SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, city council met to discuss continuing the Lease to Locals program, lowering the speed limit on Sierra Boulevard, and new members of the Building and Housing Board of Appeals along with a new city engineer and traffic engineer. Mayor Tamara Wallace was absent so the meeting was headed by Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass.
Closed session report and public comment
City attorney Heather Stroud was able to provide a report on case 22CV0761, where the police department was sued by two plaintiffs who were injured in the pursuit of a stolen vehicle in 2021. A settlement was reached on July 30, 2025, with a total payment of $2 million, $1 million per plaintiff. These costs were covered by the city’s risk-pool insurance through Sierra.
During public comment, the Tahoe Bear League requested the city to require education and take certain preventative measures before depredation measures were taken by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They also expressed their interest in being part of a working group.
Melissa Soderston agreed, “We have to stop punishing the bears for what humans do.”
Dennis Cobb also brought up the topic of animals, asking the city to potentially put up signs to stop feeding geese at Pope Beach. He also brought up concerns of electric bikes and scooters on the path and their speeds, and wondered if the city could provide preventative measures such as speed limit signs.
Lastly, vacation home rental (VHR) owners spoke about the issues with the current rollout of the VHR permits. Brad Adams, who lives in Folsom, said that he was unable to get a permit despite being in good standing due to the timing of his inspection. The current system is first-come, first-serve, which he said made him feel “completely blindsided.”
Caleb Fry requested the city to delay the general start date to give more time for the city to study the current rollout, and to consider the issues that VHR owners were highlighting.
Lease to Locals
Lydia Zuniga, associate management analyst in the housing division, presented on the Lease to Locals program. Placemate has had a professional services agreement with the city where they manage the Lease to Locals program. So far, the program has unlocked 59 households, housing 144 residents, including children. As of Tuesday, they have closed 50 grants. Currently, the balance to administer the program is $47,500, with a remaining $7,500 balance for grants.
Zuniga offered several options to the city regarding the future of the program. The most cost-effective option was to end the professional services agreement with Placemate in the next 30 days, bringing program management in-house to the city staff and changing the name to the Long-Term Rental Incentive Program.
The development services department recently updated its software, allowing it to more efficiently track data. The city also has its own rental assistance program which would be supplemented by bringing the program in-house.
“It was time and money well-spent so far (on Placemate),” said councilmember Scott Robbins. “This was a pilot program that has succeeded. The time has come for it to not be a pilot anymore and for it to just be a program.”
Councilmember David Jinkens said he was interested in having large business partners do their part in helping fund these kinds of programs. “They need to step up and do their jobs, just like we’re doing our jobs,” he said.
The council ultimately passed a unanimous motion to bring the Lease to Locals program in-house, along with gauging interest and requesting participation for funding from regional government partners and businesses.
Though Lease to Locals will now be a city program, councilmember Keith Roberts did express his interest in the Rooted Renters program through Placemate, which will be a future item for the council to consider.
Citizen appointment
The council unanimously passed a motion to appoint Dan May to the Building and Housing Board of Appeals, which had a single missing seat to fill.
May was the sole applicant to the position, and said, “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work on this board. I was looking for ways to help make the city run well and this looked like a good opportunity.”
Lower speed limits
Anush Nejad, director of public works, presented a report to the council regarding the JLB Traffic Engineering Co.’s engineering and traffic survey for Sierra Boulevard. The previous one was conducted about a decade ago.
The survey found that many people were driving at approximately 5 mph above the speed limit and recommended that the speed limit be lowered to 30 mph, rather than the current 35 mph. The street has pedestrian and bikeway connections, as well as proximity to the college and parks.
Nejad said that this change would align with the Vision Zero plan to reduce car accidents in the city. The new limits would be out sometime in early October and would cost $2,000 to implement the changes.
Robbins said that the street’s design incentivizes fast driving and requested alternate options of traffic and speed control, especially as he has received constituent complaints about traffic in the city. Nejad mentioned that speed limit complaints were some of the most common he received.
During public comment, Melissa Soderston voiced her support for lower speed limits. “I have not owned a car for more than a decade now, and it is absolutely terrifying to be on our streets… we are watching our wildlife be annihilated on a daily basis.”
The motion passed unanimously, and the item will come back to council in September for a second reading before implementation.
City engineer and traffic engineer delegation
Bass took a moment on this item to recognize that it was Nejad’s last meeting with city council. “These items truly exemplify the service you’ve given to our city over the past four years. Our public works department has really transformed, and in my 27 years of being here, I’ve never seen our public works department operate in such a professional way. I cannot thank you enough for the time you’ve given this community and all you have done.”
Robbins and Roberts both joked about not wanting Nejad to leave, with Roberts saying he and Jinkens would put potholes in the streets to prevent him from leaving.
Jinkens complimented Nejad especially for his responsiveness to public concerns and meeting with residents when they have problems.
“It really has been my pleasure to serve city council. I really appreciate all the support the city gave to the public works department and hope you will continue to support it,” said Nejad.
City manager Joe Irvin indicated that Nejad’s position would be taken over in the interim by airport manager John Dickinson. In the future, he said he hoped the public works director could also operate in multiple capacities, as Nejad has in the past, especially with regard to the city engineer and traffic engineer capabilities.
For now, city council approved Michael Lefrancois of Lefrancois Engineering for city engineer and Bill Suen of LSC Transportation Consultants Inc. for city traffic engineer.
Future items
Robbins and Jinkens brought up the topic of how the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) policies on traffic mitigation fees were inhibiting local business investment. Bass suggested they give input at the local government council, as it’s something that is still under discussion.
Roberts directed staff to look into the management of bears in the area and the possibilities of speed bumps or other traffic control methods on bike paths, which were supported by the rest of council.
Bass requested that the council revisit the sign ordinances, as he felt that it “seemed unfair” with regard to sandwich board signs outside of the tourist core.
Peace Love Tahoe made a request to recognize September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the Daughters of the American Revolution requested a recognition of Constitution Week.
During councilmember reports, Robbins brought up the Lake Link contracts, saying that Lake Link would now count for public transit ridership numbers on South Shore, which helps drive available federal government funding.
Jinkens mentioned that during his vacation to Catalina Island that other communities were dealing with similar housing issues.
Bass ended on a controversial note, saying he was interested in staff opening conversations regarding the lower Ski Run area and cooperation with Vail Resorts in managing that area. He also mentioned that he took issue with the TRPA’s policy not to have new uses for the airport, as he felt it would hinder future uses of electric aircraft.
The next city council meeting will be on August 26 and will primarily be about the city budget.
Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.