BOMA International National Issues Conference and Winter Business Meeting 2012

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Your BOMA Advocacy Team will be attending the BOMA International Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference from January 30 to February 1, 2012 in Washington D.C.

The Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference provides members from all BOMA locals an opportunity to share ideas, learn from their peers, be a part of shaping the future of BOMA and the commercial real estate industry and to take our message to legislators and regulators in our nation’s capitol.  Click here for more information, and here for a schedule of events.

Our regular flurry of blog posts may diminish while we are in Washington D.C.  Please rest assured that we will be posting news and information from the conference, as well as the political and regulatory issues that affect the local commercial real estate industry in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo Counties as soon as we return.

We Need Your Feedback! - Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA San Francisco leaders have been meeting with representatives of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and Supervisor John Avalos' office to work on an ordinance that would allow tenants' employees to have a secure place to store their bicycle during the workday.  BOMA would like to thank SFBC Executive Director Leah Shahum, Program Manager Marc Caswell and Supervisor Avalos' staff for reaching out to our members for their input.

The current draft of the legislation, Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings Ordinance, is now available for BOMA San Francisco and SFBC members to review and submit their feedback.  Click here access the ordinance.

To help understand the intent of the legislation, BOMA and SFBC staff have worked together to create a helpful Frequently Asked Questions sheet.  Please click here to access that document.

Your feedback is paramount as the first committee hearing at City Hall for this ordinance is tentatively scheduled for mid-February   Please email John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com and Ken Cleaveland at kenc@boma.com with any comments you have.

Thank you, as always, for your time and consideration!

UPDATE: Recent America's Cup Hearing

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - January 25, 2012

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors yesterday voted to reject an appeal that would have prevented the 34th America's Cup from moving forward.

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Original Post - January 20, 2012

In October 2011, Marc Intermaggio, BOMA San Francisco's Executive Vice President, wrote an opinion piece in the San Francisco Examiner titled, America's Cup will be community benefit windfall for SF, Indeed, you can feel Mr. Intermaggio's enthusiasm for the sporting event in his opening paragraph:

Why am I wildly enthusiastic about San Francisco hosting the 2013 America’s Cup sailing race? This is a golden opportunity to leverage our region’s resources to generate much needed revenue for our city and create jobs!Indeed, San Francisco and the Bay Area will benefit from this world class sporting event. That's why we need your help!

Please consider attending the 34th America’s Cup (AC34) Vote to deny the appeal of the AC34 EIR at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors TUESDAY, JANUARY 24th at 4:00 pm, City Hall Room 250.

We are urging the Board of Supervisors to deny the appeals to the AC34 Environmental Impact Report and allow the project to move forward.

If you cannot attend the hearing, but are interested in other ways of supporting the 34th America’s Cup, you can submit a letter of support via email urging the Board of Supervisors commission to deny the appeal of the America’s Cup Environmental Impact Report. Emails of support can be sent to the below email addresses. If you are a San Francisco resident, please include that in your email:

David.Chiu@sfgov.org,

David.Campos@sfgov.org,

John.Avalos@sfgov.org,

Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org,

Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org,

Mark.Farrell@sfgov.org,

Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org,

Jane.Kim@sfgov.org,

Christine.Olague@sfgov.org,

Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org,

Malia.Cohen@sfgov.org

Community Meeting on Transbay Construction Activities

BOMA San Francisco Members:

With the completion of demolition of the old Transbay, excavation of the new Transbay Transit Center site is now in full swing. All around the jobsite, tjhe Transbay team is bustling with activity and would like to invite you to attend their next community meeting to see what exciting things are currently taking place.

Join us on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 to learn more about construction activities, buttress and shoring wall construction, trestle bridges, street closures and hours of activity. The community meeting will be held from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Transbay Joint Powers Authority's (TJPA) offices located at 201 Mission Street, Suite 2100. You're welcome you to bring food or drinks to this meeting.

