A. 
Whereas there is a critical shortage of affordable housing in the city of South Lake Tahoe;
B. 
And whereas the conversion of residential property within the city to vacation time-sharing projects eliminates residential property otherwise available for rental in the city;
C. 
And whereas vacation time-sharing projects have the character of a commercial use due to the multiple occupancy of such projects by those participating in time-sharing projects;
D. 
And whereas such projects are therefore appropriately confined to commercial zones;
E. 
And whereas such commercial or quasi-commercial use is inappropriate in residential areas due to the increased traffic generation and multiple occupancies disturbing the peace and quiet of residential neighborhoods;
F. 
And whereas the lodging of transients is a substantial factor in the economy of the city;
G. 
And whereas many owners of time-share units are renting their units to transients (as such term is defined in SLTCC § 3.00.010) without accounting to the city for the tax imposed by SLTCC § 3.50.050. Such rentals compete directly with the transient lodging facilities industry which is a very substantial factor in the economy of the city. These time-sharing projects should contribute to the city's economy in a manner similar to transients renting motel or hotel units;
The city council of the city of South Lake Tahoe does hereby find and determine that this chapter is necessary to accomplish the objectives set forth in the above section and to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the city of South Lake Tahoe pursuant to the laws of the state of California.
(Ord. 698; Ord. 728; Ord. 966 § 1; Ord. 1199 § 1; Code 1997 § 33-1)
A. 
"City manager"
means the duly appointed city manager or their designee.
B. 
"Commercial activity"
means any and all activity which does, may or could result in the sale of a service commodity or product.
1. 
This definition shall include any communication, oral or written, with actual or prospective purchasers which is intended to obtain a commitment from the actual or prospective purchaser to participate in any promotion or sales activity intended to generate or encourage sale of the service, commodity or product offered.
2. 
This definition shall specifically include any offer or inducement, whether characterized as a "free" or "discount" offer, which is intended to obtain the participation of the actual or prospective purchaser in any such sales or promotional presentation.
3. 
This definition shall further specifically include the distribution or handing out of any written materials regarding any such offer, inducement or incentive to any actual or prospective purchaser.
4. 
The term "sale" as used in this chapter shall include solicitations for commercial transactions, as well as actual exchange of consideration pursuant to any such transaction; provided, however, that nothing in this definition shall be construed to prohibit or impede any right or activity which may be judicially determined to constitute protected activity under the Constitution of the United States or the state of California.
C. 
"Conversion"
means the reuse of all or part of the physical structure of an existing tourist accommodation property when the use is changed to a time-share (hotel/motel or residential design) use. The reuse of the tourist accommodation units of use for a demolished structure is not a conversion.
D. 
"Developer"
means, in the case of any given property, any person or entity which is in the business of creating or which is in the business of selling its own time-share intervals in any time-share program. This definition does not include a person acting solely as a sales agent for a previously approved time-share program.
E. 
"Developer/project owner"
means any person who offers to dispose of or actually disposes of, by any lawful means, interest in a time-share project. This term shall include any person with any active interest in a time-share project, including partners, officers, directors and/or holders of majority voting stock.
F. 
"Development, project or property"
means all of the real property subject to a project instrument.
G. 
"Offering"
means any offer to sell, solicitation, inducement or advertisement whether by person-to-person contact, through radio, television, newspaper, magazine, or by mail whereby a person is given an opportunity to acquire a time-share interval. Any offering of a time-share interval which is not located in the city shall not be an offering if such offer is in compliance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the time-share interval is located. This chapter shall in no way be construed to exempt anyone from the laws of the state of California.
H. 
"Off-premises contact"
means any commercial activity, as defined herein, which is conducted at a location other than the premises upon which the time-share units being offered for sale are located.
1. 
This definition shall exclude any commercial activity as it may be performed by a duly licensed California real estate agent or broker who conducts such sales without the use of nonlicensees for solicitation of prospective purchasers.
I. 
"Person"
means any natural person, combination of natural persons, corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture or other legal and commercial entity.
J. 
"Project"
means the real property or properties in which the time-share interests are created for sale by any single instrument or series of instruments.
K. 
"Project instrument"
means one or more recordable documents applicable to the whole project by whatever name denominated, containing restrictions or covenants regulating the use, occupancy or disposition of an entire project, including any amendments to the documents, but excluding any law, ordinance or governmental regulation.
