Transbay Demolition and Construction Activities - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - Friday, December 3, 2010

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Utility Relocation: PG&E and TJPA's utilities relocation contractor, Trinet, will be working from 7:00 AM-3:00 PM during the week on First, Fremont and Minna Streets. There will be partial lane closures during this time.

Demolition: The demolition contractor, Evans Brothers, TJPA's demolition contractor, will continue demolition of the west, central, and east terminal building. There will be partial street closures on Natoma Street, between Fremont and Second Streets, and on Minna Street, between First Street and Shaw Alley.

Temporary Terminal: The Temporary Terminal contractors, McGuire and Hester, will continue work on the Temporary Terminal Phase II. The final build out of the Temporary Terminal is scheduled to be completed on December 11, 2010. Please visit www.TemporaryTerminal.org for more information.

Community Meetings: Please join us for our community meetings tomorrow, Wednesday, December 1, 2010. The first community meeting will be held from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM. The second community meeting will be held from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Both meetings will feature the same content and will be held at the TJPA’s offices located at 201 Mission Street, Suite 2100.

Should you have any general questions about the Transbay Transit Center Project, please call Courtney Lodato or Adam Alberti, Transbay Outreach Team, at: (415) 227-9700 or via e-mail at: info@transbaycenter.org

If you have any urgent questions regarding site-specific demolition or construction activities, please call the TJPA construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572).

Please continue to check our website for the most up to date schedule of activities at: www.transbaycenter.org/demolition

UPDATE: Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance

UPDATE - November 30, 2010

BOMA San Francisco Members:

On  November 23, 2010, Mayor Newsom introduced the substitute Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, which is scheduled to be heard at the Board of Supervisors Land Use & Economic Development Committee on December 6, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.:

Revisions from the prior version from July/August include: 

• Increased the minimum square footage of buildings required to comply from 5,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. (Section 2002, line 8);
• As described in Section 2004(a), for buildings submitting their benchmarking data for the first time, a window of time was added between when they are required to submit their data and when the data is made public.  This will allow some time for the facility to review and ensure the accuracy of the data before it is posted;
• Section 2006 was added to clarify compliance requirements for municipal buildings;
• The benchmarking requirements are much the same as those for commercial buildings, the primary exception being allowing the City to use a benchmarking tool other than Energy Star Portfolio Manager if it deems another tool to be more relevant for municipal buildings, as long as it provides the same type of data (Portfolio Manager is currently quite limited in the types of buildings it has categories for, and does not include many municipal building types, ie fire stations, etc.).
• However, because the City owns over 1,000 buildings and it would be impractical to expect the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to conduct energy audits in all of those buildings in the timeline required in Section 2004(b), this section allows the SFPUC to elect to develop a compliance plan, to be submitted by July 1, 2011, to develop protocols and a compliance timeline for conducting energy audits in municipal buildings.  The expectation is that the SFPUC will perform 20-30 municipal energy audits per year.
• An exception was added for unoccupied buildings (Section 2008(c)(2));
• Administrative fines were revised as described in Section 2009(b).

Thank you to Johanna Partin, Director of Climate Protection Initiatives - Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom, for this information.

Please review legislation as soon as you can.  Please send any feedback to Ken Cleaveland at kenc@boma.com and John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com, and what positives/negatives aspects you see emanating from passage/implementation of this ordinance. 

Most importantly, if you would like to attend the December 6th meeting of the Land Use Committee to testify in support of this legislation and/or add any specific comments.  Please email us.   

-------------------

Original Post - August 12, 2010

BOMA San Francisco members have been working with the San Francisco Department of the Environment to craft the Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance. Click here to review the ordinance.

The proposal would require owners of nonresidential buildings in San Francisco to obtain energy efficiency audits, as well as to annually measure and disclose energy performance. It would also requires the Department of Environment to collect summary statistics about the energy performance of nonresidential buildings and make those statistics available to the public.

The proposal would require the owner of any nonresidential building in San Francisco with a gross area of 5,000 square feet or greater to conduct a comprehensive energy efficiency audit for each such building not less than once every 5 years. The audits would have to meet specified industry standards and be conducted by a qualified energy professional in accordance with rules promulgated by the Director of the Department of the Environment. The size of the building would determine the scope of the audit.

