Wednesday, June 29, 2011

UPDATE: San Francisco Mobile Food Facilities Permits



Click here to download a detailed version of the Mobile Food Facility Permits map

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - As of June 29, 2011

New Permit Requests

We've received three new MFF requests:

Any interested party may request additional information or file an objection to the proposed MFF by contacting, in writing, or in person, the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street-Use and Mapping, 875 Stevenson Street, Room 460, San Francisco, CA 94103 or by telephone at (415) 554-5810.

If you are a potential interested party within 300 foot radius of the proposed location, you have the right to object to the issuance of the Mobile Food Facility Permit. To exercise your rights, you must provide written objection within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the letters to the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street-Use & Mapping, 875 Stevenson Street, Room 460, San Francisco, CA 94103 Attn: Mobile Food Facility expressing your concerns and objections. Your envelope must be postmarked no later than date listed in the letter.

Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) Implementation Priority Worksheets




BOMA San Francisco Members:

The CAPSS Implementation Project continues to gain momentum through the efforts of City staff and enthusiastic and skilled summer graduate student interns. Please drop by to visit them in their new San Francisco City Hall CAPSS Headquarters in Room 034.

CAPSS urgently needs your help at this critical stage of the CAPSS program implementation. Please help them develop the long-range CAPSS Implementation Workplan by providing your suggestions about implementation priorities and related timeframes on our Worksheets.

Download the Worksheets from http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1139e6748214ac35dcacdb62b/files/CAPSS_Worksheet.doc in Microsoft Word format. Instructions are inside the file.

Each Worksheet contains notes related to implementation of each of the recommendations contained in the CAPSS report. These notes present new information and ideas that were not part of the previous CAPSS reports. The notes are not objective analyses, but represent the opinions of CAPSS staff about issues that may impact actual implementation. More information about many tasks is available in the CAPSS reports and in the Technical Documentation sections.

They are interested in your comments as well, and have provided a place for comments in the Worksheets.

Implementing all of the CAPSS Recommendations will take decades. On the worksheets, a thirty year period has been divided into five-year increments, with CAPSS implementation work to be apportioned in these five-year increments based on policy decisions about priorities, resources available, and other factors. Some tasks, such as public education and outreach programs, may continue for decades or even over the entire program. Feel free to propose implementation timeframes that extend beyond a single five-year time period or beyond thirty years.

This is a long and complex document, so please dedicate at least one full hour to reading the materials and responding with priorities for each of the CAPSS tasks.

While they value the opinions and comments of all interested persons, they are particularly interested in the opinions of persons who have been active CAPSS program participants and who will be most directly impacted by this implementation work. Your responses will help create the draft CAPSS Implementation Workplan that will be discussed at the July 13th CAPSS meeting to be held at 1660 Mission Street, room 2001, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Many thanks for your help in this difficult but important CAPSS task and for your continued assistance in making San Francisco a resilient city.

For more information on CAPSS, please contact Mr. Laurence Kornfield at laurence.kornfield@sfgov.org

You’re Invited to Attend the Energy Masters Forum - July 13 8:30 – 10:30am

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Come enjoy breakfast and join your facility management peers to learn about Demand Response and Time Varying Pricing Plans including Peak Day Pricing (PDP).

Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about demand response and find out how your business can receive incentives for curtailing energy use during times of peak demand while making a difference in the state's energy well being. Also, get answers to your questions about time-varying pricing plans and how businesses like yours can play an integral role in the ability of these programs to decrease California's costly peak electricity demand and increase electricity reliability and efficiency.

This PG&E sponsored breakfast event will be held at:

835 Market Street, Room 609 (San Francisco State University building)

Date: Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Time: 8:30 - 10:30 am

Click here to Register for July 13

Guest Speakers include:

Boaz Ur: PG&E Core Products - Demand Management Programs

Susan Norris: PG&E Customer Energy Solutions - Customer Pricing Product Senior Manager

William Powell: PG&E Customer Outreach Specialist- Peak Day Pricing Plans

For more information please email J2AQ@pge.com. The Energy Masters Forum is a place where Facility Managers, Energy Managers and Property Managers of commercial buildings can share answers, questions and ideas about their field and energy related topics. PG&E sponsors quarterly meetings on topics voted on by the forum. For more information please email Julie Ahner at J2AQ@pge.com.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) - Summer Seminar Series




BOMA San Francisco Members:

The CAPSS Implementation Project continues to gain momentum through the efforts of City staff and enthusiastic and skilled summer graduate student interns. Please drop by to visit them in their new San Francisco City Hall CAPSS Headquarters in Room 034.

