Additional 4% Transient Lodging Tax On Ballot In West Marin

MARIN COUNTY, CA – A new special 4 percent transient occupancy tax on the rent charged to guests who stay less than 30 days at lodgings in the West Marin Transient Occupancy Tax Area is on the Nov. 6 ballot.

If Measure W gets approved by two-thirds of voters, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2019.

The tax would apply to guests at traditional hotels and inns, short-term rentals and bed and breakfasts and is in addition to an existing 10 percent tax that is charged to guests in lodgings in the entire unincorporated area of Marin County.

The 4 percent tax also would apply to private campground visitors except those at campgrounds owned by the state or federal government. It is intended to address visitors' impacts on fire and emergency services and the
shortage of community and affordable housing due the increase of short-term rentals.

After administrative expenses that are limited to 5 percent of the annual revenue, half of the tax money will be allocated for fire and emergency services, especially volunteer fire departments, and half to address the shortage of housing in the area.

Proponents of the measure, including Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, the San Geronimo Valley Affordable Housing Association and the Community Land Trust of West Marin, say the tax will provide $1.3 million annually.

The revenue would not go into the county's general fund, and two expenditure committees will determine the distribution of funds. An oversight committee will assure the money is disbursed as mandated. Overnight visitors, not West Marin residents or other businesses, will pay the tax, proponents say.

"School enrollment is down in San Geronimo Valley and workers are clogging our roads because they can't afford to live here. This is a step to break through the door," said Suzanne Sadowsky, chair of the San Geronimo Valley Affordable Housing Association.

Affordable housing organizations met for months to craft Measure W, Sadowsky said.

"Many second units in West Marin became bed and breakfasts. If we get $50,000, we could use it to help purchase a property and convert it to an affordable rental," Sadowsky said.

"The 4 percent tax is equivalent to a cup of coffee. This money goes directly back to West Marin," she said.
Opponents, which include traditional lodging establishments, say Marin County officials have been negligent in regulating the use of homes by visitors that were originally built for permanent residents who in turn would participate in the community.

They say Airbnb-like businesses undermine the fabric of the community, hurt their business and decimate schools, medical facilities and the area's lifestyle.

Four hundred of the 900 short-term rentals in West Marin do not pay a transient occupancy tax, according to the Measure W opponents. They call for a limit on residential short-term rentals that are operating without
conditional use permits and they want more local workforce housing.

Opponents claim the "invisible" short-term rentals, mostly owned by non-residents, have doubled in the past three years.

"Traditional lodges have been paying a 10 percent tax for 30 years but we're being lumped in with Airbnbs to pay 14 percent. There's a lot of angst," said Jeff Harriman, owner of Tomales Bay Resort and Marina.

"The community is becoming sick of short-term rentals. They're a travesty in residential zones. Housing in the hills is turning into hotels. It guts out neighborhoods," Harriman said.

Also see:

• Marin Voters Face Transportation Tax Extension

By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock