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Home My Public Portal AboutPublic Comment Anon Amous Darrah Johnston From: Town of Truckee, CA <webmaster@townoftruckee.com> Sent: Monday, September 7, 2020 3:07 PM To: Truckee; Hilary Hobbs Subject: *NEW SUBMISSION* Public Comment Form for Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance and Permit Program Public Comment Form for Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance and Permit Program Submission#: 528501 IP Address: 75.111.65.170 Submission Date: 09/07/2020 3:07 Survey Time: 5 minutes, 25 seconds You have a new online form submission. Note: all answers displaying"*****" are marked as sensitive and must be viewed after your login. Name Anon Amous Email Amous@yahoo.com Phone (optional) Public Comment Sad, but I'm hesitant to state our names due to the hostility that's been created around the whole STIR topic. One day we hope to become full-timers and we'd like to feel welcome in our new community when that day comes. lf your comment exceeds 2000 characters, please use the attachment function below to attach your comment in a separate document. Attachment Truckee letter re-gouging STRs.docx Please ensure that you enter your email address in the box below and click the SUBMIT button to receive a copy of your submitted responses for Public Comment. Thank you, Town of Truckee This is an automated message generated by the Vision Content Management System-.Please do not reply directly to this email. 1 I'd like to make some comments and observations but anonymously as there seem to be a few vicious people out there. One day and in our dreams, we hope to move up here full time. Truckee is an awesome town but has always been and continues to be a transient town. Even the earliest known inhabitants were prehistoric nomadic tribes. The township got started surrounding the Pollard's Station hotel. Currently, every single homeowner(or their parents or grandparents) knew that when they bought their property. The TTBID was created to encourage more people to vacation here and now, after reaping $8m so far from the TOT tax, STRs are going to be gouged again. For many years there have always been ski leases and shorter and longer rentals, advertised via CraigsList or newspapers, notices on local Post Office walls, or word of mouth, etc. Those ski leases had many people coming and going every weekend. Then we've always had the summer rentals. We have a second home in Tahoe Donner, where the full-timers have the luxury of having the open space and the amenities to themselves for many months of the year, yet pay a ridiculously low yearly fee to use the amenities as compared to a pay as you go scenario. They are lucky to ride on the coattails of the 85% second homeowners. Tahoe Donner was built and advertised as a recreational second homeowner community and pre-Covid, there were a lot of empty houses most of the time, particularly during the week, that the full-timers were used to. COVID has changed the rhythm and there's more activity in houses rather than them sitting empty most of the year It's been a shock to the system that second homeowners are actually using their second homes more than before and also, maybe due to the TTBID's push to get more vacationers to come to Truckee, STRs are renting out a little more than usual. Please do not bash the second homeowners once again. 1. Second homeowners pay the full property taxes on their home and have probably paid a large percentage of the monies that went towards the newly renovated schools (which they don't use at all) as well as the health system (they may use a little but would go to their first home area asap), fire department (needed by all), cemeteries (doubt if anyone will need this as a dead, second homeowner) and the Police which we all benefit from. The Police and Fire Departments are beefed up from the property taxes but also from the TOT tax. I bet that means the response time for anyone is faster than if those second homeowners didn't exist. Second homeowners who do rent their homes out to reduce the cost of maintenance and upkeep, also pay the TOT and TTBID taxes, which contribute to the beautification of Truckee. Thinking outside the box, maybe second homeowners should get a reduction in their property taxes as they've already paid more than their fair share towards the schools! Remember, they don't get to vote, so of course the full-timers can take advantage and can manipulate to have their cake and eat it too! In Tahoe Donner, full-timers are only 15% of the population. If all homeowners could vote, maybe we wouldn't be so generous. Now we've improved the schools, the roads, the downtown area, the rec center; how about the property taxes the second homeowners are made to pay go towards solving the long-term rental (perceived) problem. It's ironic really, as there are complaints that STRs have taken away the cheap housing for the seasonal