As San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, my office serves families during some of the hardest moments of their lives. We help homeowners after wildfires and floods. We help surviving spouses and children preserve the family home after the loss of a loved one. We work to ensure people are not taxed out of their homes during moments of crisis.
I have sat across the table from families who lost everything. I have watched survivors break down as they describe what was left after a fire. I have seen widows trying to navigate preserving their home while grieving a spouse. I have seen children sorting through a parent’s home while trying to settle an estate.
While city councilmembers see Measure A as a tax to fill their budget, I see the families who will be hurt while trying to rebuild or preserve their family home. That is why I am urging a “No” vote on Measure A on June 2.
After reviewing Measure A, I believe it will become a burdensome tax on disaster victims and grieving families while doing little to solve San Diego’s housing crisis.
Measure A, called the “non-primary residence” tax or the “Empty Home Tax,” imposes a new tax that can exceed $10,000 annually on homes deemed vacant for more than half the year. Supporters present it as a housing policy, but housing policy should solve housing problems. Measure A creates a new tax, a new bureaucracy and new penalties for families already experiencing loss. Nowhere is that clearer than in disaster recovery.
Measure A does provide a two-year exemption after a disaster, such as when a wildfire or flood destroys a home. Two years may sound reasonable in a committee hearing. But, it is not reasonable in real life. Anyone who has worked with disaster victims knows recovery is not measured in months; it is measured in years.
Families rebuilding after fires are navigating insurance disputes, debris removal, permits, contractor shortages, environmental reviews, temporary housing, financing issues and the emotional burden of replacing a lifetime of memories.
California history consistently shows that major disaster recovery extends well beyond two years. Communities impacted by the Camp Fire, Tubbs Fire and other catastrophic events spent years rebuilding.
No California jurisdiction consistently rebuilds communities after major disasters in two years. So why would we create policy assuming homeowners can?
Just look at the Palisades in Los Angeles County. Even with significant state and federal resources they are still rebuilding. Under a Measure A, the Los Angeles County wildfire victims entering year two would now face a $10,000 annual tax.
If no city has demonstrated that timeline, why should San Diegans believe their city will be the exception? This is not criticism of city employees. Recovery after disaster is extraordinarily difficult. Public policy should reflect reality, not best-case scenarios.
Measure A effectively tells disaster survivors: Rebuild within two years or be punished with a $10,000 tax. That is not compassion. That is a City Council disconnected from reality.
Measure A also impacts grieving families navigating probate after the death of a loved one. When a parent dies, a family member cannot immediately move into the family home if the estate goes to probate court. These are not investors. These are sons and daughters. These are widows. These are families trying to hold on.
Yet, Measure A effectively tells them: Finish the court administered probate process they don’t control within two years, or be punished.
San Diego County has approximately 3.3 million residents and only two probate judges handling estate matters involving homes and inheritance issues. It often takes more than two years for families to resolve matters involving the family homes. Those homes are not “vacant investment properties,” but family homes waiting for the legal system to catch up.
Grieving families should not become collateral damage of bad housing policy. No widow should fear a $10,000 tax bill because the courts moved slower than grief. No wildfire survivor should face a $10,000 tax penalty because they were forced to endure the grueling government process of rebuilding their home after a devastating disaster. No family should be punished because life failed to fit into an arbitrary timeline.
San Diego’s housing crisis is real, but Measure A does not solve it. Housing affordability is driven by supply shortages, construction costs, permitting delays and barriers to building. Measure A addresses none of those issues. Instead, it risks taxing our neighbors out of their homes during the very moments they need grace the most.
As County Assessor and a taxpayer advocate, I worry about the wildfire victim still waiting for the rebuild. I worry about the children who are trying to afford the legal bills to settle their parents’ estate and move into their family home. I worry about the widow sitting in probate court hoping the process moves forward before they get a tax bill they can’t afford. Government should meet those families with compassion. Not a $10,000 tax bill.
For these reasons, I respectfully urge San Diego residents to join me in voting “No” on Measure A, a terrible $10,000 tax.
Jordan Marks serves as the San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.
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