L. 
"Purchaser"
means any person other than a developer/project owner or a licensed California lending institution to which an offer to purchase a time-share interest is made or which purchases such interest.
M. 
"Representative/solicitor"
means any person who on behalf of himself or any developer/owner solicits persons at a location other than on the time-share property to attend a sales presentation or consider the purchase of a time-share interest.
1. 
This definition shall exclude any duly licensed California real estate agent or broker who conducts time-share sales without the use of nonlicensees for solicitation of prospective purchasers.
N. 
"Sales agent"
means a person who sells or offers to sell time-share intervals in a time-share program to a purchaser.
O. 
"Time-share"
means the exclusive right to use and occupy a unit on a periodic basis in any manner which under the laws of the state of California constitutes a time-share plan or estate, irrespective of whether such rights are a result of a grant of ownership rights, possessory rights, membership rights, rights pursuant to contract, or ownership of a fractional interest or share in the unit. This definition includes all legal documents creating any such interest and the unit actually occupied under any such arrangement.
P. 
"Time-share estate"
means an ownership or leasehold estate in property devoted to a time-share fee (tenants in common, time span ownership, interval ownership) or a time-share lease.
Q. 
"Time-share interval"
means a time-share estate or a time-share use.
R. 
"Time-share instrument"
means any document, by whatever name denominated, creating or regulating time-share programs, but excluding any law, ordinance or governmental regulation.
S. 
"Time-share program"
means any arrangement for time-share intervals in a time-sharing project whereby the use, occupancy or possession of real property has been made subject to either a time-share estate or time-share use whereby such use, occupancy or possession circulates among purchasers of the time-share intervals according to a fixed or floating time schedule on a periodic basis for a specific period of time during any given year, but not necessarily for consecutive years.
T. 
"Time-share use"
means any contractual right of exclusive occupancy which does not fall within the definition of a time-share estate, including, without limitation, a vacation license, prepaid hotel reservation, club membership, limited partnership or vacation bond.
U. 
"Unit"
means each portion of the real property or real property improvement in a project which is divided into time-share intervals.
V. 
"Vacation time-sharing project"
means any real property subject to a time-share program.
W. 
"Employee"
means any representative/solicitor utilized or retained by a developer/project owner for off-premises contact purposes, whether or not the relationship of independent contractor exists between the representative/solicitor and developer/project owner; provided, however, that the responsibility of a developer/project owner as to the conduct of any representative/solicitor shall be solely for the purposes of this chapter and shall not be deemed or construed to make a developer/project owner responsible in any manner for conduct of a representative/solicitor except with regard to the regulatory purposes of this chapter.
(Ord. 698; Ord. 728 § 1; Ord. 731; Ord. 788 § 1; Ord. 966 § 1; Ord. 1199 § 2; Code 1997 § 33-2)
A. 
Regulations. The city manager may as reasonably required make regulations to carry out the purpose and intent of the city council in the adoption of this chapter. Such regulations may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, the process to be used for hearings, the fees to be charged for applications and renewals thereof, and the forms utilized for the making and processing of applications, and the disclosures required to be made in any advertising for sales of a time-share interest.
B. 
Exclusions and Exceptions. This chapter shall not apply to the following:
1. 
Transfer of any interest by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
2. 
Sale or transfer of a time-share interest by an owner of an individual interest on a resale basis.
3. 
Transfer by right of inheritance or gratuitous transfer.
4. 
Transfer by foreclosure or deed in lieu of such action.
(Ord. 698; Ord. 728; Code 1997 § 33-3)
A. 
Vacation time-sharing projects shall, except as provided below, be prohibited in any area plan, plan area statement, or community plan district within the city which does not allow time-sharing.
B. 
Vacation time-sharing projects shall be permitted only if a discretionary time-share special use permit is issued by the city council; provided, however, that applications may be considered only for new construction of such facilities. The city council will be the decision-maker for all time-share special use permits and such a special use permit is required for any time-sharing project, even when the use is listed as "allowable" under the applicable area plan, plan area statement, or community plan district. All projects shall first be reviewed at a public hearing before the city planning commission, which shall forward a recommendation to the city council for consideration.
Newly constructed time-share projects may be approved only when:
1. 