Upcoming CAPSS activities:
  • Tuesday, June 28, 2011. 10:30 AM. Developing Public Policy to Support Seismic Mitigation, with Danielle Hutchings of ABAG. Please join CAPSS interns and others in a discussion with Danielle Hutchings, P.E., from ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments, about the public policy issues related to seismic hazard mitigation. This seminar, part of a summer-long series, will be held in the new CAPSS office in Room 034, City Hall in San Francisco. Following the seminar please stay for a brown-bag lunch to meet the interns from the CAPSS project and interns from other Bay Area projects related to seismic safety. Please call for directions or information—the CAPSS Office phone is (415) 554-4925.
  • Wednesday, July 13, 11:00 AM. CAPSS Public Meeting. A regular CAPSS public meeting, focusing on the development of CAPSS Workplan priorities and timelines, will take place from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in Room 2001 at the Department of Building Inspection, 1660 Mission Street, San Francisco. A draft CAPSS Workplan will be reviewed at that meeting.
  • Tuesday, July 19, 2011. 10:30 AM. Lessons Learned about Post-Earthquake Building Inspection, with Ron Gallagher, S.E.. The author of the original ATC-20 Procedures for Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings, Ron Gallagher will join CAPSS friends for an informal discussion of the lessons learned from the applications of ATC-20 following the recent Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes and aftershocks. This seminar will be held in the CAPSS office in Room 034, City Hall in San Francisco. A brown-bag lunch and general discussion will follow the seminar.
  • Tuesday, July 26, 10:30 AM. San Francisco’s Earthquake History, with Pat Buscovich, S.E.. Pat will review the long history of earthquakes and fires in San Francisco, including a discussion of the history of Building Code changes that were intended to address seismic and fire impacts. This seminar will be held in the CAPSS office in Room 034, City Hall in San Francisco. A brown-bag lunch and general discussion will follow the seminar.
  • Future events will include:
    • August 2, Gaining Resilience by Reducing Damage to Equipment and Contents, with Peter Yanev.
    • August 9, Historic Buildings and Earthquakes, with Alice Carey.
    • August 16, Motivating the Public for Earthquake Hazard Mitigation, with Sharyl Rabinovici.
More information on these and other events will be provided in future CAPSS updates or by emailing Mr. Laurence Kornfield at laurence.kornfield@sfgov.org

Thursday, June 23, 2011

DOE and Appraisers Join Forces to Assess Value of Energy Efficiency

BOMA San Francisco Members:

In February, President Obama announced the Better Buildings Initiative, a new White House initiative to drive energy efficiency in the built environment. One of the main planks of the initiative is the goal to improve commercial building efficiency 20 percent by 2020. Last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a partnership with The Appraisal Foundation that will help achieve this goal by expanding access to energy efficiency and building performance information for commercial buildings. 

Under the new partnership, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and The Appraisal Foundation will work to ensure that appraisers nationwide have the information, practical guidelines and professional resources they need to evaluate energy performance when conducting commercial building appraisals. DOE will also develop educational materials and create a database to provide appraisers with energy–savings data, federal green building programs and policies, and additional information on energy performance.

BOMA International applauds this effort, as we believe that this will help enable investors, financers, building owners and managers, and others to accurately assess the value of energy efficiency as part of the building’s overall appraisal.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

UPDATE: Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings Announcement



BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - June 22, 2011

Since the October 14, 2010 hearing, the Planning Department has received over 2000 comments on this proposal. At the Planning Commission’s request, staff has revised the draft proposal based upon public comment and further research. They are excited to announce the new June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings and upcoming public hearings.

The Draft proposes a three-pronged approach to the problem: 
  • Establishment of requirements for the most hazardous conditions; 
  • Use of an educational checklist to educate project sponsors and their future tenants on potential hazards; and 
  • Creation and expansion of voluntary programs to encourage more bird-safe practices including acknowledging those who pursue certification through a proposed new program for “bird-safe building” recognition.
Upcoming Public Hearings

There are two hearings scheduled before the San Francisco Planning Commission regarding the revised Bird-Safe Buildings policy document and a proposed ordinance: 

June 23, 2011 – Initiation of the proposed Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings Ordinance
Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
The purpose of this hearing is solely to announce the Planning Commission’s intention to consider the Planning Code amendments at a later date – initiation does not involve a decision on the substance of the proposed Code amendments. 

July 14, 2011 (tentative) – Public Hearing on the proposed Adoption of Bird-Safe Building Standards

Set up an email reminder about this Hearing
At this hearing, the Commission will hear a staff presentation on the proposal and will listen to public comment. The Commission will then consider adoption of the policy document, the 2011 “Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings” and related amendments to the Planning Code to implement the proposed policy.

A copy of the June 2011 Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings document, along with links to upcoming Planning Commission Hearing materials, are available on the Planning Department web page at: http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=2506#general_info

Do You Have Thoughts? Comments on the proposed code Amendments or Draft Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings can be sent to Erika Lovejoy before the above-mentioned hearings:

Erika Lovejoy
erika.lovejoy@sfgov.org
San Francisco Planning Department
1650 Mission Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
tel: 415-575-9026
fax: 415-558-6409

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

UPDATE - February 25, 2011

The San Francisco Planning Department will accept comments regarding the draft document 'Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings' until February 28, 2011.  

