers and will be able to get a locals pass. Can I vote on the paid parking measure in the election? I bet no because I don’t live in the city. Everyone on the South Shore should be able to vote in the city elections, we all support the city one way or another and all city decisions effect us all. We should all have a voice.
Can’t believe all the people that buy into the narrative, almost a scare tactic, that “The City needs Parking Revenue! If not, there’s just not the money to perform the most basic functions such as road repair & maintenance.”
It’s a bunch of baloney! But I guess if you keep telling a lie often enough, some people will believe it? Any city that can send people into retirement at 100%, and more, of their last year’s pay, pay that in many instances was well over 100k/year (none of that it is a typo!), has plenty of money!
And I also can’t believe so many people have a tough time understanding Paid Parking’s negative impact on the lifeblood of our town, our Tourist Economy?!
Does having Paid Parking mean all tourists will stop coming? No, of course not! But the costs of parking, the hassle, and worst of all the tickets, negatively impacts the tourist experience. They enjoy Tahoe less, which means they do & spend less, and then are less likely to return and suggest that their friends should visit!
And to those that feel Paid Parking should at least be in place at The Commons so as to cover its costs, have the City rebid the Commons concessions! The City didn’t grant the concessions to highest bidders. Yet shouldn’t those that are profiting from the Commons be responsible for its costs?
Under the heading of, “you get what you pay for”, we can see that limping along with finite funds has lead to the deterioration of South Lake Tahoe’s infrastructure. It seems that the city council is trying to do what is needed for the city with paid parking as a way to raise required revenue without too much pain for the locals. They could opt to raise the business taxes but that would be on the backs of all locals; they could opt to raise property taxes but that too would be on the backs of all residents and homeowners.
I have not seen anything from those opposed to the parking program recommending a solution or giving a recommendation of where to levy the much needed funds to improve the infrastructure. Anyone???? Where do you propose the funds come from?
I formerly lived in a coastal city and begged, begged the city council to issue parking permits for the beachfront neighborhoods. I had to park 5-6 blocks from my own home in Summer or pay to park in nearby lots (as much as $30 a day for busy weekends). I would have much preferred being offered free resident passes for my cars and free guest passes for my guests.
Other than Venice, which doesn’t really have some easy walks for non Keys residents, we have options. I can park in the Library or Rec Center lots for Lakeview Commons. For the residents of Lakeside, what is it, 3 blocks of level walking to get to your beach rather than driving? Really?
I hear that you don’t want/like changes, but parking is a big one. In the 70s when business was booming, we came to Tahoe, all piled in one car to spend the week. Now, my next door neighbor (2nd home which has 3 bedrooms) has no fewer than 4 cars, sometimes 6 cars there each weekend. Come on. We cannot regulate how many cars come up per household, but we can regulate how many cars can park for free in the popular beach areas.
I want Tahoe to be the tourist destination that it can be. I want Tahoe to be the natural beauty for locals as well. That will take some money to get us there. I have paid to park several times when my situation warranted. Otherwise, I drop off those at the beach, park a few blocks away and walk back to meet family and friends.
We cannot continue on this downward path towards dilapidation. Lakeview Commons is a great example of what can be on the horizon, good for locals, good for business, good for tourists….now how do WE pay for it.
So I ask again, Where do you propose the funds come from?
Government is not the solution to our problems, government IS the problem.
I’m tired of hearing about the government being destitute. Government needs to live within it’s means.
Think of all the money saved this year on snow removal.
Don’t tell me the government is flat out broke when there’s excess in government at all levels that nobody has the political will or fortitude to tackle.
Parker is right. Most of what the city is NOW telling us about the fortunes to be made on paid parking is baloney. The city’s core services cannot be paid for with the modest net income the program is showing on the city’s latest budget report. The city keeps talking about revenue and never mentions the programs expenses. Whoever believes that we can build bike trails and maintain neighborhood streets with paid parking revenue is drinking kool aid.
After just four months, the city pulled the plug on the kiosks on Paradise Ave. (a $50,000. investment). At Yesterday’s CC meeting the decision was made to pull the kiosks on Venice Dr. (a $74,000. investment). These two areas just never fond enough paying customers to justify the staff time and investment. Who’s going to pick up the tab for these two failures?? Don’t worry, we’ll make it up on parking citations. Over 2000 tickets written at $55.00……………..BINGO!
Tell the truth city……………this whole paid parking program is about tickets.