workers, yet if you take away the STRs and all the vacationers they bring, seasonal LTRs won't be needed because the town will be dead and back to when it was about 30 years ago, when it was known as a town of depressing bars and nothing else, except that it was unsafe to go there. Tahoe City was the place to go way back then and after a day of skiing or waterskiing, for a meal or to have a drink or to go out dancing. Truckee was known as a dump. Here's a concept. Tahoe Donner is one of the largest HOAs in the US, apparently. Instead of turning into a nightmare of a "them vs. us" scenario, we become the poster child of how to solve these problems that a forever tourist town has. After reading everything on NextDoor, there seem to be a consistent theme. No-one thinks the Police are taking their complaints seriously. They won't "bother" to come out for certain calls. They seem to be perceived as unresponsive to those "non-emergency" calls. They really should advertise their non-emergency number— if they have one. I think they do, as I first looked when we bought our place. People are hesitant to call "911" but advertising the non-emergency number those hesitant people are more likely to call if they have a complaint about noise after 10 pm, etc. Tahoe Donner has made some progress with the compliance line, but it's in the teething stage. It seems they don't have much power to do much. 2. There are a few full-timers who are very verbal on NextDoor bashing most if not all STRs yet the statistics of complaints have not been accessible. Before doing anything and once we return to a year or so of the new normal (where the amount of full-timers might increase due to second homeowners working from home), then we should look at consistent problems. It seems that Truckee is just following on from South Lake Tahoe and Placer County with the hope of making more money from the scapegoats—the STRs. A census should be done on every single homeowner in Truckee with relevant, agreed upon questions decided upon by members of the whole community. 3. Of course there are full-timers who have family parties, who all want to go to the beach at the same time, who have a few cars in their driveways once in a while, etc. The rules that we all come up with need to apply to EVERYONE, whether it's a full-timer having a family party or a wedding in their back yard, whether it's friends or kids of a full-timer making noise after 10 pm or smoking in the woods, or whatever. STRs pay more for the police and fire departments as they pay their property taxes as well as the TOT tax, yet they're the ones you're planning to have more rules for. A current example comes to mind where the STRs are maybe none or fewer of the bad guys: RVs aren't allowed to be parked at any home. If you drive around Tahoe Donner, there are quite a few RVs in driveways. Are these STRs or full-timers having friends or family staying in their driveway. My guess is it's the full-timers, but because it's not on anyone's mind, this is ignored. 4. 1 don't understand that the town is putting in all these rules and regulations and expenses for STRs only, yet those STRs are paying 2%for the tax that is basically for advertising of Truckee to encourage more visitors. 5. Truckee is different from South Lake Tahoe in that it doesn't have that many hotel rooms and, of course, it doesn't have gambling. Maybe the South Lake hotels were losing money to STRs and probably have a lot of clout with the town. I guess the solution might be for Truckee to build a ton of ugly hotels to house those vacationers that they advertise to bring in with the TTBID tax. Personally, I think that would ruin the town and, as a second homeowner who (like very many) one day want to be a full-timer, I would be against all that. 6. All rules in the suggested ordinance should apply to every property owner. If a second homeowner has to be available on a 24-hour basis and or have a local contact (which is totally impossible for most unless they can afford to use a management company who is less invested in your property than you) then full-timers should also have that same rule. Let's be realistic here. If that full-timer goes on vacation to climb Everest and has allowed their 18 year old to stay in the house, and that kid ends up having a party on which the neighbor complains, the owner better have good cell service while climbing the mountain and time to stop and deal with the complaint immediately. The solution in any other town would be that the neighbor calls the Police and the Police respond. The parents, of course, would be contacted as soon as feasibly possible. We all pay for the Police Department and that scenario is exactly why we pay for them. 7. It's probably forgotten now, but second homeowners were told not to come to their own home for months due to COVID and those who STR lost quite a few ski bookings, as the season turned out to be quite a good one. Most, if