BOMA California Advocacy Update: Proposition 13 Weathers Attacks & 2017 Legislative Results

All BOMAs in California are part of BOMA California based in Sacramento. The focus of BOMA California is strictly advocacy and - thanks to the involvement of BOMA members - they are really good at protecting the industry's interests.

It has been a VERY busy time in Sacramento as the legislative session has come to close. Please take a moment to review the information below from our California advocate, Matthew Hargrove, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for BOMA California.

Proposition 13 Weathers Attacks By Two Gubernatorial Candidates 

Next year you will help choose the next Governor of the State of California. Although the election is more than a year away, four Democrats are already vying for the position.

The candidates include current Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and current State Treasurer John Chiang, as well as former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, and former Speaker of the Assembly and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

In their first “debate” in a question regarding taxes, two of the candidate – Villaraigosa and Eastin - went out of their way to criticize Proposition 13, the law that keeps your property taxes from seeing gigantic spikes each year.

Villaraigosa and Eastin said reforms are needed in the 1978 measure that capped property-tax increases for homes and businesses. Villaraigosa said the law was “broken” and protections for both residential and commercial needed to be revisited.

Eastin claimed that “Disneyland is paying what they paid in 1975,” which is a false talking point used by political groups seeking to implement a split roll property tax.

Click here to read a story about the debate.


It's a Wrap: Legislative Session is Over For The Year

Sunday was the final night for the Governor to sign or veto bills on his desk. In 2017 the Legislature sent 977 bills to his desk. He signed 88% of the bills (859) and vetoed 12% (118).

Last year, Governor Brown vetoed 159 out of 1059 bills, for a 15% veto rate. To put this year’s actions in context (lowest year to highest year of vetoes):

Between 2011 and 2016, Governor Brown vetoed between 10.7% and 15% of the bills

Between 2004 and 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed between 22.3% and 35% of the bills

Between 1999 and 2003, Governor Davis vetoed between 6% and 25% of the bills

Between 1991 and 1998, Governor Wilson vetoed between 8.6% and 24.5% of the bills

Now, here are some of the bills we followed closely. 

Bills Signed By the Governor We Opposed

This is the most important category of bills to look at. Our industry opposed these measures, yet they were signed into law. These are the bills that are most likely to have a negative impact on your operations:

AB 168 (Eggman D) Employers: salary information. (OPPOSE)

AB 1180 (Holden D) Los Angeles County Flood Control District: taxes. (OPPOSE)

AB 1701 (Thurmond D) Labor-related wage liabilities. (OPPOSE)

SB 2 (Atkins D) Building Homes and Jobs Act. (OPPOSE)

SB 63 (Jackson D) Unlawful employment practice: parental leave. (OPPOSE)

Bills Signed By The Governor We Supported  

Here are some bills signed by the Governor. Our industry was in support of all these measures:

AB 72 (Santiago D) Housing. (SUPPORT)

AB 73 (Chiu D) Planning and zoning: housing sustainability districts. (SUPPORT)

AB 246 (Santiago D) Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement ACT (SUPPORT)

AB 879 (Grayson D) Planning and zoning: housing element. (SUPPORT)

AB 1223 (Caballero D) Construction contract payments: Internet Web site posting. (SUPPORT)

AB 1284 (Dababneh D) California Financing Law: Property Assessed Clean Energy program (SUPPORT)

AB 1515 (Daly D) Planning and zoning: housing. (SUPPORT)

AB 1553 (Cervantes D) Economic development: Capital Access Loan Program. (SUPPORT)

AB 1583 (Chau D) Proposition 65: enforcement: certificate of merit: factual basis. (SUPPORT)

AB 1598 (Mullin D) Affordable housing authorities. (SUPPORT)

SB 145 (Hill D) Autonomous vehicles: testing on public roads. (SUPPORT)

SB 167 (Skinner D) Housing Accountability Act. (SUPPORT)

SB 205 ((G&F) Local Government Omnibus Act of 2017. (SUPPORT)

SB 229 (Wieckowski D) Accessory dwelling units. (SUPPORT)

SB 242 (Skinner D) Property Assessed Clean Energy program (SUPPORT)

SB 329 (Leyva D) Manufactured homes: financial assistance programs. (SUPPORT)

SB 540 (Roth D) Workforce Housing Opportunity Zone. (SUPPORT)

SB 564 (McGuire D) Joint powers authorities: Water Bill Savings Act. (SUPPORT)

SB 653 (Moorlach R (County tax collectors: notices: publication. (SUPPORT)

SB 711 (Hill D) Electrical corporations and gas corporations: rates and charges. (SUPPORT)

 
Bills Vetoed By The Governor

Finally, here are some bills vetoed by the Governor that we were happy he did not sign into law, as we opposed most of them:

AB 248 (Reyes D) Hazardous waste: facilities: permits. (OPPOSE)

AB 890 (Medina D) Land use: planning and zoning: initiatives. (OPPOSE)

AB 978 (Limón D) Employment safety: injury and illness prevention program. (OPPOSE)

AB 1179 (Kalra D) Hazardous waste facilities: inspections. (OPPOSE)

AB 1239 (Holden D) Building standards: electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (NEUTRAL)

SB 42 (Hill D) Public lands: Martins Beach: property acquisition. (OPPOSE)

California Business Properties Association (CPBA) Strategic Issue Conference - December 7-8th in Napa, California

TEN major groups have come together to host an event you don’t want to miss!

