10 months ago
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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- Owners of abrogation homes successful Northern California's South Lake Tahoe could look a important taxation summation if voters successful the upland edifice municipality o.k. a measurement connected Tuesday's ballot that pits affordable lodging against backstage spot rights.
South Lake Tahoe, which sits connected the shores of the iconic alpine lake, has astir 7,000 vacant homes - 44% of the city's estimated lodging units - according to the 2022 American Community Survey. Measure N would levy a level $3,000 taxation connected homes that are vacant 182 days wrong a calendar year.
The taxation would summation to $6,000 for each consequent twelvemonth the location remains bare for fractional the year.
The municipality is the latest crossed the United States with a increasing statement astir the interaction of abrogation properties. Critics accidental vacant 2nd homes person worsened the nation's lodging situation by contributing to a shortage of affordable rental properties, particularly successful pricey edifice places similar South Lake Tahoe.
Supporters of the measurement accidental they privation to promote homeowners to rent to workers oregon wage into a money for housing, roads and proscription projects. They accidental the metropolis is shedding families arsenic businesses conflict to prosecute unit successful a portion with small onshore disposable for lodging development.
Kelly Bessem works astatine slightest 50 hours a week, supplementing her main occupation arsenic a tract idiosyncratic successful hydrology with enactment arsenic a snowboard teacher to marque ends meet. She's presently sleeping successful her car to bargain a location successful Markleeville, which is simply a 40-minute thrust to South Lake Tahoe.
"I've done each the things I'm expected to, but it's inactive to the constituent wherever I conscionable compression by," Bessem said.
Nancy Dunn, a homeowner who has lived part-time successful South Lake Tahoe since 2018, opposes the measurement arsenic unfair and un-American.
"This is my home, and I privation to beryllium capable to travel backmost to it erstwhile I privation to, and travel and spell arsenic I feel," Dunn said arsenic she stocked her location with firewood earlier this month. "The American mode is to person the close to ain property, and to bash with it arsenic you please."
The California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors person contributed a combined $1 cardinal to decision the measurement successful a municipality with lone 12,000 registered voters.
While inactive uncommon successful the U.S., much places are considering an bare homes oregon vacant homes taxation to code workforce lodging shortages by tapping underused homes to grow the semipermanent rental market.
In Hawaii, the Honolulu City Council is trying to walk an bare homes tax, its 3rd effort since 2018, portion the Colorado Association of Ski Towns is seeking authorities allowing cities and counties to inquire voters to o.k. vacant homes taxes.
Margaret Bowes, the Colorado group's enforcement director, said edifice towns person fewer options successful wherever they tin build. The deficiency of lodging "has reached a situation level" affecting basal services and commerce "from skis edifice companies to local, tiny businesses," she said.
Perhaps the champion known illustration is Vancouver, Canada, which successful 2017 imposed a 1% taxation connected an bare home's assessed taxable value. The taxation is present 3% and the metropolis says it has generated $142 cardinal for affordable lodging projects.
In California, San Francisco and Berkeley approved taxes connected vacant properties successful 2022.
Vacancy taxes tin enactment to a constricted grade successful larger cities, but an bare homes taxation could marque a immense quality successful smaller towns similar South Lake Tahoe, said Shane Phillips, who manages the Randall Lewis Housing Initiative astatine the University of California, Los Angeles.
He did not cognize capable astir the projected taxation to measurement in, but mostly supports vacancy taxes connected abrogation homes successful regions wherever lodging is short. Taxes tin beryllium utilized to discourage harmful behavior, helium said, specified arsenic taxes connected cigarettes.
"And I deliberation there's a akin statement to beryllium made here, that radical consuming aggregate homes and not surviving successful them successful communities similar South Lake Tahoe ... it's really doing harm to different people," Phillips said.
Measure N has roiled the tiny community, which with astir 21,000 year-round residents is the astir populous metropolis ringing Lake Tahoe and a fashionable play destination. It is 188 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
The metropolis has a median household income of $68,000, little than the $95,000 median successful California. The median income terms of a location was $750,000 successful September - up from $427,000 5 years ago, according to Redfin.
Modeled connected Berkeley's bare homes tax, the metropolis projects that the projected taxation volition rise up to $8 cardinal successful its archetypal twelvemonth and up to $20 cardinal a twelvemonth afterwards.
Amelia Richmond, co-founder of Locals for Affordable Housing, the radical that collected the signatures to get the contented connected the ballot, said it is an accidental to guarantee South Lake Tahoe does not spell the mode of different upland towns with adjacent higher vacancy rates.
Property owners would self-report each year, though documentation whitethorn beryllium required. There are exceptions to the occupancy requirement, specified arsenic homes undergoing renovation.
To debar the tax, owners of abrogation homes could merchantability their property, lease to a tenant year-round, oregon rent to seasonal travelers oregon workers. They can't database their homes arsenic short-term rentals aft the metropolis voted to curtail rentals of less than 30 days, citing sound and the lodging shortage.
Opponents accidental galore of them scrimped and saved for humble 2nd homes and they shouldn't beryllium punished for the region's deficiency of affordable housing. They're besides upset due to the fact that arsenic part-time residents, they cannot ballot connected the measure.
Tom Fields, 85, splits his clip betwixt a three-bedroom location that helium describes arsenic thing peculiar different than its determination connected Lake Tahoe and a spot successful cardinal Oregon.
"This is brainsick and I don't adjacent cognize if it's constitutional," helium said. "When you acquisition the onshore and they commencement taking distant rights, that's erstwhile radical get upset."
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