Volume 10, Number 7, September 27, 2004

This Issue of the BOMA-San Francisco Advocate Is Brought To You By

Window Solutions, Inc.
Questions or inquiries about the BOMA San Francisco Advocate should be directed to Ken Cleaveland, BOMA San Francisco's Government and Public Affairs Director
Phone: (415)362-2662 x11 or Email: kenc@boma.com

BOMA Needs Your Help to Bring New Leadership to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors!
Help us support candidates who understand and agree that creating a strong local economy must be a top priority for our city government leaders. Help us support candidates who understand that passing anti-business legislation that restricts growth won't stimulate new business development, job opportunities or the construction of much-needed housing for San Franciscans.
Help us make a difference by attending one or more of the following three BOMA Board of Supervisors Fundraising events:

Event #1 - Reception for Lillian Sing, Candidate for District 1 Supervisor. This event will be held at the home of Tom/Nancy Gille, 772 Second Avenue, San Francisco, on Wednesday, September 29th, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Lillian Sing is running against incumbent Jake McGoldrick, who, in a recent tabulation of Board votes, received a meager 27% favorable voting score on business issues over the past four years. Ms. Sing is a former County Judge, and a civil rights attorney. She is a bridge builder, reformer, and pragmatic person who will be well-equipped to solve the problems facing her district and the City. More importantly, Lillian Sing believes that City Government should be "job friendly", and would support incentives to help bring jobs back to San Francisco. Judge Sing believes the city should acknowledge that no services can be provided to its citizens without a strong and successful private business community.  Members are encouraged to support her by attending this event at Tom and Nancy Gille's home September 29th! Make checks payable t Lillian Sing for Supervisor, FPPC #1266200.  All contributions amounts up to $500 are appreciated. Please click here for a reservation form or call Ken Cleaveland at 415-362-2662, x11!

Event #2 - Reception for Myrna Lim, Candidate for District 11 Supervisor.  This event will be held at the City Club, 155 Sansome Street, 9th Floor, Bechtel Room, on Thursday evening, September 30th, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Special guest Steve Westly, California State Controller, will also be present. Running for Supervisor in District 11 (Excelsior, Oceanside, Merced, Ingleside), Myrna Lim is no stranger to our world of real estate. She is a realtor, property manager, and former member of the city's Planning Commission. She understands the many obstacles facing developers, property owners, and anyone trying to build in San Francisco, and has pledged to help streamline our bogged-down planning and building departments. She firmly believes in the city's need to create its own economic development plan and supports more housing for the middle class. Lim's campaign slogan is: "It's all about Jobs!" On the other hand, her opponent, incumbent Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, has a disappointing voting record, with only a 27% business friendly record. Make checks payable to Myrna Lim for District 11 Supervisor, FPPC #1256697. Suggested contribution: $250 - $500.  Please click here for a reservation form or call Ken Cleaveland at 415-362-2662, x11!

Event #3 - Luncheon with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, District 7. (West Portal, St. Francis Woods, West of Twin Peaks areas) This event will also be held at the City Club, 155 Sansome Street, 9th Floor (Bechtel Room), on Friday, October 8th, from 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Sean Elsbernd was appointed to the Board of Supervisors by Mayor Gavin Newsom a scant 8 weeks ago, but is no stranger to city government, or to his district. A native of the district, he most recently worked as legislative aide to former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall for three years. Savvy, thoughtful, and interested in improving the quality of life in San Francisco, and government efficiency at City Hall, Sean is the kind of solid business-friendly leader we need on the Board of Supervisors. Make checks payable to Sean Elsbernd for Supervisor, FPPC #1268368. Suggested contribution: $250 - $500. Please click here for a reservation form or call Ken Cleaveland at 415-362-2662, x11!

