Building Industry Association
of San Diego

An ordinance that would subject downtown hotel development to additional regulatory scrutiny was  unanimously rejected by the San Diego Planning Commission. The ordinance is being pushed by the hotel union, Unite Here and would require hotel projects that fall under the regulatory authority of the  Center City Development Corporation, (CCDC) to return to the city council for final approval.  CCDC is a public, non-profit corporation created by the San Diego City Council to oversee downtown redevelopment.

The union hopes to bring hotel projects back to the city council where they feel they have more union support to  pursue higher hotel wages and even project labor agreements. (more…)

Following his unanimous selection as President of the San Diego City Council, Tony Young has announced his council  committee appointments.  District 1 Councilmember Kevin Faulconer was named Council President Pro Tem and along with the regular committee assignments, Young created an Ad Hoc committee to evaluate redevelopment practices and will make a recommendation on a new redevelopment executive director.  The Ad Hoc redevelopment committee will be chaired by Councilmember Todd Gloria with Councilmember Marti Emerald as Vice Chair and will include Councilmembers Faulconer and Alvarez.

The makeup of the city’s standing committees is as follows:

Committee on Rules, Open Government and Intergovernmental Relations
Chair: Young
Vice Chair: Faulconer
Members: Sherri Lightner, Todd Gloria, Marti Emerald.

Committee on Land Use and Housing
Chair: Lightner
Vice Chair: Gloria
Members: Faulconer, David Alvarez

Committee on Natural Resources and Culture
Chair:  Alvarez
Vice Chair: Carl DeMaio
Members: Lightner, Lorie Zapf

Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhood Services
Chair: Emerald
Vice Chair: Zapf
Members: Gloria, Alvarez

Committee on Budget and Finance
Chair: Gloria
Vice Chair: DeMaio
Members: Lightner, Faulconer, Emerald

Audit Committee
Chair: Faulconer
Vice Chair: DeMaio

The San Diego Planning Commission will consider changes to the downtown Planned District Ordinance that would require hotel projects to go through additional regulatory scrutiny by the San Diego City Council in order to get approval.  For over 30 years downtown hotel projects have fallen under the jurisdiction of the Center City Development Corporation, a public non-profit corporation created by the city of San Diego to oversee downtown redevelopment projects.

The PDO changes are sought by local union groups in the hopes of attaching project labor agreements and union operated hotel requirements on future hotel development by getting these projects in front of the more union friendly city council.  However, union candidates were routinely thumped in the November election and with two new councilmembers, union influence on the council is not what is used to be.

If approved, CCDC approved hotel projects between 100 and 200 rooms could be appealed to the city council. Hotels of more than 200 rooms would require both CCDC and city council approval.   The duplicative regulatory review increases the uncertainty and time of the project review process that has been the cornerstone of the downtown renaissance.  An independent economic analysis reports that the city risks loosing up to $100 million in tax revenue over the next ten years if the new process is adopted.

The Planning Commission will hear the proposed ordinance on Thursday, December 16th at 9:00 a.m.

Oceanside Newcomer Gary Felien Votes Against Move to Reduce Building Heights

Citing the need to protect property rights and property values, the Oceanside city council voted down a move to reduce the building height limit inside the city’s coastal zone.

The 3 – 2 vote thwarted an attempt to drop the limit from 35 feet to 27 feet. Councilmembers Jerry Kern, Jack Feller and newcomer Gary Felien voted to retain building heights at 35 feet while Mayor Jim Woods and Councilmember Esther Sanchez wanted to see it lowered.

An earlier ordinance setting the height at 27 feet fell by the wayside after being invalidated by the Coastal Commission due to a lack of certification.

The change would have also imposed greater building setback requirements further reducing the development footprint. Maintaining the 35-foot height will allow for greater design flexibility for new construction and remodels.

Felien’s election in November solidified a probusiness and property rights council majority in Oceanside that includes Kern and Feller.

County Supervisors Consider Options On General Plan Update

After 3 contentious days of public testimony on the County General Plan update, the controversial land use plan is now squarely in the lap of the Board of Supervisors. Hundreds of people – mostly in opposition – spoke during the public hearing on issues ranging from the down zoning of 400,000 acres of private property to the lack of clarity on whether clustering will be permitted by community groups. Clustering is an essential component to the plan’s vision to direct future growth in the unincorporated area closer to existing towns and infrastructure.  Following public testimony, the Supervisors raised numerous questions and concerns to staff involving ground water availability, fire safety and spot zoning.  Staff was directed to post responses to each concern raised during the testimony on the county’s website no later than January 4, 2011.  The next official hearing on the General Plan update is scheduled for February 9, 2011.

As we near the closing of 2010, there are a few BIA-member home builders that stand out among their peers when it comes to selling new product.

Filling the top three spots in the detached segment are Bosa Development, with its high-rise project Bayside at the Embarcadero in the Columbia District of downtown San Diego; Hallmark Communities with its Oak Drive Villas townhome project in Vista; and KB Home with its Carlsbad-based townhome over garage project called Avellino@La Costa Greens. Please see the chart attached for a small listing of the leading builders this quarter.