not nearly all, abided by those rules, solely for the sake of the full-timers and the potential strain on the local hospital. We cared, because we care about the people of the Town of Truckee. The sad thing is, most STRs abided by all your rules, but those who hadn't registered as an STR were probably the ones who continued to rent but skip through the net to pay taxes. Maybe, as we were denied entry to our own homes, all second homeowners should get a reduction in our property taxes for those months of the year. We were paying for the hospital, etc, yet were basically told we couldn't use it! Of course, this will never happen as Truckee has a cash cow they don't want to lose. There's an old saying you may have heard of: "no taxation without representation." Hhmm. Where's the second homeowners' voice counted? 8. Maximum occupancy, fire extinguishers, etc— if applied to second homeowners, it must be applied to all property owners. Why would it not be? Are full-timers lives worth less than STR owners? This is common sense stuff. 9. It may well be that the statistics prove that, percentage wise, full-timers have more parties, their kids secretly smoke on public land, or they are most of the people caught speeding. All we are able to see are the few same names on NextDoor saying the same few complaints over and over again. Let's get the facts out there and then come up with a solution to the problems, and all problems, not just related to a few bad seeds in the STR world. 10. This summer, second homeowners are actually using their homes and are coming up for longer stays than usual. The full-timers aren't used to having so many people around within their neighborhood —they are only used to having a few really busy weeks a year, followed by a few busy weekends, but always get a lot of quiet time to themselves. I know this because we come up during the off-seasons and mid-week. It's dead everywhere and the downtown is just humming along. Could you look at this from a different angle? What if Truckee was like any other town where a large percentage of homes are full of homeowners and with a few long-term renters. All of these problems would still exist, possibly more as the population would be consistent year-round. Every town has the same problems. If a neighbor is consistently having late night parties outside, or their kid and his/her friends are smoking in your back yard, the Police will and should be called to deal with the problem or potential problem. 11. It's rumored that in Tahoe Donner there are a few (very few, it seems) STRs that are run as a business or as a hotel and it's perceived the owner(s) don't give a damn about Truckee. These very few "hotel/wedding" homes are ruining it for other STRs. Neighbors should be comfortable in complaining when there's a reason to and feel comfortable that the Police will come out and will come out quickly and each time they are called. Fines and charges should be made if the problem persists. If problems still continue, these types of"businesses" in a residential area should be legally stopped from renting. 12. Garbage. Yes, short-term renters, but also friends and family of full-timers who may be staying at a home without the owners, sometimes aren't told about our inquisitive bears. It's highlighted everywhere with our renters: on the contract, in the "House Rules" book and is taped to the wall along with all the paperwork Tahoe Donner, Truckee and the Emergency Teams have demanded we do. How about every bear box must have a magnetic sign on the front of it reminding people of how to dispose of all garbage correctly? It's worth a try. Make it fun— like a cartoon. This would even give visiting kids a lesson. My guess is that most visitors (be that STRs or friends or family of homeowners) are unaware of the mess and damage bears can cause. Owners do need to ensure garbage instructions are given out more than once and that there's a reminder in the house and then again on the bear box itself. It's not rocket-science, people. 13. STRs are already being gouged by the TOT tax (which will be increased to 12 or 14% because second homeowners won't have a say) and the 2%TBBID tax (which may be reduced to 1.25%just as a token to trick us and to offset the increase in the TOT tax, but will no doubt be increased again next year.). 14. How is the town going to deal with those full-timers and those second homeowners who rent to family and friends but do so under the radar thereby avoiding paying the TOT and TTBIDtax? You know they do that. Those friends and distant family from out of town may be the worst offenders with trash, partying, etc. Only statistics would tell but how can we catch these rule violators and get them into the count? 15. Emergency communications. If STRs have to have a landline or VOIP, then every property should have to install one too. Why would you exclude full-timers and LTRs? Are their lives less important than second homeowners and renters? It doesn't make sense. The landline is dying by the way and also there are many people who are very angry at the monopoly that is SuddenLink. There are many complaints about their reliability so VOIP isn't feasible either. The town of Truckee should sit down with SuddenLink and members of the community and have a real heart to heart with them. According to reports on NextDoor, their customer service is non-existant and cable and wifi regularly failing. Hopefully the town is in talks with a competitor so we can have options. 16. Incidental camping—those full-timers better not have their kids camp outside on their deck or in their yard. Along the same theme, full-timers must stop having friends and family stay in their RV on the owner's property. Some have stayed for a week or more at a time. For all we know, those RVs are being rented out—another missed opportunity to get that TOT tax. 17. Why can't a place be rented for a period of less than 2 nights. If voted in (which it will be as 85% of Tahoe Donner owners don't have a vote) then make it illegal for a friend to stay at a full-timers place for one night only either. Again, imagine if all second homeowners decide to move up here full time (which many dream of doing when they can, by the way) so every home is full, wouldn't it be a bit strange if no-one was allowed to have a friend stay in a room or on their property for one night? Let's all work together to come to a reasonable solution and stop making the 12.9% of homeowners who STRs scapegoats for all the wrongs perceived to be in the tourist town of Truckee. 18. The new town manager, the new manager of Tahoe Donner and the Police and Fire chiefs as well as those representatives from Glenshire, downtown, and wherever else, all need to get together and talk about working together with the end goal of everyone living their best life in the amazing town of Truckee. It seems that nobody really communicates with the others. One thing that is crystal clear, is that the Police need to be doing more policing. They will need help and training though. Maybe there should be a couple of trained mediation or de-escalation experts working alongside the Police. Now that the second homeowners have helped fund the beautiful new schools, can we move more money over to community improvement and communication. People complain on NextDoor about Tahoe Donner doing nothing about a problem because legally they can't, or"don't bother calling the Police because they don't do anything and won't even come out." Before bringing in all these rules and regulations and expenses for a certain subset of Truckee owners (those who have no voice unfortunately) let's get the town to delve into all problems, find out statistically what those problems are and who's causing them, and follow up with a communal plan that serves everyone, not just the Truckee voters. Remember, there are many second homeowners whose goal is to move up here when they're financially able. They love the area, are proud and responsible of their second home, and are looking forward to getting along with all of their neighbor's when their dream is fulfilled. Instead of Truckee becoming a hostile "them vs. us" environment, which will only get worse, let's get to where Truckee becomes the poster child for how a transient community town (who heavily relies on outdoorsy people and tourists coming to visit and even charges STRs to advertise that fact) can gel with the full-time community. There are pros and cons for living in a tourist town for everyone, be that second homeowners or full-timers, or seasonal workers, or waiters, etc, etc. 19. It seems that these new ordinances are a knee jerk reaction during a time of many unknowns, with the STRs getting that knee jerk in the stomach. Find out the real statistics of who is causing these (few or many) problems before blaming those homeowners who don't even have a voice. Give the Police Department the help, training and education they need to do theirjob and to respond to a call in a timely manner and to always respond unless physically impossible. If you make these rules, they must apply to every Truckee household. This is how a non-tourist town operates. If you are going to have these rules for STRs only, you probably are setting the town up for a lawsuit. EG. If you, as an STR, do everything demanded in the proposal and your neighbor (maybe a full-timer or a second homeowner who doesn't rent out, or rents out under the table to friends and family) gets his and your houses burnt down, and it turns out that they didn't have everything set in place like smoke detectors, I'm no lawyer, but that sounds like a good case to me. What happens if that fire kills my family member? An even stronger case, perhaps. 20. Let's all strive to get along. Say hi to whoever your neighbor is. Say hi to the person walking by. Who knows, you may end up with a longtime friend.