Board of Adjustment affirms directors short-term rental parking decision in Incline Village; approves ADU expansion, caretaker RV, variance and geothermal well

The Washoe County Board of Adjustment on Jan. 2 affirmed a directors decision to reduce the permitted occupancy for a short-term rental at 916 Harold Drive in Incline Village, and the board approved four other land-use requests including an amendment to an ADU special-use permit, an administrative permit to allow a recreational vehicle for a caretaker in Sun Valley, a front-yard setback variance in the Southwest Truckee Meadows area, and an administrative permit to install five groundwater monitoring wells tied to an existing geothermal facility.

Why it matters: The boards decision on the Incline Village short-term rental (STR) appeal enforces the countys parking-based occupancy rules for STRs and narrows the circumstances under which owners may rely on informal neighbor agreements to expand occupancy. The other approvals involve housing and public-safety accommodations (an accessory dwelling unit and a caretaker RV), a variance to allow a house addition on a narrow lot, and monitoring work tied to a geothermal facility and federal land-management requirements.

Short-term rental appeal in Incline Village

Courtney Weike, senior planner with Washoe County, told the board the appeal (WSTR21-0283) concerned a Cedar Crest Condominium unit at 916 Harold Drive (unit 36) whose STR occupancy had been revised from eight people to four because code enforcement found only one designated parking space assigned to the unit.

Weike summarized the pertinent rule in Article 319 of the Washoe County Code: "One parking space is required for every four occupants," and where assigned parking is the controlling limitation, an STRs maximum occupancy may be reduced accordingly. She told the board the Cedar Crest homeowners association (CC&R) memo in the packet…