What:        Community Meeting: Transbay Construction Update

When:       Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Time:        12:00 Noon

Where:     TJPA
                 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.

Important America's Cup Hearing - January 24, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.

BOMA San Francisco Members:

In October 2011, Marc Intermaggio, BOMA San Francisco's Executive Vice President, wrote an opinion piece in the San Francisco Examiner titled, America's Cup will be community benefit windfall for SF,  Indeed, you can feel Mr. Intermaggio's enthusiasm for the sporting event in his opening paragraph:

Why am I wildly enthusiastic about San Francisco hosting the 2013 America’s Cup sailing race? This is a golden opportunity to leverage our region’s resources to generate much needed revenue for our city and create jobs!

Indeed, San Francisco and the Bay Area will benefit from this world class sporting event.   That's why we need your help!

Please consider attending the 34th America’s Cup (AC34) Vote to deny the appeal of the AC34 EIR at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors TUESDAY, JANUARY 24th at 4:00 pm, City Hall Room 250.  

We are urging the Board of Supervisors to deny the appeals to the AC34 Environmental Impact Report and allow the project to move forward.

If you cannot attend the hearing, but are interested in other ways of supporting the 34th America’s Cup, you can submit a letter of support via email urging the Board of Supervisors commission to deny the appeal of the America’s Cup Environmental Impact Report. Emails of support can be sent to the below email addresses. If you are a San Francisco resident, please include that in your email:

David.Chiu@sfgov.org,

David.Campos@sfgov.org,

John.Avalos@sfgov.org,

Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org,

Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org,

Mark.Farrell@sfgov.org,

Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org,

Jane.Kim@sfgov.org,

Christine.Olague@sfgov.org,

Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org,

Malia.Cohen@sfgov.org

We Need Your Feedback! - Disability Access (ADA) Improvements for Small Businesses and Landlord Obligations

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please take a moment to review an ordinance recently submitted by Supervisor David Chiu - Disability Access Improvements for Small Businesses and Landlord Obligations.  BOMA San Francisco Codes and Regulations Committee members and Advocacy team have been meeting with the Supervisor and his staff to understand its potential impact on the aggregate commercial real estate industry.  We'd like to thank Supervisor Chiu for his early outreach to BOMA San Francisco to enlist our feedback.

The Disability Access legislation would mandate commercial property owners make their first floor entrances handicap accessible before they could lease/release their, usually, first-floor retail spaces to tenants. It places the burden of non-compliant entrances squarely on the landlord. If signed into law, this ordinance will have a particularly large impact on small commercial property owners in San Francisco.

This is where your assistance is needed.  Please review the ordinance by clicking here and the legislative digest, here.  Please send your feedback to Ken Cleaveland at kenc@boma.com and John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com.

SFDBI 2012 Disabled Access Valuation Threshold

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please note that the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (SFDBI) has updated the Disabled Access Valuation Threshold for 2012 to $136,060.00 (from $132,536.28 in 2011) per 2007 California Building Code (CBC) Section 1134B.2.1 Exception 1, and will be updated again in January 2013.

Background - Disabled Access Valuation Threshold & Disabled Access 20% Rule

Based on CBC 1134B.2.1, Exception 1, only projects with a construction cost less than the valuation threshold (current ENR Construction Cost Index Amount) are eligible for the 20% rule, where the project must provide disabled access upgrades up to 20% of the cost of construction in the required priority as listed on page 2 of the Disabled Access Checklist.  In general, projects valued over the threshold are not eligible for the 20% rule (see CBC 1134.2.1 Exception 2 for a possible exception, below).

CBC 1134B.2.1 Exception 2 (abbreviated): In alteration projects involving buildings & facilities previously approved & built without elevators, areas above & below the ground floor are subject to the 20% disproportionality provisions described in Exception 1, even if the value of the project exceeds the valuation threshold in Exception 1.  Refer to the Code for the types of buildings & facilities that qualifies for this 20% disproportionality provisions when project valuation is over the threshold.

