As we alerted you on May 9, legislation to incentivize office and commercial building conversions to housing had begun working its way through the Board of Supervisors after approval by the San Francisco Planning Commission....more
The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval on May 4 of two ordinances aimed at revitalizing the City’s Downtown, South of Market Street, and Union Square districts.
Vacant Office and...more
COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates caused employers to close their locations or significantly reduce operations, leaving many commercial buildings empty. As state and local COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, building...more
4/28/2021
/ Business Operations ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Commercial Real Estate Contracts ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Common Areas ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Landlords ,
Office Space ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Ventilation Systems ,
Webinars ,
Workplace Safety
The California Court of Appeal issued a unanimous decision that will have lasting, positive implications for developers utilizing SB 35. SB 35 (Cal. Gov't Code Sec. 65913.4) requires cities and counties to quickly and...more
The City of Oakland spent the last four years developing the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan to address growth and revitalization of the downtown area over the next 20 years and to ensure that development takes into...more
As part of San Francisco’s ongoing energy efficiency push, the Board of Supervisors passed, and the Mayor signed, legislation that expands energy performance disclosure and benchmarking requirements to multifamily residential...more
5/23/2019
/ Benchmarking ,
Board of Supervisors ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Fines ,
Local Ordinance ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Public Utility ,
Residential Property Owners ,
San Francisco ,
Tenants
On July 31, 2018, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved changes to the City’s local density bonus program, known as HOME-SF. Introduced by Supervisors Katy Tang and Ahsha Safai, the new ordinance seeks to induce more...more
8/3/2018
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Affordable Housing ,
Board of Supervisors ,
Density Bonus ,
Expedited Approval Process ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Local Ordinance ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
San Francisco ,
Urban Planning & Development
On the final day of the legislative session, California’s legislature approved 15 separate housing bills, taking a big step toward addressing California’s ongoing housing crisis. The collection of bills comes after months of...more
The future of California’s cap-and-trade program looks a little brighter, thanks to a 2-1 vote of the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District on April 6. The decision, which held that the cap-and-trade program is...more
With increasing concern and attention being raised by regulatory agencies and the public on protecting building occupants from exposure to vapor intrusion (VI)-related contaminants, parties acquiring and developing property...more
4/6/2017
/ Bona Fide Purchaser ,
Buyers ,
CERCLA ,
Contaminated Properties ,
DTSC ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Land Owners ,
Mitigation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance
A seeming contradiction between two recent federal district court rulings on preemption and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of pharmaceuticals creates some uncertainty about whether evidence submitted by the...more
On June 15, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in California Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose, No. S212072, unanimously upholding the validity of inclusionary housing programs in...more
After years of deliberation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Agencies) issued their long-awaited final rule last week defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) for Clean Water...more