The energy professional would prepare a signed report of the energy efficiency audit meeting industry standards. The report would include, among other things: a list of capital and non-capital measures that would improve the building's energy efficiency; an estimate of the approximate energy savings, avoided energy cost, and costs to implement those measures; and an estimate of the economic value of the corrective measures. The ordinance would require the building owner to file with the Department of the Environment a report confirming that the energy efficiency audit had been completed.

Building owners would also be required to use the "ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager"— the Environmental Protection Agency’s online tool for managing building data—to track the total energy use of each non-residential building and obtain an "ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager Energy Performance Rating" for each entire nonresidential building. The owner would then file an Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report ("AEBS") for each covered building with the Department of the Environment. The AEBS would be based on an assessment of the entire non-residential building and related facilities made using Portfolio Manager.

No energy efficiency audit would be required for: (a) a building newly constructed less than five years prior to the date an AEBS was due; (b) a building that received the ENERGY STAR® label from the EPA for at least three of the last five years; or, (c) a building that was certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance, within the past five years. Owners of financially distressed buildings could apply for extensions of the deadlines for completion of an energy efficiency audit or for submittal of an AEBS.

The Department of the Environment would annually report to the public summary statistics on Citywide energy use in nonresidential buildings and on overall compliance with the Chapter. For individual buildings covered by the ordinance, the department would report whether the building was in compliance with the Chapter, what level of energy audit was required for the building, the date of the most recent audit, and whole-building information on energy use and efficiency.

The ordinance would require building owners to make the Annual Energy Benchmark Summary report available to all tenants occupying the building in order to engage tenants in efforts to save energy.

The ordinance would set a staggered, 3-year schedule for compliance with these new requirements, beginning April 1, 2011.

Violations would be enforced through a system of administrative penalties, after written warning to the building owner.

Improvements Continue for California Street Cable Car Line and Roadway: Phase Two includes closure of California Cable Car Line starting in January

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), reminds BOMA San Francisco members that Phase Two of the California Cable Car Infrastructure Improvement Project will require the closure of the California Cable Car Line for six months from January to July 2011. The SFMTA and the Department of Public Works (DPW) began Phase One of the project in September 2011. For this project, the SFMTA and DPW will replace aging underground components of the cable car line and repave 17 blocks on California Street between Drumm Street and Van Ness Avenue.

The California Street Infrastructure Improvement Project is a result of years of planning and coordination between City agencies that will:

• Replace necessary electrical and mechanical components to support the safe operation of the cable car system (i.e. conduits, pulley brackets, switches)
• Reconstruct concrete streets
• Repave street
• Perform construction and installation of curb ramps at every intersection (excluding Van Ness Avenue and Stockton and Sabin streets) to comply with the Americans with Disability Act requirements
• Repair sidewalk curbs
• Replace sewer

Phase One of the California Cable Car Infrastructure Project began in September and started work on sidewalk curb repairs, sewer replacement and curb ramps installation along 17 blocks of California Street between Van Ness Avenue and Drumm Street. A moratorium on street excavation and construction on commercial corridors will take place the day after Thanksgiving and into January. This routine moratorium helps minimize construction impacts to businesses and shoppers during the peak shopping season and reduces traffic congestion during this busy time of year.

Phase Two of the project will begin in January and replace aging electronic and mechanical components underneath the cable car trackway to ensure the continued safe operation of the cable car system. Work will also include reconstruction of concrete streets between Mason Street and Kearny Street and street repaving along California Street and any work remaining from Phase One.

Construction is scheduled for Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., although night and Sunday work may be necessary. Noise and dust will be kept to a minimum.  Local businesses will remain open for business during construction.

BOMA San Francisco Leads the Way – A Report on the November 2, 2010 Election

The Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco represents the physical assets of commercial property owners and managers. That means the hundreds of multi-tenant and corporate office buildings in the City, as well as the thousands of businesses housed in these structures and the hundreds more firms employed to maintain and service these structures.

