Controller's Office Report: Economic Barometer: Quarter 1, 2013

BOMA San Francisco Members:

The Office of the Controller has issued the Economic Barometer: Quarter 1, 2013. The Economic Barometer gives users the ability to make their own tables and chart with data on San Francisco's economy.

Highlights:

• In April 2013, unemployment rates fell below 6% for the first time since October 2008 to 5.4%.
• Much of the employment growth has been driven by the Construction industry, which grew by nearly 14% in the San Francisco Metro Division.
• The growth in construction employment is supported by an increase new building permits, which started seeing year-to-year growth in the 2^nd quarter of 2012.
• Average quarterly number of units in buildings with new permits are up by nearly 50% from last year.

About the Economic Barometer

The purpose of the Economic Barometer (EB) is to provide the public, elected officials, and City staff with a current snapshot of San Francisco economic indicators. The EB reviews general economy-wide employment indicators, as well as major sectors of San Francisco's economy, including real estate, tourism, and retail.

The Controller has created a website that will, going forward, be a repository for this information.  The site can be accessed at http://sfbarometer.weebly.com.  Updates can also be accessed onTwitter: https://twitter.com/sfcontroller

Recent changes to the Economic Barometer

• The Economic Barometer is now part of the SFOpenBook transparency portal.
• Quarterly residential rent was added to the Real Estate indicators.
• Government performance measures have been added to the Build Your Own visual.

UPDATE: San Francisco Mobile Food Facilities Permits

UPDATE - May 30, 2013

The various stakeholders, including BOMA San Francisco, met recently with Supervisor Scott Wiener to discuss a compromise solution to the existing state of Mobile Food Facilities in San Francisco. BOMA members are interested in legislative reform that includes:

• A reasonable distance of 75 feet between street parked food trucks.
• Permit expiration time frame - none exists at present.
• Notification of permit application to the property owner of record.

More information, including an updated draft of the legislation will be available from the City Attorney's office in the near-term for BOMA member review.

If you have any questions regarding Mobile Food Facilities, please email kenc@boma.com.

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UPDATE - January 4, 2013

The San Francisco Examiner published an article today that details the ongoing stakeholder discussion regarding Mobile Food Facilities.  BOMA San Francisco members and staff have been at the table advocating for respectable concessions for our members' ground floor tenants.

If you have any questions regarding Mobile Food Facilities, please email kenc@boma.com.

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UPDATE - November 6, 2012

Please click on the links below review to measures that Supervisor Scott Wiener has introduced at the Board of Supervisors regarding Mobile Food Facilities.

• Mobile Food Facilities at Certain Institutions in Specified Districts
• Mobile Food Facilities – Locational Requirements
• Transportation Code - Selling or Distributing from a Vehicle Restrictions 

These measures, in aggregate, will amend existing regulations for Mobile Food Facilities (MFF or food trucks) to eliminate the current 'like food' consideration for appeals to MFF permit applications.  Indeed, it's the only consideration for a permit appeal at present - i.e., a food truck selling like food that is similar to an adjacent brick and mortar establishment.  The ordinance will also specify distances between trucks, the parking duration and add significant areas throughout San Francisco for MFF operators to sell food. 

Your BOMA San Francisco Advocacy team urges you to review these documents and critique them for content and effectiveness.  Send your comments to kenc@boma.com and johnb@boma.com.  The measure will be sent to the Board of Supervisors' Land Use and Economic Development Committee for a minimum of 30 days before being further considered or amended.

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Original Post - May 21, 2012

Click here to go to an interactive real-time map of approved and requested Moblie Food Permits 

BOMA San Francisco Members:

NOTE - the San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFDPW) has been updating interested parties regarding approved and requested (i.e., Notices of Intent) Mobile Food Facilities permits.  Please bookmark the following webpage and continue to review it for updated information on the status of requested permits near your property: http://bsm.sfdpw.org/mobilefoodpermits/.

Notices of Intent (NOI) detail locations, hours of operation, and menus for a proposed Mobile Food Facility permit.  In addition to the interactive map, you can also download a list of NOI Mobile Food Facility permits by visiting the SFDPW webpage and clicking on NOI - Status.

Your BOMA San Francisco Advocacy team is continuing to work tenaciously with BOMA members, Supervisor Scott Wiener and his staff and the SFDPW staff to assuage the various issues that BOMA members have had with regard to the proliferation of Mobile Food Facilities in the Financial District and adjacent Districts.

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

UPDATE: SFMTA Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee

UPDATE - May 28, 2013

BOMA San Francisco Members:

San Francisco’s Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee, a group of 16 stakeholders gathered by the Mayor’s Office on Disability and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), have announced an integrated set of recommended state and city policy changes intended to improve parking access for people with disabilities.

Learn more at the project web page
Read the overview brochure (PDF)

Thank you to BOMA member Jeff Spicker with Parking Concepts, Inc. for representing BOMA members on the advisory committee.

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Original Post - December 7, 2012

BOMA San Francisco's Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) member Jeff Spicker with Parking Concepts Inc. will volunteer his time and expertise as BOMA's representative on the SFMTA Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee.  Mr. Spicker will provide updates on the group's discussions and actions to members of the GAPAC when warranted.

The Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee will review and make recommendations regarding on-street accessible parking policies, including those governing disabled placards and blue zones. These issues affect access and mobility for people with disabilities in San Francisco, whether they travel by car, paratransit, or public transit.

Accessible parking policies affect all transportation in the city: when parking is crowded, drivers circle the block and double-park, congesting the streets, slowing transit, and decreasing pedestrian safety. When parking is difficult to find, access is reduced, especially for those with disabilities.