New San Francisco Anti-Graffiti Ordinance Proposed - First Public Hearing September 30th - 9:30 a.m.  
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be considering a new anti-graffiti ordinance this month, submitted by Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. This ordinance, with substantial input from the City's Anti Graffiti Advisory Committee, will establish new guidelines and fines for graffiti not abated in a timely manner. In particular, it has been noted that graffiti increasingly is used by gangs to frighten residents and leads to neighborhood degradation. Graffiti is visual pollution, reduces property values, and the quality of life of all San Franciscans. It is also a crime which must be vigorously prosecuted by both the police, and the District Attorney's office, with constant support by the business community and local residents. Under this new proposal, the owner of the property will be given a 30 day notice to abate the graffiti or request a hearing from the Director of Public Works. After that, the City will remove the graffiti and charge the owner the greater of $500 or the actual costs the City incurred to remove it. The Mayor recently ordered all city departments to remove graffiti found on city property within 48 hours, as he recognizes much of the graffiti vandalism in the City is done to public property. The more lenient time allowed to private property owners is a realization of their position as victims of vandalism, but does not relieve property owners of their responsibility to remove graffiti as soon as possible.  A public hearing on this revised anti-graffiti ordinance is scheduled for Thursday, September 30th at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall before the City Services Committee. Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Fiona Ma, and Sean Elsbernd serve on this committee. BOMA supports this revised ordinance as it gives all owners - with or without onsite management - adequate time to comply. Call Ken Cleaveland for a faxed copy of the revised ordinance.

SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Meets with BOMA Political Action Committee
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd had only been on the job a few weeks, when he graciously agreed to meet with BOMA's Political Action Committee on August 26th. Supervisor Elsbernd was candid, down to earth, and focused in his remarks about the life as a San Francisco Supervisor for District 7, which encompasses West Portal, St. Francis Woods, Miraloma Park, and the Lake Merced areas on the west side of Twin Peaks. He considers himself a policy wonk, which came in handy working 3 years for Supervisor Tony Hall, the previous District 7 Supervisor. He was working as a Mayoral assistant when Gavin Newsom appointed him. He is a fiscal conservative, and feels the city budget recently adopted by the Board of Supervisors must be respected. He would even like to see the city come in UNDER budget this fiscal year. (July 04- June 05) He also is keen to address the quality of life issues plaguing the city, including in his district. These include homelessness, aggressive panhandling, graffiti, poorly maintained city parks and recreation areas, and the city's acute low homeownership levels. [Elsbernd last week introduced legislation to allow owners of apartment buildings of 12 or fewer units to sell their units to tenants, if done at a 20% below market value, and if a majority of tenants in the building wish to purchase their units. The tenants wishing to remain renters will be given life-time rights to remain as such in the converting rent-controlled buildings.]  Supervisor Elsbernd also supports Proposition I on the City Ballot in November, which would establish an Office of Economic Analysis,  and require new legislation to be evaluated for what impacts it might have on job creation, before it can be passed. This measure, written and introduced by Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, is also endorsed by BOMA SF's PAC Board of Directors. In the long run, Supervisor Elsbernd would like to see substantial charter reforms that would increase city government efficiencies, accountability, and reduce costs. BOMA SF's PAC unanimously endorsed Sean Elsbernd for election Nov. 2.

BOMA Advocacy Briefings Scheduled for Members
BOMA San Francisco will host two special "Advocacy Briefings" covering the candidates running for local election on November 2nd as well as the local city propositions upon which voters must decide. The first session will be October 6th, Wednesday, at 9 a.m. at 44 Montgomery Street, basement conference center. Jim Chappell, President of SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association) and Jaime Rossi, Vice President, Government Affairs, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, will discuss the various ballot measures facing city voters, and their potential impacts on business and/or real estate. The second session, to be held on Thursday, October 14th, also at 44 Montgomery Street's basement conference center, and will feature noted pollster David Binder, and his most current assessment of the upcoming local elections for Supervisor. Both sessions are free, and run 1 1/2 hours each and will be very interesting! Members and/or guests should call the BOMA office (Leah Eisbart, 415-362-8567) to reserve their seat!

New Rules/Fees Regarding False Alarms in San Francisco
San Francisco cracked down on false residential burglary alarm calls last year with the initiation of an annual fee of $40 per residence, and a one "free" false alarm visit by San Francisco police before fines are assessed on the homeowner. Now, the San Francisco Fire Department obtained passage of a similar ordinance to reduce the number of false fire alarm calls to which it will respond before it will begin imposing fines on the building owner. Effective August 22, 2004, the legislation allows the Fire Department to assess properties for false fire alarms after the first two per year (previously it was five). This "service fee" of $250 per false alarm response will increase to $500 per incident for all such calls after the first five (previously this amount kicked in after 10 such calls per year). Revenues from these fines will go to the Fire Department. Want details? Contact the City's Fire Marshal Paul Chin at 415-558-3342.