California Business Properties Association (CBPA), the American Council for Engineering Companies (ACEC), the Building Owners and Managers of California (BOMA CAL), the California Alliance for Jobs (CAJ), the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), the California Business Roundtable (CBRT), the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA), the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) are co-hosting one of the premier biannual policy gatherings, 2017 Strategic Issues Conference.

The Strategic Issues Conference offers a unique opportunity, in an intimate setting, to enjoy significant exposure to key decision-makers and policymakers from both the public and private sectors. The goal of the Strategic Issues Conference is to increase public policy and political awareness of state and national issues, and to foster collaborative efforts among business leaders from all sectors of the California economy. Your sponsorship will contribute in achieving this goal, and will signal your strong support for the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry.

Click here for more information!

BOMA International Advocacy Update: Tax Reform Framework Released

Tax Reform Framework Released

Recently, the Trump administration and Republican leadership from the U.S. House and Senate released the outline of the long-anticipated tax reform plan, “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code.” The nine-page framework outlines some specific changes to the tax code, including lowering the tax rate for pass-through businesses to 25 percent; reducing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent; and allowing full expensing of new investments in depreciable assets other than structures for up to five years.

While these reforms could have the potential to positively impact the commercial real estate industry, many specifics remain unaddressed. For instance, there is no mention of 1031 “like-kind” exchanges, carried interest, depreciation of structures, how interest expense will be limited or how tax cuts will be funded. This framework is the latest in a series of discussion documents outlining how President Trump and congressional leadership view comprehensive tax reform.

BOMA International advocacy staff will continue to work with members of Congress to help craft legislation that encourages the growth and health of the commercial real estate industry. For more information on BOMA’s policy position on tax reform, visit the BOMA International website.

BOMA San Francisco Member Concerns About Homelessness and Street Behavior

In response to calls from members regarding the state of homelessness and street behavior in the City and County of San Francisco, please take a moment to review the following information.

BOMA San Francisco’s Government Affairs Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC) made homelessness and street behavior a key issue in 2016. They met with City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) Department staff in charge of homelessness mitigation coordination:

• Joyce Crum, Director, Housing and Homeless Division, Human Services Agency;
• Lt. Michael Nevin, SFPD homelessness issue veteran;
• Sam Dodge, Director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement (HOPE), Mayor Ed Lee’s Office (precursor agency to the newly formed Department of Homelessness);
• Brenda Meskan, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Director San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team.

Click here to review our summary of the April 2016 meeting.

Based on the April 2016 meeting, the Government Affairs Committee decided to aggregate the resources available from CCSF to BOMA members to help with the various homeless and street behavior issues. Click here for more information about that document published in July 2016.

As you may know BOMA San Francisco members heard from Jeff Kositsky recently at a BOMA member luncheon this year on the progress his Department of Homelessness is making to help house those who are homeless and guide them to CCSF resources.

The City and County of San Francisco is focused on helping those less fortunate than most and they are trying. There is a sizable amount of resources that the CCSF is using to try to lessen homelessness and questionable street behavior. Collectively, CCSF staff point to a few things to consider:

• Homelessness is acute in San Francisco but especially egregious in large West Coast cities in general, e.g., Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland. They have sizable homelessness populations. San Francisco, by contrast, has around 6-7k homeless at present and that general count has been holding. Housing and social services are their overall solution.
• The epidemic opioid crisis is contributing to not only homelessness but questionable street behavior from many individuals that is overwhelming CCSF’s response. 

BOMA is here to help connect you to the resources the CCSF provides. Please email johnb@boma.com.

EXCELLENCE IN ADVOCACY: Honoring Ken Cleaveland, Vice President, Public Policy for BOMA San Francisco - November 15, 2017

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY

After a long career in the association management field and having served BOMA San Francisco the past 22 years as leader of our organization’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts, Ken Cleaveland will be retiring on December 31, 2017. We’re dedicating our last general membership luncheon of the year to pay tribute to Ken and to thank him for his outstanding service.

Please join your colleagues, friends, BOMA leaders, community partners, and special guests in honoring Ken at our November Membership Luncheon.

Register for BOMA San Francisco's Annual 2017 Codes Seminar - November 9, 2017

REGISTER TODAY

BOMA San Francisco’s Annual Codes Seminar will feature presentations on a wide range of important topics — especially for commercial property managers. This is an opportunity for BOMA members to meet and interact with important city officials from the Building and Fire Departments responsible for enforcing these codes and to hear from our own design and construction professionals on the most recent changes to our local codes and permitting processes and the most effective ways to comply. It’s BOMA San Francisco’s most important regulatory update of the year, so don’t miss out!