With our members’ long term investments in our community, and with the livelihoods of thousands at stake, it’s absolutely vital that our organization advocate on behalf of our members with the public policy leaders of San Francisco. BOMA must raise and spend funds to defend our members against measures that would reduce property values, endanger commerce or unfairly restrict private property rights. BOMA San Francisco advocates continuously for the well-being of our members and their clients through a variety of meetings during the year with members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, heads of city departments, and state and federal legislators. 2010 was no different. Indeed, 2010 was a very important and very busy year for BOMA San Francisco’s advocacy efforts:

• BOMA San Francisco was one of the first organizations to support the effort to reform the Muni wage law governing transit operators, whose salaries and benefits had been embedded in the city’s charter. That effort, led by Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, resulted in a ballot measure, Proposition G, which passed overwhelmingly in November. BOMA’s Political Action Committee (BOMA SF-PAC)  was a major contributor to help get that measure on the ballot, and gain voter approval.

• BOMA San Francisco led the effort to create a coalition of business organizations to fight new tax measures being considered by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors as they wrestled with a huge city deficit. BOMA significantly funded the advocacy and outreach efforts that resulted in the withdrawal of two onerous tax measures: a commercial rent tax, and an increase in the parking tax. When two other tax measures were placed on the November ballot, BOMA contributed substantially to defeat the increase in the Hotel Tax (Proposition J) and the increase in the property sales – Transfer Tax (Proposition N).  Proposition J was soundly defeated, as a majority of San Franciscans understood that tourism is San Francisco's #1 business, and increasing the hotel tax would hurt the recruitment and retention of conferences and conventions. Unfortunately, BOMA and our Economic Recovery SF coalition were not successful in defeating Proposition N, the measure that will significantly increase the real estate transfer tax beginning December 17, 2010.  It passed because most voters did not see this tax increase affecting them. Our coalition tried but failed to make the connection in voters’ minds between increasing the transfer tax rate on sales of $5 million or more to the overall increase in costs to tenants, businesses, and their customers. The increase in the tax rate from 1.5% to 2.0% - on property sales between $5 million and $10 million - and an increase from 1.5% to 2.5% on sales over $10 million passed handily. San Francisco will now lead the state with the highest property transfer tax rate of any jurisdiction.

• BOMA San Francisco was also involved in the recent district elections for the Board of Supervisors. No other local political body has as much influence on the city’s real estate industry as they do. BOMA was one of the first, and largest contributors to a new business/labor coalition entitled the Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth (Alliance).  In our opinion, and that of our union allies, nothing is as important or vital to San Francisco as growing the city’s private sector economy and creating jobs. Consequently, BOMA spent considerably to help fund the Alliance which supported business-friendly candidates. Happily, the newly-elected Board of Supervisors will reflect a more moderate approach to local governance, and will be more focused on creating jobs and helping businesses grow. Congratulations to the newly-elected Supervisors: Mark Farrell, Jane Kim, Scott Wiener, and Malia Cohen.

BOMA San Francisco’s advocacy mantra is simple: 'If you aren’t at the table, you’re probably on the menu.' Owners and managers of commercial real estate must continuously protect their investments. That is one very good reason for them to belong to BOMA San Francisco. We are active participants in the local political process on behalf of our members, and will “walk the talk” when called upon. Now, with 2011 upon us, it will be important for BOMA to continue to play as large a role as possible in the upcoming Mayor’s race, and to defend against propositions that hurt our industry and/or our city’s economy.

Community Meetings on Transbay Demolition and Construction Activities

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Demolition of the Transbay Terminal is well underway and the Temporary Terminal build-out is nearing its completion. Join the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, to learn more about upcoming demolition activities, street closures, hours of activity, and the completion of the Temporary Terminal. The first community meeting will be held from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM. The second community meeting will be held from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Both meetings will feature the same content and will be held at the TJPA’s offices located at 201 Mission Street, Suite 2100.

