ASSEMBLY HOLDS FIRST HEARING OF SPECIAL SESSION ON WATER

The Assembly Special Committee on Water held the first hearing of the Second Extraordinary Session of the California State Legislature to discuss proposals related to proposed water bond and investments into the state’s critical water infrastructure. CPBA is very involved in policy negotiations related to these proposals, working on behalf of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry. Below is an excerpt of our letter sent to the Governor and legislators in both Houses of the Legisalture:

“California Business Properties Association (CBPA) applauds the Governor and Legislature for conducting a Special Legislative Session to address the state’s water crisis.

California’s water system is in great need of improvements. Our population is expected to grow by more than 600,000 people each year, mushrooming the population to as many as 48 million by 2020; Department of Water Resources projections show that this growth could increase annual water demands by 6 million acre feet by 2030; and recent studies predict that because of climate change 25% of the snowpack, which is our largest water storage system, will be lost by 2050.

To accommodate for growth as well as these anticipated hydrological changes, California must be prepared to manage our water in a comprehensive, efficient manner. There are many impediments to doing so, including a tangible shortage of facilities, the lack of effective conveyance, and problems with the Delta. The shortfall is evident and the disaster is eminent unless we are able to act swiftly, decisively, and comprehensively.

The proposal to invest $600 million from Propositions 50, 84 and 1E to immediately relieve pressure on the Delta from environmental challenges and to respond to a recent federal court ruling that will reduce water deliveries to Southern California is a good plan. We also agree that including $5.6 billion in water storage, nearly $2 billion for Delta restoration, $1 billion in grants for conservation and regional water projects, and another $500 million for specific water restoration projects, are solid investments in our state’s water infrastructure.

We support significant funding toward restoration of the ailing Delta and would lead to the development of a new conveyance system. Twenty-five million Californians rely on the Delta for clean, safe water; and restoring the Delta is essential to irrigating hundreds of thousands of acres of Central Valley farmland and keeping California's $32 billion agricultural industry moving forward.”

– 10/03/2007 Letter to the Legislature signed by Rex Hime, CEO & President, CBPA

Click here to read a news story regarding the hearing. We will stay engaged on these issues and will keep you posted.

STRATEGIC ISSUES CONFERENCE SPEAKER LINEUP ANNOUNCED

The speaker line-up has been announced for the Strategic Issues Conference 2007; Global Warming and the Business of Real Estate co-hosted by the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), California Business Properties Association (CBPA), and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). The focus of this conference is policy issues related to global warming policies in California and their impacts on commercial real estate.

Click here to read the full speaker line-up and see bios. Confirmed speakers include Secretary of CalEPA Linda Adams, the Director of OPR Cynthia Bryant, Governor Schwarzenegger’s lead legislative staff member on green building issues Curt Augustine, respected political columnist Daniel Weintraub, and several others. We have also invited Attorney General Jerry Brown to be our closing speaker. Our two panels, “Building Green/Green Buildings” and “AB 32/CEQA” are shaping-up to have a very good mix of policy and opinion leaders from the state as well as several noted attorneys and green building experts from private industry.

GOVERNOR TO SIGN BILLS MEANT TO HELP HOMEBUYERS

With California disproportionately impacted by national fluctuations in the housing market, the Governor announced he will sign the following three bills to increase protections for Californians who own or plan to purchase homes and to expand affordable housing opportunities:

• SB 223 by Senator Mike Machado (D-Linden) will make it a crime for licensed appraisers to engage in any appraisal activity that is connected to the purchase, sale, transfer, financing or development of property if their compensation is impacted by the final price generated by the appraisal.
• SB 385 also by Senator Machado permits state agencies involved with residential mortgage lending and brokering to adopt emergency measures and new policies to ensure that all mortgage lenders and brokers are subject to federal guidelines on non-traditional mortgages. This law impacts the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the Department of Corporations (DOC) and the Department of Real Estate (DRE).
• AB 929 by Assemblymember Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) increases the amount of affordable housing in California by raising the total debt that the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) can carry by $2 billion. CalHFA issues bonds to finance housing for low and moderate-income families.

Click here to read the full press release.

NEW BUILDING CODES TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 1

The effective date of the new California Building Code is January 1, 2008, so your company should be planning now and talking with building officials about how to comply. What does this really mean especially for already designed and under construction? Last year our industry sponsored legislation that established the following language relative to the application of building codes:

Health & Safety Code 18938.5. (a) Only those building standards approved by the commission, and that are effective at the local level at the time an application for a building permit is submitted, shall apply to the plans and specifications for, and to the construction performed under, that building permit.

The “building permit application submittal date” is the key point to be gathered from the statute. However, it should also be noted that it is entirely up to the local building department to determine what constitutes “building permit application”, and this does vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, many jurisdictions will allow a phased project that is already well under construction to continue to show compliance under the existing 2001 California Building Code, providing the models have not changed from those originally approved when the project started. That is why you should contact your local building department NOW and get a clear interpretation of how they plan to administratively implement the new 2007 California Building Code.

TREASURER PROPOSES $5 BILLION TO “GREEN” STATE BUILDINGS

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has outlined a proposal for a $5 billion bond measure to "green" state buildings and increase environmental efficiencies -- such as the use of solar power -- in all state buildings. Lockyer claims the measure would pay for itself over time in cost savings and environmental benefits. State government owns about 206 million square feet of building space making it the largest building owner in the state of California. Lockyer stated "most of them are very inefficient. If we start to invest in reconditioning, adding solar and other systems that will bring down energy use, we can save an extraordinary amount of energy and taxpayer costs." The proposal has been drafted but has yet to be submitted to the Legislature for a vote to place it on the ballot. Click here to read press coverage about the proposal.

BOMA INTERNATIONAL SIGNS MOU WITH CLINTON CLIMATE INITIATIVE

BOMA International and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) of the William J. Clinton Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to define the collaborative relationship between CCI and BOMA to accomplish shared goals of improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s large cities, as well as throughout major national and international real estate portfolios. Click here to read the full press release.

BOMA CALENDAR 2007/2008

November 1 & 2 – BOMA Cal/CBIA/CBPA Fall Joint Legislative Conference
BOMA Cal Annual Meeting
Napa Valley (Meritage Resort)

January 15 – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Los Angeles
In conjunction with IREM/BOMA GLA Forecast Breakfast

March/April (date TBD) – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Location TBD

June 10-11 – CA Commercial Real Estate Summit – BOMA Cal Board Meeting
Sacramento (Hyatt Regency)

October/November (date TBD) - BOMA Cal Annual Meeting/20th Anniversary Event
Location TBD