Topics

Commercial Permitting

ADA Review: What’s New?

What to Remember?

Fire Code Update: What’s Impacting TI’s

Title 24 Energy Review

BOMA 2017 for Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement

Elevator Update:

Modernizations and Cal-OSH

State & Local Legislative Update

Presenters

Mark Walls, Sr. Building Inspector, San Francisco Dept. of Building Inspection

Dan DeCossio, Dept. Asst. Fire Chief, SFFD, and SF Fire Marshal

Steve Panelli, Chief Plumbing Inspector, SF Dept. of Building Inspection

Mohsin Shaikh, PE, LEED AP, Mechanical/Energy Plan Inspector, SF Dept. of Building Inspection

Jeff Maddox, The Fire Consultants

Skip Soskin, AIA, Huntsman Architectural Group

Steve Taylor, PE, Taylor Engineering

Craig Oty, IALD, PE, LC,

The Engineering Enterprise

George von Klan, GVK Elevator Consulting Services, Inc.

Joe Armas, Otis Elevator

Manuel Fishman, Esq., Buchalter

San Francisco's Business Community Unites at City Hall: Advocacy Day 2018 - Please Take a Brief Survey

Image Credit: San Francisco Council of District Merchants

On March 1, 2018 over 20 local business organizations - including BOMA San Francisco - will host the 2nd annual Business Comes to City Hall Advocacy Day to push for solutions to issues of top priority to the business community.

We will talk with elected officials, those who have been appointed, and agency staff in meetings at City Hall and the State Building, concluding with a cocktail reception in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

Help us set the agenda by providing input on issues most important to BOMA members and City residents.

Please answer the questions in this survey and return by Thursday, November 9, 2017.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

BOMA International Advocacy Update: National Flood Insurance Program Extension & ADA Bill Progress

National Flood Insurance Program Extended Until December

Earlier this month, President Trump signed legislation extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was set to expire September 30, until December 8. The NFIP is primarily responsible for providing coverage for flood damage; standard property insurance policies do not cover flood damage and even some private insurance requires the initial purchase of an NFIP policy. The extension of the NFIP was part of a larger package that raises the debt limit and funds the federal government. This legislation also authorized more than $15 billion in additional disaster relief funding, including funding for Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.

BOMA International has been working with a coalition of real estate organizations to secure the long-term renewal of the program, as well as key reforms, including allowing policies to cover multiple buildings on a single campus and adding the option for properties to purchase business interruption insurance in tandem with flood coverage. The coalition also is asking that the mandatory purchase requirement for high-value properties be waived, as the NFIP is not able to cover these properties for their full value. These revisions would simplify and improve NFIP and strengthen community resilience across the U.S. The temporary extension of the NFIP gives Congress time to consider these important reforms to the program.

ADA Bill Passes Out of Committee

H.R. 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, passed out of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on September 7. The bill, which currently has 14 co-sponsors in the House from both sides of the aisle, would amend the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to curb the practice of so-called “drive-by” lawsuits. These lawsuits are often designed to result in quick financial settlements rather than to remedy the alleged ADA infraction or increase accessibility. H.R. 620 would create a “notice and cure” period of 120 days to allow building owners and other businesses the chance to remedy an accessibility issue before the commencement of litigation.

The advocacy work being done by BOMA local associations is a critical part of the progress on this and other important industry issues. BOMA members across the country are currently lobbying their members of Congress while they are in their home districts as part of the National Issues Conference: Local Edition. BOMA International advocacy staff also are continuing to work with Congress to push the bill forward to a vote on the House floor and to introduce similar legislation in the Senate.

BOMA California Advocacy Update: PACE Bills Supported, Water Bill Savings Act, Mandatory Benchmarking Regulations & Strategic Issues Conference - December 7-8, Napa, California

All BOMAs in California are part of BOMA California based in Sacramento. The focus of BOMA California is strictly advocacy and - thanks to the involvement of BOMA members - they are really good at protecting the industry's interests.

It has been a VERY busy time in Sacramento as the legislative session has come to close. Any bill that made it out of both houses is now on the Governor's desk for his consideration. The Governor has until October 15th to make a decision to sign or veto a bill. 

Please take a moment to review the information below from our California advocate, Matthew Hargrove, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for BOMA California.


PACE Bills Supported

On behalf of our industry, we have requested that Governor Brown sign two bills enhancing to the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.

We believe that AB 1284 (Dababneh; D-Encino) will strengthen the consumer protections associated with PACE financing. This measure builds upon the nation-leading PACE disclosures put in place last year. In addition to expanding access to financing for sustainable property improvements to a larger swath of Californians, PACE plays an important role in California’s plan to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals by promoting greater adoption of energy-efficient technologies.

Additionally, we have asked the Governor to sign SB 242 (Skinner; D-Berkeley) as we believe the bill will strengthen the consumer protections associated with the PACE program.

