[cyber]

Excepting that in SF the "everyone" does not want the land owners to make productive use of it: they want the status quo. (Well, the status quo of what the remember as being the "high point".)

Having witnessed protests that occurred midway through the reconstruction of offramps, (meaning an existing ramp was torn down, and they were half done rebuilding it), it's not so much NIMBY, but NBAA: Never Build Anything, Anywhere.

The only way that higher taxes would be beneficial is if SF landowners were actually allowed the freedom to upgrade their properties. Zoning, especially height restrictions (40' max over most of SF), as well as endless red tape, make it really hard to make productive use of prime land. Regardless if it's the original owner or new buyer.

( A new buyer is granted some slight advantage, but not enough to be meaningful.)