The San Diego City Council's Rules Committee will discuss a proposed ballot measure Wednesday which would tax vacant second homes and short-term rental properties, but not before proponents and opponents have dueling news conferences outside city hall.
A coalition of short-term rental hosts from across the city, the San Diego Short-Term Rental Alliance and representatives of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce will speak at 8:20 a.m. outside the city hall to advocate against the proposal, while 10 minutes later, the ballot measure's sponsor, Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera, will speak in support of the tax.
If approved by the Rules Committee at its 9 a.m. meeting and later the full San Diego City Council, the measure would be placed before voters on the June 2026 ballot. It would not apply to primary residences or long-term rental properties, and Elo-Rivera said there would be additional exemptions for city residents to avoid undue harm.
"San Diego's housing crisis has left too many families priced out and too many homes sitting empty," a statement from the councilman's office read. "At a time when the city faces structural budget challenges, the Vacation Home Operation Tax offers a fair, people-centered solution to generate ongoing revenue and put housing back in service to San Diegans."
Opponents disagreed, saying what they estimate is a cost of $5,000 per impacted property and that it will fail to make housing more affordable for San Diegans.
"San Diegans are already paying more for everything and this new tax won't build a single new unit of housing or improve affordability β it just raises costs for families and threatens neighborhood jobs," a statement from the San Diego Short-Term Rental Alliance read.
They claimed the proposed ballot measure will raise an estimated revenue of $135 million annually that will go to the city's general fund and not necessarily to housing affordability.
The Rules Committee has two options Wednesday: It may request further information from city departments and report back to the committee or it can head to the City Attorney's office to begin the formation of the ballot measure β which will then return to the committee before finally heading to the city council and then voters.