What: 

Community Meetings: Transbay Demolition and Construction Updates 

When: 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 

Time: 

Meeting I: 12:00 Noon; Meeting II: 6:00 PM 

Where: 

Transbay Joint Powers Authority 

201 Mission Street, Suite 2100 

San Francisco, CA 94105

For more information about the Transbay Transit Center Project or to sign up to receive construction updates, visit www.transbaycenter.org

SFPUC: The Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) Control Ordinance

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The Proposed Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) Control Ordinance was introduced at the Board of Supervisors on 11/9/10 and has been assigned to the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee. A hearing at this committee will be schedule in the near future after a 30 day period has passed from the date of introduction. Click here for a version of the proposed ordinance as it was introduced.  Also, see the Fact Sheet for the Proposed FOG Control Ordinance in English, Chinese and Spanish.

Background Information: 

Fats, oils and grease (FOG), can be a major problem for San Francisco's sewers and for the bay and ocean that surround San Francisco. When not disposed of properly, FOG can clog San Francisco's sewers costing us all a lot of money —over $3.5 million each year to respond to grease clogged pipes. When poured down drains, cooking oil will harden and build up inside of drain pipes and sewer pipes, constricting water flow the way cholesterol affects blood flow in arteries. Grease blockages can also cause back ups in the City sewer system itself and can lead to sewer overflows onto City streets or into the bay and ocean.

Restaurants, and other food service establishments (FSEs), are a significant source of FOG because of the amount of grease used in cooking and other food preparation work. For several years, the SFPUC has been working - with input from Golden Gate Restaurant Association to develop a plan to prevent FOG from restaurants and other FSEs from entering the sewer system. The proposed FOG Control Ordinance is being developed to resolve/improve the problem.

San Francisco law already requires that restaurants and other FSEs comply with limits for the amount of total oil and grease that can be discharged into City sewers. The discharge limit alone, however, is clearly not working to keep FOG out of the sewers. The proposed ordinance will give local FSEs clear requirements on exactly what type of grease capturing equipment they have to install, resulting in standards and inspections to ensure that any type of grease capturing equipment is well maintained and serviced.

Ordinance Revisions:

• The first version of the proposed FOG Control Ordinance  was posted on the SFWater.org website in February 2010. From March through May 2010, SFPUC staff conducted outreach to potentially impacted businesses in the City – such as restaurants, caterers and other food service establishments. Presentations were made at several Town Hall meetings for restaurant owners and managers, in coordination with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA). Information on the proposed ordinance was also presented to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and to BOMA San Francisco. Additional door-to-door bilingual outreach was conducted to several hundred smaller restaurants in the City.
• The second version of the Proposed FOG Control Ordinance was presented to the SPFUC Commission on 9/14/10. This version of the proposed ordinance reflected revisions made to address comments received, to make the ordinance language more technically accurate in some cases, and to address several necessary non-substantive, administrative changes.
• The final version of the proposed FOG Control Ordinance was introduced at the Board of Supervisors on 11/9/10. The only change made to the ordinance as compared to the previous version was the addition of language clarifying or extending compliance and effective dates.

For those interested in reviewing the revisions made in greater detail, the following documents are provided:

• To view a summary document explaining the rationale for the revisions made from the initial version circulated in February 2010 through to the version introduced at the Board of Supervisors in November 2010, click here. 
• To view a redlined version of the revisions made between the first and second proposed versions of the ordinance, click here.

For additional questions on the proposed FOG Control Ordinance, email FOGOrdinance@sfwater.org.

10 Day Look Ahead: Transbay Demolition and Construction Activities

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Weekend Work: This weekend work will be conducted from 6:00 AM on Saturday until 5:00 AM on Monday. The contractors do not anticipate working between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. However, if additional work is required, it will not include jack hammering or other excessive noise producing activities during the moratorium hours.

Street and Sidewalk Closure: This weekend, First Street, between Howard and Mission Streets will be closed due to demolition of the First Street over crossing from 6:00 AM on Saturday until 5:00 AM on Monday. During the weekend, Natoma Street, between Second and Fremont Streets, will be closed except to local traffic. The street will be reduced to one single lane westbound between Fremont and First Streets and eastbound between Second and First Streets. The contractor will work with neighboring tenants to accommodate all local access.

Minna Street, between First Street and Shaw Alley, will be closed except to local traffic and will be reduced to one single west bound lane during the weekend. The contractor will work with neighboring tenants to accommodate all local access.

