Building Industry Association
of San Diego

Project supporters outnumbered opponents in the first field test of BIA’s new Project Green Light. Last Friday, BIA builders and associate members teamed up for the first time to advocate for job creation through public hearing project approval.

A day-long planning commission hearing pitted pro-job advocates against typical NIMBY opponents. The difference this time, as noted in the North County Times, is that advocates outnumbers opponents. The results were a standing room only hearing and a planning commission that heard loud and clear that projects mean jobs and economic recovery.  That is music to the ears of an industry suffering from an 80% unemployment rate.

While opponents went for the quick kill  – Green Light’s  impact forced a more deliberate and reasoned debate by the commissioners with a final vote expected in the weeks ahead.

For up to date information, visit the BIA website at, www.biasandiego.org and look for the ‘Project Green Light’ icon on our home page.  To get more work we need to get city hall to approve more work.

Project Green Light – BIA’s newest venture to align trade contractors and associates with new development opportunities has received far-reaching interest among the BIA membership.  Hundreds have rallied to join the movement.  Also, members of  CALPASC, our venture partner, have embraced the campaign.  The goal of PGL is to support a healthier building industry overall and to get our industry workforce employed again.   At present, PGL is focused on three hearing dates: March 5, March 24 and April 2.   If you can help, and haven’t signed up yet, do so on the PGL webpage.

Builders/developers interested in posting their projects should contact Matthew Adams.

The Building Industry Association of San Diego County (BIA) is guided by an impressive group of building industry professionals.  Do you know who they are?

Bob Cummings

Russ Haley

Guy Asaro

Bob Cummings, of Barratt Group will lead the association as president.
Russ Haley, of CityMark Development, is Vice President, and
Guy Asaro, of The Corky McMillin Companies serves as Treasurer/Secretary.

In addition to the officers above, the 2010 board members include:

Dawn Davidson
Design Line Interiors

Beth Fischer
Pardee Homes

Danny Gabriel
ColRich Residential

Kay Gross
Cornerstone Communities

Dave Hammar
Hunsaker & Associates San Diego

Fred Martin
Martin Roofing Company

Mike Neal
H.G. Fenton Company

Tom Perez
JMP Utility Services LLC

Alex Plishner
Shea Homes

David Poole
Brookfield Homes

James Schmid
Chelsea Investment Corp.

Marco Sessa
Sudberry Properties

Doug Urbick
Hazard Construction Company

Russ Valone
MarketPointe Realty Advisors

Borre Winckel, President & CEO

Established in 1938, the Building Industry Association of San Diego County (BIA), is a non-profit trade association that represents the legislative and business interests of 800 member companies and their 100,000 employees.  In addition to its legislative advocacy services, BIA offers its members networking opportunities, educational programs, activities and events.

In a hearing that covered a wide-range of opinions on the future of the San Diego region, the SANDAG Board of Directors, ultimately accepted a staff report that says 388,000 housing ‘opportunities’ are possible up to 2050. The report cautioned that the forecast was just one possible scenario and that it was dependent upon the successful implementation of  land use polices to make them a reality.

That sparked a spirited discussion on just how many houses and people could the region accommodate. The report states that the region will experience a 40% increase in population by 2050 to well over 4 million residents.

City of San Diego Council President, Ben Hueso argued that it was time to accept the challenge and responsibly plan for the future, while Oceanside Mayor, James Woods said he couldn’t see how his city could accept the population forecast and that there had to be a way to ‘discourage’ people from moving to Southern California.

The board also discussed variables such as water supply and energy and their affects on the 2050 forecast.

The BIA testified that the region faces a minimum shortage of 37,000 homes by 2020 unless more is done to promote housing creation. Industry representatives urged the board , which is comprised of elected officials from 18 cities and the unincorporated area of the county, to do their due diligence to ensure that the homes on paper are translated to homes on the ground in a timely fashion.  Infrastructure concerns and community opposition can lead to lengthy delays forcing projects to miss the market and not be built  not unlike the fight over a San Diego City Mid-Town project that endured endless community opposition that ultimately, while approved by the city council,  ended with no construction and the adoption of a height limit ordinance.

