SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — South Lake Tahoe voters will get to decide if they want a vacancy tax in November.
The El Dorado County Registrar of Voters said there were enough verified signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. Bill O'Neill, the Registrar of Voters, said it now goes back to the city for the next steps.
South Lake Tahoe City Clerk Susan Blankenship said the city attorney will give a report to the city council June 18 and pass a resolution calling for a consolidated election with El Dorado County. There will be various steps to prepare the arguments and rebuttals that will appear on the ballot throughout July and into August. Then, on August 9, Blankenship will forward the full text of the measure, the impartial analysis, arguments and rebuttals to be included on the ballot.
Amelia Richmond is the co-founder of Locals for Affordable Housing, a group behind the vacancy tax initiative. The initiative is based on Berkeley's vacancy tax with similar rules and restrictions.
According to Richmond, if the vacancy tax passes, homeowners would pay $3,000 the first year and then $6,000 in 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.
“We are thrilled we’ll be able to vote on this common-sense initiative as a community this fall,” said Richmond in a statement. “If it passes in November, the Vacancy Tax will introduce an annual fee ONLY on houses that sit unoccupied for the majority of the year — shifting incentives and creating a local funding source to fill the houses, fix the roads, and make sure South Lake Tahoe remains a vibrant, thriving community for all.”
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, they won't be able to vote on the vacancy tax come November.
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.
"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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