For those of you that work in the Coastal Zone this is an interesting article in that it quotes a portion of the ruling where the court questions the whole premise of the Coastal Commission hearing process and invites the legislature to amend the process.  Click here to read the article.  Read More →

In a bit of good news for our industry, President Trump has signed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act into law. This reform legislation was supported by our industry as it includes language to ensure there is adequate capital availability for commercial construction financing. The bill requires banking regulators to revise elements of the current High Volatility Commercial Real Estate (HVCRE) designation that unfairly targeted commercial construction lending, including. For ...

The California Commercial Real Estate Summit (CCRES) will be held at the California Chamber of Commerce Headquarters in Sacramento on June 19-20, 2018.  This event is the one time of year that industry leaders from all sectors of the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry converge on California’s Capitol to meet with policymakers. The summit gives you an opportunity to meet other industry leaders from across the nation, high-level staff from Governor Brown’s Administration, ...

There are two onerous tax measures on the San Francisco ballot in June that could decimate the commercial real estate industry in that city. We are looking to all members of the business community to contribute to help defeat them. Our local team at BOMA San Francisco is fighting hard against the measure and has done recent polling that shows they do have the opportunity to push back the threats, and they are working with a professional team and a broad range of business allies. They are asking for ...

“The defeat of SB 1237 is another sad example of politics over policy – a roadblock to providing local government with resources to meet their many needs,” stated Res Hime, President and CEO of California Business Properties Association when the bill that would have “fixed” an issue  pointed to by proponents of split roll property tax as the reason the Prop. 13 needs to be repealed. According to the author Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), SB 1237 would ...

Patricia Bates, the California Senate’s Republican leader and Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, explain why there is no so-called “loophole” in the Prop. 13. There is an ambiguity that could be clarified – and CBPA sponsored a measure in the past to do just that.  Senator Bates is attempting that fix again.  Last time it was attempted the author of the measure – a Democrat – found the rug pulled-out from under him as advocates for eliminating Prop. 13 ...

Purportedly to help “provide tax relief to middle-income and low-income Californians,” SB 993 (Hertzberg; D-Van Nuys), would impose a 3-percent tax on services purchased by businesses.  This policy would have a major impact on commercial real estate as everything from accounting to landscaping could see a cost increase under the measure. A press release from Hertzberg’s office, notes that the services targeted for the tax include “high-end business services, such as those provided by lawyers, ...

The old adage goes that “in California whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.” Uniting Southern and Northern California in a collaborative water supply reliability vision, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) and Zone 7 Water Agency today announced their partnership and formation of the Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Joint Powers Authority (DCA) — the public agency that will be charged with the design and ...

NEW:  Benchmarking Compliance Webinar Just Announced.  May 29, 2018. Click here for more details and to sign up. Several weeks ago, the State of California finalized the AB 1103/AB 802 Energy Benchmarking Regulations. This has been a long process and we have been involved every step of the way. The bottom line is that as of June 1, 2018, all buildings over 50,000 square feet – with some exemptions – need to be benchmarked and data shared with the Energy Commission. However, the rollout of the ...

Our good friend Bob Raymer, California Building Industry Association’s State Technical Director made an appearance on national news this week to talk about the new state solar mandate. This is definitely worth the two minutes to watch! Click here to watch the video. Here is more information about the mandate: The State of California, through the state’s Energy Commission, adopted a first in the nation policy that requires solar energy systems for all new homes.  Starting in 2020, the building ...