LakeTulloch.Org
2011
The Website of the Lake Tulloch Alliance
Providing news and information focused on theI Lake Tulloch Basin and dedicated to encouraging citizen involvement to protect and preserve the natural environment, rural way of life, and smart growth for the Central Sierra Foothills Join Us Click here
Reflections on Lake Tulloch Photo by Damon Loomis
Poker Flat/Lake Tulloch Shores Members
Vote to End Summer Home rentals
Click here for Calaveras Enterprise Story
Nearly two-thirds of Poker Flat / Lake Tulloch Shores Homeowners Association have voted to end the summer or short term rental of homes on Lake Tulloch. The vote was counted Satiurday July 23rd by the association. To insure fairness, one of the voite counters was an agent for Coldwell Banker who is one of leading real estate agents representing homeowners renting homes on the lake.
Only the Copper Cover Owners Association at Lake Tulloch has not taken action to end the practice which is actually illegal since it is not permitted in Calaveras County R-1-R2 zoning. See the perspective piece bellow for more details. .
The rental of summer homes on the lake have reaped high financial rewards for owners and agents like Coldwell Banker and Lake Tulloch Rentals promoted by the Century 21. Many houses rent for more than $4,000 to $5,000 a week. One the latest summer rentals on the lake on Edgewater Court in Copper Cove has been rented nearly every day this summer for nearly $600 per night. These rentals are effectiviely bed and breakfast businesses except with B&B's the property owner is required by law to be present in the home.
Poker Flat, now Lake Tulloch Shores, has been home for the largest number of summer rental properties. They have become usually a head ache for property owners since with renters often multiple boats and jet skis plus dozens of people who share the cost for the high priced rentals. Too often renters stage all day parties featuring significant consumption of alcohol and noise.The problem is that since neither the renting agents or property owner are present it is left up to neighboring property owners to deal with the chaos.
It is important to note some renters are very courteous to neighors and do not engage in unsavory behavior. The failure of the renting property owners and agents to control bad beahiour and indifference to Tulloch residents has resulted in the creation of the strong oppostion to the practice which has now ended in Poker Flat / Lake Tulloch Shores. .
It is improtant to note that homeowners can rent their homes for longer periods which has been done for years. However, now turning a home into effecitvely a Bed and Breakfast type summer rentals is now illegal in all but one Lake Tullock owners association.
Summer Tulloch Rentals:
Out of Control with no oversight
In July members of the Lake Tulloch Shores Homeowners Associations (formerly Poker Flat) voted to ban short term rentals of homes in the development. Conner Estates and Peninsula Estates ban the practice. Property owners renting the properties are reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue every summer in total. One renter in Copper Cove is earning $14,000 a month at $580 per night and the latest property to go up for rent is the last home on the Calaveras County side of the lake prior to the bridge which will house as many as 32 visitors.
Long time residents of the lake have had their entire lives turned upside down by summer renters. It is important to point out that some renters are very respectful of neighbors but others could care less. They have shouted obscenities at property owners and moor their boats in such a way to block the egress of property owner's watercraft. One renter urinated on the swim platform of a homeowners boat. The homeowner had complained about the renters rudeness to the property owner.
Copper Cove property owners are now reporting longer lines to launch boats and with profitability of summer rentals, even more homes could be rented choking the association's facilities. Renters pay nothing for their use. One cove in Copper Cove experienced two homes coming up for rent for the first time totally changing the quality of life for residents with noisy parties stretching night after night. One house is rented every day from June 15 to the Tuesday following Labor Day with no respite for the neighbors.
Controlling or Outlawing
Numerous counties are now establishing new ordinances to insure that the rentals do not have a negative impact on the community while respecting the property rights of those who want to rent their homes. Property rights, of course, go both ways. No one has the right to use his or her property in such a way that it impacts anothers unfairly.
With the depressed prices of homes in the area this could become an event greater problem impacting everyone including those homeowners off the lake. In 2008 the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors pledged to take action but nothing changed. In fact, in the absence of law, the practice of renting homes on the lake is actually illegal.
Now is the time to act and for the county to establish a system that respects everyone's rights. Right now -- if a homeowner has renters acting in an inappropriately he or she has no one to contact other than the homeowner and sometime complaints are not of concern to the property owner. Meanwhile that owner is reaping tens of thousands of dollars in wealth at the expense of the property owners next door. The advent of advanced technology on boats with high powered speaker systems has compounded the problem of noise. There is also a clear need for a noise ordinance.
Making Rentals Accountable
One county now makes renting property owners accountable. If there are two complaints/problems, the homeowner looses his permit to rent the house for a summer. This makes the homeowner accountable. There are many excellent summaries of how other communities are coping with the problem. Click here.
Clearly there is a problem and it is important that the county addresses these issues soon in everyones best interest. For more information on LTA's support of such action call (209) 785-1944.
Lake Tulloch Lakeshore Management Plan:
Time for Action
Newly found photographs demonstrate Tulloch land rip off
The Lake Tulloch Shoreline Management Plan is finalized by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The plan is final approval. The Lake Tulloch Alliance filed a letter with the commission..
The Alliance is pleased to release for the first time photographs of the lake taken in 1957 that demonstrate that no land for current projects existed at the time of the creation of the lake. The land for the Lake Tulloch Resort and the Merle Holman's planned Marina Villas land didn't exist and was created by illegal land fills. We hope that the enforcement of the plan will prevent similar inappropriate development in the future.
Tri Dam is now taking steps to enforce the ne
Watch for more details here on Lake Tulloch.org.
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Sheriff's Finds 1,183 Boats on Lake Tulloch: Makes the Case for Change: Summer 2009 Usage seems up
Local residents at Lake Tulloch have seen significantly more watercraft on the lake than in recent years. A boat count the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office performed two years ago found 785 boats on the 21-square-mile Don Pedro Reservoir, 250 on New Melones' 17 square miles, and at Tulloch, which is only 2 square-miles, there were 1,183. Click here for details
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