As we've been reporting, Lake Tahoe is currently facing a shortage of affordable housing, which is forcing the local workforce to reside outside the basin. However, a citizens' group has taken an initiative to tackle the issue by canvassing to get a measure on the 2024 ballot.
The group, Locals for Affordable Housing, has launched a canvassing campaign targeted towards South Lake Tahoe. They are advocating for an annual vacancy property tax to be imposed on the more than 7,000 unoccupied homes in the resort town.
According to AC5 Census data, more than 44% of the housing in South Lake Tahoe remains vacant for over six months every year. This, despite the soaring housing costs, and over 50% of the workforce, which is referred to as "the missing middle", has to commute from outside of Tahoe.
"You don't want people like nurses and firefighters to live far away. You want them to be able to be here. To be able to respond in a crisis, so we need to find ways to house our local workforce here in Lake Tahoe," said Locals for Affordable Housing Amelia Richmond.
The group is taking a two-pronged approach by disincentivizing keeping properties vacant while generating much-needed revenue to fund affordable housing programs, road repairs, and transportation.
"If you live in your home, if you rent your home. If you're using your home in any way, you don't pay the tax. If you choose to keep your home empty, you do pay an annual fee, and then we can use that money to build more housing, repair our roads, and improve our public transit," said Richmond.
Locals for Affordable Housing is modeling their vacancy tax plan after the City of Berkeley, which includes a $3,000 tax for the first year the home sits empty and $6,000 dollars every year the house remains vacant.
"If hypothetically, if only 20% of the vacant homeowners decide to rent or sell their homes to locals and 80% of people have to pay the tax, we could be looking at about 34 million dollars each year to go toward housing, roads, and transit. So that's a lot of solutions you can use toward the greatest needs in our community," said Richmond.
Richmond points out that another detrimental impact from the housing shortage is decreased funding for public schools.
"The vast majority of school funding is attendance-based, so when our population drops by 10% when our school enrollment drops by 36%, we lose a huge percent of our school funding," said Richmond.
If successful, this would be the first community in Lake Tahoe to establish a vacancy tax. Locals for Affordable Housing hope it will inspire other basin communities to pass similar legislation. The group is fundraising and seeking volunteers to gather the roughly 1,500 signatures needed by April 11.
Check out: SLC Vacancy Tax
SOURCES
"Half of Lake Tahoe’s workers now live outside the region”
“of those who do live here, nearly two-thirds do not earn enough to afford the living expenses of a typical family."
"Median home prices have double in South Lake Tahoe since 2013"
"the vacancy rate is increasing, with the rise in vacant homes outpacing new housing construction since 2000”
2000 Centennial Census data for Total Housing Units and Vacant Housing Units compared to 2022 ACS 5 data for Total Housing Units and Vacant Housing Units.
CENUS DATA LINKS
2000 Decennial Census Population for South Lake Tahoe: 23,609
2022 ASC5 Census Population for South Lake Tahoe: 21,346
2000 Decennial Census Vacancy Status: 4,594 units (of 14,046 total housing units)
2022 ASC5 Census Vacancy Status: 7,150 Units (of 16,275 total housing units)
2000 LTUSD School Enrollment: 5,712 students
2022 LTUSD School Enrollment: 3,648