To improve access, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) would like to assess and improve how it manages accessible parking. The problem of too much demand for too few spaces is critical: San Francisco has 29,200 metered on-street parking spaces but 60,750 disabled placards have been issued in San Francisco as of November 2012, with an additional 453,830 issued in the surrounding eight Bay Area counties. With these numbers, it is important to gather stakeholders to assess accessible parking policies and consider solutions.

Please click here to review the Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee summary.

Proposition 13 Split-Roll Tax Would Backfire On The Economy

Split-Roll Tax Would Backfire On The Economy

By: Steven Ring, President of BOMA San Francisco and Ken Cleaveland, Vice President of Public Policy.  Published in the San Francisco Examiner on May 20, 2013.

Why should you care if Proposition 13 opponents raise taxes on commercial real estate properties through their proposed “split-roll” tax? You’ve got no skin in that game, right?

Dead wrong! The split-roll proponents say they’re just raising $6 billion in needed government revenues by rejiggering the tax rates. Who do they think owns these buildings? Owners include hundreds of thousands of small investors in real estate investment trusts and other forms of collective real estate ownership. Retirees who depend on pension funds, insurance annuities and their own personal portfolios to supplement their incomes will lose revenue.

And what will happen when landlords pass through those tax hikes to their tenants — as most leases require? You will be indirectly affected even if you pay no taxes and own no shares of commercial real estate. In fact, almost 400,000 workers are predicted to lose their jobs across the California economy if the split-roll proposal passes.

Let’s do some simple economics. When you increase any company’s taxes, it must reduce its spending on employees, goods, services, and research and development. This reduction impacts the entire community a little bit. If thousands of companies (commercial tenants) must absorb these hidden tax hikes, then their spending reductions impact the community on a massive scale.

The government will enjoy the new property tax revenue for only a short while before the greater tax impact is felt by the entire community. Less business spending translates into declining revenue from other taxes, such as income, sales and user fees. These are the revenues all governments need for vital services such as mass transit, police, fire, education, infrastructure maintenance and repair, sanitation, etc.

When people are laid off, government must boost spending on unemployment benefits, medical, housing and so on, further reducing its finite resources. The proposed “split-roll” tax would convert some taxpayers into costly welfare dependents. When businesses spend less on merchandise and services, other businesses must cut back, producing a secondary downward spiral … and so on.

At some point, tax-and-spend proponents will wring their hands and realize that increasing property taxes on commercial entities failed to produce the money they want for their programs. So what will they propose next? Increasing property tax rates on every type of property including homes, apartments and nonprofit institutions? Such a move would just further reduce the buying power of every taxpayer and citizen in California, who would have less money to spend on goods and services, further slowing down our state’s economic growth.

The unintended consequences of this ugly and ill-conceived split-roll tax proposal by well-meaning government officials ignores the complex repercussions such an action would have on California’s economy, effectively reversing the slow recovery our state has experienced to date. It’s time to write your state Assembly representative and senator and urge them not to support this indirect attack on California’s small businesses and to withdraw any support for a split-roll tax.

A macroeconomic study out of Pepperdine University about the net impact of the split-roll proposal concludes that raising $6 billion in this manner “would result in lost economic output and decreased employment,” including as much as “$71.8 billion dollars of lost output and 396,345 lost jobs over the first five years of a split-roll property tax regime. These losses would be even greater in succeeding years.”

What’s more, the study predicted, “A split-roll property tax valuation system would also further undermine the attractiveness of the business climate in California — especially among small businesses.”

Simply put, promoting higher property taxes on commercial properties — a split-roll tax — doesn’t make economic sense. Passage of such a measure would be a Pyrrhic victory at best.

UPDATE: Information on Bike Sharing Pilot Program for Downtown San Francisco from the SFMTA

BOMA San Francisco Members:

UPDATE - May 20, 2013

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will be hosting the first local open house for Bay Area Bike Share on Thursday, May 30. 2013 at the North Light Court in San Francisco’s City Hall, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about and discuss bicycle sharing, the regional pilot, and planning and implementation details for San Francisco. The public is invited to share ideas for pilot and expansion station locations for the new bike share system.

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UPDATE - March 18, 2013

On February 26, 2013, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a notice to Alta Bicycle Share authorizing them to deploy and operate a pilot regional bike-sharing system in the cities of San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Redwood City and San Francisco. The first phase of the project will deploy a fleet of approximately 350 bicycles and 35 kiosk stations in San Francisco and is anticipated to launch by August 2013.

For the system to reach its full potential in the region and San Francisco, additional funding will be needed to grow the system and the partners are actively seeking sponsors. In the short term, once additional funding is secured, the pilot system will be expanded to deploy at least an additional 150 bicycles at 15 kiosk stations in San Francisco. Longer term, a system size of up to 10,000 bikes regionally with several thousand bicycles in San Francisco is envisioned.

The SFMTA is prioritizing locations for the first 35 stations and will be reengaging with the public and contacting properties adjacent to these locations.

If you have any questions please contact Matt Lasky at matt.lasky@sfmta.com.

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Original Post - July 14, 2011

Bike sharing is coming to San Francisco! A regional pilot program led by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) in partnership with the SFMTA will bring approximately 50 bike share stations and 500 bikes to San Francisco’s downtown core beginning in spring 2012. The SFMTA is working with a regional team to implement this pilot along the Caltrain corridor in San Francisco, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Jose and shown in this Regional Bike Sharing System map. The project is funded through a combination of local, regional and federal grants with major funding coming from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Innovative Bay Area Climate Initiatives Grant Program (BACI).

What is bike sharing?

