‘Empty homes’ tax threatens San Diego homeowners

San Diego has gone to war with wealthy second homeowners.

The city council approved a measure Tuesday that will leave it up to voters to decide whether to tax the empty houses of part-time residents of the city.

The so-called empty homes tax will enforce an $8,000 annual tax on more than 5,000 homes unoccupied for more than half a year. For corporate-owned homes, the surcharge increases by $4,000.

If approved, the tax will later increase to $10,000 annually, with a $5,000 surcharge on corporate-owned dwellings.

The city councilmember, a Democrat, who introduced the measure, is hoping it would allow full-time residents of the city to have a better chance at securing housing.

“The desire to have a damn chance to live in the city is so strong and we need to encourage that,” Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“No one is asking for free housing. They want a chance to live in the city they love and that they work in. We heard it from teachers, we heard it from firefighters, we heard it from students, we heard it from recent grads. And that’s why homes shouldn’t be sitting empty during a housing crisis.”

Council President Joe LaCava, also a Democrat, said the solution is “not a silver bullet” but “has the potential to move us in the right direction.”

Only one of the council’s nine members voiced dissent, Councilmember Raul Campillo, who represents District 7 encompassing communities like Linda Vista and Mission Valley.

He said he was waiting on legal advice from the city’s attorney that never came, so he was hesitant to vote on the matter.

“I weigh the potential legal viability and risk, together with the net public benefit, on the decisions I make, no matter how compelling or urgent the motivation is, and certainly there is an urgent and compelling motivation,” he told the outlet.

“I’m hesitant to vote for this today, because I have not received the information I need to be confident in that decision. And confidence in our decisions is something the public truly lacks these days.”

One prominent beach community is likely to face much of the taxation: La Jolla. The area, which has an average home price of around $2.34 million, is a popular area in San Diego for vacation homes. Its zip code alone has 852 vacation homes, according to the Voice of San Diego.

San Diego’s average home price is less than half of La Jolla’s at around $975,000, according to Zillow.

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