PROXY STATEMENT
2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
ESSEX PROPERTY TRUST, INC.
1100 Park Place, Suite 200
San Mateo, California 94403
INFORMATION CONCERNING SOLICITATION AND VOTING
This proxy statement is furnished to the holders of the outstanding shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value (the Common Stock) of Essex Property Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the Company or Essex), in connection with the solicitation by the Companys Board of Directors (the Board) of proxies in the accompanying form for use in voting at the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company (the Annual Meeting) to be held on May 16, 2017 at 1:00 p.m., Pacific Time, at the Garden Court Hotel, 520 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, California, 94301, and any postponement or adjournment thereof.
This proxy statement and the accompanying notice of annual meeting, proxy card and 2016 Annual Report to Stockholders are first being made available to stockholders on or about March 29, 2017.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to Be Held on
May 16, 2017.
The proxy statement, notice of annual meeting, proxy card, and 2016 Annual Report to Stockholders are available electronically at
http://materials.proxyvote.com/297178
. Directions to the meeting location can be found at
http://www.essex.com
under Investors; Shareholder Services and Information-Annual Shareholders Meeting.
Pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), we have elected to provide access to our proxy materials over the Internet, instead of mailing paper copies to each stockholder. Accordingly, on or about March 29, 2017, we are mailing to many of our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (Notice), while brokers and other nominees who hold shares on behalf of beneficial owners will be sending their own similar notice, containing instructions on how to access our proxy materials and 2016 Annual Report to Stockholders and how to vote. The Notice is not itself a proxy and cannot itself be used to vote your shares. If you received only a Notice this year, you will not receive paper copies of the proxy materials unless you request the materials by following the instructions on the Notice or on the website referred to in the Notice. Some stockholders may, if they have so requested previously, receive these materials via email or receive paper copies by mail.
Who Can Vote
You are entitled to vote if you were a holder of record of Common Stock as of the close of business on February 28, 2017 (the Record Date). Your shares can be voted at the Annual Meeting only if you are present in person or represented by a valid proxy.
Voting Procedures
Stockholders of record as of the Record Date are entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held on all matters to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting. Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and you wish to vote in person at the meeting, you must obtain a proxy issued in your name from such broker, bank or other nominee. If you choose not to attend the Annual Meeting, you may still authorize your proxy via the Internet or by telephone until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on May 15, 2017, or by completing, signing, dating and returning a proxy card.
The presence at the Annual Meeting, either in person or by proxy, of stockholders holding a majority of the shares of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date will constitute a quorum for purposes of the Annual Meeting. Each share of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date is entitled to one vote on each proposal. As of the Record Date, there were 65,558,037 shares of Common Stock outstanding.
If your shares are held in the name of a broker, you should receive a voting instruction form from your broker. Your broker will vote your shares in the manner you timely indicate pursuant to the voting instruction form. If you