Houses For Sale in South Lake Tahoe May Not Have BMP’s

If you are thinking about purchasing a house for sale in South Lake Tahoe, you need to know about BMP’s. Best Management Practices (BMP’s) are an erosion control measure designed to help prevent storm water runoff from entering Lake Tahoe by capturing and infiltrating it. Storm water runoff carries sediment and nutrients into the lake which reduces the lakes famous clarity.

In 1992 the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) created the TRPA retrofit ordinance. The ordinance requires all developed properties in the Lake Tahoe Basin to have BMP’s installed by  October 15th 2006. Although new houses in South lake Tahoe built after 1992 have BMP’s installed due to regulation through local building departments, most other homes still do not. The TRPA has fines set in place for properties that do not have BMP’s installed yet. The fees are as follows:

• non-compliance for over 1 year $1,000
• non-compliance for over 2 years $2,500
• non-compliance for over 3 years $4,000

We are already 3 years past the ordinance deadline of October 15th 2006, so I called the TRPA to find out more about the fines. I was told that no one has been fined, and that they would rather see property owners spend the money on installing BMP’s instead of fines. The TRPA did say that there are 3 different watershed priorities, 1,2, and 3. If your property is in a priority 1 watershed, they will begin enforcing the ordinance. First they will send a letter to you telling you about the requirement. Then they want to see that you are making reasonable progress in installing your BMP’s. If you show reasonable progress, they will not issue a fine.

Each property will have different BMP requirements based on slope, soil, location, and your structure. You can have the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD)  preform a BMP evaluation and design the BMP’s foryour property. The TRCD is a grant funded, non regulatory agency that focuses on assisting single family homeowners with controlling erosion, native and adapted landscaping, and many other conservation initiatives. The TRCD currently has a waiting list for BMP evaluations, and will not evaluate a property until the snow has melted, so you should sign up soon!

BMP requirements are different for each property, but generally BMP’s consist of three basic requirements.

1. Installing gravel filled infiltration trenches about 6″ deep under all dripping roof lines.
2. Installing about 3″ of gravel under all elevated decks, overhangs, and cantilevers.
3. Having a paved driveway for parking, and maintaining all of the runoff from the driveway by either a drywell or gravel filled trench.

BMP’s can be installed by the homeowner, or a licensed contractor. The TRCD has a list of contractors that specialize in BMP installations. Depending on the size of the property, BMP’s can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars if you choose to do the work your self, to many thousands if you hire a contractor or  need to pave a driveway.

 If you have a house for sale in South Lake Tahoethat does not have BMP’s, it would be a good idea to have an evaluation done for your property. If you are thinking of purchasing real estate in South Lake Tahoe, make sure that you find out if the property has a BMP certificate or not. If there is no BMP certificate, be prepared to install your BMP’s!

This South Lake Tahoe Real Estate blog was written by South Lake Tahoe Realtor Brent Johnson. Brent Johnson sepcilizes in houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe Real Estate, and foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe. For more information about any properties on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, contact Brent Johnson today!