Demolition: The demolition contractor, Evans Brothers, will continue the demolition of the First Street over crossing. This work will require the weekend closure of First Street between Howard and Mission Streets from 6:00 AM on Saturday until 5:00 AM on Monday.

The large wrecking ball crane, “Big Red,” has been assembled on-site in front of 425 Mission Street (the old Terminal building). The contractor anticipates use of the wrecking ball the week of November 22. An email update will be distributed prior to the first ball drop on the Terminal building itself.

Temporary Terminal: The Temporary Terminal contractors, McGuire and Hester, will be working this weekend from 7:00 AM until 3:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday in order to install the remaining canopies.

Utilities: The Utilities Relocation Contractor, Trinet, will be working from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday on First Street, within the street closure.

Weekday Work: Weekday work between Monday, November 15, 2010, and Friday, November 19, 2010, will focus on the continued demolition of the East Terminal structure along with the Main Terminal roof and upper walls. The contractor will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM. Lane restrictions will remain on Minna and Natoma Streets.

The Temporary Terminal contractors will be working from 7:00 AM until 5:00 PM and will continue the installation of the remaining canopies on the Temporary Terminal site.

The Utility Relocation Contractor will be working 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM and will continue potholing on Minna Street.

What to Expect Next Weekend (11/19-11/21):

Next weekend, the contractor will continue demolition of the First Street over crossing which will require the weekend closure of First Street. This closure will begin early Saturday morning and continue through until 5:00 AM on Monday. The contractor will work all shifts, including 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM, with a moratorium on jack hammering and other excessive noise producing activities between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM.

The Temporary Terminal contractors will continue the installation of the remaining canopies.

NOTICE: The demolition contractor has encountered additional asbestos containing materials in the Terminal Building. These materials were encountered on the bus deck level in the pavement area of the boarding islands. The material is being abated, per specifications and in accordance with all local, State and Federal regulations. The tents on the Terminal facility are part of those procedures and are there to protect the public from any potential exposure to hazardous materials.

The demolition of the Terminal has begun and, in order to safely bring down the facility, the demolition contractor will be working, at a minimum, double shifts. It is highly likely that weekend and weekday 24-hour work will need to occur between now and November 23rd. The TJPA has instructed its demolition contractors to make every effort to minimize the impact to the community and to progress through this phase of work as quickly as possible. However, due to the nature of this portion of demolition, safety will require 24-hour work to be conducted regularly. Although it is the Transbay Transit Center Project's (TJPA) intention to maintain the moratorium, safety may require limited lifting of the noise restriction.

Should you have any general questions about the TJPA, please call Courtney Lodato or Adam Alberti, Transbay Outreach Team, at: (415) 227-9700 or via e-mail at: info@transbaycenter.org

If you have any urgent questions regarding site-specific demolition or construction activities, please call the TJPA construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572).

Please continue to check the TJPA website for the most up to date schedule of activities at: www.transbaycenter.org/demolition

BOMA California 2010 - Legislative Session Ends on a Positive Note for the Industry

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please take a moment to review some of the successes your tireless BOMA California staff has achieved in Sacramento for the commercial, industrial, retail real estate industry from this past year:

Legislation – Engaged on more than 500 pieces of Legislation in the California State Capitol.   49 bills “High Priority”.  31 Opposed – 15 of those killed, 16 vetoed.  8 supported bills signed by the Governor.  0 bills opposed by CBPA signed into law.

Split-Roll Property Tax – In the past year, BOMA California stopped two serious efforts to eliminate protections of Prop. 13 for commercial real estate.  The first, pushed by several public employee unions, proposed an initiative to enact an immediate 55% increase in all private non-residential state property taxes.  The second was a legislative bill that would have automatically reassessed all corporate commercial properties every three years.  It is likely that more proposals will be back in the New Year.

Like-Kind Exchanges – BOMA California led an effort to stop two separate bills that would have taken away the ability of California companies to use 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges.  Bills such as this that take California out of conformity with federal law as a way to raise additional revenue for the state are extremely harmful to any company that owns properties in multiple states.

