It’s time to pay up.
That was Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s message to tourists and wealthy San Diegans at Politifest on Saturday.
It apparently struck a chord. Elo-Rivera’s pitch won the most votes in a Solutions Showdown against Mayor Todd Gloria and center-right political consultant Aimee Faucett on creating a San Diego we can all be proud of.
Elo Rivera’s pitch centered on generating revenue in two new ways: charging tourists fees for access to places like Mission Bay and Torrey Pines golf course, as well as taxing second homes and vacation homes at higher rates.
The mayor did not make new taxes and fees central to his pitch. I asked Gloria whether forcing people to “pay their fair share” — as Elo-Rivera phrased it — was a good idea.
“It’s one of those things that the concept, I think, is sound. The devil is in the details,” he said.
Gloria argued it is important to remain competitive in the tourism marketplace, by not increasing tourism fees so much that people, for instance, choose to hold conferences and events in other cities.
Elo-Rivera argued, however, that the city and its beaches are world class and shouldn’t be sold short.
“I don’t think that San Diego is as attractive a tourist destination as it is because it’s the cheapest place in town,” he said later in the day during the taping of Voice of San Diego’s live podcast.
Elo-Rivera encouraged San Diegans to think of its beaches and its draw for tourists as a natural resource, like gold or oil. The resource, he argued, is currently being extracted without many residents getting the full value.
“Visitors don’t pay their fair share for accessing these places. They don’t pay their fair share when lifeguards are saving them or preventing them from drowning. They don’t pay their fair share for the roads that they drive on and the impact that that has on your commute,” he said.
Aside from charging fees to tourists — Elo-Rivera suggested an entrance fee for Mission Bay Park and charging for parking at beaches — he also said his office plans to bring forward a tax on vacation rental homes and second homes.
“Those homes are sitting empty while people sleep on the streets. That’s not okay,” he said. “There is something morally abhorrent in my mind about the idea of 5,000 homes in the city of San Diego sitting empty — luxury homes sitting empty — while people are sleeping on sidewalks.”
The plan is still in the works, but Elo-Rivera said the proposed tax may be based on the number of bedrooms in each house.
The guy who wanted to tax your concrete wants to continue to try to penalize successful home owners as though they’ve done something wrong, while adding more taxes to the no fault of their own tourists.
While also letting developers off the hook for infrastructure fees for their ADU political contribution ponzi scheme.
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32 million tourists visited San Diego last year. If we collected a $5 tax from each one, we would have $160 million to repair our roads, to house the homeless, to upgrade the convention center, in other words to keep San Diego the world class destination that people from all over the world come to see.
So, let’s get this straight. The founding fathers-built America on personal initiative. The great banks, the great corporations, Allis Chambers, 3M, John Deere, Hotpoint, and thousands more were founded by men who spilled blood, sweat, and tears, and this cat Elo wants to destroy everything like a bull in a china shop. GEEZ yea, so I get up at 0400h every morning to make money, and LITTLE ELO wants my money to go to some deviant slacker.
32 million people visited San Diego last year. If we collected a $5 tax from each one we would have $160 million to repair our roads, to upgrade the convention center, to help house the homeless so they are not on the streets, in other words to help keep San Diego the world class destination people come to see.
It’s morally abhorrent to spend time dreaming up new ways to fleece San Diegans instead of fixing the structural budget problems the City Council created.
I think he is suggesting fleecing tourists who rent short term vacation homes and use local parks and beaches. But no details on how he would separate them from local residents when it comes to paying for access and parking at local attractions.
Local people do have staycations and now he wants to add on from the hotels and parking, and whatever else in his brain that thinks tourists are pockets to pick.
Did any of you attend the Politifest solutions on this topic?
If Elo Rivera worked at an airline he would be making the case for charging customers for the use of a seat belt or the bathroom.
Just a warning to everyone who is eligible to vote in the city of San Diego: If you vote for Ego-Rivera for any public office positions, you will regret it. That “man” is going to run our city into the dirt.
I second that motion.
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One thing that’s never been asked is what exactly is the tourist fair share? According to Ego’s eyes? it’s always been an excuse to gouge people who have for the have nots.
Elo-Rivera is absolutely right. Tourism was important 50 years ago before there was a tech sector in San Diego, but today tourism is not worth the money it brings in. At a minimum, there should be a $20/day tax on rental cars. Traffic would not be a problem if we didn’t have tourists clogging up the roads. Imagine being able to enjoy our parks and beaches without hordes of tourists. The empty hotel rooms could be converted to studio apartments, easing the housing shortage.
No, it’s wrong to say tourists and wealthy should pay more just by the notion they can do so. Inequality on the flip side. That’s where Ego Rivera needs to go. Away.