To access the SFDBI's Disabled Access Upgrade Compliance Package for Existing Buildings Only, please click here.  If you have any questions about the valuation threshold, or general disabled access issues, please contact the Department of Building Inspection at dbicustomerservice@sfgov.org or (415) 558-6088.

Congress Returns with Tax ‘Extenders’ Fate Uncertain

BOMA San Francisco Members:

With Congress returning to Washington this week and next, the fate of the tax "extenders" package remains in doubt. In 2011, Congress failed to extend a package of expiring tax provisions, which includes the 15–year timeline for depreciating leasehold improvements. Building owners must now return to the 39–year schedule unless Congress passes legislation to apply the reduced timeline to 2012 and beyond.

At this point the timeline for consideration is uncertain, and being an election year it’s conceivable that Congress could wait until after the November election to address these tax provisions, as they did in 2010.

BOMA/USGBC Launch New Report on Sustainability Policy Options

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA International was among 15 partner organizations who joined the U.S. Green Building Council January 18th to announce the release of a report that recommends nearly three dozen executive actions across 23 agency programs where the Obama Administration can drive the economic and environmental benefits of green building without new legislation. 

The report, Better Buildings though Executive Action: Leveraging Existing Authorities to Promote Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Multifamily and Commercial Buildings, builds on a 2010 report that identified nearly 100 legal authority opportunities across 30 existing federal programs worth more than $72 billion to improve energy efficiency in U.S. building stock.

Read the full press release.

To download the full report, visit www.usgbc.org/ExecutiveAction.

UPDATE: San Francisco Redistricting Task Force - Proposed District Boundaries and Community Meetings

UPDATE - January 19, 2012

BOMA San Francisco Members:

If you are a registered voter in San Francisco, please pay close attention to your supervisorial district line as the boundaries may change based on the Redistricting Task Force's recommendations.  Indeed, as of January 4, 2012, the first draft of redrawn district lines has been published.  Please review the proposed district boundaries by clicking on the image below.

These maps are works-in-progress and do not represent any final determinations by the Task Force. The maps are posted for informational purposes only, and they have not been reviewed for compliance with all legal requirements. The Task Force intends to revise the maps at future meetings and welcomes public input on the maps. Comments may be submitted at meetings, by e-mail to rdtf@sfgov.org, or in-person to the Redistricting Task Force Clerk, City Hall, Room 244.

Please note that the San Francisco Redistricting Task Force Community Outreach Meetings have commenced. Please click here to view the meeting schedule and consider attending a meeting if you live in San Francisco.

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Original Post - March 30, 2011 

Are you a registered voter in San Francisco?  Interested in 2011 San Francisco census data and how it affects your supervisorial district's boundaries?   Then you might be a candidate for the  San Francisco 2011 Redistricting Task Force.  More detailed information is below and here.  Each of the three appointing authorities – the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and the Elections Commission – probably have different criteria. By unanimous approval at the March 16, 2011, meeting of the Elections Commission, it has selected the following minimum criteria for its three appointments:

Applicants must

• Be registered to vote in San Francisco and have voted in San Francisco at least once since January 1, 2006;
• Represent San Francisco’s diverse population; 
• Have not been paid by a political campaign since January 1, 2006;
• Not currently a direct-hire employee of an elected official of the City and County of San Francisco;
• Have general knowledge of San Francisco’s neighborhoods and geography;
• Have flexible schedule for attending meetings; and
• Not have a conflict of interest that is prohibited under conflict laws applicable to other City officers.

The Elections Commission invites applicants to send a letter that includes the following information

• A statement confirming that you fit all of the seven minimum criteria stated above; and
• A statement of interest, explaining why you want to serve and what your qualifications are; and
• A statement confirming that you have enough time to attend the meetings of the task force; and
• A resume, and/or a statement of relevant background.

NOTE that the application deadline is April 5, 2011

The Elections Commission intends to hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. in City Hall (room to be determined) to discuss the applications and interview applicants. Applicants should attend this meeting.