Mandatory Commercial Building Benchmarking – Have led the statewide effort and put together a commercial real estate workgroup to help the CA Energy Commission to write the rules implementing the states mandatory building benchmarking law.  Because of this effort, issues related to multi-tenanted building and shopping centers have been highlighted and given priority to resolve.

Repeal of Business Tax Incentives – Defeat SB 1272 (Wolk; D – Davis), which would require the state to automatically repeal any new tax incentives after seven years. This bill would have applied performance metrics to private companies receiving tax funds, which the state was unwilling to apply to state agencies, taxes, or regulations.

Stopped Increased Water Fees – Defeated ACA 18 (Liu; D-Torrance), which would have authorized stormwater and urban runoff management fees or charges to be exempt from 2/3’s voter approval requirements.

Green Building Codes – BOMA California lead an industrywide effort to engage our experts in the public process and helped shape the nation’s first statewide “green building code” (known as CALGreen).  These codes balance environmental issues with economic feasibility and technological achievability to provide industry with a standard it can successfully meet.

Code Adoption – BOMA California sponsored legislation, AB 1693 (Ma; D – San Francisco), which modifies the interim code adoption cycle and extends it to an 18 month process.  This will give the industry and local governments additional time to understand and adopt energy and building code changes that impact both new construction and tenant improvements.

CEQA and AB 32 – BOMA worked very hard to see AB 1846 (V. M. Pérez; D-Coachella) pass.  This bill streamlines the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) approval process for certain projects by allowing industries subject to compliance with greenhouse gas regulations under AB 32 to go through an expedited environmental review using a focused environmental impact report.

Financing for Energy Efficiency – BOMA California worked to see AB 1873 (Huffman; D-San Rafael) pass.  This new law makes it more attractive for local governments to offer Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs and lower the interest rate of loans to business owners for energy and water efficiency improvements to existing buildings.

Effective Dates for Local Ballot Propositions That Passed in the November 2010 General Election

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please click here to view a memo from the City Attorney's office detailing the estimated effective dates for local propositions passed in the November 2010 General Election. This is of particular importance regarding the increase in the property transfer tax rate for sales of real estate that are valued at $5 million or more (Proposition N). Please review and share with others as needed.

Proposition N Details:

New transfer tax goes into effect 10 days after election results declared by Board of Supervisors, which means December 17, 2010.

See paragraph 1 of page two and last item on page 4 of the City Attorney's memo.

Sold Price between $5 and $10 million will rise from 1.5% to 2.0%
Sold Price over $10 million will rise from 1.5% to 2.5%

SFFD Guidelines for Use of Christmas Trees in Regulated Occupancies

BOMA San Francisco Members:

In accordance with the 2007 California Fire Code and Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, the San Francisco Fire Department requires that the following regulations be observed regarding the use of Christmas trees in public assemblies, schools, institutions, retail stores, high-rise buildings, and public areas of hotels, motels, apartment, and condo buildings.  Please click here to read the Information Bulletin on the issue.  

Any questions regarding Christmas tree regulations may be directed to the Bureau of Fire Prevention of the San Francisco Fire Department at (415) 558-3300.

New CAPSS Task 3 Report Now Available Online

BOMA San Francisco Members:

An updated version of the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) Task 3 report "Development of Post-Earthquake Repair Provisions" is now available online for your review.  You can find this report by clicking here.  Your comments are welcome regarding this report.  Please send them to to Laura Samant at  laura.samant@gmail.com or Tom Tobin lttobin@aol.com.

We have posted information on the CAPSS program previously.  Click here to review our past blog posts on the subject.

BOMA SF Op-Ed in the San Francisco Examiner: Now That The Election is Over, Let's Get Serious on Local Jobs

Click on the image to enlarge

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please take a moment to read the op-ed piece, Now that the election is over,let's get serious on local jobs, by Marc Intermaggio, BOMA San Francisco's Executive Vice President, published in the San Francsico Examiner (pg. 15) on November 8, 2010.  Click on the print article, above, or click here for the digital version.