Much of California’s existing building stock was built before the adoption of the state’s mandatory energy standards. These bills will strengthen a financing option that allows owners to take on deep energy retrofits without a state forced mandate.

Water Bill Savings Act

On behalf of our industry, we have requested that Governor Brown sign AB 564 (McGuire; D-Healdsburg) which creates the “Water Bill Savings Act.”

The Act allows local agencies to issue bonds to fund the purchase and distribution of drought tolerant landscapes, upgrades to hot water systems, gray water systems, high efficiency toilets, and high efficiency showerheads at private property within their jurisdictions.

The property owners and tenants can then repay the fixture upgrades over time through their utility bills. The ability to repay bonds with customer efficiency charges enables those receiving the benefit of reduced bills to pay for efficiency, and create benefits to the water system at scale.

The Water Bill Savings Act is a voluntary program and will create another tool for local governments to respond to drought that is regionally efficient, financially sustainable, and available to all municipal utilities, large and small.

We support SB 564 because it will help people save money on water while reducing wasted water and provide a voluntary tool to meet state conservation mandate. SB 564 is a sustainable model for investment in water efficiency.


Mandatory Benchmarking Regulations

Regulations to guide California’s implementation of the state’s mandatory benchmarking law are in the final stages of being finalized. Basically, if you will have to benchmark any building over 50,000 s.f. and report that information to the CEC. The regulations are a bit more complicated, as they get into lots of detail about many compliance scenarios. The last round of amendments to the regulations included the following:

1. Modifying the definition of “active” as it applies to utility accounts (§1681(a)).

2. Modifying the methods a building owner or owner’s agent may use to demonstrate

building ownership or agency when requesting energy use data from a utility

(§1682(a)(1)(B)).

3. Clarifying and simplifying the processes by which a building owner, owner’s agent, or

utility may obtain customer permission to share building-level energy use data with a

building owner or owner’s agent (§1682(b)(4)).

4. Specifying that a utility will not be required to provide whole-building energy use data

more than once in a three-month period (§1682(b)(7)), except for requests made for

compliance with the benchmarking and public disclosure requirements.

5. Adding requirements for a building owner or owner’s agent to notify a utility of certain

changes when the utility is providing recurring automatic upload of whole-building

energy use data (§1682(b)(8)).

6. Removing items from, and making modifications to, the list of metrics the Energy

Commission may make available on a public website (§1683(c)(3)).

Our industry has paid very close attention to this issue, has provided comments and feedback to the CEC through every step of the process, and we remain in support of these regulations. Click here to see all the details.


Strategic Issues Conference - December 7-8, Napa, California 

TEN major groups have come together to host an event you don’t want to miss! California Business Properties Association (CBPA), the American Council for Engineering Companies (ACEC), the Building Owners and Managers of California (BOMA CAL), the California Alliance for Jobs (CAJ), the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), the California Business Roundtable (CBRT), the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA), the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) are co-hosting one of the premier biannual policy gatherings, 2017 Strategic Issues Conference.

The Strategic Issues Conference offers a unique opportunity, in an intimate setting, to enjoy significant exposure to key decision-makers and policymakers from both the public and private sectors. The goal of the Strategic Issues Conference is to increase public policy and political awareness of state and national issues, and to foster collaborative efforts among business leaders from all sectors of the California economy. Your sponsorship will contribute in achieving this goal, and will signal your strong support for the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate industry.

Click here for more information!

BOMA San Francisco Members Briefed: BART Rebuild and Upgrade Effort and the Central SoMa Plan

BART Rebuild and Upgrade Plan

BOMA San Francisco's Government Affairs Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC) members met with BART Board Director Nick Josefowitz recently.

Director Josefowitz detailed the agency's current efforts and future plans following the passage of Measure RR last fall. Note that BOMA San Francisco supported RR – the $3.5 billion general obligation bond that will rebuild and upgrade the backbone of the Bay Area transportation system.

The video below is a great summary of Mr. Josefowitz's presentation. If you'd like more detail, please contact BOMA San Francisco's Director of Government and Industry Affairs, John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com.

San Francisco's Central SoMa Plan

BOMA San Francisco PAC Chair, Andrew Junius provided a brief update on San Francisco’s Central SoMa Plan – a massive planning effort to create a sustainable neighborhood by 2040.

Click here to review the recent San Francisco Planning Department presentation on the effort and email Mr. Junius with any questions you may have: ajunius@reubenlaw.com. You may also reach out to John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com. 

BOMA San Francisco Members Meet with San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim

BOMA San Francisco's Codes and Regulations Committee members met with San Francisco Planning Director, John Rahaim, recently. Here are the highlights of his presentation:

• Commercial Space
• There is currently over 4 million square feet of office space under construction, with another 2-3 million square feet in the pipeline. 
• Rahaim praised the near completion of the Central SoMa Plan which will accommodate large floor plates for a future 7-8 million square feet of office space, along with 20-30,000 new housing units. 
• Office Development Annual Limitation Program or Proposition M limits will most likely be reached this year - especially with the projected office space in the Central SoMa Plan.
• Housing
• 6,000 units of housing under construction in the city with an additional 45,000 units entitled. The Mayor’s goal of building 30,000 new units while he is Mayor is an achievable one, in his opinion. 
• San Francisco is producing 25% of the housing production in the Bay Area presently, but even San Francisco cannot keep up with the demand. 
• Planning Department
• Rahaim stated the Planning Department is undergoing a review of its fee structure.
• The projected demise of retail stores due to consumers' online shopping preferences is also something the Department is interested in.

