Some Public Works sectors will be blended into the new structure in an effort to improve communications and regulatory efficiency. All planning disciplines will be located in the same offices to improve coordination.

The Board also adopted a new citizens advisory committee that will evaluate the county’s land use process and report back to the Supervisors.  The renewed emphasis on regulatory reform is a byproduct of the Red Tape Reduction Task Force that examined county operations and offered multiple recommendations to improve land use planning efficiency.

More information is available on the elections page of the BIA website.

Last weekend members of  Team Cornerstone and Team Fenton along with members of the BuildSD Pac and Y-Gen Council deployed 1,000 yard signs in support of Scott Sherman’s Campaign.   Just think about it, at 9:30 am Saturday morning there were hardly any yard signs in the San Carlos/Del Cerro/Tierrasanta portions of District 7 demonstrating just how much support Scott had among is neighbors.  By noon 1,000 of Scott neighbors were demonstrating their support and it was all due to the efforts of 59 BIA members and their family and friends who gave a few hours of their precious Saturday morning to help change San Diego for a decade to come.

Along with Ure Kretowicz and Mike Neal, BIA would like to THANK all of those who committed their time to make a change that will help not only the Building Industry but all businesses in San Diego.

This coming weekend BIA is committed to deploying yard signs for Carl DeMaio, but unfortunately the number of volunteers we have committed to this effort is far fewer than we need.   Please if you can spare a few hours this weekend come help BIA help Carl .  Let me know at Campaign2012@biasandiego.org

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Russell Aaron York as our new Communications Advisor.  Russell came to us directly out of Patrick Henry College, VA, where he graduated with a degree in American Politics and Policy.  He is a native San Diegan and spent his summers interning at the Airport Authority and the Lincoln Club.

Last Summer, Russell completed a 40-day, solo bike-trip from Washington, DC to San Diego for Younglife Ministries and their effort to help orphans in Ukraine.  This feat drew a lot of media attention across the country.  Speaking of media, Russell will be leading our effort to create BIA’s new website.  He will also be in charge of all of our social media outreach and interaction activities.  Please help us welcome Russell York to the BIA of San Diego, his new home.

Planning group members raised strong objections to any changes but the Supervisors did implement a mandatory training session for planning group members in order for their group to receive indemnification protection from the County. Supervisors are moving forward with a host of regulatory improvements designed to improve the overall time and efficiency of its land use review process.

When Davidson Communities opened the doors at Arista at The Crosby at Rancho Santa Fe in March, over 700 people toured the model complex, despite the rain. By Sunday night, four of six homes in Phase One –- priced from the mid-$800,000s –- had been sold.

Just a mile or so away, Sentinels by Davidson at Del Sur logged three sales last week. Priced from the high-$700,000s, Sentinels has just one home left to sell.

What’s happening?

“We’re feeling confidence returning to the market,” said Bill Davidson, president of Davidson Communities. “And what does that mean for builders? With that confidence, with that sense that prices have bottomed out and this really is the right time to buy, shoppers are taking less time to make their purchase decision. It used to take seven or eight visits before a prospect felt good enough to commit; today’s buyers are returning just two or three times.”

Arista at The Crosby at Rancho Santa is an enclave of 43 resort-style new homes ranging from 2,926 to 3,593 square feet with up to five bedrooms and five baths. One of Arista’s most popular features is a downstairs master living suite in every plan.

Sentinels features one-, two- and three-level residences, with three to four bedrooms, 3.5 to 4.5 bathrooms and 2,772 to 3,329 square feet. Home sites at Sentinels range from 6,972 to 16,823 square feet, easily accommodating swimming pools or gardens.

Arista is located at 8106 Lazy River Road, Rancho Santa Fe, CA, 92067 and is the final piece of developable land at The Crosby.

Sentinels by Davidson is located within the Del Sur master planned community at 8464 Lower Scarborough Court, San Diego, CA, 92127.