For those of you in neighborhoods away from the paid parking, imagine looking out your front door and seeing a parking kiosk. The latest plan is to spend more money and buy solar lights for the kiosks so people can see them at night.
On June 3rd the people of SLT will have their chance to vote the meters out and then maybe we can all put our thinking caps on and come up with a more tourist directed way to collect user fees, or as someone suggested, request that the city live within its means and then remind the complainers that those of us that live here must not expect more than the city can afford.
I just wish the city would stop making costly mistakes. Our streets might be in better repair.
Good luck citing or arresting someone for trespassing at Lakeview
Commons during the “closed” winter months. What kind of stupid joke is that. Can we even walk on the sidewalk?
ADDENDUM TO MY ABOVE POST:
In my above post regarding the cheap, destitute, ignorant, addicted and lazy, I obviously neglected to reference an entire category of the truly uninformed but those who think they actually know what’s going on. I extend my apologies to those individuals for this oversight.
PS: Recent Transplant – Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You’ve given me hope that some intellect does exist in this town and its possessor is willing to post on this website.
Hey Bitter! When a fire breaks out, is Exxon going to come along and put it out? When a car is stolen, is Apple going to come out and find it? McDonalds? Reagan was an actor reading a line. I am happy we have a Government that functions. Look around the Planet for comparisons. We are not perfect, but perfection is overrated.
When you can’t argue the facts, some think it’s best to just argue! Or make personal attacks!
Recent transplant, thank you for the well thought out reply and contribution that actually shows some intellect and not just some angry diatribe about govmnt bla bla bla. Its refreshing to know that not everyone in this community is so narrow minded about the possibilities for this town.
recent transplant, Welcome to Lake Tahoe News, So. Shores only 7 day a week newspaper! I read your letter and it was well received by myself and others. I just feel that they’re better ways to generate revenue than writing parking tickets. Makes the recipient of said ticket, angry and either they will avoid that locale or just give in and feed the meter if they return, which is what the city and some others are hoping for.
You asked for ways to replace the revenue of paid parking if its voted out. Here’s a few….
The city needs to look into the collection of TOT from ALL vacation rentals and anyone else who falls under that ordinance. I’m sure there are plenty that have slipped thru the cracks. We could also better utilize what we already have, city owned property that is paid for but sits empty for long strecthes of time.The airport costs alot to operate so lets use the parking lot for outdoor venues. Rent it out for a rib cook off, small concerts, farmers market, outdoor art shows and so many other things. The terminal could be rented out for other events either at the same time the parking lot is or as a stand alone event.
The upgrade of El Dorado beach is great! So lets put on more events their. More concerts, an outdoor lecture series or maybe an outdoor film festival,(sorry, I’m an old Tahoe Drive-in guy).We got it, lets use it and make a few bucks. Speaking of the drive-in, it’s sitting empty and looking forlorn, can that be turned into something that will bring in some money? So. Shore needs a sled hill and we used to have one at the top of Ski Run blvd.where the pavement ends. The city closed it off years ago, but it was fun back in the day. Charge a small fee for the use of the hill and there’s ample parking on Ski Run. Add at least one more dog park and put in a donation box for the people that use it.
Bijou Park is a neat place but more could be going on there, but from I just read it looks like the city is already on that one.
Well, recent transplant you asked for some ways to generate lost revenue to help improve our fair city. These are just a few…lots more where these came from. Laugh if you want but at least I’m tryin’. Can’t blame a guy for tryin’.
Take care, Old Long Skiis
recent transplant, I responded to your letter about paid parking but I was quickly bumped on down the line. It can be found at “Featured Articles”. OLS
Parker, the concession at El Dorado beach can not be pulled and rebid as those concessionaries have a signed contract that gives them the concession for however long the concession is. You can not break a contract just because you dont like the terms after you already agreed to them and signed the contract.
What I was getting at reloman was that the City govt. did not bid out to those that offered the most money! For that Govt. to then in essence say, “We need Paid Parking to cover the costs of Lakeview Commons, because we failed to maximize revenue potential from those profiting from the concessions.” is insulting!
They shouldn’t come to John Q. Public for money when they didn’t do all they could to save John Q. Public money! When it’s not their own money, they’re very carefree with it!
And I understand that the ‘they’ are people elected by the public. But if the Council can’t handle certain decision making responsibility, then fine! Send it to the public in the form of a General Election!