If you live in San Francisco, PLEASE vote YES on City/County Proposition D on March 3rd.
In an effort to incentivize finding new tenants for blighted commercial properties, Proposition D, the city’s proposed vacancy tax, would charge owners of chronically empty SF storefronts $250 per linear foot for the first year of remaining vacant, $500 in year two, and $1,000 every year after the unit remains empty.
Fees collected would go into the city’s new small business fund, and wouldn’t kick in until 2021. This measure requires two-thirds of the vote in order to pass.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin first proposed the fee plan, and an 8-0 vote by the rest of the Board of Supervisors qualified it for the ballot. (The full board backs the proposal, but the late December vote had three abstentions, including Peskin, who was out of town at the time.)
Proposition D’s sponsors argue that small businesses will have more power to negotiate rent prices if landlords have an incentive not to let retail spaces go empty, and that the new small business fund—a first for SF—will assist those struggling in the current retail crisis.
While landlords complain at the possibility of a new tax, Peskin et al. characterize the vacancy fees as “entirely avoidable” and say that it simply puts the onus on building owners to attract tenants. The potential to cut down on unsightly and depressing empty storefronts creates keen appeal for Proposition D.
https://sf.curbed.com/2020/2/21/21146881/prop-d-vacancy-tax-sf-election-2020-peskin