Similar to car sharing, bicycle sharing is a term used to describe a membership-based system of short-term bicycle rental. Members can check a bicycle out from a network of automated bicycle stations, ride to their destination, and return the bicycle to a different station. Bicycle sharing is enjoying a global explosion in growth with the development of purpose-built bicycles and stations that employ high tech features like smartcards, solar power, and wireless internet and GPS technologies.

Who is involved with launching the San Francisco bike sharing system?

The BAAQMD is the overall regional project lead, coordinating the planning and implementation efforts of the local partners: the City and County of San Francisco, the Cities of San Jose, Mountain View and Palo Alto in Santa Clara County and the City of Redwood City in San Mateo County. The SFMTA is leading the project in San Francisco, and we are working in cooperation with our City and County partners, including the Planning Department, Department of Public Works, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the Port of San Francisco. The regional partners will be selecting a contractor in fall 2011 to install, operate, and manage the system.

Where will bike sharing be located in San Francisco?

As the San Francisco Bicycle Sharing Pilot Service Area map (PDF) presents, in San Francisco, the pilot service area will be centered in San Francisco’s employment- and transit-rich Downtown/SOMA corridor between the Financial District, Market Street and the Transbay and Caltrain terminals. This area is notably flat, has the densest bikeway network coverage in San Francisco and enjoys the highest levels of cycling, yet those who commute by transit from cities to the east and south encounter difficulties bringing a bicycle with them on BART or Caltrain. Much of San Francisco’s densely urbanized northeastern quadrant is similarly well-suited to bicycle sharing.

When will bike sharing launch in San Francisco?

The regional partners will be selecting a vendor to install, operate, and manage the bike sharing system in 2011 with the goal of a system launch in Spring/Summer 2012!

Further Information

If you have any questions, comments or feedback about bike sharing, contact the SFMTA atsustainable.streets@sfmta.com.
Explore:
Overview
Pilot Area

UPDATE - Planning Commission Unanimously Approves Amendments for Bicycle Parking

Image retrieved here

UPDATE - May 17, 2013

The proposal for new bicycle parking requirements was approved yesterday by the San Francisco Planning Commission with a 6 to 0 vote.  It will amend the current bicycle parking requirements in the Planning Code in response to an increase in bike use in San Francisco.

The new amendment to the Planning Code will reflect the national standards for bicycle parking, and allow San Francisco to incorporate best practices from other bike-friendly cities such as Portland, New York, and Vancouver. The proposal will categorize the bicycle parking requirement into two types:

1. Long-term parking geared towards residents and employees of buildings; and
2. Short-term parking serving commercial building visitors.

The requirements will vary depending on the building use, such as residential, retail, clinic or an office, and the building’s volume of bicycle trips. The proposal also allows flexibility for property owners to convert required car parking spaces for bicycle parking. In addition, the proposal will include a bicycle parking manual, a comprehensive overview of the design and layout guidelines for different types of bicycle racks.

Since August 2012, the San Francisco Planning Department worked closely with San Francisco Bike Coalition, BOMA San Francisco, San Francisco Residential Building Associations, Union Square Community Benefit District, Real Estate Department, the Department of Environment, and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to understand and address their concerns on the proposed bicycle parking requirements.

Next Steps

The proposal is anticipated to go before the Board of Supervisors in June 2013. If the proposal is adopted, garages and buildings owned and leased by the City will be required to upgrade the bicycle facilities within one year to comply with the new Planning Code standards. The proposal will also require new and renovated privately owned commercial buildings, and new residential buildings to comply with the bicycle parking requirements.

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UPDATE - May 14, 2013

The San Francisco Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the proposed planning code amendments for bicycle parking on Thursday, May 16, 2013 commencing at 12 Noon.  BOMA San Francisco members and your BOMA Advocacy Team have been working with the Planning Department staff on this proposal over the last few months.  We will be reviewing the latest draft of the proposal (also below: Exhibit G) to determine if our member's concerns have been addressed as noted in the last  blog post on March 29, 2013.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the changes, please email johnb@boma.com.

Resources

• Executive Summary
• Exhibit A: Excerpt from SFMTA’s Bicycling Strategy on benefits of bicycling
• Exhibit B: Bicycle Parking in Cities Similar to San Francisco
• Exhibit C: Draft Zoning Administrator Bulletin
• Exhibit D: CalGreen State Requirements for Bicycle Parking
• Exhibit E: Draft Planning Commission Resolution
• Exhibit F: Draft Ordinance for General Plan Amendments
• Exhibit G: Draft Ordinance for Planning Code Amendments
• Exhibit H: Draft Resolution for Planning Code Amendments

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UPDATE - March 29, 2013

BOMA leaders met with Planning and Department of Environment staff regarding this proposal recently.  Code development is an issue that members take seriously so this additional meeting was fruitful for all stakeholders.  The gathering produced the following suggested amendments/issues of concern to BOMA members:

