Shea Homes

In mid-February, well over 1000 people toured nine new model homes during the opening celebration of loft-style townhomes at Origen at Civita in Mission Valley.

Prospective buyers were enthusiastic in their appreciation for Origen’s smart new vertical architecture. An overwhelming sense of abundant space was credited to multi-story window walls, open stair railings and front- and rear- balconies. (more…)

ACCOMPLISHED BIA STALWART

REFLECTS ON FOUR DECADES

By Colin McBride

Lora Heramb

By the time she was 13-years-old, Lora Heramb knew she wanted to be in real estate, though she had yet to know the reason.

“This is the most remarkable industry, I mean what industries provide one of the main things … shelter,” said Heramb, vice president of sales and marketing at Brookfield Homes, during a recent interview in her Del Mar office. “We provide it. Everybody needs some form of shelter.”

After 42 years spent working in San Diego’s building industry, Heramb has reason to be reflective — she will retire at the end of March.

“I have such a passion for it that it’s really kept me involved,” she said. “Even though I’m going to be retiring, I’m still going be involved with the BIA (Building Industry Association) through the charitable arm — BIA Cares.” Heramb has nearly 21 years, so far, on the BIA Cares board, and it is her charity work that will keep her busy during her retirement.

“It’s fun to sit with people on that board that have the same mentality, people that have a heart to serve people,” Heramb said. “Our industry is such a giving industry … We get our teeth into something and we’re going to hold on to it, make it successful and do it right.” (more…)

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to evaluate and enact regulatory reform recommendations presented by the Red Tape Reduction Task Force.  This was the second time the board voted on the Task Force recommendations in response to a litigation threat from community activists who claimed the County failed to follow appropriate public noticing procedures. The Supervisors decided it was more prudent to simply rehear the proposal rather than defend against a law suit in court.

The BIA, along with several property owners and small builders, spoke in favor of the recommendations citing the length and difficulty of navigating the county’s land use approval process. The County has long been criticized as the most difficult jurisdiction to do business compared to other local cities due to  voluminous regulatory requirements that take years to complete. “We put a man on the moon in nine years, surely we can approve development projects faster than that,” said BIA Vice President, Matt Adams.

Others, were not so supportive of the reform process.  Several planning group members took exception to proposals intended to improve the planning group review process which included term limits and modest experience requirements. Other suggestions included a plan to remove planning groups from the county’s umbrella outright and allow them to function independently.

The Supervisor voted to enact some reforms immediately such as empowering project managers to make decisions, create performance measures to address project timelines and the creation of an external Audit Committee to review the performance of the planning department.  County staff will use the month of March to review remaining proposals and return the the board on March 29th with their implementation strategy.

The top construction industry trade associations have thrown their support behind  Carl DeMaio in his bid to be the next Mayor of San Diego.  The BIA, along with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) held a joint press conference to announce that DeMaio is their candidate for San Diego Mayor.

“San Diego cannot compete unless we have the types of reforms (DeMaio) has been talking about for the past four years… and he needs the office of the mayor to make those reforms a reality,” said Borre Winckel, President and Chief Executive Officer of the BIA. (more…)

Written by Michael Harris, BIASD Director of Membership

On Thursday, February 16th, nearly 250 attendees packed the Del Mar Hilton for the first BIA general membership Breakfast of 2012.  This was the largest crowd BIA San Diego has drawn for a breakfast event in the last few years, and their was a collective sense of optimism about the direction of the industry.   The event subject, “Get more involved to get the most out of BIA,” clearly resonated with a crowd eager to get more business going by becoming more involved with BIA.

(more…)

Diverse Product Line Helps Keep

Company Around for 50 Years

Manufacturing:  Maker of 2,200 Items is a ‘1-Stop Shop for Builders’

By Mike Allen/San Diego Business Journal

It’s tough to be a manufacturer these days, but Linear LLC seems to have a winning formula.

“It has to do with our diverse product link, circling the wagons, and taking care of our customers,” said Gary Baker, vice president of marketing for the Carlsbad-based maker of electronic products that recently marked its 50th year in business.

Linear, a unit of Providence, R.I.-based Nortek Inc. makes about 2200 products today, compared with just a handful when it started out in 1961 as a manufacturer of remote control devices for residential garage doors.

Through innovation and acquisition of other businesses, Linear has expanded its line to such things as home and commercial access control systems, central vacuum systems, home audiovisual systems, speakers and personal emergency reporting systems.

“We’ve really become a one-stop shop for builders and remodelers who are putting a lot of new technology into homes, “said Mike O’Neal, Linear’s president, who joined the company in the spring of 2011.  “As the recession hit, people began putting more money into upgrading their existing homes and we have a variety of products they can use.” (more…)

Responding to a suit arguing that the San Diego County Board of Supervisors failed to properly notice a hearing on ways to cut government red tape, the Board of Supervisors will re-hear the recommendations on February 29th.  A host of recommendations were unanimously approved by the board on December 7th.

The Red Tape Reduction Task Force was appointed to focus on the land use permitting process and produced 17 recommendations to improve regulatory efficiency.  The  recommendations include ongoing staff  training, an end to redundant plan checks, reforming planning group procedures and the creation of an Audit Committee to monitor the regulatory process.

Some planning group members are up in arms over proposed changes to planning groups such as adding term limits and qualification requirements.  The Board decided it was better to re-vote on the items in order to avoid of litigation.

A memorial service honoring the life of Horace will be held on:

Saturday, February 25 at 11:00 a.m.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
890 Balour Drive
Encinitas CA 92024
Map and directions

The family suggests contributions in lieu of flowers to either the City of Hope or UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

View Horace’s obituary in the San Diego Union~Tribune.

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our friend, great leader and industry giant Horace Hogan II, a veteran California homebuilder and San Diego Building Industry Association leader.  Hogan died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

“Horace was a pillar of our tight-knit industry community and even more importantly, an extraordinary generous human being,” said Guy Asaro, Chairman of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County. “  His legacy is vast, and his efforts helped lead our industry through good times and bad.  All of us who knew and worked with him will miss him sorely, especially his infectious spirit-lifting signature laughter.”

At his death, Hogan was a principal with LandArc Group, a private land development company of planned residential and mixed-use communities based in Carlsbad.  He previously was president and chief executive officer for Brehm Communities in San Diego, and before that was division president for Ryland Homes, a cofounder of Pacific Gateway Homes in Aliso Viejo, and was vice president of the Mission Viejo Company.  In all, he had more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in the homebuilding industry. (more…)

The City of San Diego Land Use and Housing Committee unanimously approved an industry backed program that regulates wetland impacts. The plan — 15 years in the making — establishes  regulatory conditions for wetland mitigation in three circumstances:  an essential public project, economic hardships or superior biological projects.

The plan is intended to bring regulatory certainty to projects that may result in modest wetland impacts that in the past have resulted in lengthy and costly delays.   It is modeled after the Multiple Species Conservation Program that established specific mitigation requirements for environmental impacts of selected species and habitats rather than on a case by case basis that added months or years to the project approval process. The mitigation plan also received approval from state and federal agencies.

The plan now goes to the full city council for approval. A hearing date has yet to be scheduled.