Printer-friendly version
By Miriam Raftery
November 8, 2017 (San Diego) -- Visitors who stay at San Diego hotels may soon be helping to fund housing for the homeless – if a proposed ballot measure to increase the city’s hotel room tax qualifies for the ballot and wins approval from voters.
The plan is proposed by Councilman David Alvarez. It will be heard at a Rules Committee meeting, opening the door for the City Council could ultimately approve putting it on the ballot without the need to gather signatures from the public.
The hotel room tax hike, proposed amid a hepatitis outbreak that’s largely impacted homeless populations, would stay in effect for 20 years.
Alvarez states in a memo to Council President Myrtle Cole, “The city has an obligation to ensure certain levels of public safety and health by not only preventing the current crisis from growing, but also by taking meaningful steps to proactively curb the number of individuals and families living on the streets.”
The funds would be used to provide supportive housing for the homeless, a model that not only gives the homeless a place to live, but also provides mental health and substance abuse programs, health care and job counseling.
Recent comments