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Homes in South Lake Tahoe

Building New Homes In South Lake Tahoe

Building a new house in Lake Tahoe can be very intimidating without  help from an experienced home builder. The following is a list of steps that will help you to build your new home.

Once you have aquired your vacant lot and building allocation, you will need to have your lot surveyed by a licensed surveyor. Make sure that the surveyor marks all of the property corners and drafts a topographical map of your parcel. A topographical map will be needed by your architect to draft the site plan.

The next step is to choose an architect. I would recommend choosing a local architect. Local architects have experience in dealing with the local building departments and the TRPA. Local architects also understand our  , snow loads, coverage regulations, fire sprinkelers, and other codes and restrictions. Some architects even offer a large selection of pre-drawn plans that you may be able to use or modify to fit your needs. Using a pre-drawn plan will save time and money.

Once your plans have been drawn and you have filled out your building permit application paperwork, it is time to submit them for review to either the City or County Building department for, depending on where your property in South Lake Tahoe  is located. A set of plans will also need to be submitted to the fire department to find out if sprinklers will be required. You also need to bring your plans to Sierra Pacific Power Co. and to South West Gas to sign up for utility service. The building department will review your plans and either approve them, or send out a list of corrections that will need to be corrected before the plans will be approved. The review process can take from four weeks, to a few months depending on the time of year and the work load of the plan reviewers. In order to expedite the plan review process, plans can be sent out to a third party plan review company at an additional expense.

Once your plans have been reviewed, the building department will have you take a copy of them  to the South Tahoe Public Utility District to pay your water/ sewer fees. You will need to have found out weather the fire department is requiring you to install fire sprinklers ( if so, you will need to have a sprinkler system plan designed,  engineered, and approved). Water and sewer connection fees will range from $18,906 for a two bathroom home, to over $30,000 for a home with three bathrooms and a 1 1/2 fire sprinkler line.

Once you have paid your S.T.P.U.D. fees, you will need to obtain a bond pledged to the TRPA for the re-vegetation of your lot. This bond is usually between $3300 and $4000 depending on the size of the lot. Once all of the building departments conditions have been satisfied, and your plans have been unconditionally approved, the last step in the planning process will be to pay your building fees. The fees will be based on the buildings square footage and can range from $15,000 to $25,000+ depending on the size.

I hope that this will help you to understand the steps to begin your project. This was a quick overview of the planning process. A complete list of the requirements can be obtained at either the El Dorado County Building Department or the City of South Lake Tahoe Building Department.lupine.jpg

Lots In South Lake Tahoe

Before you choose to buy vacant land in South Lake Tahoe, there are some things you should know!  First of all, you will want to find a lot that has the physical characteristics that you want  such as location, topography, views, size, ect… More importantly there are the local regulations,  codes, and restrictions  that the TRPA and the local building departments have implemented and enforce. I feet that the most important items to think about when choosing lots in South Lake Tahoe are IPES scores, coverage, and Allocations.

IPES stands for Individual Parcel Evaluation System. Each vacant lot in Lake Tahoe has been given an IPES score ranging from 0 to 1017 based on relative erosion hazard, runoff potential, access, stream environment zones, condition of local watershed, ability to re-vegetate, the need for water quality improvements near that parcel, and the distance from Lake Tahoe. The build-able IPES score for El Dorado County has recently been reduced to 1, which means that any of the lots in South Lake Tahoe with an IPES score of 1 or greater may apply for a building allocation. Although lots with an IPES of less than 726 may now be buildable, they may not have sufficient coverage to build. Additionally, coverage for lots with IPES below 726 is scarce, and can be very expensive! I advise my clients to find a lot with an IPES above 726 or make sure that it has enough coverage for your project.

Vacant lots in South Lake Tahoe are given a percentage of ground coverage that may be developed. For example, an 8000 square foot lot that has been allowed 30% coverage (30% is the maximum allowable coverage for lots over 6000 sf.) has 2400 square feet of ground coverage. What this means is that 2400 square feet of the lot can be covered with impervious structure such as the foot print of the building, driveway, walkways, decks, stairs, ect… . It is possible to build a 2800 square foot two story home with 1800 square feet of coverage.    If a lot less than 9000 sf. has less than 1800 sf. of coverage, or if a lot over 9000 sf. has less than 20% coverage,    it may  possible to transfer or purchase additional coverage. Additional coverage may be transferred from a parcel within the same hydrological area from a parcel with an equal or lower IPES. However there are guidelines to the amount of allowable coverage each size lot can have.  The maximum allowable coverage is 1800 sf. for lots that are between 4001 and 9000 sf. and a maximum of 20% for lots over 9001 sf. . Remember coverage for lots with IPES below 726 in all hydrological areas is scarce and expensive. Coverage for lots with IPES above 726 is also becoming harder to find in some hydrological ares, and may or may not be available by the time you are ready to build.   Again, to be safe, I recommend that you choose a lot that has enough coverage for your planned project.  

When you are planning to build a homes in South Lake Tahoe is another consideration. To build on your lot you will need a building allocation. There are a couple of ways to obtain an allocation. If your lot is in the City of South Lake Tahoe, you can get on the waiting list at the city building department by bringing in your grant deed,  proof from the TRPA that the lot is buildable , and a check for $1300. The wait can be from 9 to 11 years! If the lot is not in the city, but the county, bring the same information to the El Dorado County Building Department and wait 3 to 5 years. Another option is to but a lot that already has an allocation. Lots that have allocations are available at usually a higher price than those without allocations. A third option is to purchase and then deed restrict a sensitive parcel so the parcel may noe be developed in the future. The TRPA will assign an allocation to the parcel to be developed. These sensitive parcels have been selling for around $70,000. For lots with IPES above 726 there is one more option. A residential unit of use ( these come from tearing down and existing structure) can be transferred to a parcel with a development right, this together will give the parcel an allocation.

 I hope that this information will help you to make an educated decision when choosing to buy vacant Lots in South Lake Tahoe!