Following this, the Elections Commission might consider the applications at its regular meeting on May 18, 2011, and intends to make its three selections at its regular meeting on June 15, 2011.  Obviously, in the event that the Board of Supervisors does not convene a Redistricting Task Force, then none of these appointments shall have any effect.

Please call or email the Elections Commission’s acting secretary, Gail Hilliard at Gail.Hilliard@sfgov.org (please put “Redistricting Task Force” in the subject line) or 415.554.7494.

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What is redistricting?

Every ten years, the Federal Government conducts a census to determine the number of individuals living in the United States. After the census is completed, the Charter requires the Director of Elections to determine whether the existing supervisorial districts meet the legal requirements established by federal, state and local law. If the existing supervisorial districts no longer comply with these legal requirements, the Charter requires the Board of Supervisors to convene an Elections Task Force to redraw the supervisorial district lines. The process of redrawing the supervisorial district lines is known as redistricting. The Director of Elections has not yet made this determination (as of March 28, 2011), but in the event that he finds that the districts must be redrawn and if the Board of Supervisors convenes a task force, the Elections Commission wants to find outstanding candidates as quickly as possible.

How does redistricting work?

If convened, the Elections Task Force will consist of nine members. The Mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the Elections Commission each appoint three members. These nine individuals work with City staff and outside consultants to determine how the supervisorial district lines should be redrawn so that the districts comply with the legal requirements established in federal, state and local law. As part of this process, the Elections Task Force holds multiple community hearings to receive input from the people of San Francisco. Throughout this process and based on community input, the Elections Task Force will make several changes to the existing supervisorial district lines. The Elections Task Force must present a final plan outlining the new supervisorial district lines to the Board of Supervisors in April 2012.

What are the legal requirements for supervisorial districts?

The members of the Elections Task Force must consider federal, state and local legal requirements when redrawing supervisorial district lines. For more on these legal requirements, please see http://www.sfgov2.org/index.aspx?page=270

UPDATE: Better Market Street Project - Reports

UPDATE - January 19, 2012

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The City has released the first set of reports for the Better Market Street Project.  The 'Best Practices’ and ‘Existing Conditions' reports provide detailed research on the state of Market Street today and identifies alternate uses for the corridor based on exemplary precedents around the world. The Better Market Street Project was initiated to revitalize the Market Street corridor -- from the Embarcadero to Octavia Boulevard -- and to re-establish the street as the premier cultural, civic, and economic center for San Francisco and the Bay Area. 

The reports serve as an archive of the feedback gathered from the May 2011 public outreach workshops and includes information on how San Franciscans and other Bay Area residents feel and view Market Street. The reports will be used as reference for the ongoing planning and design efforts for the project. 

Click here to review the reports.

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BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please consider attending one of the following two workshops on the Better Market Street Project: 

May 17, 2011 

TUESDAY 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. 

The Warfield 

982 Market Street near 6th Street 

May 24, 2011 

TUESDAY 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. 

Hotel Whitcomb 

1231 Market Street near 8th Street 

Can't attend the workshops? 

Sign up for a Webinar at www.bettermarketstreetsf.org

Webinars: 

Thursday, May 19

Wednesday, May 25

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

The same information will be provided at each public workshop and webinar. Meeting materials will also be available at www.bettermarketstreetsf.org. For special accommodations and language assistance at a meeting, call (415) 227-1100 x118 at least 72 hours in advance.

Background

The Better Market Street project offers a special opportunity to envision a new Market Street that is more beautiful and green; has enlivened public plazas and sidewalks full of cafes; showcases public art and performances; provides dedicated bicycle facilities; and delivers efficient and reliable transit.

The goal of the project is to revitalize Market Street from Octavia Boulevard to The Embarcadero and reestablish the street as the premier cultural, civic and economic center of San Francisco and the Bay Area. The new design should create a comfortable, universally accessible, sustainable, and enjoyable place that attracts more people on foot, bicycle and public transit to visit shops, adjacent neighborhoods and area attractions.

