That would actually kick the Bay Area class war into overdrive. Think about it: every time your neighbours develop their property (thus raising the market valu

That would actually kick the Bay Area class war into overdrive. Think about it: every time your neighbours develop their property (thus raising the market value of the area), your own land taxes would go up. If you're of the great majority of people whose income isn't riding the tech-boom train, then you'll soon be driven off your land by unpayable land-tax liabilities. While the article claims that property taxes "penalize" people for developing their land, the fact is that people who develop their land must have money, and therefore have the ability to pay taxes. The same cannot necessarily be said for people who don't develop their land. Land taxes would penalize the latter severely.