RENO, Nev. (AP) — Property and business owners at Lake Tahoe are suing to block new restrictions on short-term vacation rentals they say are wreaking havoc on visiting families planning to spend the holidays at the mountain resort.
A lawyer for the South Lake Tahoe Property Owners Group hoped to secure a temporary injunction Wednesday in California's El Dorado County Superior Court suspending the new rental rules voters approved in November.
But Andrew Pierce says Judge Michael McLaughlin cited an unspecified conflict of interest and recused himself from the case. A new hearing date hasn't been set yet.
A ban on short-term rentals affecting 1,400 properties outside South Lake Tahoe's main tourist corridor doesn't begin until 2021.
But Pierce says a cap on the number of people who can stay in a rental home already has gone into effect. He says it's unconstitutional.