To realize this goal, the Department of Public Works, the Planning Department, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the Mayor's Office of Workforce and Economic Development, together with community partners, are initiating an effort to reimagine this public space to become a "Better Market Street." The goals include: Urban design that reflects local identities and encourages more social, cultural, and economic activities; and substantially enhanced conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians, and public transit riders.

The Better Market Street Project is an initiative between city agencies and community partners to improve San Francisco's most important street. For more information on the Better Market Street Project, please call (415) 558-4045, or visit the project website.

California Energy Commission Postpones Release of Proposed Energy Standards

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The California Energy Commission (CEC) needs additional time to complete the full regulatory packet and has pushed back the release of their proposed changes to California’s Energy Efficiency Building Standards (Title 24, Part 6).

The CEC had intended to release the formal 45-Day Language package during the first week of January, however, they recently pushed that release date back to the last week of February. In the meantime, industry representatives have been meeting with members of the CEC administration to voice our objection over the bad timing of this historically large increase in proposed stringency and the related costs associated with those changes.

Any concerns or comments you have on these regulations would be welcome.   Please email Mathew Hargrove at mhargrove@cbpa.com.  For more information on this complicated process and to read proposed changes that will impact your business, visit the CEC website. 

California Redevelopment Needs BOMA Members' Support

BOMA San Francisco Members:

A Redevelopment Bill has been introduced in the California Legislature, and it needs BOMA member support to move forward. 

SB 659 (Padilla; D-Los Angeles) will postpone the February 1, 2012 deadline to begin dissolution of redevelopment agencies. The delay until April 15, 2012 will give time to address implementation issues that have come up as the result of the recent court ruling.

Without passage of this bill, agencies will be dissolved on February 1, leading to lawsuits, layoffs, delays, and confusion.

Over one hundred statewide and local labor, public safety, business groups, and affordable housing advocates have joined the “Coalition for Jobs and Neighborhood Renewal” in support of SB 659. Today we delivered a letter to the legislature urging them to pass SB 659 to allow time to develop a new job creation and neighborhood renewal program.

Read the press release by clicking here. And read the letter by clicking here.

Call your legislators TODAY and urge them to support SB 659 (Padilla) to postpone the February 1 dissolution date to provide time to fix many of the serious problems that have come up.

Find your legislators and their contact info here.

UPDATE: BOMA Bay Area 2012 EARTH Award Application Now Available + EARTH Award Workshop

BOMA San Francisco and BOMA Oakland East Bay Members:

UPDATE - January 13, 2012

The BOMA San Francisco Energy & Environment Committee held a BOMA Bay Area Earth Award workshop at the Transamerica Pyramid today.  It was an informative session that was well attended by BOMA Oakland/East Bay and BOMA San Francisco building members.

Thank you to our volunteer BOMA member speakers who helped guide attendees through the entire Earth Award application.

Please be sure to submit your BOMA Bay Area Earth Award application TODAY!  The deadline is February 10, 2012.

Click here to submit your building in the contest! 

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UPDATE - January 4, 2012


A brown bag lunch session will be presented by the BOMA San Francisco Energy & Environment Committee to guide member building owners and managers through the 2012 EARTH Awards application process.

If you'd like to attend, please contact John Bozeman at (415) 686-9652 at johnb@boma.com.

The free workshop will be held at The Transamerica Pyramid Center, 600 Montgomery Street, 48th Floor, San Francisco, CA from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on January 13, 2012. BOMA San Francisco and East Bay members may register and stop-by at any point during this time frame for hands-on assistance with their application.

Individuals from various organizations and vendors will be on-hand to provide resources and answer questions regarding the sustainable practices measured by the 2012 EARTH Award Application: Landfill Waste & Diversion, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Hazardous Materials, Purchasing, Transportation, and Tenant Education.  The EARTH Award Application is due Friday, February 10, 2012.