• Planning, Environment Codes - Bicycle Parking; In Lieu Fee 
• References to No Cost Bicycle Parking in the Proposal 
• BOMA members ask that the commercial property owner and tenants negotiate the reasonable amount to charge for bicycle parking, if required, in an existing commercial building or parking garage. Based on BOMA member interactions with tenants, charging for bike parking will incentivize tenant employee cyclists to ride their bicycles to work and care for their bike investment (i.e., they won’t want to damage their costly bicycle as well as the commercial property). 
• Applicability (pg. 26) 
• New Entitlements 
• Planning Department staff suggested strongly that the new bicycle parking requirements in the proposal affect entitlements for new developments, not existing buildings.  
• State Law California Title 24, Part 11, Sec 5.701.6.2 
• We spoke about BOMA members’ concerns about ‘code creep’ which is a colloquial term to explain the unintended consequences of a code proposal at any level of government. BOMA members interpret and implement existing code and work closely with San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, San Francisco Fire and the Planning Department when pulling permits for Tenant Improvements and other projects for existing buildings. 
• (5) where DBI determines that an addition or alteration meets the bicycle parking thresholds set in the State Law California Title 24, Part 11, Sec 5.701.6.2 
• Planning Department staff mentioned that this new addition to the Applicability section of the proposal is required by State law. They also stated that Barry Hooper with the Department of Environment would be the correct person to speak with.  BOMA staff has reached out to Mr. Hooper but have yet to receive his comments.
• Tenant Bicycle Parking in Existing Commercial Buildings Environment Code 
• BOMA staff has communicated member concerns to the Department of Environment and are awaiting a response.  Most importantly, as detailed in the January 24, 2013 update below, is that the new bike parking requirements may affect existing buildings and parking garages based on specific criteria. 

We are awaiting an updated draft of the proposal before it is heard at the Planning Commission later in April.  Thank you to the staff from the Planning and Environment Department for listening to our member's concerns.

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UPDATE - February 28, 2013

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please click here to review the most recent draft of the executive summary and language for the Planning Code Amendments for Bicycle Parking.   We've received word that the proposal will be continued at today's Planning Commission meeting and will be heard in the near future.

In the meantime, please continue to send in your feedback to johnb@boma.com.  The Planning Department and San Francisco Bicycle Coalition have been gracious partners in this process.  Collectively, we feel that most BOMA member issues have been addressed.

What is the major issue identified in the proposal at this time?

As present, BOMA members and other commercial property owners will have an August 2013 deadline to build a bike room to current standards or the NEW standards after August 2013.  The new layout/design requirements may impact existing building property owners that file for a specific exemption under the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Buildings Law.

Your BOMA Advocacy team and members are working on a compromise to extend the deadline.

What are the next steps?

We will recommend that the Planning Department/Commission consider reviewing future existing building bicycle parking facility build outs by square footage.  More details on this as the dialogue continues.

Once the Planning Commission approves the amended code changes at an upcoming meeting it then goes to the Board of Supervisors and relevant committees (most likely Land Use and Economic Development) for review. BOMA members and other stakeholders can suggest amendments at the appropriate time.

History

This large scale update to San Francisco’s Codes that relate to bicycles is based entirely on the 2009 Bicycle Plan that was adopted unanimously by the Board of Supervisors on August 11, 2009.

I want to know more. Where can I review this proposal?

Take a moment to review the Executive Summary of the Planning Code Amendments. Specifically:

• Triggers for Bike Parking Requirements in Existing Uses (p. 4) 
• Bike Parking as an Active Use (p. 5) 
• Related to bike parking rooms/facilities.  
• Bike Parking Requirements for Existing Garages (p. 6) 
• Bicycle Parking in the Environment Code (p. 7) 
• This is referencing your feedback so far regarding the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Buildings Law. 
• Public Comment (pp. 8-9) 
• BOMA feedback 
• Department of Environment feedback 
• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition 
• City and County of San Francisco Department of Real Estate 

If you’re so inclined, please review the language of the Planning Code Amendments. Specifically:

• Standards for Location of bicycle parking spaces – Class 1 (p. 19-20 of the ordinance)
• These are the bicycle parking requirements AFTER August 2013 if you want to build or expand your bike room.
• Effective Date (p. 26 of the ordinance)
• Note the language that identifies bicycle parking rooms (or facility) and the effective date for new bicycle parking requirements as August 1, 2013

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UPDATE - February 13, 2013

The San Francisco Planning Commission will hear this measure on February 28th.  Please email johnb@boma.com if you have any questions or concerns.

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Original Post - January 24, 2013

Your BOMA San Francisco Advocacy team has been working with our partners at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and the San Francisco Planning Department on an ordinance that will affect the way all property owners - including the City and County of San Francisco - administer bicycle parking on and adjacent to their premises.  This new proposal includes the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings law that our members worked on with the SFBC in 2011 and was signed into law in 2012.

The aim of this new measure is to streamline all references to bicycle parking and to provide for new requirements in the San Francisco Planning and Environment Codes.  The catalyst for these updates is the San Francisco Bicycle Plan adopted in 2009.  Please note that the Planning Department is still working on amending the proposal language to reflect stakeholder issues, including BOMA San Francisco's concerns mentioned below.  Please contact johnb@boma.com with any questions when you review the available proposal dated December 13, 2012.

About the San Francisco Bike Plan

The San Francisco Bike Plan set as one of its major goals to ‘ensure plentiful, high quality bike parking’ in San Francisco. In order to achieve this goal, this Plan asks that the existing Planning Code be amended to better address bicycle parking. The plan identifies changes that would expand and increase these requirements and also organize and consolidate the existing Code sections. The proposed legislation would help implement many of these actions specified in the adopted San Francisco Bike Plan.


Potential BOMA Member Issues - Your Feedback Is Requested

The new measure will target primarily new construction projects and existing buildings where building alterations increase the gross square footage of a structure by 20% or more.  There are a few issues that will affect a BOMA members' ability to facilitate bicycle parking in an existing building going forward.   Any feedback on the following is appreciated.  Please send to johnb@boma.com.

Bike Parking Facilities (Bike Rooms) - Grace Period Until August 2013

The aforementioned 2012 Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings law requires that commercial building owners allow bicycles to be brought into the tenant space/or into a bike room on site for tenant employees only.

