Santa Clara County voters will be asked on June 2 to sign off on a new parcel tax that supporters say is key to protecting hillsides and creeks and keeping wildfire risk in check across the county.
The citizen-sponsored measure is pitched as a steady revenue stream for buying open-space land, restoring habitat, building trails and paying for basic upkeep as visits to local preserves keep climbing. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority board voted in late February to send it to the June ballot after the county registrar certified that the petition had enough valid signatures.
What the measure would do
The proposal, formally titled the Santa Clara Valley Wildfire Protection, Clean Water, and Open Space Act, would levy a uniform special parcel tax of two cents ($0.02) per square foot of building area, with a cap of $7,500 per parcel each year and annual adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index. The initiative text spells out a program to fund land acquisition, habitat restoration, trail construction and wildfire-risk reduction, according to the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority.
How much it would cost
At the proposed rate, the owner of a 1,600-square-foot home would pay about $32 a year and the owner of a 2,500-square-foot home roughly $50, according to estimates cited by supporters. The measure includes exemptions for homeowners 65 and older and for low-income residents on Supplemental Security Income, according to The Mercury News.
How it got on the ballot
On Feb. 26, the Open Space Authority board received a certification of sufficiency from the county registrar, confirming that the citizen petition had qualified, and then voted to place the initiative on the June 2 ballot, according to the board agenda published by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. The meeting packet cites a Feb. 10 letter from the Santa Clara County Registrar certifying the measure for the ballot.
Who’s backing it
Conservation groups, led by Peninsula Open Space Trust, helped gather signatures for the measure. Supporters say they turned in more than 56,000 signatures, well above the 37,206 needed to qualify the initiative for the ballot, according to The Mercury News…