San Diego Rules Committee Meeting Summary: January 28, 2026
San Diego Rules Committee Meeting Summary: January 28, 2026
This meeting of the San Diego City Council Rules Committee was held on January 28, 2026, beginning around 9:10 AM. The agenda included a widely attended proposal to tax empty second homes and vacation rentals (Item 4), a ballot measure to make parking free at Balboa Park on Sundays (Item 2), and a minor code amendment regarding school board elections (Item 3). Over 175 people submitted speaker slips for Item 4 alone, with additional in-person and remote testimony. The meeting lasted into the afternoon.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 (Approval of November 19, 2025 committee minutes) was approved unanimously (5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
Item 4 (Empty Second Home and Vacation Rental Tax):
- Supporters (including union representatives, housing advocates, and renters) argued the tax would return up to 11,000 housing units to the market and generate needed revenue, targeting only corporations and absentee owners. Speakers included: Michael Zouquet (META), Liliana Soriano (Youth Will), Janica Faulkner (Alliance San Diego), David Zapeta (Painters Local 1399), Rob Brown (Teamsters Local 986), Hilberto Vera (Legal Aid Society San Diego), Patrick Farrier (Fire Captain, Local 145), Stephen Russell (San Diego Housing Federation), Itzel Miranda Chavez (Alliance San Diego), Bridget Browning (Labor Council), Crystal Irving (SEIU Local 221), and many others. They emphasized that 98-99% of San Diegans would not be affected, and that the measure would create homes and revenue.
- Opponents (including short-term rental owners, small business operators, and their employees) argued the tax would devastate local families, retirees, and small businesses, reduce tourism, and lead to job losses for cleaners, handymen, and other workers. Many claimed they are not corporations, but individuals using LLCs for liability protection. Speakers included: Larry Webb, Marta Knapp, Adam Bubin, Joy Campanaro, Ed McBeth, Deborah Combs, Kevin Ring Dowell, Rhonda Crawford, and many others. They noted that short-term rentals already pay TOT, license fees, and property taxes, and that the cap of 1% of housing stock for whole-home rentals has not been reached. Some expressed being paid by opposition groups, but many denied being paid.
- Several speakers noted that some opponents wearing blue shirts were paid by opposition groups; this was disputed by other speakers.
Item 2 (Free Sunday Parking at Balboa Park):
- Supporters (including Shane Harris, the proponent, and members of the public) argued that free parking on Sundays would preserve one day of free access for working families. Many supported the broader goal of free parking every day, citing the rollout's confusion, declining museum visitation, and the burden on low-income residents. Speakers: Celeste Drake, William Dorsett, Travis Bushard, Marcos de la Sierra, Brooke, and others.
- Opponents argued that the fees fund park maintenance and that free parking subsidizes driving, counter to climate goals. They noted free parking is available at Inspiration Point with a tram. Speakers: SD Mobile, Zach Sturgeon.
Item 3 (School Board Primary Elections): Minimal public comment; John Stump provided historical context, and Lori Saldania raised concerns about write-in candidates and the filing fee.
Discussion Items
Item 4: Empty Second Home and Vacation Rental Tax (Proposed by Councilmember Sean Elo Rivera)
- The proposal, a working draft, would impose an $8,000 annual tax on empty second homes (vacant >182 days/year) and whole-home short-term rentals (tiers 3 & 4), with a $4,000 surcharge for corporate-owned properties and a surcharge for repeat code violators. Exemptions for owner-occupied homes, long-term rentals, and small owners (4 or fewer units) were included.
- The Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) presented a preliminary analysis, noting potential net revenue of $15-30 million (with exits of 30% vs. 10%), but warned that if 48% of short-term rentals exited, net revenue would be zero. The IBA highlighted challenges from benchmarking (e.g., Vancouver had 61% fewer taxable units than estimated) and noted that the tax could reduce TOT revenue.
- Councilmember Evan Campillo opposed, citing legal concerns (the flat fee and LLC distinction), potential job losses (25,000 workers), and the risk of litigation. Council President Pro Tem Lee and Councilmember Moreno also opposed, citing fiscal uncertainty and the need for fiscal responsibility before new taxes. Council President LaCava seconded the motion to move forward but did not vote for the item; the motion failed 2-3 (Campillo, Lee, Moreno against; Elo Rivera and LaCava for).
- After the vote, Councilmember Elo Rivera proposed an amendment to limit the tax to corporate-owned short-term rentals and empty second homes, but this was not adopted as no further motion was made.
