TRUCKEE, Calif. – Truckee Town Council exercised their gratitude muscles during their Tuesday, Nov. 12 meeting. To celebrate Gratitude Month, each council member picked an organization or person which exemplified the Truckee Way. 

Councilmember Anna Klovstad recognized the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation. Councilmember Lindsay Romack recognized the Send It Foundation. Vice Mayor Jan Zabriskie recognized community member Deirdre Henderon. Mayor Dave Polivy and Councilmember Courtney Henderson were absent from the meeting but made videos in recognition of their choice organizations. Polivy recognized the Truckee Trails Foundation and Truckee Dirt Union. Henderson recognized InnerRhythms, who accepted the recognition by performing a dance at the council meeting. 

During a separate agenda item, Zabriskie also gave recognition to Truckee Laundry, as part of the town’s Small Business, Big Applause initiative. 

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Hosted Rental Ordinance 

During the meeting, the council approved changes to the Hosted Rental Ordinance, which allows residents to rent rooms of their house, while living on the property. The updates add a registration certificate that has to be renewed every three years. The renewal fee is $100. 

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They also approved language updates, including a maximum occupancy limit of two people, excluding children under 13. 

The hosted rental must have a contact person, who resides on-site, is available via phone on a 24-hour basis and responds within 30 minutes. The code prohibits cooking facilities, kitchens/kitchenettes or wet bars in the bedroom. 

If the certificate is revoked, owners can’t reapply for one year.

There are 26 hosted rental permit holders in Truckee. Town staff will do outreach to make sure they are aware of the changes. 

Council approved the updates 3-0. A second reading will be held Dec. 10. If approved, the changes take effect January 9. 

The application process for new rentals opens February 1. Current permits expire March 31, during which, the current permit holders will need to reapply. 

Affordable Housing In-Lieu Fee

The council approved changes to the affordable housing in-lieu fees that developers can pay rather than building affordable/ employee housing. 

The fee is updated each year and is calculated based on average home values, changes in construction costs and changes in Nevada County income limits. 

In 2023, the town collected $107,101.68 in in-lieu fees. The Boulders paid $13,953.48, Crestwood Construction paid $41,339.20 and Start Haus paid $51,749.

The council approved an increase to $136,851, which is a 19.5% increase from the unadopted 2023 fee amount and a 4.6% increase from the 2022 fee that is currently in place. However, they expressed an interest in discussing changes to how the in-lieu fee in calculated during the upcoming Housing Element discussion. 

Parking Near Crosswalks Reduction

The council also approved a reduction in the minimum distance between parking spaces and crosswalks from fifteen (15) feet to five (5) feet where curb extensions are present in accordance with AB 413 which was passed in 2023. 

There are 15 parking spots identified in the two which might qualify for reduction, including nine within the downtown parking district. However, curb extensions are present in all nine areas.

The other six spots will need to be removed since they are near curb extensions. Those spots are located at the Old Gateway Center. 

Dark Skies

The council approved an extension of the Dark Skies Lighting Rebate Pilot Program due to an excess of funding still available. 

Currently 28 applicants have taken advantage of the rebate program, all of which are residential. 100% of the applicants surveyed said they were satisfied and would recommend the program. 

Currently there is about $60,000 in budget remaining for this program, about $42,000 being allocated specifically for the lighting rebates themselves. The program is extended to June 30, 2025.

Finally, Klovstad pulled item 6.11 from the consent agenda for discussion. The item dealt with a pilot program for night sidewalk snow removal operations in the West River, Brickelltown, Railyard and Envision DPR CFDs. 

Klovstad was concerned about the purchase of gas walk-behind snowblowers. Staff said the current electric models are built with the same snow load and area size in mind and wouldn’t work for the Town’s purposes. However, the models they are purchasing are hybrid models, so the gas engine powers the electric motor. 

The council approved the pilot program 3-0.