Click here to submit your building in the contest! 

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Original Post - November 2, 2011

The 2012 BOMA Bay Area EARTH Award Application is now available.  Click here to submit your building in the contest!  The application deadline is February 10, 2012.

The BOMA Bay Area EARTH Award recognizes member buildings that utilize the most comprehensive resource management programs, including commercial recycling programs, energy and water conservation efforts, air quality and toxics reduction programs, support for public transportation, and effective use of tenant education programs geared to promoting sustainability practices in commercial office buildings. The EARTH Award program is an opportunity for BOMA Bay Area members to consider the entire spectrum of programs and practices that constitute an effective 'sustainability program' for office buildings including what policies and procedures should be adopted that can help move a property toward becoming 'green'.

Please click here to review the 2011 BOMA Bay Area Earth Award Winners

If you have any questions, please contact Zach Brown, BOMA San Francisco's Energy & Environment Committee Co-Chair.  

UPDATE: San Francisco Mobile Food Facilities Permits Issue on KQED's Forum Radio Program

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

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - As of January 12, 2012

The issue of Mobile Food Facilities (Food Trucks) was discussed on KQED's Forum radio program recently. Forum participants included:

• Ken Cleaveland, BOMA San Francisco's Director of Government and Public Affairs
• Matthew Cohen, founder of Off the Grid
• Rob Black, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association
• Tim Volkema, co-owner of the Kasa Indian eatery and the Kasa Indian food truck

Please click here to listen to the discussion. BOMA San Francisco's Advocacy Team is working with Supervisor Scott Wiener to help address the proliferation of Food Trucks in the Financial District and other issues raised by the various stakeholders.  We will continue to update BOMA members on the progress of the dialogue in future blog posts. Stay tuned!

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UPDATE - As of October 13, 2011


NOTE - the San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFDPW) has initiated the posting of the Notices of Intent for Mobile Food Facilities.  Please bookmark this webpage  and continue to check it for updated information going forward: http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1463.  The webpage includes the following data:

• What happens next? - Protests, Denial, DPW Administrative Hearing and Permit Appeals
• Check Scheduled Hearings 

Your BOMA San Francisco Advocacy team is working tenaciously with BOMA members, Supervisor Scott Wiener and his staff (who have been very helpful!) and the SFDPW staff to assuage the various issues that BOMA members have had - specifically ground floor retail tenants - with regard to the proliferation of Mobile Food Facilities in the Financial District and adjacent Districts.

We look forward to our next meeting with all stakeholders and will notify BOMA members in a future blog post of the meeting date, time and possible discussion points.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Ken Cleaveland at kenc@boma.com and John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com.

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We've received two Mobile Food Facilities permit applications:

• Link 1
• Link 2

You can click here to review the MMF permit requests we've received to date.

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.

Leasehold Depreciation Provision Lapses – Payroll Tax Cut Extended

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Prior to leaving Washington in 2011, Congress approved a two–month payroll tax cut extension just eight days before its scheduled expiration. Typically, this 12.4 percent tax is split evenly between employees and employers. However, a bill President Obama signed into law in 2010 reduced the employees’ portion to 4.2 percent while employers continued to pay 6.2 percent in 2011. The payroll tax cut extension became the primary issue of concern in the remaining days and weeks of the first half of the 112th Congress. This meant less focus by lawmakers on the expiring package of tax "extenders," which includes the 15–year timeline for leasehold improvements. Consequently, building owners must return to depreciating leasehold improvements over a 39–year period. BOMA International will continue to raise awareness of the adverse economic impact this tax change will have and continue to advocate for extension of the 15–year provision in 2012 and beyond. BOMA will also continue to push for it to be considered on a permanent basis in the context of overall tax reform.