BOMA San Francisco members appreciate Director John Rahaim's time and we look forward to working with him and his staff in the future.

UPDATE: San Francisco's Better Market Street Project

UPDATE - September 29, 2017

BOMA San Francisco's Government Affairs Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC) held a briefing for members recently on the progress of the Better Market Street Project. 

As you may know, long-time BOMA leader, Kathy Mattes, has been monitoring the planning of this massive undertaking and suggested that we hold this gathering to inform BOMA members along Market Street - and adjacent streets - of the substantial changes that the City and County of San Francisco has planned for The City's main thoroughfare. 

It was a pleasure to welcome back Simon Bertrang, Project Manager for the Better Market Street Project. It was very informative and I encourage any BOMA member on Market, Mission and connecting streets to get involved to make sure your property's interests are heard.

Please click here to view/download Simon Bertrang’s presentation (thank you Simon!). Click here to learn more about this project and how you can get involved. 

Questions? Please contact John Bozeman, BOMA San Francisco's Director of Government and Industry Affairs at johnb@boma.com.

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UPDATE - December 30, 2015

This weekend, San Francisco Public Works and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will be performing a truck-mounted Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey of Market Street. This visual mapping survey is the first step in detailing design work for the Better Market Street project. The Departments will gather accurate information on the exact locations of features and utilities on Market Street – curbs, BART portals, light poles, building facades, trees, fire hydrants, sidewalk and street elevations and more -- that will enable them to move from conceptual to detailed designs and then on to construction.

They attempted to conduct this survey last November, but unexpected rain delayed the scan. 

The LiDAR survey will take place in the early morning hours of Sunday, January 3, 2016. To ensure an accurate and complete survey, please help us spread this important information about traffic restrictions and the Better Market Street LiDAR survey:

• The survey will take place between 3:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.
• Stopping or parking on Market Street and the adjacent side streets is prohibited between midnight and 6:00 a.m. to ensure the street is clear for the survey. Tow-away signs have been posted.
• The survey truck will run along Market Street between Guerrero Street and Steuart Street four times in order to get an accurate representation of all the features. 
• The truck also will measure the street features along all the side streets in the project area.
• There are temporary tow-away signs posted along Market Street and in zones along all the cross streets in the vicinity so that vehicles don’t block the view of the curb. PLEASE OBEY THE TEMPORARY TOW-AWAY SIGNS. 
• The LiDAR truck will be escorted by a police motorcade as it cannot stop along Market Street for any reason as that will distort the data collection.
• Traffic on the cross streets will be momentarily stopped and required to wait up to 2 minutes while the survey motorcade passes. 
• The curb lanes will be momentarily closed due to the survey motorcade. Traffic in the curb lane will be shifted to the center lane as the survey motorcade passes. 
• Private cars, taxis, commercial vehicles, and bicyclists are encouraged to use adjacent parallel streets such as Mission Street during these pre-dawn hours. 
• The LiDAR truck will run against the flow of traffic in two of its four runs, so PLEASE STAY ALERT AND DRIVE SLOWLY.
• The SFMTA signal shop will place all traffic signals on Market Street between Guerrero and Steuart onto flashing red for all directions for everyone’s safety.

The LiDAR survey method is a quick, efficient, non-invasive surveying technique that is used around the world. The LiDAR method was chosen to get accurate information while minimizing travel impacts on one of the City’s busiest corridors. 

Stay tuned for more information on the status of the Better Market Street project and next steps on the project page here.

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UPDATE - November 14, 2015

The LiDAR scan has been postponed until early December. There is a 100% chance of rain during the Sunday early morning hours that San Francisco staff members had planned to run the survey motorcade up and down Market Street. The team can’t get the information they need in the rain.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are going to be taking down all of the NO STOPPING signs so that they don't impact loading and parking unnecessarily.

Click here for an article regarding the survey from the San Francisco Chronicle. 

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UPDATE - November 12, 2015

This weekend, San Francisco Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will be performing a truck-mounted Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey of Market Street. This visual mapping survey is the first step in detailing design work for the Better Market Street project. The Departments will gather accurate information on the exact locations of features and utilities on Market Street – curbs, BART portals, light poles, building facades, trees, fire hydrants, sidewalk and street elevations, and more -- that will enable them to move from conceptual to detailed designs and then on to construction.

The LiDAR survey will take place in the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. 

