Supervisor Dennis Rodoni began his 2018 policy agenda by promulgating his proposal to increase the Transient Occupancy Tax, which would apply only to visitors who use short-term rentals, or accommodations that last under 30 days. He’s held meetings with village associations, planning groups and individuals to parlay the proposal, and said a majority of the residents he’s talked to have been supportive.
Yet some short-term rental owners—whose customers would feel the hit, in some cases with an additional $12 to $30 tax a night—have expressed outrage. The tax increase would require a two-thirds majority vote, and could appear on either this June’s or November’s ballot.
The proposed initiative would bump the tax from 10 percent to 15 percent, in West Marin only. Nearly all of the resulting roughly $1 million extra a year would benefit West Marin. Three fifths of the increase would be dedicated to affordable housing, while the remaining two fifths would go toward fire and emergency services, including the volunteer fire departments.
During his bid for office in spring 2016, Supervisor Rodoni caused a stir at a candidates’ night at the Dance Palace, when the panel of eight was asked if he they would support a county ordinance regulating short-term vacation rental services. He was the sole candidate to dissent, saying he would support regulations “only after we’ve done enough research and have statistics to identify what the problems are.”
But working alongside the county administrator, the county counsel and the Marin Department of Finance, Supervisor Rodoni has done just that. Volunteer fire departments are spending more time and resources on calls spurred by visitors, straining their operations, he said, and the influx of other short-term rentals has diminished the availability of long-term rentals.
“Affordable is not the right term,” he said. “What I’m talking about is the impact on neighborhoods. That’s what the message is: affordable housing is long-term housing.”
By increasing the T.O.T., West Marin would bring in extra revenue to help mitigate the impacts brought by heavy visitation.
Last year, the tax hauled in over $3.6 million for unincorporated Marin. That revenue goes directly into the county’s general fund, though some eventually returns to West Marin for services such as firefighting and law enforcement. In Marin, only Novato and Sausalito have higher T.O.T. rates—12 percent—but the extra 2 percent goes to the Marin Visitors Bureau to support tourism.
Supervisor Rodoni’s proposal has been met with mixed emotions. Brian Staley, chairman of the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group, said he is in favor. “Increasing taxes marginally is a win/win due to the increase in funding for services which benefits everyone,” he wrote to the Light.
Melinda Stone, a Bolinas resident who has spent years meeting with her community members looking for solutions to waning affordable housing, said she appreciates the forward movement.
“Dennis talks about soft measures and hard measures—this is one of the soft ones,” she said. “I think it’ll work because it’s something he can do without going through the California Coastal Commission.”
But at this month’s Chamber of Commerce meeting, Point Reyes Station bed and breakfast owners argued that the tax unfairly targets their industry.
“Why just us?” Bill Wigert, owner of the Black Heron Inn, asked. “I can’t believe I’m listening to my supervisor telling me to charge another 5 percent to my guests. We’re small-time—two to three rooms. If this goes through, I’m going to get out of this business. Let’s have everybody pay a fee or tax—not just West Marin lodging.”
Doris Ferrando, who runs Ferrando’s Hideaway in Point Reyes Station with her husband, Greg, broke down how the proposal would impact their business.
“Our smaller cottage is $300 a night with a two-night minimum, which would make the T.O.T. $90,” compared to the current $60 charge, she said. “I can’t raise my rates. “Everything else is going up.”
And if there is a tax increase, it should be spread evenly, Ms. Ferrando said. “Only 3 percent of tourists stay overnight out here, and everyone else is day-trippers. It should be spread to everybody, [such as through] a sales tax.”
But Supervisor Rodoni argued that “day-trippers are not taking away available homes.” A sales tax is a state tax and only a small portion of it returns to the county, he added.
Another point of contention at the Chamber of Commerce meeting concerned compliance with the T.O.T. The county believes there are about 600 households that don’t pay the tax. When Supervisor Rodoni cited this figure, chamber members audibly gasped.
“Six hundred businesses are not paying their share, and the T.O.T. needs to be enforced?” Ms. Ferrando asked. “The county is not enforcing their law. Every year, all honest people pay their business license, T.O.T. and file inspections. Airbnbs don’t.”
Supervisor Rodoni said the county has hired an outside contractor to sniff out short-term rentals that are not paying the tax. Host Compliance, a San Francisco firm that monitors short-term rentals, was awarded the contract and will begin its analysis soon.
Supervisor Rodoni stood by his proposal at the chamber meeting, telling members that he would consider their comments moving forward. “But I don’t think we can honestly say this represents all of West Marin in this room,” he said. “I’ve had three other meetings where it was the opposite. And at the end of the day, democracy says the voters decide.”
Later he told the Light that the meeting encouraged him to continue reaching out to constituents. “What the chamber night told me is I have a lot more outreach to do,” he said.