New Personnel Changes at San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection
Last week Frank Chiu, the Director of the Department of Building Inspection for the past nine years, resigned. Jim Hutchinson, his deputy is the Acting Director until the Building Inspection Commission approves a new permanent director. The elevation of Mr. Hutchinson brings with it significant new personnel changes at the department, including the re-assignment of Deputy Director William Wong as the new Commercial Division Manager, and Hanson Tom moving to Special Projects. Jeffrey Ma will handle engineering, and Neil Friedman will be in charge of architectural plan check. Laurence Kornfield remains the Chief Building Inspector, and head of Technical Services, and Amy Lee remains Manager of Administrative Services. BOMA members are the largest dollar volume group of customers at DBI, hence they have a substantial investment in its efficiency and responsiveness in timely plan review and inspections of projects.  An innovative "over the counter" permit program was just getting initiated when Director Chiu resigned, but our BOMA Codes Task Force is hopeful this effort will not be sidetracked. Also, new procedures dealing with the sprinkler retrofit law, which will become fully applicable February 15, 2006, were recently released to all building owners. These new guidelines lay out what the Department will need to grant any temporary waivers to the ordinance.

BOMA California Update --- Governor Schwarzenegger Saves the Day - Vetos Anti-Business Bills

SB 1521 - BOMA was gratified Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this bill, which would have extended the transitional employment period from 60 to 90 days at a worksite for janitorial and maintenance service workers when a new company is awarded the contract. The Governor, in his veto message to the Legislature, stated this bill was bad for CA businesses and economic growth.

AB 2406, authored by Assembly Member Rudy Bermudez (Imperial Valley), would have pushed the state into de facto acceptance of controversial NFPA Standard 1710, and would have mandated the state establish local fire department's response times and staffing performance objectives. BOMA believes in local control of these decisions, and is pleased the Governor vetoed the legislation.

AB 2213, authored by Assembly Member Jackie Goldberg (Los Angeles), would have required the successor employer engaged in janitorial service work to be responsible for wages and penalties that were owed to the predecessor employer's former employee(s). It was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 2850, authored by Ridley-Thomas (Los Angeles), would have imposed a mandatory 90 day carryover employment period for private security officers employed by one firm, when that firm is replaced by another company. This legislation, modeled after the "Displaced Janitors Act", which was passed several years ago, and signed into law by Governor Davis, would have severely hampered owner's ability to upgrade and increase their buildings' security services. For the same reasons he vetoed SB 1521, the Governor also vetoed AB 2850. 

SB 1892, authored by outgoing Senator John Burton (D, San Francisco) was also vetoed by the Governor. This legislation would have made it virtually impossible for the state to contract out future services to the private sector. Here is what the Governor said in his message rejecting the measure. It is very instructive.  Only AB 2006, the Southern California Edison sponsored bill which would re-regulate the energy industry in California, remains as a top BOMA priority to be rejected.

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 1892 without my signature.

This bill repeals and amends various provisions regarding State personal services contracts and establishes that if the State Personnel Board (SPB) disapproves any contract, any individual could sue for the recovery of any State funds paid to a contractor, even if the contract has been negotiated and the contractor has begun the work.

This bill adds additional and unnecessary burdens to the contracting process of the State by requiring that no work can be done until SPB, and labor organizations, have approved or disapproved the contract. It also eliminates the 30-day timeframe in which the SPB must act on personal services contracts leading to increased delays and costs in getting contracts approved and awarded. In addition, it makes contractors liable for the amount already paid out under the contract if SPB determines that a current contract does not comply, thereby putting private contractors at risk to incur fines even though they entered into a contract in good faith and performed the work satisfactorily.

 This bill creates significant delays, backlogs and eliminates competition. Such delays will unnecessarily impact essential public services and places increased costs on all state agencies, including the State Personnel Board.

 For the reasons stated above, I cannot support this measure.