Leading the detached segment are Pardee Homes, K.Hovnanian and William Lyon Homes. Pardee posted strong sales at its Carriage Run II @ Carmel Country Highlands project, and Manzanita Trail @ Pacific highlands Ranch; while K. Hovnanian took care of business in Fallbrook with its Lake Rancho Viejo development. William Lyon Homes also had a strong showing at its Blossom Grove @ The Foothills project in Carlsbad.

In the current housing market, which some describe as the worst in history, any sales would be considered a win. But these (and other) builders posted double digit sales for the quarter.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES RELATED TO THIS STORY

“Comerica predicts that next year will be better for the home-building sector, especially in comparison to last year – which was the worst year on record for home construction in the state. In the first nine months of 2010, residential building permits are up 25 percent from the same period of last year, compared to a 4 percent rise nationwide.” – Dean Calbreath, SD Union Tribune, Nov. 10, 2010.

All quotes below By Jeffry Bartash – MarketWatch North County Times – Californian, Nov. 17, 2010
“The housing market has wide-ranging influence on the rest of the economy, since so many raw materials and finished goods are required to build homes and furnish them once they are sold. The market is usually one of the first to weaken before a recession and one of the quickest to recover as growth resumes.”
“Slower home sales is a large reason why the U.S. recovery has been weak. New homes under construction, for example, fell last month to the lowest level since the government began keeping records. Builders are trying to clear out inventory before starting new construction.”
“Some builders have also complained they cannot get funding to start construction.”
“Economists say low mortgage rates and even lower home prices could bring more buyers into the market, but the biggest catalyst would be a rapidly improving economy in which the jobless rate falls fast.”

The best selling builders and their projects for the 3^rd Quarter of 2010.

Source: Marketpointe Realty Advisors, Residential Trends

A 2-foot stack of regulatory documents required for the approval of a Walmart store sits at the chair of Tony Young who listened and voted by phone to support the veto override.

Holding to its original 5 – 3 vote, the San Diego City Council voted to override Mayor Jerry Sanders’ veto of an ordinance that would make it nearly impossible for Walmart to build a Supercenter store in San Diego.  The council chamber was packed with union activists and Walmart supporters and was at times raucous prompting a threat by Council President Ben Hueso to clear the chamber if people did not settle down.  The emergency meeting was called to override Sanders’ veto of the ordinance before the two new council members were sworn in  because of union fears that they would lose their 5 vote council majority. Newcomers Lorie Zapf and David Alvarez will be seated on Monday.  Walmart officials are weighing options which include going to the voters to override the ban.

Mayor Jerry Sanders Vetos Anti Supercenter Store Ordinance

As promised, Mayor Jerry Sanders has vetoed an ordinance passed by the San Diego City Council that would make it nearly impossible  to build Supercenter stores within city limits. In a memo to the city council, the mayor stated that it was not the city’s role to determine where consumers may shop and raised concerns on how the council sidestepped the normal regulatory process in order to pass the ordinance before the new city councilmembers are sworn in on December 6th.

The ordinance, pushed by Councilmember Todd Gloria at the behest of organized labor, would have established such severe requirements for Supercenters that the city’s Independent Budget Analyst said would result in a de facto ban on supercenter stores.

On a 5 – 3 vote, the council approved the ordinance on November 16th  with Councilmembers Martin Emerald, Donna Frye, Ben Hueso, Tony Young and Todd Gloria voting yes and Councilmembers Sherri Lightner, Kevin Faulconer and Carl DeMaio voting no. The ordinance was seen by many as an organized labor move to block non-union Walmart from competing against union operated grocery stores in San Diego.

The City Council will hold an emergency hearing on December 2nd to vote on an override the Mayor’s veto. Since only 5 votes are needed an override seems all but certain.

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General Plan: A wipeout for farmers and property owners

By RANDY LENAC,

Sunday, November 21, 2010 at midnight

In its 12th year of development, the county’s proposed new General Plan is finally in front of the county Board of Supervisors. The plan is intended to be the county’s blueprint for meeting the housing and employment needs of the 84 percent of our county that is unincorporated.

Unfortunately, after more than a decade of work and $16 million-plus spent, the plan largely resembles two propositions that were soundly rejected by voters in 1998 and 2004. Those propositions proposed eliminating virtually all property rights on more than 600,000 acres of agricultural and rural lands, constituting a staggering loss of value for property owners. Fortunately, the voters saw through these ballot measures and rejected the disproportionate impacts they would have on the county’s farmers and the inherent unfairness of wiping out someone’s property value without any compensation. (more…)

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General Plan: A way to guide growth, preserve open space

By CARY LOWE,

Sunday, November 21, 2010 at midnight

San Diego County needs a new General Plan, the document that governs land use, development, public safety, environmental protection, transportation and public facilities.

The current General Plan, adopted over 30 years ago and amended scores of times, is an outdated patchwork that cries out for updating. After a dozen years of effort by county staff, and hundreds of meetings with citizen groups and community representatives, a new General Plan is under consideration by the Board of Supervisors. Its overarching goal is to concentrate future development close to already urbanized areas, while providing for enough development to meet future needs, preserving open space, minimizing new infrastructure needs, and reducing exposure to wildfire and other hazards. (more…)