Building Industry Association
of San Diego

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.

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.

The San Diego City Council voted to continue the Mid-City Interim Height Ordinance (IHO) for another two years and pledged staff and financial support to complete the Uptown Community Plan.  The IHO  was first established in 2008 and was slated to sunset in 30 months.  City staff had proposed that the height limit remain in place until the completion of the community plan update — but the plan is years behind schedule and a completion date remains elusive. The ordinance caps new construction at 50 feet or 65 feet along 5th Avenue, Robinson Avenue University Avenue and Washington Street.

The BIA, joined by the Hillcrest Business Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, opposed the open ended extension and called for the ordinance to sunset as planned.

Guy Asaro, 2012 Building Industry Association (BIA) of San Diego County Chairman, delivers his Chairman’s Message at the 2012 Installation Celebration on January 21, 2012 at the Omni Hotel in downtown San Diego. Immediately preceding the speech Guy Asaro was formally installed into the office of 2012 BIA Chairman by his father Frank L. Asaro, a prominent San Diego estate attorney and, for over a decade, former BIA General Council.

BIA Installation Speech
January 21, 2011

Wow, what a wonderful celebration we are having this evening. Dad, thank you for your kind words.

Tonight’s event is all about vision….. and I had the privilege of growing up in a house with a man of great vision. Dad, you had the vision to be the first in our family to leave the tuna fishing community…to go to college and then law school… and the vision to become part of this industry. I hope, as I stand here today, that you can see what an inspiration you and mom have always been to me and to the rest of our family. (more…)

On Tuesday, January 24th, the San Diego City Council will consider a proposal to extend the Mid-City Interim Height Limit ordinance (IHO)  until the completion of the Uptown Community Plan.  It was first established in 2008 and was slated to sunset in 30 months.  With the community plan update still years away –  city staff is recommending that the height limit remain in place indefinitely. The ordinance caps new construction at 50 feet or 65 feet along 5th Avenue, Robinson Avenue University Avenue and Washington Street.

The BIA strongly opposes an extension of the IHO because it is an unnecessary regulatory impediment to economic recovery in the Mid-City area.  The Council should abide by its original intent and allow the interim ordinance to sunset. The BIA is joined by the  Hillcrest Business Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce in opposition to the ordinance extension.

Recommendations to improve project processing will be heard by the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, December 7th. The board appointed Task Force began its work in April and focused on the discretionary land use permitting process and produced 17 recommendations to improve regulatory efficiency.  The  recommendations include ongoing staff  training, an end to redundant plan checks, reform planning group procedures and the creation of an Audit Committee to monitor the regulatory process.

The recommendations were crafted following 16 meetings and multiple interviews with county staff.  The Supervisors are expected to accept the report and direct staff to evaluate the findings and report back within 60 days.

The City of San Diego Land Use and Housing Committee  accepted a laundry list of recommendations that could fund and create more affordable housing units as part of an Affordable Housing Master Plan.  The recommendations were the byproduct of a stakeholder task force that was created after the BIA and the business community strongly objected to an earlier proposal that would have doubled the affordable housing linkage fee paid by commercial/industrial development.

The recommendations are a combination of broad based funding sources and regulatory reforms that could make affordable housing production more economically viable.  For two decades, the city has targeted new construction as the primary funding source for its Affordable Housing Trust Fund despite the fact that it was originally designed to have multiple funding sources. The BIA has argued that the reliance on new construction is tantamount to a job tax because it targets job creating commercial and industrial projects.  No other city in the region charges such a fee.

The list will be vetted by city staff  and is expected to return to committee in January 2012.

The Chula Vista City Council voted to extend the city’s fee deferral program through 2012.  First established in 2009, the deferral program allows builders to pay their impact fees at final inspection rather than at the initial building permit stage.  Fees can go for tens of thousands of dollars or higher in many cases  and the ability to delay payment until the end of the project can now be the determinant factor as to whether or not a project is economically viable. The city reports that the program may have a long term positive impact on city property tax revenues due to the projects that went forward as a result of the fee deferral program.

Deferred fees include Transportation, Park,  Drainage, and Sewer.

Cut the red tape and get people back to work was the central theme during a Monday evening workshop on regulatory relief held by the San Diego city council.  A nearly full house was on hand for the three hour workshop that focused on ways to improve the city’s regulatory process in an effort to jump start the local economy.  The workshop was organized by Council President Tony Young and Councilmember Lorie Zapf and brought out businesses large and small.

The BIA presented a host of recommendations on issues involving project processing and regulatory reforms.  BIA Chairman, Russ Haley addressed the council with a list of 20 recommendations designed to stimulate construction activity in the hopes of getting some of the 40,000 unemployed construction workers back to work in San Diego. The list also included a call to expand the fee deferral program to include water and waste water fees and the creation of a ‘Little Hoover Commission’ to explore ways to further improve the land use process.

The city council will consider the proposals as part of their 2012 legislative goals.

The San Diego City Clerk’s Office has just announced that the Comprehensive Pension Reform Initiative has qualified for the June 5, 2012 primary.

The hard fought signature drive – with BIA support – collected over 115,000 valid signatures despite fierce union opposition.  The effort blew past the necessary 94,000 signatures needed to qualify.  Unions plan to mount a vigorous campaign to defeat the ballot measure leading up to the primary election.