Letter: Susan Funk addresses short term rental issues
To the editor,
–From recent comments in the A-Town Daily News concerning the City Council race you would think the sky would come crashing down if a vacancy tax – or related measures – were enacted on distant and unresponsive landlords sitting on long-empty commercial spaces in Atascadero. But instead of the knee-jerk reaction to anything that mentions ‘taxes’, one might try looking at a comparable sized town that actually enacted one. The preamble to such an ordinance states in part that its purpose is “to protect the welfare and economic vitality of the [city’s] residents…by protecting property values, maintaining neighborhood integrity and accessibility, and safeguarding against property blight.” One learns that the ordinance requires landlords to register vacant property with the city and charges an annual fee for such property. The results? When the fees were first levied, it saw the number of vacant storefronts drop from 17 to 6 by the end of the year.
Further, a resident in Santa Barbara passes along the information that vacancies along once vibrant State street are now a matter of serious concern and are attracting a large number of transients. Concerned citizens are now pressing for a vacancy tax or similar remedies.
Each community has unique aspects, but a nuanced and thoughtful drafting of such an ordinance suited to Atascadero’s situation would levy fees on those interminably holding undeveloped property with no active plans to develop it, while the city would positively support those landlords with active development plans and who are in the process of obtaining lessees or financing.
In this discussion, Susan Funk seems to be the only candidate capable of thinking in a creative and thoughtful manner. As the only non-establishment candidate for city government, this is one more reason why she should be elected to the City Council in November. Vote for Susan Funk.
Ray Weymann
Atascadero