 Sincerely, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor

Important October Dates To Remember! (Print and Save)

• October 4th (Monday) BOMA Brown Bag on "What to do with Abandoned Cable" featuring noted telecom attorney, Manny Fishman, Stoel Rives, at the BOMA office. No charge. Noon. Call the BOMA office to reserve a seat (Leah Eisbart, 415-362-8567)
  
• October 5th (Tuesday) BOMA's Government and Public Affairs Committee meeting will feature Monique Moyer, new Director of the San Francisco Port Authority as guest speaker. Reservations required. Open to all members. Noon - 1:30 p.m. BOMA Office. Contact Ken Cleaveland at 415-362-2662, x11.
  
• October 6th (Wednesday) BOMA Public Policy Briefing on City Ballot Measures with Jim Chappell of SPUR and Jaime Rossi of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. 9 a.m., 44 Montgomery Street basement conference ctr. No charge, but reservations are requested. Contact the BOMA office at 415-362-8567.
  
• October 7th (Thursday) BOMA Seminar on "How to Establish an Effective Emergency Command Center". This seminar will give attendees an overview of Command center planning, logistics, and a "how to" on implementation. Three different emergency scenarios will be presented to show how such a command center would manage the crisis. 8:45 - 11:30 a.m., Bechtel Conference Room, 3rd Floor, 50 Beale Street, SF. Registration and fee required. Sign up at www.bomasf.org.
  
• October 8th (Friday) fundraising luncheon for San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, City Club, 155 Sansome Street, 9th Floor, Bechtel Room, 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. Reservations and contribution required. See Page 1 for details.
  
• October 12th (Tuesday) BOMA Luncheon in San Mateo with peninsula California Assembly Member Gene Mullin. This luncheon will focus on the recently adjourned Legislature in Sacramento, and what Assembly Member Mullin believes was the good, the bad, and the ugly of the session. 12:00 p.m., Radisson Villa Hotel, San Mateo. Registration and fee required. Sign up at www.bomasf.org. Special thanks to Golden Gate Disposal for being an underwriter of this program for BOMA.
  
• October 12th (Tuesday) special District 11 Candidates' Forum, co-sponsored by SFSOS, BOMA, Plan C, Outer Mission Residents Association, and other organizations, at 7 p.m., Ingleside Police Station Community Room.
  
• October 14th (Thursday) BOMA Public Policy Briefing on City Supervisor Races with noted pollster David Binder as presenter. 9 a.m., 44 Montgomery Street basement conference ctr. No charge, but reservations are requested. Please contact the BOMA office at 415-362-8567.
  
• October 28th (Thursday) BOMA General Membership Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon, Palace Hotel, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Reservations and fee required. Sign up at www.bomasf.org.
  
• Coming in November:

November 2: ELECTION DAY!

November 9th (Tuesday) BOMA's Government and Public Affairs Committee meeting        featuring Marco Li Mandri, President of New City America, a leading organization providing expertise and guidance in the establishment of business and community improvement districts throughout the country, as guest speaker. Reservations required. Open to all members. Noon - 1:30 p.m. BOMA office. Contact Ken Cleaveland at 415-362-2662, x11. 

November 10th (Wednesday) BOMA's Annual Codes Seminar featuring updates on local building and fire permit issues, with special focus on green building code changes, energy rebate programs for commercial office buildings, and more. 8 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Palace Hotel. Registration and fee required. Sign up at www.bomasf.org.

November 18th (Thursday) BOMA's General Membership Meeting featuring Rex Hime, President, California Business Properties Association, and top lobbyist for BOMA California as guest speaker. 11:30 a.m., Palace Hotel, Registration and fee required. Sign up at www.bomasf.org.

Tim Falvey Honored by San Francisco Small Business Network!
And last but not least, BOMA wishes to congratulate Tim Falvey, President of Hanford-Freund and Company, for receiving the Best Small Business Award for firms with less than 25 employees at the Small Business Network's 20th Anniversary Dinner, held September 9th at the World Trade Club. Tim Falvey also serves as a member of BOMA's Political Action Committee Board of Directors, and Government and Public Affairs Committee, and is the San Francisco Association of Realtors' representative to the Small Business Network's Board of Directors. Congratulations, Tim!