Larkspur will not pursue a tax on vacant properties after a majority of the City Council opposed the idea at an Oct. 21 workshop.
The city had been considering a possible ballot measure since June. Many residents supported a tax, pointing to the former Lucky supermarket at 570 Magnolia Ave. The building, owned by Albertsons Companies, has been empty since the store closed in 2023, and downtown Larkspur no longer has a grocery store.
What the city attorney laid out
City Attorney Sky Woodruff's staff report explained that cities can't charge property taxes based on value under Proposition 13, but they can adopt parcel or excise taxes. A vacancy tax would need definitions for vacancy, which properties are covered, a rate, exemptions, start and end dates, how it is collected and how the money is spent. The report noted that San Francisco and Oakland have vacancy taxes. On Sept. 11, an appeals court ruled that San Francisco's Empty Homes Tax was preempted by the Ellis Act. The city could not single out one property or set a rate so high that it reduced property values.
The vote
Several commercial property owners said a tax would hurt smaller landlords. “I think the Albertsons of the world can easily absorb a vacancy tax,” said owner Thomas Young. “I think the small property tax owner like myself cannot.”
Mayor Stephanie Andre, who is running for reelection Tuesday, wanted to let voters decide. Vice Mayor Gabe Paulson and Councilmembers Catherine Way, Scot Candell and Sarah Margulies were opposed.