10 Day Look Ahead: Transbay Demolition and Construction Activities

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Weekend Work: This weekend, the contractor will begin the demolition of the First Street over crossing. This work will require the weekend closure of First Street between Howard and Mission Streets from 9:00 PM on Friday until 5:00 AM on Monday morning. Additional work will be performed on one remaining bridge footing on the west side of Beale Street between Mission and Howard Streets.

Weekend work will be conducted from 9:00 PM on Friday until 6:00 AM Monday. The contractor does not anticipate working between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. However, if additional work is required, it will not include jack hammering or other excessive noise producing activities during the moratorium hours.

The large wrecking ball crane, “Big Red,” has been assembled on-site in front of 425 Mission Street (the old Terminal building). The contractor will begin use of the wrecking ball within the next two week period. An email update will be distributed prior to the first ball drop on the Terminal building itself. 

Please note: Natoma Street, between First and Fremont Streets, will be reduced to one single east bound lane during the First Street weekend closures. The contractor will work with neighboring tenants to accommodate all deliveries.

The Temporary Terminal contractors, McGuire and Hester, will be working this weekend from 7 AM until 3 PM in order to install the remaining canopies.

Weekday Work: Weekday work between Monday, November 8, 2010, and Friday, November 12, 2010, will focus on the continued demolition of the East Terminal structure along with the Main Terminal roof and upper walls. The contractor will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM. Lane restrictions will remain on Minna and Natoma Streets.

The Temporary Terminal contractors will be working from 7 AM until 5 PM and will continue the installation of the remaining canopies on the Temporary Terminal site.

Street and Sidewalk Closure: This weekend, First Street, between Howard and Mission Streets will be closed due to demolition of the over crossing from 9:00 PM on Friday until 5:00 AM on Monday. The west sidewalk and parking lane on Beale Street in between Mission and Howard Streets will be closed for the removal of the final support structure.

What to Expect Next Weekend (11/12-11/14): Next weekend, the contractor will continue demolition of the First Street over crossing which will require the weekend closure of First Street. This closure will begin late Friday night in order to remove the overhead electrical systems prior to demolition. The contractor will work all three shifts, including 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM, with a moratorium on jack hammering and other excessive noise producing activities between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. The Temporary Terminal contractors will continue the installation of the remaining canopies.

NOTICE: The demolition of the Terminal has begun and, in order to safely bring down the facility, the demolition contractor will be working, at a minimum, double shifts. It is highly likely that weekend and weekday 24-hour work will need to occur between now and November 23rd. The TJPA has instructed its demolition contractors to make every effort to minimize the impact to the community and to progress through this phase of work as quickly as possible. However, due to the nature of this portion of demolition, safety will require 24-hour work to be conducted regularly. Although it is the Transbay Transit Center Project's (TJPA) intention to maintain the moratorium, safety may require limited lifting of the noise restriction.

Should you have any general questions about the TJPA, please call Courtney Lodato or Adam Alberti, Transbay Outreach Team, at: (415) 227-9700 or via e-mail at: info@transbaycenter.org

If you have any urgent questions regarding site-specific demolition or construction activities, please call the TJPA construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572).

Please continue to check the TJPA website for the most up to date schedule of activities at: www.transbaycenter.org/demolition

BOMA San Francisco Codes and Regulations Committee 2010 Annual Building Codes Seminar

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The BOMA San Francisco Codes and Regulations Committee held its 2010 Annual Building Codes Seminar on November 4, 2010.  This information-packed seminar gave the attendees tools to understand the new California and San Francisco building codes, fire and life safety code changes and the details regarding California’s new green building code, CalGreen.  This program explained these code changes and how they will be interpreted and enforced in San Francisco in the coming years.  Details from the handouts will be posted on the Codes and Regulations Committee website in the next few days.

Moderator

• Skip Soskin, Huntsman Architectural Group & Chair of BOMA San Francisco Codes and Regulations Committee

Speakers 

From left to right:

• Laurence Kornfield, Deputy Director, San Francisco Department of Building Inspection
• Barbara Schultheis, Fire Marshal, San Francisco Fire Department
• Zachary Brown, LEED AP O&M, Assistant Property Manager, The Ferry Building, Equity Office
• Ilene Dick, Esq., Farella Braun + Martel
• Skip Soskin

Sponsors