San Francisco Controller's Office Report: October 2011 Economic Barometer

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Highlights from the October 2011 Economic Barometer Report:

• San Francisco's labor market picture continued to gradually brighten in the fall of 2011, with unemployment falling to 8.1%. This compares with 9.3% the previous October, and represents the lowest unemployment rate in the city since February 2009.
• Private-sector job creation is finally beginning to drive down unemployment. 16,200 jobs were created in the 3-county San Francisco metropolitan division since October 2010. 15,200 of those jobs were in the private sector, with particular growth in the professional services, and leisure and hospitality industries.
• Tourism appears to be close to a full recovery from the recession. Hotel rates, as noted in the chart below, are at an all-time high in October, while employment in restaurants and bars is 2,000 greater than it was 3 years ago.
• The recovery in employment has led to increases in commercial rents and occupancy, though not yet to pre-recession levels. Average housing sales prices remain weak, at 2.6% below the level of October 2010.

Please click here for the full report.

UPDATE: BOMA Bay Area 2012 EARTH Award Application Now Available + EARTH Award Workshop on January 13th

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - January 4, 2012


A brown bag lunch session will be presented by the BOMA San Francisco Energy & Environment Committee to guide member building owners and managers through the 2012 EARTH Awards application process.

If you'd like to attend, please contact John Bozeman at (415) 686-9652 at johnb@boma.com.

The free workshop will be held at The Transamerica Pyramid Center, 600 Montgomery Street, 48th Floor, San Francisco, CA from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on January 13, 2012. BOMA San Francisco and East Bay members may register and stop-by at any point during this time frame for hands-on assistance with their application.

Individuals from various organizations and vendors will be on-hand to provide resources and answer questions regarding the sustainable practices measured by the 2012 EARTH Award Application: Landfill Waste & Diversion, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Hazardous Materials, Purchasing, Transportation, and Tenant Education.  The EARTH Award Application is due Friday, February 10, 2012.

Click here to submit your building in the contest! 

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

Original Post - November 2, 2011

The 2012 BOMA Bay Area EARTH Award Application is now available.  Click here to submit your building in the contest!  The application deadline is February 10, 2012.

The BOMA Bay Area EARTH Award recognizes member buildings that utilize the most comprehensive resource management programs, including commercial recycling programs, energy and water conservation efforts, air quality and toxics reduction programs, support for public transportation, and effective use of tenant education programs geared to promoting sustainability practices in commercial office buildings. The EARTH Award program is an opportunity for BOMA Bay Area members to consider the entire spectrum of programs and practices that constitute an effective 'sustainability program' for office buildings including what policies and procedures should be adopted that can help move a property toward becoming 'green'.

Please click here to review the 2011 BOMA Bay Area Earth Award Winners

If you have any questions, please contact Zach Brown, BOMA San Francisco's Energy & Environment Committee Co-Chair.  

CAPSS - Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety Update

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The New Year will bring a Year of Action for earthquake preparedness in San Francisco.

The year will begin with the publication of Safe Enough to Stay in the SPUR Urbanist. The focus of this SPUR study is: What will it take for San Franciscans to be able to shelter in their homes after an earthquake? The advantages of a shelter-in-place strategy are many – supporting neighborhoods and communities, reducing demands for emergency and interim housing, encouraging rapid recovery, and more.

A related Safe Enough to Stay exhibition will be presented at the SPUR Urban Center Gallery from February 7 to April 4, 2012. You are invited to attend the Exhibition Opening on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 6: to 8: PM. More information is available by clicking here.

The CAPSS team could use your help in preparing and constructing this exhibition – I can guarantee that it will be a lot of fun and a challenge! Please feel free to join them and others for upcoming planning and construction activities. Email Laurence.Kornfield@sfgov.org if you can join them for any of the following:

• Safe Enough to Stay exhibition planning on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 11:30 AM at the SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco. 

• Follow-up exhibition planning on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 11:30 AM at the SPUR Urban Center. Exhibition construction – including building a full-sized San Francisco apartment following an earthquake! – will take place from January 23-27. More details of construction schedule in future emails.