Another example cited was the County of San Diego’s General Plan update that calls for the use of clustering in order to meet its housing demand but has run into stiff opposition from planning groups that has put the plan in jeopardy.

Russ Valone, of Marketpointe Reality Advisers testified that the county runs the risk of losing additional gas and sales tax dollars as people move to Southern Riverside County if the housing shortfall goes unanswered.

The 2050 growth forecast will be used by SANDAG as it updates it’s Regional Transportation Plan and creates a Sustainable Community Strategy necessary to comply with the states new climate change regulations.

New homes built to today’s standards use far less water than homes built 20 years ago and will use even less water when the California Green Building Standards Code comes into effect in 2011, according to a California Homebuilding Foundation study.

Water Use in the California Residential Home was prepared by Stockton-based ConSol, a nationally recognized consultant on energy solutions for production single-family and multifamily builders since 1981. The study examined historical standards on water flow for shower heads, toilets, faucets and clothes washers, as well as water used for landscaping, and compared them to standards used today and those that will come into effect in 2011.

The study found that homes built in 2009 reduced indoor water use by 20 percent, saving more than 15,000 gallons of water per year when compared to homes built in 1990, and that new homes built to the 2011 standards will further reduce indoor water use by 21 percent, saving more than 12,000 gallons per year.

The study also found that landscaping accounts for 57 percent of total household water use, and that the California Department of Water Resources’ Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance will help save an additional 26,000 gallons of water per year.

• Read the complete study

According to NAHB, there are multiple signs that the nation’s economic picture is improving, or at least stablizing. 

NAHB’s Eye on the Economy reports positive signs in employment, retail sales, gross domestic product and Housing Market Index, among others. But all remain shaky at best.

The nation’s unemployment rate fell from double digits to 9.7 percent in January, and temporary service jobs increased for the fourth month in a row. 

On the housing front, residential construction remains at a low level, although the numbers continue to move up. NAHB reports that housing starts averaged 480,000 per month during the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 392,000 starts per month during the first half of the year.

And single-family building permits were slightly above 500,000 in both December and January for the first time since September 2008.

Builders also showed a small improvement in their outlook, with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index up one point if February. Although the number remains extremely low at 17, it nonetheless is a upward turn.

• Read NAHB’s complete report

NAHB leaders are continuing to fight for the removal of a provision in the Senate’s health care legislation that would have an enormous impact on the construction industry.

Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley added language late to Senate health care legislation H.R. 3590 that requires small construction firms with more than five workers to provide health care coverage or face stiff fines. Meanwhile, small businesses in all other industries would be exempt from providing mandatory health coverage if they employ 50 workers or less.

NAHB has launched a grassroots effort to members about the legislation, and leaders continue to work with lawmakers in both chambers for removal of the Merkley provision from the final legislation.

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tennessee, and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, have taken the lead on the issue. Gordon and 15 other House members have called the provision as devastating and one that “unjustly targets an industry trying to keep its doors open during the worst downturn since the Great Depression.”

• Read the legislation. Type HR 3590 and click bill number in box.

The California Department of Public Health (DPH) has decided for the time being to refrain from expanding the application of its Indoor Air Quality Testing Standard to the residential sector.  The provisions for the residential sector are being moved to a “Voluntary Informative Appendix.” DPH will be working with the residential sector over the next 12-18 months before moving forward with mandatory residential provisions.

For the past eight months, DPH has been updating Standard 1350, a set of technical specifications and testing protocols used to measure the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various construction materials.

Until recently, this DPH standard applied only to the testing of products used in non-residential buildings. But last October, DPH decided to expand the application of this testing protocol to include the residential sector.  This information was provided by CBIA.

The building industry is once again rallying its workforce in support of better economic times ahead.  Known as Project Green Light, this industry movement is all about harnessing the collective power of industry workers to ensure the passage of new development in the future.  Tens of thousands of jobs depend on a healthy housing and commercial building market.  Will you be part of the solution? Help yourself create new business opportunities and new jobs.  Join Project Green Light today so you will be among the first to know of new projects coming online.  

BIA is hosting its first orientation meeting on Monday, Feb 22 from 11 am to 1 pm at the BIA offices. 9201 Spectrum Center Drive. Please register if you wish to come.