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.
Democracy is messy. Appears that the Voters will have their say. I look forward to reading the exact wording on the ballot. City will save $15 from what the Council voted for the Study, apparently.
Politicians out of touch with their constituents do what’s right only when flames are directed at their feet. Then they scurry like rats.
I hate the term but, it is a win win.
We will still have to live with paid parking this summer. The council should have set the date for removal in June.
They are going to bleed the tourists and locals now matter what the voters want.
I’m following this whole issue from afar, although not without opinions. Anyone with a slight amount of experience in political elections will see this as an opportunity to jump on that ballot with plans to attract the voters who will be voting with “blood in their eye,” opposed to the paid parking fiasco. And, perhaps, wouldn’t otherwise be interested in the trek to the polls.
In the sixties, to the politically wise (although, in the sixties, they went out of their way to disguise that wisdom) this was what was known as an “opportunity.” I suppose that today, in the world of forums where screwballs get to mingle with folks who actually know what they’re talking about (I’m informed that some of those folks actually exist hereon) and the “sophisticated” readers supposedly know the difference, a ballot initiative like this could lead to mayhem. As well as Democracy. Same thing, in my opinion.
Not just the tourists will be affected by the meters staying all summer – workers and locals too had to deal with their ill conceived idea. Come on council and Nancy, you all can do better than that when the voters have their say.
Very cowardly of the Council!! The individuals on the governing body are clearly trying to wash their hands of this, but yet trying to retain all constituents’ support!
To the Union backers of Paid Parking they clearly want to say, “We did what we could to maintain it, and still got the ’14 Summer Revenues!” To those opposed, “We let the people vote!” (And is there any doubt it’ll be voted out?!)
But to all the Council members, save Davis, (who I’ve strongly disagreed with previously) I will do what I can to make the public remember in any election you may be involved in, you did all you could to keep Paid Parking in place, and sucked out all possible revenues from it!
This was about as close to a surrender as we could ever expect. Thanks Bruce Grego and Tahoe 4 Tahoe, for all the work you did on this. Now we’ll go to the voting booth and finish the job.
Trouble is, in the previous article (above) Meyers was mentioned. We in the county can not vote on city matters. Guess it will get us a yearly pass, though.
I can’t vote either, but I pay the property taxes that help pay the bill on this fiasco. Taxation without representation – wish some legal entity would take up that issue and let us vote on this!
Well, happy days! It feels good to know the residents of this city will decide this issue!
After Tahoe4Tahoe got 1400 voters to bring about a ballot measure the council now wants to fix the parking program! It has impacted alot more people then the counci considered. You can not fix the businesses in the areas of paid parking. You can not increase property values of a home owner in the paid parking areas. You have no good will from locals or tourists. It can not be fixed!! Thank you Tahoe4tahoe!