If you have any comments or questions , please feel free to contact Erika Lovejoy with the Planning Department at erika.lovejoy@sfgov.org. 

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

Original Post - October 7, 2010

The San Francisco Planning Commission will hold an informational hearing on October 14, 2010 (click here for more information) to announce the public release of a draft document titled 'Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings.' This document is intended to promote bird-safe design and to reduce bird collisions into buildings.  The draft document proposes a three-pronged approach to this issue:

  • Establishment of requirements for the most hazardous conditions;
  • Use of an educational checklist to educate project sponsors and their future tenants on potential hazards; and
  • Creation and expansion of voluntary programs to encourage more bird-safe practices including acknowledging those who pursue certification through a proposed new program for “bird-safe building” recognition.

The draft document discusses potential negative impacts on resident and migratory birds, suggested remedies to lessen the hazard through treatments for glazing, lighting, and other building design elements and building operations.

Preliminary Recommendation: The Department recommends that the Commission instruct the Department to:

  • Collect public comment through the end of 2010; 
  • Consider revisions to the document based upon comments received; and
  • Prepare a draft Ordinance for the Commission’s consideration in 2011 that would implement proposed controls and adopt a final 'Bird-Safe Building Standards' document; and 
  • Adopt the draft resolution to that effect.

If you have any questions, please call (415) 558-6395.  Comments can be sent to the Planning Commission c/o Linda Avery, San Francisco Planning Commission, 1650 Mission Street, Suite #400, SF, CA 94103.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

BOMA San Francisco Members Visit Local Elected Leaders at the State Capitol in Sacramento



BOMA San Francisco Members with Asm. Fiona Ma (D- San Francisco)



BOMA Members meet with Senator Leland Yee (D- San Francisco)

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Members of BOMA San Francisco, Oakland, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Orange County and Inland Empire joined other commercial real estate groups recently in Sacramento to meet with legislators, and representatives of Governor Jerry Brown's administration.

Among the list of issues was our opposition to AB 350, which is a measure that would undermine our industry's right to employ the best possible people in security, landscaping, window washing, and food service work. BOMA and the other representatives attending the 2011 California Commercial Real Estate Summit also actively opposed SB 469, which is legislation that would inappropriately use environmental laws to restrict certain kinds of retail development and diminish local government control over such planning decisions. Finally, BOMA representatives opposed SB 474, which would eliminate a general contractor's and property owner's ability to seek indemnity and defense from subcontractors in non-residential construction. If passed, this legislation would shift all liabilities for lawsuits to owner's and general contractors, shielding even negligent subcontractors. 

BOMA San Francisco members attending included Susan Court with Cushman & Wakefield;  Sandra Boyle also with Cushman & Wakefield; Manny Fishman, Esq. with Buchalter Nemer; Bruce Schilling with Evantage; LLC; and, Ken Cleaveland with BOMA San Francisco.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

BOMA San Francisco Association Celebrates 100th Anniversary



For more information on the role BOMA played in The City’s economic history over the past century, click here.

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA San Francisco celebrated its role in shaping The City’s commercial landscape at a Gala Centennial recently at the Palace Hotel. Rising from the rubble of the San Francisco fire and earthquake more than a century ago, BOMA has supported the development of the world‐class downtown.

BOMA received accolades from the U.S. Congress, the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco for leadership in fostering commerce and economic development in The City since 1911, when the commercial real estate industry began building one of the world’s most iconic cities from the devastation of 1906.

“We’re 100 years old, but so what? Woody Allen once said that '80 percent of success in life is just showing up.’ But I don’t buy it. And for us, we have done far more than simply show up. What’s important is making a difference. What’s important is creating meaning,” said BOMA Executive Vice President Marc Intermaggio, who has headed the BOMA professional staff for almost three decades.

“Does BOMA make a difference? In so many aspects of our industry’s evolution and in the enrichment of the communities in which we operate, I believe we do. Do we, individually, and do our members collectively, create meaning? With this incredible, enduring community that we’re all a part of, and the way in which we continually share with and learn from one another, I believe we do. Together we have done so much to help each other achieve personal success, accomplish corporate goals, and advance our industry. We don’t just show up – we arrive ready for action, and we are doers.”

Looking ahead into the 21st century, Intermaggio added, “And we’re not stopping to rest on our past achievements! The challenges and opportunities that now face us are as great as those we met and overcame during the last century, but our membership has proven that it has the right stuff to continue to do whatever is necessary to keep San Francisco in the forefront of great cities in which to do business.”

BOMA represents most of the commercial office buildings in San Francisco and also real estate in Sonoma, Marin and San Mateo counties. More than 650 gathered at the Palace Hotel for BOMA’s Centennial Gala May 19.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, on hand for the celebration, credited BOMA with leadership in greening San Francisco’s commercial buildings as well as for its annual toy drive for underprivileged children that has helped donate more than 1 million toys. He declared May 19, 2011 “BOMA Day” in San Francisco.

