Building Industry Association
of San Diego

Nora Jaeschke, founder of the region’s largest private-property-management companies, with more than 200 employees sadly passed away last week from unknown causes.  Jaeschke’s professional success was inspirational to many women in the building industry. A leader in the industry, she also became active in water-conservation efforts and served on the San Diego County Water Authority board of directors from 1997 to 2005.

Although she sold her company, N.N. Jaeschke Inc., in 2004, she stayed active and was at a meeting to help formulate a water-conservation program the night before she died. Friends and family members said she was fearless, optimistic and remarkable.

She also served with the Red Cross, volunteered with the Mentor San Diego program and was on the board of directors for St. Vincent de Paul Villages. She was founding president of Friends of the Water Conservation Garden.

Born Jan. 13, 1937, in Great Barrington, Mass., she was the oldest of two daughters of Thomas Francis Nugent and Mary Williams Nugent. She moved to California for the warm climate and settled in San Diego in 1969.  She and her husband had three daughters: Eleanor Jaeschke Hugus of La Jolla, Christina Scott Jaeschke of Escondido and Elizabeth Jaeschke de Buenrostro of San Marcos; a sister, Beth Bartholomew of Sheffield, Mass.  She also had four grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1 at El Camino Memorial in Sorrento Valley. Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday (Sept 2) at The Immaculata at the University of San Diego.  The family suggests contributions to Friends of the Water Conservation Garden, 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive ., El Cajon, CA 92019; or to St. Vincent de Paul Villages.

The Centre City Development Corporation will review a Fee Analysis and study to determine whether it should begin charging fees for project applications. The CCDC Budget Committee will examine the analysis at its Wednesday, September 2nd meeting.  This is in prelude to the creation of a draft fee schedule for the planning agency’s consideration. The analysis contends that  CCDC would take in nearly $700,000 annually as a result of the new fees.  However, development applications are at historic lows and adding hundreds of thousands of dollars in project costs would be a significant deterrent to the industry’s recovery efforts.

The Fee Analysis is available on the CCDC website, www.ccdc.com.

In a recent, important decision for homebuilders and the protections they enjoy under SB 800, the so-called “FIX IT” law enacted in 2003, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (“the Court”) held that plaintiffs’ attorneys must give builders an opportunity to repair construction defects or prove that the homebuilder waived the right to repair before filing a lawsuit.

In Standard Pacific Corp. v. Superior Court (also known as the Garlow case), attorneys representing homeowners attempted to bypass SB 800′s pre-litigation notice and repair process by filing litigation first and claiming the homebuilder failed to comply with the law’s disclosure requirements. The plaintiffs presented no factual proof that the homebuilder had failed to disclose or record documents required to be provided to the buyer and subsequent purchasers but merely alleged that it was the homebuilder’s obligation to first prove that all of the law’s requirements had been met. But, the Court reasoned that such tactics were not consistent with SB 800′s plain language or statutory intent, of which the pre-litigation, right-to-repair provisions are integral. SB 800 provides homebuilders with the remedy to stay the premature filing of a lawsuit and recover their court costs and attorneys fees for doing so. Homebuilders are advised to check the requirements of Civil Code section 912 to ensure they have not inadvertently waived the opportunity to repair.

County General Plan Update

The County of San Diego has released a revised draft of their General Plan.  The County has also released a Draft Environmental Impact Report for its General Plan Update covering the potential environmental impacts of the proposed new General Plan land use map and policies.  The BIA is working with stakeholders in the business community to respond the draft documents.  Comments on the Draft EIR are due on August 31st.  Please contact the BIA if you have specific issues you feel the BIA should cover in their comment letter on the General Plan or the Draft EIR.  The BIA will be focusing on the land use policies that will affect housing, job centers, and infrastructure.  Please see the following link to download these documents from the County’s website:  http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/gpupdate/index.html   For more information, please contact BIA’s Deputy Director Matthew Adams.

