Letter: Measure N is unnecessary

Dear Editor; Seems like many people are overlooking the main reason to vote against Measure N, the “Vacancy Tax”. The truth is that it is totally unnecessary. It is a poorly conceived plan to solve a problem that is already being very successfully dealt with through many prior years of
careful study and planning. The tax measure does not offer a single solution to housing affordability, its sole purpose is to promote division, envy, and hate for those who have worked hard to provide their families with the opportunity to have a recreational vacation home in the mountains – a place where we are fortunate enough to live full time because of their tourist dollars providing jobs for us.

Unlike Nick Speal, who provided 41 percent of the funding for Measure N and is seeking a seat on our City Council, I think it is wonderful that people who are not able to live here full time because of their jobs are able to share the recreational experiences that Tahoe has to offer with their families. Perhaps that is because as a kid, I was only able to enjoy the wonders of Tahoe because friends' families had cabins here we could use during the summer and many of my friends worked summer jobs at Tahoe because their families had those cabins.

To begin with, South Lake Tahoe has been the most affordable area in the entire Tahoe Basin to own or rent a home at least since 2015 according to the Tahoe Prosperity Center and other databases. South Lake Tahoe has even recently been awarded the coveted “Prohousing Designation” from Governor Newsom for its affordable housing achievements that makes them eligible for incentives to scale up its current efforts to advance housing.

Tahoe is a “vacation destination”, not a year-round residential, business, and manufacturing area like the Bay Area. It is not a metropolitan city like Scott Robbins, Nick Speal and Amelia Richmond think it should be. If they want to live in a high-density community stuffed with high-rise condominiums, perhaps they should consider an area like San Francisco. The demand for housing here is seasonal and most of the people who visit Lake Tahoe do not live here year-round, they are second homeowners and tourists – tourism is the engine that generates money to support our locals and here (except wealthy people like Scott Robbins who makes over $100,000 per year and Nick Speal who is so rich, that he doesn’t need to work according to their candidacy disclosures) and we would not be able to maintain and improve our city. So before we kill the golden goose...let’s look at what is really being done to address housing issues in South Lake Tahoe. If we eliminated the vacation homes, we would lose a large percentage of the tourists, jobs, and businesses that depend on servicing them and the tax revenues sales generate.

Remember that Scott Robbins and the proponents of the Measure N Vacancy Tax are the same politicians who told us that Measure T would solve the housing problem. Because of the passage of Measure T, many of my friends lost their jobs and had to move off the hill, and that only affected 1,400 homes that were being serviced by locals. Measure N would eliminate about four times as many homes and eliminate the need for four times as many workers to take care of them. How many jobs are you willing to eliminate? How many friends do you want to see unemployed?

Part of the reason for the “Prohousing” Designation is the Construction of Sugar Pine Village a 248-unit affordable housing development that has been in the works long before the Measure N committee became involved. Because of good planning, Sugar Pine Village was built with very little cost to the residents. There is also the 2070 Lake Tahoe Blvd Mixed-Use Project that will provide 70 town-home style achievable housing rental units. The City is also working on another affordable housing project at 3900 and 3908 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in the middle of the city that will provide new homes behind the former Raleys store within walking distance of clubs, casinos, and other tourist industries and several others.

South Lake Tahoe housing projects are not having a funding crisis, they are fully funded in the budget and grants through 2035. The city is also creating more opportunities through programs like the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) Grant. The City of South Lake Tahoe is applying for funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the FY24 Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant. The purpose of this application is to implement two housing initiatives designed to preserve the current housing stock, improve affordability, and provide legal support to residents facing displacement and unjust practices.

South Lake Tahoe has also established three homeless shelters at little cost to the taxpayers through a partnership with the Tahoe Homeless Coalition.

South Lake Tahoe has made great strides over the years to address the affordable housing issue without a draconian $6,000 per year tax on people who are struggling to hold on to their family’s mountain retreat or forcing them to sell a family home. Why should only workers be allowed to enjoy Tahoe?

The reality is, that millions of people from all around the globe would like to come live in Tahoe. However, trying to accommodate all of them would destroy the very qualities of life that make Tahoe a great place to live. Do we really want to turn our town into another crime-ridden slum like Berkeley or San Francisco? I sure don’t.

- John Messina
South Lake Tahoe