The mayor noted that the commercial office buildings industry, which BOMA represents, paid almost $1.8 billion over the past decade in San Francisco property taxes and contributes $2.5 billion annually to the local economy and provides more than 14,000 jobs.

Beyond that, Lee said, “BOMA has been a leading proponent of sustainable practices, encouraging composting, recycling, indoor air quality and adoption of energy and water conservation measures.”

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state proclamation commending BOMA for “promoting excellence in commercial building operations through innovative programs such as its BOMA 360 Performance certification, its Seven Point Energy Reduction Challenge and its Energy Star benchmarking program.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a U.S. Senate Certificate of Commendation for BOMA saying, “You provide local jobs and are an important organization in representing and protecting property owner rights. These are significant contributions to our community, our future and the economy.”

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who attended the gala, said, “Healthy commercial real estate provides homes for countless businesses that employ our workforce. BOMA always strives to create better work environments for our future generations. It has been honored for its progressive environmental policies.” She added, that “for 20 years BOMA has partnered with the San Francisco Fire Department and put big smiles on children’s faces. The San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program is the oldest program of its kind in the country and BOMA’s members have donated over a million toys to disadvantaged children through that Program.” The U.S. House of Representatives honored BOMA San Francisco on May 19.

State Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee added to the commendations by saying that BOMA “has made significant contributions to the growth and development of the office building industry through its training programs for commercial property managers and the recruitment of new persons into the industry.”

For more information on the role BOMA played in The City’s economic history over the past century, click here.

Photographs from the Gala

L to R: Marc Intermaggio; Mayor Ed Lee and Ken Cleaveland

Photos from BOMA San Francisco's May 19 Centennial Gala are now available to view and order through Shutterfly.com. The first album contains the photos taken by the professional photographers. The second album contains photos taken by staff/members. If you wish to order prints, simply create your own Shutterfly account and follow the ordering procedures. Follow the instructions below to access the albums. Should you have any questions, please contact Wendy de Lara 415-362-2662 x110.

Site URL: http://centennialgala.shutterfly.com/
Password: bomasf

SF Examiner Columnist Melissa Griffin - San Francisco Learns a Costly Lesson About Free Speech

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Columnist Melissa Griffin has penned another literary masterpiece in the June 14, 2011 Examiner entitled, San Francisco learns a costly lesson about free speech.  Please see the excerpt, below, or click here for the full online article.
‘Limitations on contributions to political committees … have been struck down as limitations on free speech,” read part of then-Supervisor Barbara Kaufman’s opposition to Proposition O in the November 2000 voter guide. As The City prepares to pay $290,000 to settle a case against Prop. O, which will never again be enforced, I dare say the warning was prescient.

Prop. O was a ballot measure that set a limit on the amount of money any person could give to an “independent expenditure committee” at $500 per committee and $3,000 total to all committees. Those particular committees advocate for or against candidates and ballot measures but aren’t affiliated with the actual candidate or cause.

Voters narrowly endorsed Prop. O in 2000, and it remained in effect until 2007, when it was challenged by the Committee on Jobs and the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco, which immediately asked a federal judge to issue an injunction against Prop. O on the grounds that The City had not shown that such strict contribution limits were justified. Legally, political contributions are “speech” and you have to have a darn good reason to impinge on free speech.

The City argued that the purpose of the law was to prevent corruption, but the judge disagreed, writing that the anti-corruption argument only works when contributions are directly to candidates, not independent committees. According to the injunction order, the “absence of prearrangement and coordination of an expenditure with the candidate or his agent not only undermines the value of the expenditure to the candidate, but also alleviates the danger that expenditures will be given as a quid pro quo for improper commitments from the candidate.”
But the injunction was only temporary: the parties still needed to litigate the issues of whether the law violated the U.S. Constitution. As luck would have it, the city of San Jose passed a law very similar to Prop. O and the challenge to that law was already moving through the federal courts, so the San Francisco lawsuit was put on hold until we could see the result of the San Jose case.

In April 2010, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appealsmade it official: Strict limits on contributions to independent expenditures are unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

On Thursday, the Rules Committee of the Board of Supervisors will vote on the agreement that the City Attorney’s Office negotiated with the plaintiffs to settle the case: nullify the law and pay nearly $300,000.

Back in 2000, the San Francisco Republican Party warned that Prop. O was unconstitutional and wrote in the voter guide, “Hasn’t the City already wasted enough money on these losing battles?”

Apparently not.

Monday, June 13, 2011

BOMA SF Op-Ed in the San Francisco Examiner - Small Tenants Create Economic Multiplier


Click on image to enlarge

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please click on the print article, above or here, to read the op-ed piece, Small tenants create economic multiplier, by Marc Intermaggio, BOMA San Francisco's Executive Vice President, published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 13, 2011.  

Incorporating Green Operations into Your Lease Just Got Easier



Lease Guide


BOMA San Francisco Members:

Trying to incorporate green language into your lease? BOMA International can help. BOMA’s new Green Lease Guide – Commercial Lease: Guide to Sustainable and Energy Efficient Leasing for High-Performance Buildings includes more "green" clauses reflecting the evolution of the market over the past few years, as well as updates to "non–green" clauses. 

This definitive guide walks property professionals through the complex language of commercial real estate leases so they can…

  • Maintain a green building through energy efficient and sustainable operations and management practices.
  • Educate brokers and prospective tenants about what it means to occupy a high performance building.
  • Communicate the responsibilities of all parties in the ongoing efforts to keep the building green.

What’s included?

Three documents are presented: (i) a model form prime Lease Agreement, oriented towards office use but with annotations addressing retail and mixed-use concepts, (ii) a model form Sublease, and (iii) a model form Guaranty of Lease. The documents have been written to stand alone but can easily be used in any combination or as a complete set of three if necessary.
Hundreds of easy–to–read footnotes provide answers and suggestions to the toughest lease topics.

BOMA’s Commercial Lease: Guide to Sustainable and Energy Efficient Leasing for High–Performance Buildings, is a must–have resource for anyone involved in negotiating and executing a commercial building lease transaction. Order your BOMA Lease Guide today.

Friday, June 10, 2011

A Look Ahead: Transbay Demolition and Construction Activities



BOMA San Francisco Members:

Weekend Work (6/11/11 – 6/12/11):

Beale Street: Underground utility work will continue on Beale Street and between Mission and Howard Streets and at the intersection of Howard and Beale Streets Saturday, June 11 between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Detours and lane restrictions will be in effect.

Shoring preparation pile pulling and demolition activities will continue in the eastern lots on Saturday, June 11 from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM between Beale and Fremont Streets.

Minna Street: Underground utility work and paving activities will continue on Minna Street between First and Second Streets Saturday, June 11 from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Local access to Minna Street will be granted.

Overnight Work (6/13/11 – 6/17/11):

Overnight work will take place the evenings of Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17 and will continue into the subsequent morning. Contractors will move oversized steel beams and heavy equipment from the central transit zone between First and Fremont Streets onto the eastern zone between Fremont and Beale Streets. Due to the length of the beams and the oversized equipment, these activities will be done at night. Additional lighting will be required to safely transport and unload the steel and equipment, and some noise should be expected.

Second Shift/Evening Work (6/13/11 – 6/17/11):

Our contractor will be performing deep shoring wall work at the east transit center site between Beale and Fremont Streets on two shifts between Monday, June 13 and Friday, June 17. Due to the continuous nature of this work, the contractor will work extended hours from 7:00 AM and 11:00 PM. Additional lighting will be required to safely complete the work and some noise should be expected.

Weekday Work (6/13/11 – 6/17/11):

Weekday work will take place between Monday, June 13 and Friday, June 17. All contractors will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM, except for those operating within the limited scope of work described above. Activities will include:

Trenching: Work will continue at the east, center and west transit center sites.

Work will continue on Natoma Street between Fremont and First Streets through Friday, June 17 between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:30 PM.

Work will continue across First Street between Mission and Howard Streets and will be between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

Shoring & Excavation Prep: Work will continue at the east, central and west transit center sites through the end of June between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:30 PM.

Demolition: Demolition of the old bus ramp footings between Folsom and Harrison Streets will continue through the end of June between the hours of 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Demolition work will continue on selected buildings along Natoma Street. The Crusher/Conveyors has been demobilized and is planned to return in August at the west transit center site.

Underground Utilities Work:

Beale Streets (from Mission to Howard Streets): Utility work, and sidewalk and pavement repairs.

Second, First, and Fremont (from Mission to Howard Streets): Utility work, and sidewalk and pavement repairs.

Minna Street (from First to Second Streets): Utility work, and sidewalk and pavement repairs.

Natoma Street (from Fremont to Second Streets): Utility work, and sidewalk and pavement repairs.

Detours, Street and Sidewalk Closures:

The following streets will be temporarily impacted due to project activities. Please review the affected streets below to plan for changes in your vicinity:

Minna Street: Lane restrictions and parking prohibition will continue on Minna between First and Second Street from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Local access to Minna Street will be granted. There will be an SFPD 10B officer or flagger on site to direct access.

Beale Street: Lane restrictions will remain on Beale Street between Mission and Howard Streets between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

Natoma Street: Lane restrictions and parking prohibition will be in effect on Natoma between First and Fremont Street from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Local access to Natoma Street will be granted. There will be an SFPD 10B officer or flagger on site to direct access.

Harrison Avenue: Street lighting improvements are in progress now at Harrison Avenue between Second and Essex Streets. Pedestrians will be diverted to a temp sidewalk in the parking lane.

Folsom Street: Installation of street lamp concrete foundation completed with permanent street light pole and sidewalk to be restored in late June.

Fremont Street: The east sidewalk of Fremont Street will remain closed. Pedestrians must use the west side of Fremont Street until further notice.

