‘Empty homes tax’ could bring fewer empty homes

I was excited to see the article in the La Jolla Light describing the upcoming vote on an “empty homes tax” in San Diego (“District 1 expected to be most impacted by ’empty homes tax,’” March 12).

For context, I live in La Jolla Shores, where my husband and I share a small and sometimes sandy studio apartment. Despite the close quarters, we love our home and our neighborhood. Over the past six years, we have worked to build what in San Diego feels like a rarity: a sense of community.

I know every business owner on Avenida de la Playa by name. I recognize the lifeguards and the kids who work the kayak tours. I’m even starting to recognize a few of the neighborhood’s furry friends. I know each of my building’s tenants by name, and we share beach equipment, borrow the occasional cup of sugar and generally do life together.

Not so much my other neighbors. When describing my neighborhood, I tell people that I live in a cemetery of million-dollar houses. Opulent mausoleums, perfectly maintained, perfectly appointed. Perfectly … still.

My husband and I are avid walkers. I’ve walked every inch of La Jolla Shores and most of The Village hundreds of times. I know every back alley and secret nature trail, and after six years, I know the houses. I know them by which ones have roses and which ones have my favorite flowering trees, which ones will drop the occasional spare orange onto the sidewalk.

Less familiar are their theoretical inhabitants. From my perspective as a local pedestrian, about 80% are empty year-round. The lights will be on around Christmastime or over the Fourth of July, if at all. Perfectly maintained lawns are never marred by children’s toys or beach towels. Carefully chosen patio furniture gathers dust. Balconies cup empty air, lifelessly witnessing the spectacular sunsets in opulent isolation.

La Jolla Shores is my home. My husband is a UC San Diego physician and I am an M.D.-Ph.D. student at the School of Medicine there. We are both in our 30s and we are expecting our first child. We’ve had a real estate agent for a while now, but our dream of buying a home in La Jolla Shores feels like more and more of a pipe dream with every passing week. Even with two physician incomes, we can’t afford to live here.

Our options are becoming mortgage-poor in a condo by a busy road somewhere or moving farther away. As I stare down residency and 80-plus-hour work weeks, an increased commute time comes with a price tag of reducing my one to two hours of time with my son each day. Renting continues to make more sense.

But if an empty-homes tax could incentivize some of the absentee owners of these houses to sell, or even to live here, maybe things could change. Maybe we could have neighbors that we see and know and share life with. Maybe we could even buy a house (one of the little ones) where our son could grow up.

As it stands, living in a garden of empty homes is as lonely as it is financially depressing. Based on the value of most of these homes, this tax probably won’t be enough to incentivize movement, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Anna Lussier

Don’t count on these tax precedents

San Diego’s proposed “empty homes tax” cites San Francisco and Berkeley as municipalities with similar taxes in place. But San Francisco’s version, Proposition M, which narrowly passed in 2022, has been suspended and in litigation for three-plus years, costing San Francisco significant legal fees.

Berkeley’s version became effective in 2024, but if San Diego’s council is looking at Berkeley’s law as an established legal precedent, they are badly misreading the situation. If San Francisco’s Prop. M is ultimately struck down, Berkeley’s version will be, too.

Jeff Holman

What’s on YOUR mind?

Letters published in the La Jolla Light express views from readers about community matters. Submissions of related photos also are welcome. Letters reflect the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of the newspaper staff or publisher. Letters are subject to editing. To share your thoughts in this public forum, email them with your first and last names and city or neighborhood of residence to robert.vardon@lajollalight.com. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday for publication in the following Thursday’s paper. Letters without the writer’s name cannot be published. Letters from the same person are limited to one in a 30-day period. ♦