SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Housing, especially on South Shore, has been a topic of particular interest, especially with both voting Measure N and the opening of Sugar Pine Village on the horizon. To clarify what the city’s doing with housing, Zachary Thomas, Jessica Wackenhut-Lomeli, Lydia Zuniga, and Monica Manuel all came to Sidellis on Thursday night to hold office hours, chat with the community, and discuss current and upcoming programs.

Thomas, the director of development services, and Wackenhut-Lomeli, housing manager, presented about the funding of Sugar Pine Village and how the affordable housing works. Sugar Pine Village was in large part funded by the government because it is targeted towards low-income households, allowing it to be funded through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Another chunk of its funding comes through grants, which the city must comply with—having a strong level of compliance helps with scoring higher to those who give out grants, making it more appealing and more likely to be funded.

Sugar Pine Village’s opening in three years is a fairly fast turnaround, which can be in part attributed to the Pro Housing designation for South Lake Tahoe. The designation was awarded in March and recognizes that the city has a heightened focus on providing quick turnaround for building permits and streamlining special needs projects. Even before she began work at the city’s office, Wackenhut-Lomeli was actually part of the state team that helped select the developer for the site, as Sugar Pine is on state-owned land.

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Thomas and Wackenhut-Lomeli are still in the process of getting funding for Phase 2B of Sugar Pine, which does not currently have a local match. Once the Village officially opens, it will join the eight other affordable housing projects in South Lake Tahoe that operate on the basis of income restriction.

Despite the success, it doesn’t mean there’s not still a growing demand for housing. Zuniga, who prepares the quarterly housing report, last presented in August and showed there were still thousands on the waiting lists for all the affordable housing units in the city. The next report will come out on November 5^th and include updates on Sugar Pine Village.

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Wackenhut-Lomeli also disclosed that they are working on another affordable housing unit at 3900 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, with the potential for 75 units. They have already received a predevelopment loan for the location.

Beyond affordable housing, the department is working on other programs as well, such as the Lease to Locals grant. Lease to Locals offers cash incentives to property owners willing to rent out their single-family home, townhome, or privately owned condo to locals for 12 months or more. Community members in attendance expressed their hesitation towards the program, as the city does not take liability for damages that might occur. City Council would be responsible for deciding if there were to be payments for liability.

Wackenhut-Lomeli addressed those concerns by stating that “bad actors on both sides” are likely responsible for the attitudes surrounding the program, while it has the potential to be a part of the solution. Thomas stated that it was “frustrating” to see the program going slowly. While they adjust the guidelines every year, he admitted that “the program needs something if it’s going to continue.”

The city also offers rental assistance, which the housing department will have a virtual webinar on. The Rental Assistance program helps those interested in renting a property to pay the security deposit fee with 0% interest and is targeted, like all programs, towards locals.

Community members spoke about different kinds of programs they thought could help alleviate housing issues, such as elderly roommates programs, creating a bank of funds for property owners, and introducing legal stipulations for the Lease to Locals program.

Wackenhut-Lomeli also brought up two new programs that the department is currently applying for federal grants to fund. The first is a tenant legal services program that would complement the existing substandard housing line. The department is requesting $1 million to fund an on-call lawyer to assist renters in knowing their rights. The second is a rehabilitation loan program. While the parameters for the rehabilitation aren’t yet established, it would include help with improving the homes in the area through putting defensible space, fixing roofing, and remediation of other weatherproofing.

According to Wackenhut-Lomeli, close to 79% of the single-family homes in the area were built before 1979 and lack the building regulations that are now necessary. In addition, the rehabilitation loan program could help add accessibility factors to the home, such as ramps. The program, if funded, would allow the city to give 0% interest loans to those interested in rehabilitating their homes. The housing manager encouraged attendees to read through 35-page documentation on the programs and provide comment on them to ensure they’re tailored to what the community wants. She hopes the programs will be available in February 2025.

Wackenhut-Lomeli said of the housing community hours, “It’s great to have people engage with the city and each other to come up with creative solutions. You know, we might not have a perspective on every possible solution, so we really value having people weigh in.” She also invited the audience to come to their office and ask questions if they were interested.

The next housing community office hours will be in January 2025. They will likely take place at a different time and venue to allow other community members to engage with the department.

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.