First Street: Lane restrictions will remain on First Street between Mission and Howard Streets between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

What to Expect Next Weekend (6/18/11 - 6/19/11):

Beale Street: Underground utility work will continue on Beale Street and between Mission and Howard Street and at the intersection of Howard and Beale Streets Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19 between the hours of 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Detours and lane restrictions will be in effect.

Minna Street: Underground utility work and paving activities will continue on Minna Street between First and Second Streets Saturday, June 18 from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Local access to Minna Street will be granted.

Shoring preparation and demolition activities will continue in the east lot on Saturday, June 18 from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM between Beale and Fremont Streets.

Questions?

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

Construction Hotline:

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

Website:

Please continue to check our website for the most up to date schedule of activities at: http://transbaycenter.org/construction-updates/updates-notices/current-activity

Public Transit:

The TJPA encourages the use of public transportation. Please click on the link provided to assist in all of your public transportation travel needs: http://511.org/ or visit www.temporaryterminal.org

CALL TO ACTION - OPPOSE CA ASSEMBLY BILL 350


Attention BOMA San Francisco Members:

The commercial real estate industry is facing a serious threat from Assembly Bill 350 (AB 350) introduced by Assembly Member Jose Solario (D, Santa Ana) in the California Legislature. This legislation HAS PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AND IS HEADED TO THE STATE SENATE. We need you to contact Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee immediately and ask them to oppose this bill! Both serve on the CA Senate Labor Committee which will be voting on this legislation in a couple of weeks.

CONTACTING THESE TWO CA STATE SENATORS IS IMPERATIVE 

What Will This Bill Do, If Enacted?

This bill would extend existing law requiring janitorial contractors to retain employees who were employed at the site by the previous contractor for at least 60 days to an additional number of services utilized by building owners, including security, building maintenance, landscaping, and window cleaning.

Why Oppose This Measure?
  • It ties management's hands forcing them to retain workers from a previous employer, and undermines California's at-will employment presumption; 
  • It extends the current Displaced Janitor law from 60 days to 90 days;
  • It ensures that the incumbent union will remain the bargaining representative under the "successor employer" doctrine - regardless of whether the successor employer has a collective bargaining agreement or not. The decision to unionize a business should be made following the procedures outlined in the National Labor Relations Act, and not forced on either party, employer or employee, through legislation; 
  • This legislation could pass on the liability of employing undocumented workers to successor employers, thus potentially forcing employers to break Federal law to comply with State law. 
  • Is a terrible precedent that would invite many other worker occupations in other industries to seek the same job protections. 
Act Now!

A sample letter can be downloaded by clicking here. A short backgrounder/fact sheet is available for your use by clicking here.

Members should feel free to personalize the letter.

Letters will be most effective if they are faxed to both the Capitol and District offices. They will be even more effective if followed by a phone call to register your opposition.

Feel free to share this letter with your contacts in the other impacted industries (your landscapers, security contractors, building maintenance firms, window washers, food service vendors, etc.).

Remember to send us a copy of the letter by email to kenc@boma.com or via fax at (415) 362-8634.

The Contact Info:
  • CA Senator Mark Leno (D, San Francisco) 
    • senator.leno@senate.ca.gov
    • Fax 
      • Capitol Office (916) 445-4722 
      • San Francisco District Office (415) 557-1252 
      • San Rafael District Office (415) 479-1146 
    • Phone 
      • Capitol Office (916) 651-4003 
      • San Francisco District Office (415) 557-1300 
      • San Rafael District Office (415) 479-6612 
  • CA Senator Leland Yee (D, San Francisco) 
    • senator.yee@senate.ca.gov
    • Fax 
      • Capitol Office (916) 327-2186 
      • San Francisco District Office (415) 557-7864 
      • San Mateo District Office (650) 340-1661 
    • Phone 
      • Capitol Office (916) 651-4008 
      • San Francisco District Office (415) 557-7857 
      • San Mateo District Office (650) 340-8840 

Commercial Solar Group-Purchasing Program for San Francisco Area Businesses



BOMA San Francisco Members:

The San Francisco Department of the Environment is supporting an exciting new program to help businesses in San Francisco and neighboring jurisdictions obtain affordable solar electric systems and financing through a group-purchasing discount model called Solar@Work. Program participants will be able to go solar with little or no up-front costs through the program's solar lease financing option.

Solar@Work was developed in partnership with the World Resources Institute to (1) secure discounted solar pricing, (2) provide an affordable financing option and (3) stimulate local economic development. Although the official launch is still a couple of weeks away, they'd like to invite you to join a pre-launch conference call to provide more information about the program, answer any questions that you may have and discuss ways to co-market this opportunity.

