By Robert Haugh
Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone announced Monday that he’s stepping down July 6.
During his tenure, the San Francisco 49ers secured one of the largest property tax cuts in county history.
Stone will leave office 18 months before his term expires in January 2027.
His departure comes years after a controversial decision that slashed the team’s stadium tax bill in half.
The 84-year-old assessor has a complicated history with the 49ers. Stone previously led a stadium campaign group supporting the team. He received complimentary tickets from the organization. These relationships would later raise questions about conflicts of interest.
In 2018, the Assessment Appeals Board cut the 49ers’ annual property tax bill from $12 million to $6 million. Over the projected 40-year life of the stadium, that’s a $240 million tax break – maybe the largest in Santa Clara County history.
The ruling gave the team a $36 million refund retroactive to August 2014. Santa Clara Unified School District had to refund $13 million. The county gave back $5 million. The city of Santa Clara and West Valley Community College each returned about $3 million.
Stone initially appeared reluctant to challenge the appeals board’s decision. Sources suggested he told school district officials he would not appeal the ruling. Some observers speculated his previous relationship with the team influenced his initial hesitation.
Stone eventually sued the appeals board in May 2019. He argued the team should pay 100 percent of possessory interest taxes on Levi’s Stadium. The appeals board had split it 50-50 between the city and the 49ers.
His legal challenge ultimately failed. The courts upheld the appeals board’s decision.
Stone’s previous support for the stadium and his relationship with the team raised questions about whether he had fought hard enough against the tax break. Some wondered if a different assessor would have appealed immediately or pursued the case more aggressively.
Assistant Assessor Greg Monteverde will fill the role temporarily until an election is held.
Stone faced a challenger for his potential 2026 re-election in Saratoga Mayor Yan Zhao.
[…] vacancy follows the retirement of Assessor Larry Stone. During his tenure, the San Francisco 49ers secured one of the largest property tax cuts in county […]
The tax ruling can’t be blamed entirely on the board, we really didn’t have anyone in our corner. Kinda like the 49er five we deal with now. I never got the feeling he was fighting for us, and the stakes were very high. I really felt like a good aggressive push at the appeals board would have benefited us. I got the impression he had retired some time before that took place.
Stone
He was a good assessor 20 years ago
The last 20 were bad.
The 49er tax reduction was the fault of the Assesment Appeals Board not Stone. But Stone’s effort for the 49ers was a bad effort.
Does this mean that his early departure will trigger an election to fill the position until 2026, and the burden of the cost for this will be on us, the taxpayers?