In addition to this Rancho Santa Fe new home neighborhood, Davidson recently unveiled a new community of 41 large family residences at Miraval at Torrey Highlands in Carmel Valley.

Del Sur

A Black Mountain Ranch LLC Community

Master-planned community Del Sur started the year strong by selling 20 homes in eight weeks. In January and February combined, Del Sur sold more homes than any other new home community in the SR-56 corridor region. Del Sur builders California West Communities, Davidson Communities, Shea Homes and Standard Pacific Homes all welcomed new residents to their neighborhoods.

Bird's-eye view of Del Sur!

“January was a strong month for home sales throughout San Diego, and we’re happy to say this carried into February at Del Sur,” said Bill Ostrem, president and CEO of Black Mountain Ranch LLC, developer of Del Sur. “I’m asked daily if I think consumer confidence is restored. I’m not convinced it’s totally back, but I am seeing an uptick in interest at Del Sur.”

Beyond offering home shoppers many distinct neighborhoods to choose from, Del Sur is equipped with six neighborhood parks, five with year-round swimming pools heated with solar panels. The North San Diego neighborhood also offers 18 miles of shared trails accessible by Del Sur residents; three school sites; and future commercial, retail, office and employment space. Area schools Del Sur Elementary School and Del Norte High School have both been named No. 1 schools in the Poway Unified School District.

Located in the coastal hills of San Diego – between interstates 5 and 15 and just north of SR-56 – the North County community has seven new home neighborhoods now selling. Prices range from the high $400,000s to $1 million. Six model complexes – featuring attached, detached, single-level and multi-story floor plans– are open for tours.

Brookfield Homes

Brookfield has released the final phase of homes at its attached new-home community, Cordova at Windingwalk in Chula Vista. The builder also recently released its six models, three of which immediately sold. Homes at Cordova are priced from the high $200,000s.

Cordova by Brokkfield Homes

“Many shoppers wait to buy, but often return to find out that the home they had their eye on is sold,” says Lora Heramb, vice president of sales and marketing for Brookfield Homes. “With a limited number of homes available at Cordova, buyers should move quickly.”

Cordova’s two-story townhomes range from 1,638 to 2,024 square feet with three to four bedrooms and 2.5 to three baths. Recently released homes include:
·    Two completed homes are available for immediate occupancy and include upgraded flooring at no additional cost to the buyer.  Prices start at $301,900.
·    Five homes are currently under construction and will be available for move-in during early fall. Prices start at $281,900.
·    Three professionally decorated model homes are also available. The models– all perched on a hillside with no across-the-street neighbors — can be purchased with or without furniture. Prices start at $316,900.

All residents at Cordova have access to a private recreation center, including a large pool, spa, barbecue area and changing rooms exclusively for Cordova residents.

Cordova homeowners also have access to Windingwalk’s two private recreation centers and park, including the acclaimed WindingOaks Recreation Center equipped with a resort-style play pool, Junior Olympic lap swimming pool, and spa and locker rooms with restrooms and showers. WindingOaks also comes complete with a fully equipped gym, conference/meeting room, grassy play areas, a covered outdoor pavilion with exterior fireplace and barbecue, and a wedding garden featuring a wide lawn and covered gazebo The park at Windingwalk includes a basketball court, ball fields, skateboard park and many other amenities. Brookfield also offers Trellis, a neighborhood of detached homes at Windingwalk priced from $439,900.

Menas Realty Company

Julie Menas, President of Menas Realty Company

Menas Realty Company recently was awarded the contract for Miraval, a new community by Davidson Communities in Carmel Valley, consisting of 41 single family homes. Davidson Communities, who has a legacy of building iconic new neighborhoods in San Diego, launched its latest gated enclave of larger family homes on March 3, 2012.

Pulte Homes has opened its sales office for Latitude, building an additional 44 homes at the South end of the community. These homes are conveniently located near community schools, have easy access to the 56 freeway, and are near a variety of shopping and dining.

