Santa Clara County will continue a property tax benefit for seniors and persons with disabilities wishing to relocate to the county. On a 5-0 vote, the county Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal made by the county assessor to opt out of Proposition 90 last Tuesday.
Under Proposition 90, seniors and the severely disabled from other counties may relocate to Santa Clara County and transfer their Proposition 13 base year value from a previous residence to a replacement residence, provided certain conditions are met. County Assessor Larry Stone proposed that the county should opt out of Proposition 90 because it would receive more property tax dollars by doing so. Silicon Valley REALTORS® and senior residents objected to the assessor's proposal.
Members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® and the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® attended the board of supervisors meeting last week and spoke in favor of the proposition. About 20 REALTORS® shared their personal experiences with seniors and disabled clients who benefited from the measure, and who otherwise would not have been able to move to relocate to the county due to the significant property tax increase incurred in moving. The REALTORS® said their clients were able to move closer to family, medical services and jobs.
Penelope Huang, a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Distinctive Properties in Menlo Park, noted Proposition 90 was a "two-way street" because it created opportunities for the original properties to be reassessed at a higher rate, while providing a significant benefit in improving the quality of life for homeowners. Amy Sung, a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker in Palo Alto, said seniors and the persons with disabilities from other counties "have diversified our county and enriched our quality of life."
Stone insisted opting out of the proposition would result in "an obvious source of revenue" for the county. The REALTORS® however indicated the increase the assessor projected would be an estimated $150,000, and would not be realized until 2013. The slight increase could not justify intangible benefits the proposition gives seniors and persons with disabilities who wish to move to the county, they said.
Suzanne D'Angelo, a city employee, also spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting and requested that the supervisors keep the proposition in place. "My husband and I were planning to do a Prop. 90 transfer and move from San Francisco to Santa Clara County next year once my husband turned 55. We couldn't do so otherwise," said D'Angelo.
Supervisor Liz Kniss said county voters made the decision to opt in Proposition 90 in 1988 and therefore, the county should remain an opted-in county.
After listening to the real life stories shared by the REALTORS®, Supervisor Ken Yeager said, "There is value to it at the personal level. We supported it then, we should support it now."
Supervisor Mike Wasserman said while it appeared easy to make the decision based on the assessor's argument that increasing revenue was important to the county, "it doesn't feel right to take this away from the people who could use it."
The eight counties that currently participate in Proposition 90 tax base transfers are Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, El Dorado, and Ventura. El Dorado adopted Proposition 90 in 2010.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.