Low Impact Development Technology Forum

The January 31, 2011 Low Impact Development TDennis Hunter from LA County Public Works welcomes the crowdechnology Forum was a huge success, with over 100 people learning about various stormwater infiltration, harvest, and filtration technologies. With new regulations abounding across Southern California, BIA/LAV teamed up with Los Angeles County Public Works to host the forum. Experts in Low Impact Development from Orco Block, Filterra Bioretention Systems, Contech Construction Products, and KirStar helped sponsor the event, and shared their knowledge about when and where different LID systems are most applicable. Additional expertise wsa provided by Fuscoe Engineering, AHBE Architects, and Geosyntec Consultants.

Copies of the presentations are available at www.bialav.org/lid-forum.

BIA/LAV Building & Development Trends Event Summary

BIA/LAV hosted a builder panel dinner on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at the Beverly Garland Hotel that featured a range of perspectives on what is in store for the building industry in 2011 and the future beyond. The panel was moderated by 2011 BIA/LAV Board President Jonathan Lonner from Burns & Bouchard.From left: Ken Melvin, Bob Tummolo, Devon Hartman, Mitchell Bradford, Jonathan Lonner, Holly Schroeder

Devon Hartmann from Every Watt Matters, LCC kicked off the panel by introducing new County and State home retrofit programs that aim to improve the energy efficiency of the 75% of California homes that were built before California adopted an energy code (Title 24). Over $3.2Billion will be spent in the next 3 years as part of a 10 year program to reduce energy consumption and improve “whole house performance.”

Mitchell Bradford from Sycamore Urban Properties is focused on buying and completing distressed and half-built projects. Recent acquisitions in West Hollywood and Thousand Oaks are under construction with sales underway, but Mitchell acknowledged that his company will need to continue to be entrepreneurial and adaptive in the quickly changing field of urban infill.

Bob Tummolo from Lennar says they have 600 home sites in the LA/Ventura region in a combination of semi-finished and finished lots. Lennar will continue to focus on production of single-family homes, and Bob recognized the extreme difficulties with multi-family financing today. Lennar has been focused on increasing efficiencies in their supply chain and reducing cycle time for production. As a result of these efforts, hard costs have decreased 20% since 2005.

Ken Melvin from Standard Pacific Homes believes 2011 will look a lot like 2010, with only moderate improvements in sales expected in their Ventura County communities. Ken described their difficulties in getting prospective buyers qualified. Due to the credit damage people have incurred over the past several years, prospecitve buyers do not qualify for a home purchase. Ever-changing FHA underwriting criteria doesn’t help, so Standard Pacific is increasingly searching buyers who have cash and want a quick close.

 A lengthy Q&A session covered a range of topics, and many attendees stayed to talk in more detail with the panelists. All in all, a successful event to kick-off 2011!

NAHB Recap

As the International Builders Show goes into the weekend, the NAHB winter meetings concluded this morning with the Board of Directors meeting. The NAHB advocacy team continues to work hard on behalf of the industry. The NAHB has released a new publication on greenhouse gas emissions and the relationship between land use and vehicle miles traveled. Find this great new resource at www.nahb.org/climatechange. Our national affiliate will continue its work on the AD&C crisis with new funding approved by the Board this morning, and they are preparing for renewed debates about the mortgage interest deduction. NAHB has launched a coalition website, www.savemymortgageinterestdeduction.com where you can learn more. For those interested in economic news, the Housing Economics team at NAHB has a blog where they provide weekly commentary on economic news and trends. You can subscribe at www.eyeonhousing.wordpress.com. These resources and more are part of your BIA membership!

BIA/LAV Kicks Off 2011

Happy New Year!

BIA/LAV is excited to kick off the new year with several fantastic events in January!

Our Signature "Development and Building Trends" event will be held on January 19 with expert speakers from Standard Pacific Homes, Sycamore Properties, Lennar Communities, and Every Watt Matters. Don't miss this chance to hear what these builders have planned for 2011 in this panel discussion, moderated by 2011 BIA/LAV President Jonathan Lonner, Principal at Burns Bouchard.

We will continue our popular "mini-mixers" in 2011, with the first mixer at Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. At a location like that, you know it will be lots of fun. Register now!

Later this month, BIA/LAV continues its Intimate Conversations Speaker Series. Join a small group of members for a candid dialogue with government decision-makers in the Los Angeles area. This month's speaker is Michael LoGrande, new Director of the LA City Planning Department.

We conclude the month with our Low Impact Development Technology Forum, where you can learn about the latest techniques available to comply with the growing set of stormwater regulations facing the industry.

Each month, BIA/LAV is committee to bringing you a diverse set of networking and education opportunities. If you have suggestions for future events, contact Maile Imig. We hope to see you soon!

School Facilities Agreement Reached

After months of negotiations with school districts throughout California and an intensive lobbying campaign aimed at the State Allocation Board (the entity responsible for allocating state funds for the new construction and modernization of local public school facilities), the CBIA Governmental Affairs division is pleased to announce that a major agreement has been struck that will make significant additional dollars available to finance the construction of new school projects. The deal, just approved unanimously by the Allocation Board, will likely provide builders with a cushion against triggering “level 3” (100% builder financing) through the coming year.

Under the specifics of the plan, $233 million in remaining bonding authority heretofore reserved for urban districts, minus a 15% reserve, will be transferred into the state’s new school construction account. The official action took place this afternoon during the final meeting of the year of the Board. The $211 million transfer, coupled with roughly $300 million in remaining funds tagged for new construction, raises the new construction fund balance to well over $500 million.