If a BOMA member has elected to allow tenants to park their bicycles in a bike room and they have not built it by August 2013, they will have until that time to do so under the current Planning/Environment Code.  After August 2013, they will be subject to the new bicycle parking requirements including: new parking design standards, number of parking spaces based on square footage, path of travel (e.g., no stair or escalators may used to access parking) and parking facility location requirements that are included in the 2013 bike parking proposal.

 - Charging a Reasonable Fee for Bike Parking Facilities

If you charge a reasonable fee for use of your building's bicycle facilities, you'll need to provide the bike parking facility at no charge if you build it after August 2013.

 - Existing Bike Parking Facilities 

According to the Planning Department, if a property owner has an existing bike parking facility on site that meets the current code, they do not have to meet the new requirements (after August 2013) unless they have building alterations that increase the gross square footage of the structure by 20% or more.

- Allowing Full Tenant Employee Bicycle Access

If a property owner or manager allows all tenant employees bicycle access into the building without restriction, they are not impacted by the new proposal.

We'll update this post once we receive the next draft of the proposal outlining these changes.  Please email johnb@boma.com with any questions you may have.

BOMA Bay Area EARTH Awards Recognize Buildings’ Best Green Practices

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA member buildings that are going greener with winning sustainability programs were honored yesterday at the BOMA San Francisco and Oakland/East Bay’s annual EARTH Awards event.

“This year’s EARTH Awards applicants have implemented some impressive programs,” says Marc Intermaggio, Executive Vice President of BOMA San Francisco. “The Bay Area is a green magnet for many companies, and BOMA members contribute to our region’s reputation as one of the world’s most energy-efficient domains. California’s commercial structures average being 40 percent more energy-efficient than those in other cities throughout the nation.”

BOMA’s EARTH Awards recognize commercial property owners and managers for the most comprehensive resource management practices – including recycling, energy and water conservation, air quality and toxic reduction programs, support for public transit and tenant education programs that promote sustainability.

“The Bay Area’s commercial buildings are certainly going greener, and one of BOMA’s top priorities is to give our members tools and resources to do just that,” adds Stephen Shepard, executive director of BOMA Oakland/East Bay. “The EARTH Awards set benchmarks for sustainable practices and recognize our members whose programs rank the highest.”

The BOMA Earth Awards are grouped by building size (large, medium and small), with additional recognition for innovative practices. The winners of the 2013 BOMA EARTH awards are:

Large Commercial Property Winners (over 500,000 square feet)

1st Place: One Front St., San Francisco, Jones Lang LaSalle 

2nd Place: Hills Plaza, San Francisco, Jones Lang LaSalle 

3rd Place: One Maritime Plaza, San Francisco, CBRE, Inc. 

Medium Commercial Property Winners (300,000 to 500,000 square feet)

1st Place: Russ Building, San Francisco, Shorenstein Realty Services 

2nd Place: 650 California St., San Francisco, Tishman Speyer 

3rd Place: 2100 Powell, Oakland, Hines Interests Ltd. Partnership 

Small Commercial Property Winners (under 300,000 square feet)

1st Place: 150 California St., San Francisco, CBRE, Inc. 

2nd Place: 501 Second St., San Francisco, The Swig Company 

3rd Place: 633 Folsom St., San Francisco, The Swig Company 

Innovation of the Year

Landscaping for the Community 

101 California St., San Francisco, Hines Interests L.P. 

Recognition of Innovation

Cleaning with Orbio 

101 California, San Francisco, Hines Interests L.P. 

A Garden for The Tenants 

1001 West Cutting Blvd., Richmond, Wareham Development 

Tenant Loop Condenser Water Retrofit 

One Maritime Plaza, San Francisco, CBRE, Inc. 

Temperature Sensors for Steam Traps 

The Mills Building, San Francisco, The Swig Company 

The EARTH Awards are just one of many innovative green programs offered by BOMA to its members. Other past and current programs include the High-Rise Recycling Program, BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) seminars that teach principals of energy management and use of the Energy Star® Portfolio Manager Tools, BOMA 360 Performance Program to measure and improve management of six distinct operational domains, BOMA International’s Experience Exchange Report, which has been benchmarking building performance for more than 90 years, and classes towards LEED accreditation.

Bay To Breakers Street Closures Beginning on May 16th and General Information

BOMA San Francisco Members:

In preparation for the 102nd running of the Bay to Breakers set to take place on Sunday, May 19, several San Francisco roads will be closed and a number of Muni bus routes will also be changed to bypass the closed streets.  This process begins on May 16th and may impact some BOMA member properties.  San Francisco drivers are encouraged to plan ahead to avoid delays and possible vehicle removal.

The majority of the road closures and no parking zones will begin Saturday, May 18, and run through Sunday, May 19, at 4 p.m. These roads are also no parking zones, so please check for posted parking restrictions. SFPD will be enforcing the no parking restrictions to ensure a clear race course.

Also, in light of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, the ride organizers are taking extra precautions to ensure a safe race for everyone. Working closely with the San Francisco Police Department, there will be added security, and the organizers are limiting the size of backpacks that can enter the course. Everyone is on heightened awareness: if you see something, say something.

Resources

Bay to Breakers Fact Sheet

Road Closure Advisory

UPDATE - Planning Commission Hearing Regarding Amendments for Bicycle Parking

Image retrieved here

UPDATE - May 14, 2013

The San Francisco Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the proposed planning code amendments for bicycle parking on Thursday, May 16, 2013 commencing at 12 Noon.  BOMA San Francisco members and your BOMA Advocacy Team have been working with the Planning Department staff on this proposal over the last few months.  We will be reviewing the latest draft of the proposal (also below: Exhibit G) to determine if our member's concerns have been addressed as noted in the last  blog post on March 29, 2013.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the changes, please email johnb@boma.com.