To ensure an accurate and complete survey, here is important information about traffic restrictions and the Better Market Street LiDAR survey: 

• The survey will take place between 3:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15. 
• Stopping or parking on Market Street and the adjacent side streets is prohibited between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to ensure the street is clear for the survey. Tow-Away signs have been posted. 
• The survey truck will run along Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and Steuart Street four times in order to get an accurate representation of all the features. 
• The truck also will measure the street features along all the side streets in the project area.
• There are Temporary Tow-Away signs posted along Market Street and in zones along all the cross streets in the vicinity so that vehicles don’t block the view of the curb. PLEASE OBEY THE TEMPORARY TOW-AWAY SIGNS. 
• The LiDAR truck will be escorted by a police motorcade as it cannot stop along Market Street for any reason, since that will distort the data collection. 
• The center lanes of Market Street will remain open to all vehicle traffic including commercial and private vehicles, transit and taxis. The curb lanes will be closed due to the survey motorcade. 
• The LiDAR truck will run against the flow of traffic in two of its four runs, so PLEASE STAY ALERT AND DRIVE SLOWLY. 
• The SFMTA signal shop will place all 26 traffic signals on Market Street onto flashing red for everyone’s safety and the safety of the LiDAR truck and police motorcade. 
• Bicycle riders are encouraged to take alternate routes. 

The LiDAR survey method is a quick, efficient, non-invasive surveying technique that is used around the world. The LiDAR method was chosen to get accurate information while minimizing travel impacts on one of the City’s busiest corridors.

Stay tuned for more information on the status of the Better Market Street project and next steps on their project page here.

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UPDATE - September 15, 2014

BOMA SF-PAC Chair and Better Market Street BOMA member lead, Kathy Mattes 

On September 10, 2014, BOMA San Francisco's Government Affairs and Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC) member (and BOMA SF-PAC Chair) Kathy Mattes led a discussion for BOMA San Francisco building owners and managers regarding the City and County of San Francisco's Better Market Street Project (BMS). As detailed in our previous blog posts, below, the BMS is a monumental effort to help make San Francisco's Market Street a more welcoming public space and effective transit corridor.

BMS Project Mangers Simon Bertrang and Britt Tanner

The scope this undertaking stretches from, primarily, Market and Mission Streets from the Embarcadero to Octavia Boulevard.  As such, numerous BOMA San Francisco building owners along or adjacent to the project area will be impacted.  This briefing was the first official BMS update to this BOMA member constituency.

The three primary elements to the BMS presentation were:

• Market Street Design
• Vehicular Restrictions
• Loading

Each of these aspects have proposed changes and require your review and feedback.  Please click here to review the BMS presentation and send your feedback to Kathy Mattes at kamattes@sbcglobal.net.

BMS Project Timeline

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Mechanics Monument Plaza gets an upgrade

UPDATE - June 17, 2014

Did you know that Kathy Mattes, BOMA San Francisco's Political Action Committee Chair and member of our Government Affairs Committee, is the BOMA representative for the Better Market Street Community Advisory Committee?

Kathy has offered her time to attend a series of meetings to be sure that our member interests - specifically those building owners along Market Street - have a voice in the planning process.  Any updates from Kathy will be delivered to you via future blog posts.

If you happen to work near Mechanics Monument Plaza, take a look at the improvements (see image above) to the public amenities - including a charging station for your electronic gadgets!

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UPDATE - December 6, 2013

The BOMA members from the Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) met recently with Simon Bertrang, Project Manager for the Better Market Street (BMS) project; Kelli Rudnick, BMS Assistant Project Manager; and, Marlo Issac, Market Street Project Manager with the San Francisco Planning Department.

The presentation included the following BMS updates:

• Schedule
• Environmental review 2013-2015 
• Design 2015-2017
• Construction 2017
• Design Concepts
• There are three options that will be going into the environmental review process.
• All options include substantial improvements to pedestrian conditions, cycling facility, transit service and stops, invitations for street life, various levels of private car restrictions.
• Project Area Limits

• Market Streets from the Embarcadero to Octavia Street.
• Also includes Mission Street from Van Ness to the Embarcadero.
• Pedestrian Improvements
• Transit & Bicycling Improvements
• The Six Market Street Districts
• Click on the image at right to enlarge.
• Next Steps
• CEQA and NEPA Process formal start in January 2014
• Analyze potential environmental impacts 
• Disclose impacts for public review 
• Support policy decision 
• Proposed Project will include all 3 Options:
• Boost Transit Travel Speeds and Reliability 
• This includes studying the option of loading zone time of day restrictions
• Transportation Task Force Funding
• Federal Transportation Funding 
• Improve Pedestrian Safety 
• Add Bicycle Capacity 
• Build Civic Destination 
• Activate Streetlife Zones and Plazas.
• Make Your Market Street

• Goal: Open Market Street to new use by the public by bringing new activity, energy and people to Market Street’s sidewalks.
• The City wants to partner with Community Benefit Districts (CBD)to support creative/ innovative/commercial/public use of the sidewalks.
• The new Make Your Market Street team is now working with a number of CBDs that border Market Street to help with the development of the BMS endeavor, specifically the major plazas along the thoroughfare.

