League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Diego County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Proposition K Short-Term Vacation Rental Transient Occupancy Tax City of Encinitas 2/3 Majority Required Pass: 21716 / 69.96% Yes votes ...... 9324 / 30.04% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition K

Arguments Against Proposition K

Currently all tourists staying in traditional lodging such as hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast establishments in Encinitas contribute funds for beach sand replenishment and shoreline stabilization projects by paying a 2% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). This measure, Proposition K, will require tourists staying in short-term vacation rentals to pay the same TOT as tourists staying in Encinitas hotels, motels and bed and breakfast establishments. IMPORTANTLY, THIS TOT IS PAID BY TOURISTS ONLY, NOT BY PROPERTY OWNERS OR CITY RESIDENTS. In 1998, the citizens of Encinitas approved, by more than the required 2/3 vote, a 2% special TOT for all guests staying in hotels, motels and bed and breakfast establishments in the City. The 1998 measure did not include short-term vacation units. This measure will include them in the City's beach restoration funding efforts. With the adoption of the 1998 TOT sand measure, the City of Encinitas was able to afford the highly successful 2001 sand replenishment project as well as ongoing shoreline monitoring and sand projects. By requiring all tourists staying in vacation rentals to pay this special 2% Transient Occupancy Tax, the city will have greater resources to plan and implement future beach sand projects. Proposition K has been endorsed by a number of businesses, environmental and community groups, including: Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association (DEMA) Seacoast Preservation Association California Coastal Coalition JEROME STOCKS Mayor STEVE ACETI Executive Director California Coastal Coalition DAN DALAGER Council Member ANN P. DUNHAM Seacoast Preservation Association Secretary DON HANSEN Owner Hansen's Rebuttal to Arguments For No rebuttal to the argument in favor of the proposition was filed in the office of the City Clerk.

Although Encinitas VOTERS ALREADY REJECTED THIS TAX IN JUNE, the council majority is once again asking residents to approve a sand replenishment tax. So much for the will of The People! To add insult to injury, the combined cost to taxpayers of adding these measures to the ballot is at least $45,000, no small amount at a time when tax revenues are flat or declining. Regardless of the merits of sand replenishment, PROP K JOINS A GROWING LIST OF TAXES, BOTH IN OUR CITY AND COUNTYWIDE, MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF SAND REPLENISHMENT. In fact, THIS IS THE FIFTH SAND REPLENISHMENT TAX PROPOSED IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. The others were: 1. Proposition R in 1998; 2. A property tax assessment pushed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and supported by the council in 2002; 3. Prop G (the first version of this tax defeated in June); and, 4. A multi-billion dollar sales tax increase being proposed by SANDAG for a vote in 2010. It's time to send the city council a message: Residents, businesses, and consumers in Encinitas are tired of being nickel-and-dimed by local taxes. VOTE NO ON PROP K! JOE SHEFFO Encinitas Resident LANI LUTAR President/CEO San Diego County Taxpayers Association BOB NANNINGA Encinitas Businessowner Environmental Activist RICHARD RIDER Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters CHRISTINE CARRICO Encinitas Realtor Rebuttal to Arguments Against Don't be fooled by false and misleading accusations made by out-of-town activist groups and others who oppose proposition K. Consider the following: 1. Last June, 65% of the ballots cast voted in support of Proposition G; the sand tax proposition. 2. This measure closes a loophole in the current hotel sand tax by applying it to tourists staying in short-term vacation rentals. 3. This fee will NOT be paid by residents, businesses or property owners in Encinitas. 4. The opponents, who have had no involvement in beach erosion issues until now, argue that visitors staying in Encinitas' short-term vacation rentals should continue to pay no sand tax while those who stay in hotels do. This is unfair and makes no sense. Don't let the entire burden of replenishing sand on local beaches fall solely on the citizens of Encinitas. Let tourists contribute, too. PRESERVE AND PROTECT OUR BEACHES FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF ENCINITAS CITIZENS, VISITORS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION K. JEROME STOCKS Mayor DAN DALAGER Council Member STEVE ACETI Executive Director California Coastal Coalition DOUG LONG President, Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association SUE STEELE Vice President, San Dieguito Heritage Museum