Curtzwiler: Meyers needs better representation
Publisher’s note: Profiles for the four El Dorado County District 5 supervisorial candidates will be running on May 6 and May 7. The election is June 5.
Kenny Curtzwiler
Name: Kenny Curtzwiler
Age: 62 on May 11
Occupation: Retired military/contractor
Education: Two years college
What elected, civic, nonprofit boards or groups are or have you been affiliated with and in what capacity?: None
Why do you want to be supervisor?: I have always been active in the community and feel that I can direct a positive change in the forefront rather than behind my articles.
This is a nonpartisan position. How will you conduct your duties in a nonpartisan manner?: I am a registered non-partisan. I will listen to all sides of an issue without party influences or party loyalty.
Why should people vote for you over one of the other candidates?: I have been a 41 year residents and already am involved with community issues.
How are you going to resolve the CalPERS issue?: Solving CalPERS can only be done at the state level.
Should the government be responsible for solving the affordable housing issue as well as homelessness? Why or why not to both? If yes, how would you solve those issues?: Affordable housing a city issue and not the responsibility of the county. That said the county should be interacting with the city and private groups to not only address the issues behind affordable housing but take an active role in public/private responsibilities. The TRPA must remove the barriers in place that are preventing residents from building an affordable home. As it stands now only out of town investors can afford to overbuild a house in Tahoe and turn it into a VHR. We need to build homes and not investment houses.
To date the county has not been able to fix the traffic issue in Meyers with tourists clogging up residential streets. What is your solution?: I have already come up with one solution to the overuse of the algorithems guiding the shortcuts beyond the “nudge” solution currently being used. This solution will affect all eight points of entry to our side streets at a cost of zero.
What are your thoughts of making Lake Tahoe its own county?: It will be far easier to form our own city of Meyers then combine with the city of South Lake Tahoe to form a separate county.
What entities would you not take money from?: I did not accept any money in the last election from Red Hawk Casino, Local One, West Slope developers or the local chambers and I don’t see myself changing.
What is the No. 1 issue facing District 5 and how do you propose to resolve it?: Lack of proper representation from our current supervisor on every major issue in the Myers area. We cannot solve or move forward on the issues of the Meyers Plan without the community’s input.
Do you believe supervisors should meet in Tahoe more often? Why or why not?: Yes. We are one-fifth of the county and we should meet here one-fifth of the time.
Would you support having more tax dollars from the county coming to the South Shore? Currently, more dollars leave the basin than come back.: Yes.
What is your vision for the 56-acres in South Lake Tahoe?: The county needs to step up and either work with the city of South Lake Tahoe to create a viable and productive recreational area or sell it to the city for $1 as they did with the airport.
Do you support having vacation home rentals? Why or why not?: Yes. We are a tourist community and everyone is affected by them. The problems we are now experiencing at an unprecedented level are caused by out of area investors without a state in the community. An owner can have a VHR but they must have a local brick and mortar property manager to address any violations. We must also have a limit to the VHRs as well as addressing occupancy levels, noise, bear boxes and multi-family overbuilt residences being built in a neighborhood that is zone for single family residences. TRPA must either enforce the current zoning or the city and county must change the zoning laws.
You lost last time you ran. What makes you think there will be a different outcome this time?: The current supervisor will now have to acknowledge the fact that she must recuse herself from the important issues and explain to the public why she did not say anything until after she was sworn in. The residents need representation which has been lacking these past 3.5 years. We cannot continue to pay someone for a full time job that they are only at part time.
Tell us something about yourself that people might not know: Pam and I have been married 37 years and we actually held the wedding ceremony on the beach at Vikingholmes castle in Emerald Bay.
Your done Kenny if you support VHR’s.
Where did you get your info that more tax dollars leave the east slope to county coffers than the other way around?
Could not access edit. So one more question please.
What is your opinion of our county counsel who said VHR’s are not a business without giving any reference to the law.
I do not answer any questions from anonymous posters. Feel free to contact me. skibumfamily@sbcglobal.net 530-308-5265
Thank You
Dear Kae:
I have read some of the blogs that claim Kenny is not supportive of regulating VHRs. I support Kenny for Supervisor, and I have spoken to him about his position. Kenny strongly supports preserving the character of our neighborhoods. He does feel there should be an appropriate middle ground between the groups in favor and against VHRs.
Kenny has the following specific proposals to arrest the problems with VHRs.
1. Transient Occupancy Tax: Raise the transient occupancy tax 3%, from its current rate of 10% to 13% dedicate the 3% increase to be used for local law enforcement in the South Lake Tahoe basin.
2. Occupancy: All of the houses being built now for a vacation rental are multi family, multi use, residential and commercial and are being built in an area zoned for single family residence only. eliminate the two plus two and allow only two occupants per bedroom. This would also apply to the current inventory of homes that are being converted into VHR’s. If the owners and investors of these house’s want to build a hotel in a residential neighborhood or turn their house into a hotel, they will need to change the zoning ordinance at the county level and change the county general plan. Kenny does not support the construction of the mega large houses in our neighborhoods that are zoned R-1, which is residential only, without the proper zoning as determined by the TRPA.
3. Parking: Since these are single family homes, we can enforce the parking issues for a single family residence that are currently on the books. TRPA is adamant about reducing the vehicle traffic in the basin and in this way it would encourage car pooling and the use of local transportation while our visitors are enjoying their time in the basin.
4. Noise: Local noise ordinances would be in effect. No outside noise allowed after ten o’clock in the evening. No outside noise before 8 o’clock in the morning.
5. New Vacation Rental Homes: All new construction of homes will be prevented from becoming a vacation rental for a period of two years. in this way we can hopefully prevent McMansion hotels from being built in a single family neighborhood that is not zoned for them. Enforce the current zoning laws that are in place now and have the county enforce them in accordance with the TRPA zoning for single family homes.
6. Management: Require all homes that are to be specifically used for a vacation rental to be managed by a local company with a local contact that is available twenty-four-seven and be responsive to any problems within thirty minutes to an incident or complaint. This will occur whether an owner uses AIRBNB, VRBO or manages the property themselves. Give the El Dorado County sheriff a clear and concise set of enforcement rules and back them up when and if they have to write a citation. If a VHR get’s two complaints in one year they will lose their permit for one year. I am also asking that the local management companies reduce their “take” or percentage by 5% as this will be offset by the increase of homes they manage.
7. Trash:
Require bear garbage cans at all vacation rental homes.
8. Change The Culture Of Our Guests:
We need to ensure that our guests are treated like guests and that they treat our neighborhoods like they live here also.
Whether we look at the language of the City petition that has received over 1600 registered voter signatures, which will be on the ballot this November, or the other petition that is currently being circulated, neither petition calls for an outright ban. Our local elected officials, whether County or City, have failed to act and address these issues before they got out of hand. TRPA has been useless in dealing with this VHR issue. I have been told that TRPA required an MOU with the City or the County in 2004 before VHRs could be established. There are no MOUs, and local governments have failed us. The last four years with our current Supervisor has failed to address these issues, and, only months before the election, are a number of workshops being held. I believe Kenny will be proactive rather than reactive and act, not react, when these types of problems arise.
Support Kenny Curtzwiler for Supervisor.
Bruce
Why did previous councils of which you were a part of fall to act? You had the chance, you were on the council but failed to act? Was it political pressure, personal/ philosophical believe? What were the dynamics? It’s important for the community to know from an elected officials perspective and understand why the issue has been kicked down the road for so long.