The information exchange at this meeting was invaluable.  BOMA San Francisco members will be involved in the BMS project via the Better Market Street Community Advisory Committee and Make Your Market Street effort representing the Financial District section of Market Street.  If you're interested in participating in the Community Advisory Committee, please click here to submit your application by January 8, 2014.  

Click here to review the full presentation and email johnb@boma.com with any questions.

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Original Post - October 30, 2012

The BOMA San Francisco Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) met recently with Kris Opbroek, Project Manager for the Better Market Street project. Note that multiple San Francisco City Departments are a part of this update to Market Street.

BOMA members would like to be continue to be a partner with the Better Market Street team in helping to identify the best practices to improving Market Street and help find solutions to issues of concern going forward. Special thanks to GAPAC Department/Commission Outreach Subcommittee Chair, Warren Mead for organizing this meeting.

Discussion Points

This a long-term project (breaking ground in 2016, at the earliest), and BOMA members discussed near-term concerns for the various department staff to consider as they move forward in the information gathering phase of this effort:

• The homeless population. How can you improve Market Street (adding parklets, nodes and general public gathering spaces) without considering the existing homeless population? 
• Impact of future design and construction on the ground-floor businesses that line and/or are immediately adjacent to Market Street. 
• Maintenance costs after build out – who pays? 
• All forms of conveyance should be considered when improving Market Street.  North/south travel across Market should be carefully reviewed. 
• Continuous outreach to the business community and other stakeholder groups to be sure that the City understands the issues of concern before final design consideration and construction. 

BOMA San Francisco members live and/or work in the City and County of San Francisco and they care deeply about improving the social and economic prospects for all San Franciscans. To help Market Street should not only benefit our members; the improvements should be a boon to all who work, live and visit this great city.

We look forward to working with Kris as this project moves forward. If you have any comments, please send them to wmead@lucasfilm.com and johnb@boma.com.

UPDATE: Your Feedback is Requested - Mandatory Disability Access Improvements

UPDATE - September 29, 2017

Here are two important items to review regarding this ordinance that BOMA San Francisco members worked on with Supervisor Katy Tang in 2015 and 2016.

• San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (SFDBI) is the agency responsible for writing the guidelines regarding implementing this ordinance. The measure is detailed below or you can review the law by clicking here. According to SFDBI staff, draft guidelines are still in development. We'll alert you when that document is available. 
• Supervisor Tang has introduced a companion measure that would extend the compliance time frame for existing buildings owners.
• The time within which the owner of an existing building with a place of public accommodation has to comply with the mandatory disability access requirements as prescribed in the original ordinance for the primary entrance and path of travel into the building will be extended by one year. Also extended by one year is the time for the Department of Building Inspection to submit a written report to the Board and the six-year limitation on granting extensions of time to comply.
• Please click here to review the ordinance and email BOMA San Francisco's Director of Government and Industry Affairs, John Bozeman at johnb@boma.com if you have any questions. 

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Original Post - October 2, 2015

BOMA members have been monitoring legislation introduced by Supervisor Katy Tang: Mandatory Disability Access Improvements.

This ordinance, if passed, would relieve tenants of any responsibility for accessibility improvements or documentation establishing a technically infeasible situation or unreasonable hardship and place it squarely on the building owners.

Additionally, this legislation would establish a Disability Access Compliance Unit within the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (SFDBI) to monitor this program, set fees to administer it, provide guidance and advice on specific situations, as well as issue determinations of technical infeasibility or unreasonable hardship.

Click here for the legislative digest.

Our Government Affairs Policy Analysis Committee (GAPAC) recently met with Supervisor Tang and here are the concerns our members have regarding the measure, as proposed:

• San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (SFDBI) Staffing
• Ordinance compliance by SFDBI might be an issue due to workflow demand increase if this measure were to pass.
• How can building owners be assured that the turnaround time will be a fast one?
• Lease Negotiation
• Our members are concerned that allowing SFDBI to be the arbiter of ADA issues in private buildings will impede the lease negotiation process. 
• This was also an issue in 2013 when we worked with then Supervisor David Chiu on his ADA legislation: http://bomasanfrancisco.blogspot.com/2013/01/update-disability-access-ada.html
• Note that the same suggestions our members had in 2013, below, apply to this proposal:
• Education 
• Commercial property owners provide an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) disclosure to tenants/potential tenants to help educate them on the requirements of the ADA implications of non-compliance.
• Compliance 
• Allow a commercial property owner/tenant MORE time to correct primary entries/path of travel to ADA specific requirements in a tenant space. That is, set a due date for absolute compliance sometime farther into the future (e.g., 5-10 years) with a requirement to update primary entries/path of travel before the due date if new tenant occupies the space. 
• This suggestion was based on the San Francisco High Rise Sprinkler Ordinance passed in 1993 that had similar requirements for compliance with regard to sprinklers in high-rise buildings. 
• Lease Negotiation Process 
• Commercial property owners need to have the ability to negotiate the costs associated with any tenant improvement with the tenant. This includes any costs associated with ADA compliance. 
• Building Owner is Fully Responsible for ADA Repairs 
• From our GAPAC meeting, it’s clear this is a major source of contention with our small building owners. 
• As mentioned above, our members need to have the leeway to negotiate who pays for the tenant improvement. 
• Perhaps any mention of the owner paying for upgrades can be amended to include owner and/or lessee. 
• Technical Infeasibility 
• Readily achievable should be the term used - in other words, easily accomplished and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense for the tenant/owner. 
• Post 2002 Building Exemption(Pg. 6; lines 11-15 – Chapter 11D; Sec. 1101D) 
• Building owner/owners authorized agent must provide a written notice of exemption that provides a construction permit application dates on or after January 1, 2002. 
• SFDBI should already have this information on file. 