Resources

• Executive Summary
• Exhibit A: Excerpt from SFMTA’s Bicycling Strategy on benefits of bicycling
• Exhibit B: Bicycle Parking in Cities Similar to San Francisco
• Exhibit C: Draft Zoning Administrator Bulletin
• Exhibit D: CalGreen State Requirements for Bicycle Parking
• Exhibit E: Draft Planning Commission Resolution
• Exhibit F: Draft Ordinance for General Plan Amendments
• Exhibit G: Draft Ordinance for Planning Code Amendments
• Exhibit H: Draft Resolution for Planning Code Amendments

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UPDATE - March 29, 2013

BOMA leaders met with Planning and Department of Environment staff regarding this proposal recently.  Code development is an issue that members take seriously so this additional meeting was fruitful for all stakeholders.  The gathering produced the following suggested amendments/issues of concern to BOMA members:

• Planning, Environment Codes - Bicycle Parking; In Lieu Fee 
• References to No Cost Bicycle Parking in the Proposal 
• BOMA members ask that the commercial property owner and tenants negotiate the reasonable amount to charge for bicycle parking, if required, in an existing commercial building or parking garage. Based on BOMA member interactions with tenants, charging for bike parking will incentivize tenant employee cyclists to ride their bicycles to work and care for their bike investment (i.e., they won’t want to damage their costly bicycle as well as the commercial property). 
• Applicability (pg. 26) 
• New Entitlements 
• Planning Department staff suggested strongly that the new bicycle parking requirements in the proposal affect entitlements for new developments, not existing buildings.  
• State Law California Title 24, Part 11, Sec 5.701.6.2 
• We spoke about BOMA members’ concerns about ‘code creep’ which is a colloquial term to explain the unintended consequences of a code proposal at any level of government. BOMA members interpret and implement existing code and work closely with San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, San Francisco Fire and the Planning Department when pulling permits for Tenant Improvements and other projects for existing buildings. 
• (5) where DBI determines that an addition or alteration meets the bicycle parking thresholds set in the State Law California Title 24, Part 11, Sec 5.701.6.2 
• Planning Department staff mentioned that this new addition to the Applicability section of the proposal is required by State law. They also stated that Barry Hooper with the Department of Environment would be the correct person to speak with.  BOMA staff has reached out to Mr. Hooper but have yet to receive his comments.
• Tenant Bicycle Parking in Existing Commercial Buildings Environment Code 
• BOMA staff has communicated member concerns to the Department of Environment and are awaiting a response.  Most importantly, as detailed in the January 24, 2013 update below, is that the new bike parking requirements may affect existing buildings and parking garages based on specific criteria. 

We are awaiting an updated draft of the proposal before it is heard at the Planning Commission later in April.  Thank you to the staff from the Planning and Environment Department for listening to our member's concerns.

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UPDATE - February 28, 2013

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please click here to review the most recent draft of the executive summary and language for the Planning Code Amendments for Bicycle Parking.   We've received word that the proposal will be continued at today's Planning Commission meeting and will be heard in the near future.

In the meantime, please continue to send in your feedback to johnb@boma.com.  The Planning Department and San Francisco Bicycle Coalition have been gracious partners in this process.  Collectively, we feel that most BOMA member issues have been addressed.

What is the major issue identified in the proposal at this time?

As present, BOMA members and other commercial property owners will have an August 2013 deadline to build a bike room to current standards or the NEW standards after August 2013.  The new layout/design requirements may impact existing building property owners that file for a specific exemption under the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Buildings Law.

Your BOMA Advocacy team and members are working on a compromise to extend the deadline.

What are the next steps?

We will recommend that the Planning Department/Commission consider reviewing future existing building bicycle parking facility build outs by square footage.  More details on this as the dialogue continues.

Once the Planning Commission approves the amended code changes at an upcoming meeting it then goes to the Board of Supervisors and relevant committees (most likely Land Use and Economic Development) for review. BOMA members and other stakeholders can suggest amendments at the appropriate time.

History

This large scale update to San Francisco’s Codes that relate to bicycles is based entirely on the 2009 Bicycle Plan that was adopted unanimously by the Board of Supervisors on August 11, 2009.

I want to know more. Where can I review this proposal?

Take a moment to review the Executive Summary of the Planning Code Amendments. Specifically:

• Triggers for Bike Parking Requirements in Existing Uses (p. 4) 
• Bike Parking as an Active Use (p. 5) 
• Related to bike parking rooms/facilities.  
• Bike Parking Requirements for Existing Garages (p. 6) 
• Bicycle Parking in the Environment Code (p. 7) 
• This is referencing your feedback so far regarding the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Buildings Law. 
• Public Comment (pp. 8-9) 
• BOMA feedback 
• Department of Environment feedback 
• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition 
• City and County of San Francisco Department of Real Estate 

If you’re so inclined, please review the language of the Planning Code Amendments. Specifically:

• Standards for Location of bicycle parking spaces – Class 1 (p. 19-20 of the ordinance)
• These are the bicycle parking requirements AFTER August 2013 if you want to build or expand your bike room.
• Effective Date (p. 26 of the ordinance)
• Note the language that identifies bicycle parking rooms (or facility) and the effective date for new bicycle parking requirements as August 1, 2013

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UPDATE - February 13, 2013

The San Francisco Planning Commission will hear this measure on February 28th.  Please email johnb@boma.com if you have any questions or concerns.

