The city of Chula Vista is exploring a possible November ballot measure that would raise the city\u2019s hotel tax rate by four percent to fund a new city tourism bureau along with additional public safety resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city recently hired an Encinitas-based polling firm called True North Research to gauge voters\u2019 support for increasing the city\u2019s hotel tax rate by four percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chula Vista\u2019s base hotel tax rate currently stands at 10 percent for all guest stays of 30 days or less.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guests at hotels along the city\u2019s bayfront, including the recently opened Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, pay a higher rate of 15.5 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the City Council decides to place a hotel tax increase on the November ballot, and voters approve the measure, Chula Vista\u2019s hotel tax rate would rise to one of the highest levels in San Diego County.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The neighboring city of San Diego charges up to 13.75 percent, depending on hotel location. Other large coastal cities, including Carlsbad and Oceanside, charge slightly less.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City Councilmember Jose Preciado, who spearheaded the potential tax increase along with fellow Chula Vista Councilmember Cesar Fernandez, said raising the hotel tax rate could generate roughly $2.8 million annually \u2014 $700,000 for each percentage point increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking to have our visitors pay into the quality of life we all enjoy,\u201d Preciado said. \u201cI think in South County we haven\u2019t had the same focus [on maximizing tourism opportunities] as San Diego proper or other parts of San Diego County.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Preciado said he hoped the additional revenue generated by the tax increase would help pay for up to 10 new police officers and a new city-funded visitors bureau to market the city as a tourism destination and plan for future tourism growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The poll currently being conducted by the city proposes earmarking new tax revenue for 911 emergency response resources, homelessness services, job creation efforts and maintaining city parks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we emerge as a tourism area with different kinds of tourism amenities, our goal is to build infrastructure for that,\u201d Preciado said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Poll results and a proposal for the possible ballot measure could come before the City Council later this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Council would need to vote to place the tax increase on the ballot by the first week of August to meet a filing deadline for the Nov. 3 election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The idea of raising hotel taxes first appeared on the city\u2019s radar late last year, when a City Council subcommittee focused on economic growth in the city\u2019s lower-income west side included the idea in a four-point economic development plan<\/a> for the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Preciado and Fernandez were the subcommittee\u2019s two members.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similar to a series of subcommittees recently created by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the west Chula Vista subcommittee operated on an informal basis and did not hold public meetings governed by public meeting rules or transparency requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two councilmembers met with Chula Vista staff and a range of economic development consultants, including New York-based HR&A Advisors and Spicer Consulting Group, a Murrieta company that, according to its website<\/a>, helps cities find ways to \u201cfund vital infrastructure and services to meet the needs of constituents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The plan developed by the subcommittee proposed four strategies for growing the west Chula Vista economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Strategies included expanding sports-related tourism, creating business improvement districts and \u201cdeveloping strategies that support tourism growth and generate transient occupancy tax revenues that can be reinvested to strengthen Chula Vista neighborhoods and assist in achieving city priorities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilmembers in November unanimously approved the plan and directed city staff to put it into action.\u00a0<\/p>\n