What: Solar@Work Informational Conference Call
When: Wednesday, June 15 at 11:00 am (PT)
Where: (415) 554-8755 Conference Line

Click here to find details on Solar@Work benefits and eligibility.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

UPDATE: Service and Support Animals in Places of Business and Other Areas

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - June 9, 2011

We've had a number of inquires about the updated regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that are in effect as of March 15, 2011.  The new regulations affect access for people with various service or emotional support animals. Below are some key points you should be aware of.  Please note that the City and County of San Francisco's Policy Remains Unchanged.

Changes to the Definition of Service Animal
  • ONLY dogs (and in some rare cases miniature horses) that are trained to perform tasks for an individual with a physical or mental disability, are now considered service animals under the ADA.
  • This means that other trained animals such as cats or monkeys or birds are no longer allowed in public as service animals.
  • Likewise emotional support or assistance animals that help alleviate symptoms for people with psychiatric disabilities are NOT covered under the ADA.
However, San Francisco policy will remain the same for all city services and for all housing. Both the Fair Housing Amendments’ Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which cities are required to comply with, has a broader definition of service animal. With this broader definition, our current policy will remain in effect for most situations. This means:

You CAN Bring Your Service / Support Animal (of any species) into
  • City and County buildings, agencies and departments such as City Hall, Department of Public Health or the County Clerk.
  • Contracted agencies and programs such as public health clinics, case management or mental health services.
  • Public or private housing, including SROs, homeless shelters and residential treatment programs funded by or contracted with the City.
Under the new ADA Definition, however, there may be some places that will choose to restrict access to service animals that are not dogs, and other support animals. These places include:
  • Restaurants, cafeterias or retailers
  • Hotels, motels, art galleries, movie theaters
  • Offices of private doctors, lawyers and other practitioners not contracted with the City.
Resources
  • For more information regarding these new changes, please contact the intake staff at the Mayor’s Office on Disability at mod@sfgov.org or (415) 554-6789.  
  • Please click here for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Technical Assistance document that addresses common questions regarding service animals; and here for California's definition of service animals and additional resources.

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Original Post - January 10, 2010

As an addendum to the information we posted on the blog related to service animals in commercial buildings and places of business recently, please click here to view the guidelines for service and support animals in San Francisco including:

  • Who qualifies to own a service or support animal?
  • What is a service animal (those that are trained to do work, e.g., dogs, monkeys, birds and miniature horses)?
  • What is a support animal (those that support people with psychological disabilities, e.g., a cat or snake)?
  • An individual's rights with a service and/or support animal.
  • The difference between a service or support animal or pet.
If you have any questions concerning a service or support animal in your building, please contact the Mayor's Office on Disability at mod@sfgov.org or (415) 554-6789.

UPDATE: San Francisco Mobile Food Facilities Permits



Click here to download a detailed version of the Mobile Food Facility Permits map

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - As of June 9,  2011

We've received four new MFF requests:

Any interested party may request additional information or file an objection to the proposed MFF by contacting, in writing, or in person, the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street-Use and Mapping, 875 Stevenson Street, Room 460, San Francisco, CA 94103 or by telephone at (415) 554-5810.

If you are a potential interested party within 300 foot radius of the proposed location, you have the right to object to the issuance of the Mobile Food Facility Permit. To exercise your rights, you must provide written objection within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the letters to the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street-Use & Mapping, 875 Stevenson Street, Room 460, San Francisco, CA 94103 Attn: Mobile Food Facility expressing your concerns and objections. Your envelope must be postmarked no later than date listed in the letter.

Why You Need to be at 2011 BOMA International Convention – Straight from the Speakers



BOMA San Francisco Members:

There are plenty of reasons to attend BOMA 2011 – all-star headliners, cutting–edge education, commercial real estate’s best networking event, a world–class destination, and the list goes on. Perhaps the greatest enticement of all, though, comes from the speakers themselves. Check out BOMA’s new Straight from the Speakers page featuring conversations with thought leaders of featured education sessions at BOMA 2011. Gain insight into the topics, trends and analysis of some of the most anticipated conference education sessions at BOMA 2011 straight from the speakers themselves.

There’s still time to register for BOMA 2011, June 26–28, in Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Introducing the BOMA STARS Program


BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA International is a vocal proponent of making commercial buildings more energy efficient and has rolled out several programs to help our members achieve this goal. A critical step in this process is benchmarking your portfolio using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and sharing your energy management data with BOMA International’s Master Account. By agreeing to share your energy management progress, you help us highlight our industry’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. BOMA uses this data to track the progress of the commercial real estate industry in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the voluntary marketplace. This allows us to show policy makers that we can reduce energy consumption without new mandates. The BOMA STARS campaign recognizes those companies that see the value in this important step as a means to effectively show that market transformation is working.