As always, our members are appreciative of Supervisor Tang's early outreach to BOMA regarding this ordinance, and look forward to the continued discussion.

If you have concerns about this measure please email John M. Bozeman, BOMA San Francisco's Director of Government and Industry Affairs, at johnb@boma.com.

Central SoMa Public Park – Upcoming Second Community Workshop

BOMA San Francisco Members:

Please save the date for the second community workshop for the Central SoMa Public Park, co-hosted by Build Public, San Francisco Planning, San Francisco Recreation and Park, TLS Landscape Architecture, and Tishman Speyer. At this workshop, the Planning Department will be debuting some early concepts based on the community input that the Department has received to date.

Come drop-in, view the concepts and share your ideas for the new Central SoMa Public Park.

Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Location: Bayanihan Community Center, 1010 Mission Street

RSVP and more information, please contact Jared Press at jared@buildpublic.org

Accessibility and Language Access: Bayanihan Community Center is ADA accessible. For other language assistance or disability accommodations at the event, please contact Candace Soohoo at candace.soohoo@sfgov.org or 415-575-9157 at least 72 hours in advance.

Questions? Please contact Steve Wertheim, Project Manager, Central SoMa Plan steve.wertheim@sfgov.org.

BOMA San Francisco Members Meet with San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim

BOMA San Francisco's Codes and Regulations Committee members met with San Francisco Planning Director, John Rahaim, recently. Here are the highlights of his presentation:

• Commercial Space
• There is currently over 4 million square feet of office space under construction, with another 2-3 million square feet in the pipeline. 
• Rahaim praised the near completion of the Central SoMa Plan which will accommodate large floor plates for a future 7-8 million square feet of office space, along with 20-30,000 new housing units. 
• Office Development Annual Limitation Program or Proposition M limits will most likely be reached this year - especially with the projected office space in the Central SoMa Plan.
• Housing
• 6,000 units of housing under construction in the city with an additional 45,000 units entitled. The Mayor’s goal of building 30,000 new units while he is Mayor is an achievable one, in his opinion. 
• San Francisco is producing 25% of the housing production in the Bay Area presently, but even San Francisco cannot keep up with the demand. 
• Planning Department
• Rahaim stated the Planning Department is undergoing a review of its fee structure.
• The projected demise of retail stores due to consumers' online shopping preferences is also something the Department is interested in.

BOMA San Francisco members appreciate Director John Rahaim's time and we look forward to working with him and his staff in the future.

REGISTER BEFORE SELLOUT: BOMA San Francisco's Annual 2017 Emergency Preparedness Seminar - October 17th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

REGISTER HERE

Low-level terror attacks are occurring at an increased frequency around the world. Are you and your team prepared to respond? What agencies will be there to assist? How long will it take for your property operations to return to normal?


BOMA’s Emergency Preparedness Seminar will educate members on the importance of preparing their property and team members for this type of situation through a keynote speaker and panel presentation. Attendees will receive key preparedness information to take back to their ownership/property management group, engineering and security teams, and tenants.

Keynote Presenter

Dr. Erroll G. Southers, Managing Director for Counter-Terrorism & Infrastructure Protection at TAL Global

Dr. Southers is an internationally recognized expert on counterterrorism, public safety, infrastructure protection, and homeland security. He is the Director of the Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies Program at the University of Southern California, where he is also a Professor of the Practice of Governance.

Speakers and Panelists

Chief Joanne Hayes-White, San Francisco Fire Department
Chief Bill Scott, San Francisco Police Department
Peter Franklin, Chair Emeritus, BOMA San Francisco’s Emergency Preparedness Committee & TAL Global Managing Director
Jackson Talbot, Assistant Director, Safety and Security, Boston Properties
Bonnie Kalbrosky, 2017 Chair of BOMA San Francisco’s Emergency Preparedness Committee & General Manager with Brookfield Office Properties
Steve Colvin, Senior VP, Property Management at Boston Properties
Ed Wise, Chief Security Officer, Transamerica Pyramid Center
Eric McGarty, Senior Vice President, Allied Universal Security Services
Joseph Collier, Client Manager, Allied Universal Security Services
Jeff Ellis, Security Manager, Transamerica Pyramid
Eric Granera, Security Systems and Safety Manager, American Assets Trust, Inc.