Item 2: Free Parking at Balboa Park on Sundays (Proposed by Shane Harris)
- The proponent argued for preserving one free day per week, citing confusion with the current system and the burden on the working class.
- Councilmember Campillo moved to amend the measure to make parking free for everyone every day. Councilmember Moreno seconded. Council President Pro Tem Lee and Council President LaCava opposed, citing the need for revenue (part of the FY26 budget) and preferring to address concerns through a future council action (Feb 9th). The motion failed 2-2.
Item 3: School Board Primary Election Code Cleanup (Informational)
- The City Clerk sought direction to amend the municipal code to clarify that the Registrar of Voters (not the City Clerk) conducts San Diego Unified School Board elections, consistent with the November 2024 passage of Measure C, which eliminated the primary when two or fewer candidates file. The committee voted 4-0 to move the item forward to a future meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Item 4 (Vacation Rental Tax): The motion to forward the ballot measure to the full City Council failed 2-3. No further action was taken. The measure will not be on the June 2026 ballot.
- Item 2 (Free Sunday Parking): The motion to forward an amended measure (free parking every day for everyone) failed 2-2. As it was an initial review, the proposal is effectively dead unless reintroduced.
- Item 3 (School Board Elections): The committee voted 4-0 to instruct staff to work with the City Attorney and return with a final ordinance at a future meeting (likely February 18, 2026).
- The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, I'm gonna jump in here. Um, as you can see, it's about nine ten. Uh, we actually have four of the five council members here. We also have I don't know, upwards of a hundred people standing in line out there. I don't know who those folks are. I don't know if they were here to speak to non-agenda public comment. Uh, if they were here for any particular item. Uh, but since um somebody didn't do the courtesy of informing me what kind of turnout there would be this morning, which could have caused us to be a little more uh receptive to how we would manage the meeting, even move it to a different location that could accommodate people and move them into the faster. Uh, we're just gonna kind of uh bite our time until we get a better sense that uh the vast majority of people that want to come into chambers or probably into the overflow room are going to be here. So that's unfortunately where we're at, so that's why the meeting has not yet been convened. So your patience. Thank you, Chair Locava. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it on top of the box indicated at the table at the front of the room at the high lectern. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management in-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins, and members of the public can also join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. If you need to participate by telephone, you may do so by dialing 1669-2545252, inputting webinar ID 160499420 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 online, there may be a delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV and computer when it is your turn to speak. If you wish to speak to a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're called participant by pressing star nine on your phone. If you raise your hand during an on-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. All right, thank you, Sarah, for reviewing those instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is now present. I see a lot of faces that may be in chambers uh for the very first time for a committee or city council meeting. So uh I want to remind everyone about the city's practices and procedures for public comment at uh city council and committee meetings. We welcome your public participation. Speakers may address the council during public comment and also in connection with specific item of business on the agenda. However, the city must make sure that no one person or group of people disrupt the meeting in a way that prohibits other speakers from expressing their ideas and options. So to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to address the council, I will alert an individual or individuals if I think their conduct becomes disruptive. If the disruption continues, I will rule the individual out of order. And if the disruption continues further, and please, please do not make me do this. I will declare a recess so we can restore order. At that point, I will direct the individual to leave the room, and the individual refuses. So we will now take up non-agenda public comment. Council members respect and appreciate the public's input and are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings. Sarah, please proceed with non-agenda public comment. Thank you, Chair Lakava. Perule 2.7, non-agenda public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda but are within the subject matter jurisdiction of this committee. Each speaker will have two minutes to provide their non-agenda public comment. We have not received any slips here in chambers, so I will begin the five-minute timer for all those in the virtual queue to indicate if they wish to provide non-agenda public comment. We will begin with Andrea Ebbing. Please unmute and begin. Hi, this is Andrea Ebbing. Hello, rules committee. Any such system where church and state are supposed to be separated in the county of San Diego, that's an impossibility. Because we have a district attorney named Summer Stefan, who is married to a federal judge named Dana Sabrow, who was our Chief Justice until he stepped down on in February of 2025, likely as a result of the investigations taking place for the very reasons I talk about very regularly at all these meetings. But her agendas, if she needs to make room for the Afghani refugees that she wants to import, um, who are all undocumented, unvetted, um traumatized, have no resources. If she wants to make room for them and deport our neighbors, she can just turn to her federal judge husband who can then issue a warrant. It's a complete conflict of interest. Um it's a violation of our civil rights, and we really need to look at the RG system and uh the stats that we're shown at the sandag meeting.
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