S Submit data to ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager

T Track progress over time through benchmarking

A Assess energy performance and take steps to reduce consumption

R Rate performance by achieving an ENERGY STAR® rating

S Share your data with BOMA International and achieve recognition as one of the BOMA STARS

Five Reasons to Be BOMA Stars

1. Demonstrate to policymakers that a voluntary marketplace is working.

2. Understand your building’s energy consumption.

3. Be confident that your building’s data is secure; only aggregate data will be reported.

4. Improve energy management and increase NOI.

5. Join the movement for market transformation because it makes sound business sense.

For over 90 years, BOMA has gone to great lengths to ensure that the data your company has submitted for BOMA’s Experience Exchange Report® (EER) is kept confidential in the data collection and reporting processes. EER data is reported only in the aggregate, and no one outside key BOMA staff has access to individual building information. Over the years, we have earned the industry’s confidence. Data shared with the BOMA Master Account through Portfolio Manager is treated similarly. We do not identify the submitters by name or location within a market, and all published data is aggregated to keep this information confidential.

Follow these 5 Easy Steps to Share your ENERGY STAR Data with BOMA International Establish a user account in Portfolio Manager Go to www.energystar.gov/benchmark and login to Portfolio Manager. If you do not have a user account in Portfolio Manager, click the New User link on the Portfolio Manager login page and follow the instructions. Enter your building(s) information and begin tracking energy performance with Portfolio Manager. Get Started: From the My Portfolio page, choose “Share Facilities”
  • Step 1: From the drop down menu labeled “Select a Portfolio Manager Master Account,” look for BOMA International/BOMABEEP and select it from the Master Account Registry. Click CONTINUE.
  • Step 2: Select the access role “Read Only” and “No” for all optional rights. Note: Sharing your account with BOMA International will only allow access to your account for you and the BOMA International Account holder, not for others who share with the BOMA International account.
  • Step 3: If appropriate, choose the Facility Group within the BOMA International/BOMA BEEP Account. Click CONTINUES.
  • Step 4: Select the Facilities to share with BOMA International. You may select all or some of your facilities to share by checking the box to the left of the facility. Click CONTINUE.
  • Step 5: Confirm that all access changes are correct. Review the list of facilities shared and access privileges granted. If facilities or access changes are incorrect, you may return to the previous screen(s) by selecting CANCEL. Once you have reviewed the changes, click SAVE. 
After Sharing 

Continue to update your facility information. As you input new information for your facility(ies)
into Portfolio Manager, the BOMA International/BOMA BEEP Account holder will be able to track the performance of your facility(ies)/portfolio and recognize your successes. 

Apply for recognition from BOMA and EPA

Continue to use Portfolio Manager to track your facilities’ energy performance and demonstrate improvements over time. Your facility (ies) may be eligible to receive the ENERGY STAR label and are one step closer to the BOMA International 360 designation (ENERGY STAR benchmarking is a prerequisite).

If you have any questions, please contact benchmarking@boma.org.

Monday, June 6, 2011

UPDATE: Call to Action! Oppose CA Assembly Bill 350



UPDATE - June 6, 2011

AB 350 which creates a protected class of building services employees – employed with private sector companies – passed the California State Assembly last week.

Should this bill be signed into law, tenants and property managers will not see a change in the staff responsible for day-to-day services when they hire a new company. And new companies – union or non-union – will be forced to take on employees that they have not screened and who may not be up to the required tasks.

AB 350 is extremely unfair to productive workers as it would displace employees who work for a service provider that has successfully competed for a new contract with employees from the previous company that lost the job -- even if the reason for losing the contract was poor performance of the now protected employees.

The measure now moves to the Senate, where BOMA California will work hard both in Sacramento and in the various Senate districts to defeat this measure.

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Original Post - June 6, 2011

Attention BOMA San Francisco Members:

The commercial real estate industry is facing a continued threat from Assembly Bill 350 (AB 350) introduced by Assemblymember Jose Solario (D, Santa Ana) in the California Legislature. This measure has the possibility of being voted on the Assembly Floor as early as May 31, 2011.

What Will This Bill Do, If Enacted?

This bill would extend existing law requiring janitorial contractors to retain employees who were employed at the site by the previous contractor for at least 60 days to an additional number of services utilized by building owners, including security, building maintenance, landscaping, and window cleaning.

BOMA California needs your help! Please take a moment to fax a letter, write an email, or call the California Assemblymembers and Senators (contact if information, below) to express your opposition to this legislation NO LATER THAN CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON MAY 31, 2011.

Why Oppose This Measure?

1. It ties management's hands forcing them to retain workers from a previous employer, and undermining California's at-will employment presumption;

2. It extends the current Displaced Janitor law from 60 days to 90 days;

3. It ensures that the incumbent union will remain the bargaining representative under the "successor employer" doctrine - regardless of whether the successor employer has a collective bargaining agreement or not. The decision to unionize a business should be made following the procedures outlined in the National Labor Relations Act, and not forced on either party, employer or employee, through legislation;

4. This legislation would pass on the liability of employing undocumented workers to successor employers, thus potentially forcing employers to break Federal law to comply with State law.

Who Should I Contact?
A sample letter can be downloaded by clicking here. A short backgrounder/fact sheet is available for your use by clicking here.

Apture