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Original Post - January 24, 2013

Your BOMA San Francisco Advocacy team has been working with our partners at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) and the San Francisco Planning Department on an ordinance that will affect the way all property owners - including the City and County of San Francisco - administer bicycle parking on and adjacent to their premises.  This new proposal includes the Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings law that our members worked on with the SFBC in 2011 and was signed into law in 2012.

The aim of this new measure is to streamline all references to bicycle parking and to provide for new requirements in the San Francisco Planning and Environment Codes.  The catalyst for these updates is the San Francisco Bicycle Plan adopted in 2009.  Please note that the Planning Department is still working on amending the proposal language to reflect stakeholder issues, including BOMA San Francisco's concerns mentioned below.  Please contact johnb@boma.com with any questions when you review the available proposal dated December 13, 2012.

About the San Francisco Bike Plan

The San Francisco Bike Plan set as one of its major goals to ‘ensure plentiful, high quality bike parking’ in San Francisco. In order to achieve this goal, this Plan asks that the existing Planning Code be amended to better address bicycle parking. The plan identifies changes that would expand and increase these requirements and also organize and consolidate the existing Code sections. The proposed legislation would help implement many of these actions specified in the adopted San Francisco Bike Plan.


Potential BOMA Member Issues - Your Feedback Is Requested

The new measure will target primarily new construction projects and existing buildings where building alterations increase the gross square footage of a structure by 20% or more.  There are a few issues that will affect a BOMA members' ability to facilitate bicycle parking in an existing building going forward.   Any feedback on the following is appreciated.  Please send to johnb@boma.com.

Bike Parking Facilities (Bike Rooms) - Grace Period Until August 2013

The aforementioned 2012 Tenant Bicycle Access in Existing Commercial Buildings law requires that commercial building owners allow bicycles to be brought into the tenant space/or into a bike room on site for tenant employees only.

If a BOMA member has elected to allow tenants to park their bicycles in a bike room and they have not built it by August 2013, they will have until that time to do so under the current Planning/Environment Code.  After August 2013, they will be subject to the new bicycle parking requirements including: new parking design standards, number of parking spaces based on square footage, path of travel (e.g., no stair or escalators may used to access parking) and parking facility location requirements that are included in the 2013 bike parking proposal.

 - Charging a Reasonable Fee for Bike Parking Facilities

If you charge a reasonable fee for use of your building's bicycle facilities, you'll need to provide the bike parking facility at no charge if you build it after August 2013.

 - Existing Bike Parking Facilities 

According to the Planning Department, if a property owner has an existing bike parking facility on site that meets the current code, they do not have to meet the new requirements (after August 2013) unless they have building alterations that increase the gross square footage of the structure by 20% or more.

- Allowing Full Tenant Employee Bicycle Access

If a property owner or manager allows all tenant employees bicycle access into the building without restriction, they are not impacted by the new proposal.

We'll update this post once we receive the next draft of the proposal outlining these changes.  Please email johnb@boma.com with any questions you may have.

BOMA California Legislative Update - AB 1103 Benchmarking Resources & Electric Vehicle Parking Regulations

AB 1103 Benchmarking Resources

BOMA California has been working on the The Nonresidential Building Energy Use Disclosure Program (AB 1103) for over five years.  The mandatory Energy Star disclosure law commences this summer.

The effective date of the regulations is July 1, 2013 for large buildings (more than 50,000 square feet); January 1, 2014 for medium buildings (more than 10,000, and up to 50,000 square feet); and July 1, 2014 for small buildings (5,000 up to 10,000 square feet).

Anytime you finance, sell, or lease a whole building, you are required to run the Energy Star numbers and provide that information to the other party in the transaction as well as the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The Energy Commission staff is working to provide online resources to help you comply with this new law. Here are several items you can find already online:

• Final AB 1103 Regulations 
• AB 1103 Disclosure Summary Sheet
• Sample Statement of Energy Performance
• Sample Data Checklist
• Sample Facility Summary

The Energy Commission is also working on a FAQ document and requests BOMA member input. If, after reading through the materials, you are unclear on how to comply with the law, or if there are lingering questions, please email mhargrove@cbpa.com and your comments will be submitted to the CEC.

BOMA California thanks the staff at the CEC for working with our industry to address issues and resolve concerns throughout this process. They will continue to work with them as they move forward and are implemented. 

Electric Vehicle Parking Regulations 

The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Division of the State Architect (DSA) are soliciting input and review of the draft of Plug-In Electric Vehicles: Universal Charging Access Guidelines and Best Practices.

These draft guidelines have been developed by DSA to assist OPR with physical accessibility standards and design guidelines for the installation of plug-in electric vehicle charging stations throughout California. The voluntary guidelines address accessible plug-in electric vehicle charging stations on both public and private sites and within public rights of way.

Click here to view or download copies of the draft guidelines.

The public review for the Guidelines ends on Friday, May 24, 2013. Please email your comments and any questions to ZEVfeedback@opr.ca.gov.

BOMA Success at ICC Hearings

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA successfully represented the interests of BOMA members during nine days of code hearings for the 2015 editions of the International Existing Building, Property Maintenance, Fire and Energy Conservation Codes. More than 1,200 code change proposals—many with significant impacts on the commercial real estate industry—were considered at the hearings, which were held in Dallas from April 21-30. BOMA’s team, working with other real estate and construction groups, once again preserved safe, achievable and cost-effective codes against the growing influence of powerful product manufacturers and special interest industry groups.