Such project is the subject of an owner participation agreement approved by the city council; and said owner participation agreement contains revenue sources, guarantees, and assurances, satisfactory to the city council in its sole discretion, which ensure that there can be no future legal challenge on the grounds of inapplicability of transient occupancy taxes on units in the time-share project, or otherwise.
2. 
Conversion of existing residential dwellings to time-share units, even if located in a commercially zoned area, is prohibited. Conversion of an existing visitor lodging use to time-share units is similarly prohibited. All new construction shall meet all applicable city standards for such construction.
Nonconforming setbacks, parking, density and height of the previously existing use may not be retained.
Adequate information to address the issue of market feasibility, a copy of the packet submitted to the department of real estate (DRE) and any other appropriate information pertaining to the property which may be reasonably required to assess use of the property as a time-share facility shall accompany the special use permit application.
(Ord. 698; Ord. 728; Ord. 764 § 1; Ord. 807 § 1; Ord. 875 § 1; Ord. 894 §§ 2, 3; Ord. 929 § 1; Ord. 966 § 1; Ord. 1199 § 3; Code 1997 § 33-4)
A. 
Each and every representative/solicitor shall, immediately upon making any contact, verbal or written, with a time-share prospect, disclose that the express purpose of the contact and any gift or inducement offered is to attempt to sell time-share units at a time-share project and that unless the prospect is interested in considering the purchase of a time-share interest, they shall discontinue the contact.
B. 
Each place of business from which off-premises contact is conducted by a representative/solicitor shall have prominently posted a sign setting forth the provisions for the lodging of complaints regarding the posting of complaints as specified in regulations adopted by the city manager.
(Ord. 728; Ord. 731; Code 1997 § 33-10)
A. 
Whenever any person files a written complaint concerning the activities or conduct of any representative/solicitor with the city of South Lake Tahoe, the chamber of commerce, the visitors authority, or any other community organization designated by the city, that complaint shall be heard before a hearing board consisting of a representative of a project owner/developer licensed under this chapter, a representative of either the chamber of commerce or the visitors authority, whichever may be able to serve, and a representative of the public at large, selected by the city, who shall not be employed by, or an officer of, the city.
B. 
If a majority of the hearing board finds that the complaint is meritorious, it may order such restitution to the complainant as may be reasonable required not to exceed a total value of $500.00.
C. 
Whenever the city council finds, at a public hearing called for that purpose, that the provisions for complaint resolution hereunder have been ineffective in enforcement of the purpose and intent of this chapter, it may assess each licensee hereunder its pro rata share of the reasonable costs of providing such city enforcement personnel as are necessary to ensure compliance.
D. 
Any licensee under this chapter who, after five days' written notice, fails or refuses to pay its share of such costs shall be deemed to have relinquished any and all licenses granted hereunder by operation of law.
(Ord. 728; Code 1997 § 33-11)
All off-premises contact time-share solicitation is prohibited. This prohibition does not extend to solicitation of sales of a time-share interest which is: (a) conducted by a licensed California real estate broker or agent who conducts such solicitations; and (b) conducted within the premises of a legally established commercial business; or (c) conducted within the scope of a permit, license or other written agreement issued by the city for such off-premises solicitations.
(Ord. 788 § 2; Ord. 966 § 1; Ord. 968 § 1; Code 1997 § 33-11.1)
Any violation of this chapter and any regulations adopted under the authority of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor, punishable to the extent established by law. Any violation of this chapter is also hereby declared to be a public nuisance which may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction. The remedies set forth herein are not intended to be exclusive, but are in addition to and separate from any other remedies authorized by law.
(Ord. 714; Ord. 728; Code 1997 § 33-12)
Any person who has suffered, or alleges to have suffered, damage to person or property as a result of a violation of this chapter may bring an action for money damages and any other appropriate relief in a court of competent jurisdiction against the party alleged to have violated this chapter. The prevailing party in any such litigation shall be entitled to recover reasonable litigation costs, including attorney's fees in an amount deemed reasonable by the court.
Nothing herein shall be deemed or construed to create any right of action against the city or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The sole purpose and intent of this section is to create a right of action between private parties, entities and interests which are or may be impacted or affected by various aspects of time-sharing uses within the city.
(Ord. 731; Code 1997 § 33-14)