The two builders have formed one Homeowner Association for both communites. We are excited and honored to have been selected to manage this new Association and look forward to the growth and development as the community evolves.

Cavignac and Associates

Kelly Weaver

Kelly Weaver has been promoted to an account executive at Cavignac & Associates, a leading San Diego risk management and insurance brokerage firm, announced Jeffrey W. Cavignac, CPCU, ARM, RPLU, CRIS, president and principal of the firm.

Weaver counsels the firm’s professional liability clients, including design, engineering, environmental, law, and accounting professionals.  She advises them on risk management issues and market coverages, and provides comprehensive review of clients’ business contracts.  In this capacity, she works closely with Jeff Cavignac and Dorothy Amundson, who also handle professional liability clients for the firm.

Weaver additionally continues to provide professional counsel to her commercial clients, providing market knowledge, risk control, and contract review.

Weaver has been employed by Cavignac & Associates for five years, first working as an intern, then moving her way up to account administrator and eventually taking responsibility for her own portfolio of professional liability, commercial, non-profit and action sports clients. She had several years of prior insurance industry training and experience working at Weaver & Associates, a leading risk management and insurance brokerage firm in Los Angeles, owned and operated by her parents.

Weaver is a graduate of San Diego State University (SDSU), where she competed on the National Championship Water Ski team.  She holds a Professional Workers Compensation Advisor (PWCA) designation, and is currently pursuing the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Management Liability Insurance Specialist (MLIS) designations.

Weaver serves on the board of the YMCA Overnight Camping Branch, is a committee member for Women Give San Diego, a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Organization, and an active volunteer with various community organizations including the Surfrider Foundation and Senior Community Centers.  She also is a member and part-founder of Next Level Missions, as well as a member of the SDSU Alumni, San Diego Sports Innovations, and the San Diego Triathlon Club.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Weaver has made San Diego her home, residing in the community of Pacific Beach.  When not working, she enjoys biking, surfing, waterskiing, competing in triathlons and traveling.

Trigild’s new general counsel has

had some very unusual tasks since

taking post

By THOR KAMBAN BIBERMAN, The Daily Transcript

Fernando Landa, Trigild Corp.

Fernando Landa,Trigild Corp.’s new general counsel’s unusual tasks have included what to do with a tenant growing a large indoor pot farm in Northern California, getting a body out of a Kansas apartment and closing a brothel that operated out of a truck stop.

While these events are not the typical fare for Landa since joining Trigild last November, he has learned to expect the unexpected.

Landa recalled taking over one commercial property in Northern California where marijuana was being grown.

“Medical marijuana is legal at the state level, but it’s still illegal at the federal level so we had to abide by that,” Landa said, adding that the grower was booted off the property.

Landa said Trigild sometimes runs into surprises when inspecting an address.

“We found a brothel at a truck stop in the Northeast and found a dead body (apparently of natural causes) in a property in Kansas City … “We handle everything from these kinds of cases to apartments with bad neighbors to really nice hotels,” Landa continued.

“Trigild is really knowledgeable about what to do in these instances and they make my life really easy.”

Maybe not quite so easy. For example, in the case of a portfolio of 50 gas stations, he has the challenge of finding all the responsible parties to clean up the petroleum from leaking into underground storage tanks.

Landa must also remove legal obstacles to facilitate the resale of foreclosed hotel properties. One of the success stories was San Diego-based Pacifica Host Hotels’purchase of the 98-room Inn at Morro Bay on the Central California coast out of foreclosure. The hotel, which had roughly $14 million in debt, reportedly sold for about $9 million earlier this month.

With hotels, Landa notes it is necessary to deal with labor law, liquor licenses, amend existing franchise agreements and a host of other matters if the property is to be successfully transferred.