BOMA and its allies were successful in keeping unnecessary and extremely costly mandates on new and existing buildings out of the ICC codes, including:

• Annual maintenance and verification of initial design energy efficiency levels for all existing buildings 
• Annual indoor environmental safety inspections 
• Mold remediation during renovation projects 
• Mold inspection prior to sale of property 
• Sprinkler systems in work areas during renovation or other construction 
• Radon abatement system installation triggered by renovation permits 
• Renewal of building certificates of occupancy every 5 years 
• AED placement in all building lobbies 
• Whole building electrical disconnect switch for emergency responder use 
• Restrictions on hand sanitizer station placement and storage of refills in medical office buildings 
• Installation of carbon monoxide alarms in all spaces in medical office buildings 
• Energy code compliance statement by design professionals on construction drawings 
• Inspection of existing building energy code compliance triggered by any permit application 
• Increased efficiency levels for wall, floor, roof and window areas 
• Limits on credits for more efficient windows and building envelope insulation 
• Whole building air barrier testing 
• Added insulation levels on all hot water piping and limits on length of piping from hot water equipment 
• Auto dimming controls on garage lighting 
• Solar-ready provisions, including dedicated roof space, for all buildings 
• Auto shut-off controls on 50 percent of electrical receptacles 
• Retro-commissioning for energy and mechanical systems in existing buildings 
• Commissioning of hot water systems 

BOMA also secured approval of previously negotiated settlements to keep prohibitively costly retrofit of sprinkler systems, firefighter air breathing replenishment systems and building energy and mechanical systems commissioning out of the body of the ICC Fire, Building, Existing Building, and Energy Codes. These provisions will be printed in appendix chapters that are not automatically included when state and municipal governments adopt ICC codes. This ensures BOMA will have maximum influence on these critical issues as the 2015 ICC codes are considered in state and local code adoption processes.

The next challenge for BOMA is to ensure the successes secured in the Dallas hearings are upheld at the ICC Public Comment Hearings. Final action ballots will be cast by ICC voting members at these hearings, which will be held in Atlantic City, N.J. in early October. 

Learn more at www.boma.org.

Sidewalk Repair - Property Owner Responsibilities

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please note that California and San Francisco codes (State Highway Code 5611/Public Works Code Sec. 706) require property owners to maintain the sidewalk adjacent to their property. This includes making repairs when a sidewalk is damaged and can include:

• Missing pavement
• Raised, sunken or uneven pavement
• Holes or cracks in the pavement
• Missing sewer vent covers

References

DPW Order 177,525  - Guidelines for Inspecting Sidewalk Defects
DPW Order 177,526 - Good neighbor Guidelines for Repair of Sidewalk Defects
DPW Order 176, 112 - Requirements for Slip Resistant Covers on Sidewalks (Utility, Grates, Grills etc.)

BOMA San Francisco Endorses Fiona Ma for the California Board of Equalization

BOMA San Francisco Members:

BOMA San Francisco's Political Action Committee (BOMA SF-PAC) has endorsed former California State Assembly Speaker pro Tem Fiona Ma for a seat on the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) in 2014.

Fiona Ma has done amazing work both in San Francisco as a member of the Board of Supervisors, and as a California State Assembly Member.  As a certified public accountant, she'll bring additional financial acuity to the BOE that will be useful in that body's decision-making process.  She has a the ability to make decisions based on the facts - as an organization representing commercial real estate, BOMA San Francisco appreciates Fiona's sensible approach to governance.

Let’s Continue San Francisco’s Healthy, and Sustainable, Growth

Let’s Continue San Francisco’s Healthy, and Sustainable, Growth

By Steven Ring, President of BOMA San Francisco and Marc Intermaggio, Executive Vice President.  Published in the San Francisco Examiner on April 30, 2013.

Office tenancy in San Francisco commercial buildings is at a near-record high as The City continues to attract new companies due to its reputation as an innovative, healthy and enjoyable place to do business. Thirteen major buildings are being constructed or are under major renovation, which will add another 1.5 million square feet of workspace within the next 24 months. Seventeen more buildings are proposed that would add an additional 12 million square feet of space to the marketplace.

It is important to note that the added space will be a mix of office and residential units. The Financial District, South of Market and Mission Bay are fast becoming expanded and diverse residential neighborhoods — and very sustainable ones in which people can share resources and attractions. People need to live close to work, and doing so reduces fuel consumption caused by commuting from distant suburbs. It gives people more time to enjoy their lives — instead of fighting traffic.

San Francisco has a unique advantage compared to other downtown areas. People enjoy being in the city center, much as they do in other metro areas such as Boston; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Chicago; and Washington, D.C.

Development along the piers, including the proposed Warriors arena, will add to the vibrancy of our city’s 24-hour living zone of restaurants, entertainment venues, and educational, recreational and cultural institutions.

South of Market and, more recently, areas even farther south have been evolving since the late 1980s and must continue to accommodate healthy population growth, linked together by mass transit and necessary infrastructure.

And yet, economic growth and its consequent revenues for vital city programs are imperiled by conservative attitudes that perennially challenge growth in any form. In recent years, we have been fortunate to have many city leaders who understand that the growth of jobs and business revenues nourishes the entire city with tax and fee income, providing funding for services from Bayview to the Outer Sunset and everywhere in between.

The City needs to continue its support in helping developers gain entitlements to meet the projected demand in the coming years. The current support by the Planning Department is critical for commercial and residential permits.

The lack of affordable workforce housing may be the biggest development challenge The City faces. Housing costs are so high that even decently paid workers can’t afford to rent or own here. While we have made some progress, our failure to adequately and affordably house San Francisco workers creates environmental blight for the entire Bay Area. We are out of balance with the environment. Inadequate public transportation — from taxis to mass transit — further limits our development. We must encourage even higher density residential development along transit corridors.

San Francisco is becoming a fully integrated city, tying all its neighbors together in a common destiny. Will we find the resources and direction to all pull together — or pull apart?