The week of Aug. 24, the Legislature will hold two separate hearings on a recently-released package of five bills aimed at restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and providing a system of facilities to ensure more reliable water supply to meet the state’s growing needs. The bills are SB 122 (Pavley), AB 49 (Feuer), SB 12 (Simitian), SB 458 (Wolk) and AB 39 (Huffman). Read more

The Oceanside City Council unanimously approved a two-year extension of its local discretionary permits including development plans, conditional use permits, variances and regular coastal permits.  This coincides with the state passage of Assembly Bill 333 that added two years to the life of subdivision maps.  This is all in an effort to keep development projects active and place the industry in a better position for recovery once the economy recuperates from the worst recession in generations. San Diego County’s building industry has been ravaged by the recession with more than 40,000 men and women out of work.

An audit of the San Diego Housing Commission argues that the affordable housing linkage fee paid by commercial development is due for an overhall that would result in a staggering 41% fee increase.   The report by the Office of the City Auditor concludes that the fee is too low when compared to Sacramento, Oakland and Los Angeles.

The ‘Linkage Fee” is a square foot tax paid by new commercial development that is directed to the Housing Trust Fund.  Originally, the trust fund was designed to have multiple funding sources, such as TOT and special districts – but only fees on commercial and residential development were created to fund the program.

The Land Use  and Housing Committee is scheduled to consider the fee hike and other policy recommendations at its September 2nd meeting.  The BIA has joined with NAIOP and members of the business community in opposing any fee increases at a time of mounting job losses.

The 2-part report is available on the BIA website, in Afforable Housing or the Government issues section or by clicking here.

The Building Industry Association of San Diego County will host a Furniture Fantasy Sale on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3574 Ruffin Road South, one block south of Aero Drive in Mission Village where public will have an opportunity to purchase high-end model home furnishings, office furniture and accessories at deep discounts in a 22,000-square-foot warehouse. The event is sponsored by BIA Cares, the homebuilders’ charitable foundation.www.biacares.org for updates. Co-chairing the second annual event are Lora Heramb, vice president of sales and marketing for Brookfield Homes, which is donating furniture from four of its model homes, and Rachel Collins, director of sales for Pardee Homes, which is donating from eight models.

“Last year’s ‘Fantasy’ sale was wildly successful. We sold out in two hours,” says Heramb, who is a life director of BIA Cares. “Attendees walked away with designer-selected items for a fraction of the price. For example, there was a $2,550 dining table with five upholstered chairs that sold for $400, some sofas went for $100, and accessories were priced as low as $2. Plus, this year we are in a larger space with more donated items.”  “This year’s shoppers will find a raft of similar bargains. We’ll be offering everything you’d find in a home or office — from one-of-a-kind pieces to beautiful executive desks to fine artwork to unusual knick-knacks.”

BIA Cares has raised more than $2.2 million for local charities in its 19 years of operation. The foundation helps to build better communities by sponsoring such projects as restoring Little League fields, building a golf facility for troubled youth and donating to organizations that assist the underprivileged throughout the County. The 2008 Furniture Fantasy Sale added nearly $50,000 to the foundation’s coffers.

This year’s event will be held from 8 a.m. until sold out at 3574 Ruffin Road South, one block south of Aero Drive in Mission Village. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. Buyers must remove all items purchased on the day of the sale. Please visit

Please call Senator Feinstein today to urge her to co-sponsor Senate Bill 823 which would allow homebuilders and other industries to recapture some of the taxes they paid during profitable years to offset current losses.

It is formally known an expanded Net Operating Loss Carryback for businesses.

THE SENATOR’S PHONE NUMBER IS 202-224-3841.
THE LOCAL DISTRICT OFFICE IS 619-231-9712

SUGGESTED REMARKS WHEN YOU CALL:   I am calling to ask Senator Feinstein to co-sponsor Senate Bill 823 and to help get it passed.  This financial relief provided by this bill will help immensely.  I live in (town) and work for (company) and this legislation would really help businesses, like the one I work for, keep people employed and survive this economic downturn.  Thank you for your time. I thought it was important for the Senator to hear directly from her constituents like me on this one.