Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hotel taxes for homeless, not a new convention center

A new survey suggests there's strong support among San Diegans for an as-yet hypothetical measure to address the city's homelessness issue by increasing hotel taxes.

The study, conducted between May 31 and June 4 by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, a Los Angeles-based public policy research firm, found that if a special election were held in November, 70 percent of likely voters in the city would approve a two-percent hike to the transient occupancy tax paid by local hotel guests. A full 75 percent of voters

Sponsored
Sponsored

would approve same if a proposition were to be offered in November 2018 as regular elections, even midterms, tend to skew more liberal (and more likely to assent to tax increases) as more voters participate. Either result would surpass the two-thirds majority threshold to pass a new tax.

The results come in stark contrast to a proposal floated by Mayor Kevin Faulconer to increase hotel taxes by three percent to fund another convention center expansion, despite arguments that such facilities are already in excessive abundance across the country. When pitched on the idea with no background information, the 400 likely voters surveyed indicated only a 54-percent approval rate in the special election Faulconer is pushing for — the total jumps to 60 percent if the issue were delayed until 2018, but neither surpasses the two-thirds threshold.

Worse, after hearing simple pro/con arguments regarding the viability of the convention center, support drops to just 47 and 51 percent, respectively.

"San Diegans have their priorities straight," said homeless advocate Michael McConnell in a release from the pollsters. "Voters want to get our homeless neighbors off the streets, and allocate appropriate funding to do so."

Under the idea floated, the two-percent tax would raise up to $60 million annually until voters approve its cancellation. The full text of the survey question reads as follows:

City of San Diego Plan to Prevent and Combat Homelessness

To fund mental health, substance abuse treatment, health care, education, job training, rental subsidies, emergency and affordable housing, transportation, outreach, prevention, and supportive services for homeless children, families, foster youth, veterans, battered women, seniors, disabled individuals, and other homeless adults; shall voters authorize an ordinance to levy a two-percent transient occupancy tax, paid only by hotel/short-term rental guests, providing 60 million dollars annually until ended by voters, with independent annual audits and citizens’ oversight?

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Next Article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm

A new survey suggests there's strong support among San Diegans for an as-yet hypothetical measure to address the city's homelessness issue by increasing hotel taxes.

The study, conducted between May 31 and June 4 by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, a Los Angeles-based public policy research firm, found that if a special election were held in November, 70 percent of likely voters in the city would approve a two-percent hike to the transient occupancy tax paid by local hotel guests. A full 75 percent of voters

Sponsored
Sponsored

would approve same if a proposition were to be offered in November 2018 as regular elections, even midterms, tend to skew more liberal (and more likely to assent to tax increases) as more voters participate. Either result would surpass the two-thirds majority threshold to pass a new tax.

The results come in stark contrast to a proposal floated by Mayor Kevin Faulconer to increase hotel taxes by three percent to fund another convention center expansion, despite arguments that such facilities are already in excessive abundance across the country. When pitched on the idea with no background information, the 400 likely voters surveyed indicated only a 54-percent approval rate in the special election Faulconer is pushing for — the total jumps to 60 percent if the issue were delayed until 2018, but neither surpasses the two-thirds threshold.

Worse, after hearing simple pro/con arguments regarding the viability of the convention center, support drops to just 47 and 51 percent, respectively.

"San Diegans have their priorities straight," said homeless advocate Michael McConnell in a release from the pollsters. "Voters want to get our homeless neighbors off the streets, and allocate appropriate funding to do so."

Under the idea floated, the two-percent tax would raise up to $60 million annually until voters approve its cancellation. The full text of the survey question reads as follows:

City of San Diego Plan to Prevent and Combat Homelessness

To fund mental health, substance abuse treatment, health care, education, job training, rental subsidies, emergency and affordable housing, transportation, outreach, prevention, and supportive services for homeless children, families, foster youth, veterans, battered women, seniors, disabled individuals, and other homeless adults; shall voters authorize an ordinance to levy a two-percent transient occupancy tax, paid only by hotel/short-term rental guests, providing 60 million dollars annually until ended by voters, with independent annual audits and citizens’ oversight?

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader readers sound off about Encinitas cliffs

Not much sympathy for victims
Next Article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader