Presidio Terrace residents will keep ‘bargain-basement’ tax rate

As seven out of eleven San Francisco board of supervisors made clear last week, being wealthy has its privileges. First, should one fail to pay homeowner association fees for more than a decade, no problem. The city has take care of it.

Last week supervisors Mark Farrell, Malia Cohen, Sandra Fewer, Jeff Sheehy, Ahsha Safai, Katy Tang, and London Breed voted to overturn the legal sale of Presidio Terrace’s private sidewalks and streets. Their votes ripped the property away from South Bay’s Tina Lam and Michael Chen. The couple purchased the sidewalks and street for $90,000, after the property landed on the market due to chronic delinquency.

But best of all, the residents will get to “keep their bargain-basement tax rate of $4.28 a year for the private roadway and sidewalks.”

San Francisco Chronicle Matier and Ross have more:

“That’s correct — it reverts back like it hadn’t been sold,” said city Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu.

Future increases will be limited to the 2 percent a year allowed under Proposition 13.

The homeowners, however, will have to pay the $994 in back taxes and penalties that led to the property going on the auction block. The land also carries $345 in annual special assessments from the San Francisco schools and community college district.

Glorious news. Especially since this isn’t the first time Presidio Terrace residents lost their streets and sidewalks after failing to pay their taxes.

While residents of the tony enclave want the many benefits that come from living in a private enclave, they don’t desire any of the drawbacks. Fortunately, San Francisco politicos will always be on hand to help them out.