SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The signatures to get a vacancy tax on South Lake Tahoe's November ballot have been submitted to the city.
Sheree Juarez, a spokesperson for South Lake Tahoe, said the city received the signatures Monday and sent them to the El Dorado County Elections Office.
Amelia Richmond is the co-founder of Locals for Affordable Housing, a group behind the initiative to get a vacancy tax on the November ballot. She said they've collected 2,471 signatures since January.
"More than 85 volunteers helped gather signatures, and we collected more than double the 1,159 signatures required to get on the ballot in only 12 weeks — less than half the 6-month period allowed for signature gathering," Richmond told ABC10.
The signatures still need to be verified by the El Dorado County Elections Office. According to Bill O'Neill, a spokesperson for the elections office, they will have 30 days to review and approve or deny each signature. Then, the information gets sent back to the city. If there are 1,159 verified registered voter signatures, the Vacancy Tax Initiative will go on the ballot in November, according to Juarez.
"It felt great to submit the signatures on behalf of the community and our incredible team of volunteers after three months of outreach and community engagement," Richmond told ABC10.
The initiative is based on Berkeley's vacancy tax with similar rules and restrictions.
According to Richmond, if it makes it to the ballot and passes, owners would pay $3,000 the first year and then $6,000 the subsequent years if the home remains unoccupied for 50% of the year. The money from the tax could only be spent on housing, roads and transit with housing as a top priority, according to Richmond.
Owners of vacant homes could be exempt from paying this tax by renting to a local resident. There are other exceptions to the tax including properties under active renovation, in probate, and homes of people currently in a care home or long-term medical treatment.
According to a 2022 South Lake Tahoe Housing Element Update, there were 8,832 vacant units in South Lake Tahoe in 2017. More than 84% of those units were considered seasonal, recreational or occasional use.
As far as housing, the city of South Lake Tahoe is working to increase affordable housing as required by the state through several projects. Find out more about the projects HERE.
For people who own second homes in South Lake Tahoe, even if the initiative makes the ballot, they won't be able to vote on it.
RELATED: 'I can't vote against it': Some South Lake Tahoe homeowners concerned over vacancy tax initiative
Jim Crouch lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and owns a second home in South Lake Tahoe. He and his wife purchased their two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in South Lake Tahoe in 2017 after years of visiting friends who lived in the area.
"If they put this on the ballot, I can't vote against it. I'm not up there. I don't live there. I don't get to vote in South Lake Tahoe. So you're going to have something that may or may not pass that affects me because I'm a homeowner up there, but I don't get to vote on it," Crouch previously told ABC10.
The South Lake Tahoe City Council previously considered a vacancy tax, but the director of Development Services for South Lake Tahoe, Zach Thomas, said ultimately the city council voted not to pursue the tax and continued with other programs.
Find more on housing resources in South Lake Tahoe HERE.
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