Trigild has especially become well known for its disposition of apartment properties. Most notable among these, which came before Landa’s time, was the Bethany Properties portfolio that consisted of seven Arizona apartment complexes comprising 2,759 units. Bethany literally walked away from the units, leaving tenants to fend for themselves.

“These complexes had a combined occupancy of about 40 percent,” Landa said.

Landa said he was pleased that Trigild had that occupancy to about 90 percent by the time an Arizona Superior Court judge approved the sale of the portfolio for $123 million to Standard Portfolio last August. What’s more, the court was so assured that it allowed Trigild to go directly to the sale rather than having to navigate the foreclosure process.

While he wasn’t personally involved with the Bethany case, Landa said cases like it are the reason he took the job with Trigild.

“It’s a fascinating line of work …” Landa said. “You just jump in with the leasing issues, repairs and maintenance.”

Along with handling completed projects, Landa noted that Trigild is called into finish incomplete jobs. Despite a few very unusual cases, Landa is just as comfortable in real estate as he is in the legal world.

Prior to practicing law, Landa was an associate at the London Group Realty Advisors, providing strategic consulting and financial analysis services for real estate developers and investers throughout the United States and Mexico, and was also a public policy analyst at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.

Landa was previously an associate with Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley LLP, a leading San Diego real estate law firm, where he was involved in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing and disposition of residential and commercial real estate assets. He also possesses significant litigation experience, including alternative dispute resolution and trial work.

As general counsel, Landa provides legal and strategic expertise to company management. In this capacity, he develops and negotiates real estate contracts, represents Trigild in judicial proceedings, serves as receiver and provides guidance on a wide variety of corporate and real estate issues.

Landa said he is involved in sales and leasing work, due diligence, probate, the liquidation of assets and a variety of consulting roles as well as acting as a receiver.

At Trigild, Landa oversees a 10-person legal department that includes five paralegals and said that they are hiring more staff.

Landa notes that Trigild is still seeing a tremendous amount of distressed property during its day-to-day operations.

“Commercial real estate is going to get worse over the next two years. We keep getting busier,” he continued.

Landa says the good news is commercial real estate buyers, whether individual investors or giant real estate investment trusts, are returning to the market.

County staff will hold a workshop on March 19th to provide more detail to three alternative financing plans that range from $420 million to $535 million.  Additional workshops are scheduled for March 22nd in Ramona and March 27th in Jamul.

It is expected to go to the County Planning Commission on April 13th followed by a hearing before County Supervisors in May.

Students must be full time, from San Diego County or going to school in San Diego, and be pursuing a career as a developer, contractor, architect, civil/structural/soils engineer, designer, interior designer, banker, accountant, planner, landscape architect, framer, carpenter, plumber, electrician or other real estate and development related profession.  The scholarships are highly competitive and applicants will be evaluated based on their academic record, personal achievements and financial need.

To apply for one of the scholarships visit BIA Cares online, complete the application and submit a copy of your transcripts by April 20, 2012.  The scholarship committee will be awarding the scholarships to those deserved
students in June, 2012.

Cares Scholarships are an Investment in the Industry’s Future

BIA Cares Scholarship recipient describes her BIA experience

As a result of BIA’s great networking and membership events, I learned about the BIA Cares scholarship program.  After an extensive application and interview process, I was awarded a 2011 BIA Cares Scholarship. As a full-time student with a part time job, the scholarship funding helped me financially, but also provided me with the confidence to pursue a career in real estate. I am in my second year of BIA membership and an active participant in Association activities.  I will pursue increased involvement in BIA’s political activities and industry activism upon graduation in May 2012.

Through my association with SDSU’s Real Estate Society, I initially received exposure to the Building Industry Association’s Young Generation of Leaders (y|GEN) and have gained first-hand exposure to the real estate industry. The y|GEN’s mentorship program – which pairs young professionals or students with industry leaders – is an excellent way to gain perspective on the industry as a whole.

~Tori Massie