The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced the details of the much-anticipated Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Version 3 building certification program (LEED v3, also referred to as LEED 2009). LEED, a third-party certification program, is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
In January, we discussed the Seattle City Council’s consideration of Council Bill 116404, which would increase tree protection under the City Code. On February 23, 2009, the City Council passed the ordinance with a vote of 8-1, and the Mayor signed the legislation on March 2nd. This ordinance limits removal of “exceptional trees” (as defined in the City Code and regulations) and trees 6 inches in diameter or greater on certain residential and commercial lots within the City.
In this March 3, 2009 decision, the Kitsap County Hearing Examiner denied a Conditional Use Permit for a day care center and school in a rural area near Port Orchard based on the Examiner’s finding that "[t]he proposal would be materially detrimental to uses or property in the immediate vicinity, and would not be compatible with the existing character, appearance . . . and physical characteristics of property in the immediate vicinity." The Examiner based this finding on a number of possible impacts of the proposal, including "[n]oise generated by laughter and screaming of young children during outdoor playtime and [added] vehicle trips to and from the property." The Examiner also cited traffic safety concerns, and possible impacts to wetlands near trails on the property, as"[y]oung children accompanying instructors to group gatherings . . . would likely not stay on the existing path or footbridge, but would venture off the path trampling stream banks and wetland area . . ."
The Kitsap Sun and KOMO News have both run stories on the denial, which could be appealed to the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.
If you have a commercial real estate loan, the loan documents probably give the lender the right to conduct periodic property inspections. And in today’s economy, lenders are taking a hard look at the collateral securing their loans. Loan documents often give lenders certain remedies if there are concerns about the property, such as allowing the lender to require or increase repair reserve payments, to increase financial reporting requirements, to require rents to be paid into a lockbox, to impose a default interest rate, and in certain cases even to call a default on the loan.
So where should you spend your hard earned maintenance dollars? In 2008, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued a new commercial/multifamily real estate property inspection form for a variety of property types, such as Office, Retail, Multifamily, Healthcare, Lodging and Industrial. The inspection form has received industry-wide adoption by funding sources, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (although apparently not by the Federal Housing Administration).
Property owners and management companies should review the inspection form and the reference guide to see how lenders will be evaluating their properties. The guide also provides a helpful overview of the inspection process, so you’ll know how to prepare for the inspection and what kinds of information the inspector will want from you.
Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is currently updating the City’s Shoreline Master Program, which regulates land use and development on and near the City’s shorelines. As a part of this update, which is slated for completion around December 2010, the City has carried out a comprehensive study of the relative health of Seattle’s shorelines. The report, entitled Seattle Shoreline Characterization Report (available on DPD’s website here), classifies the relative health of Seattle’s shorelines from "Least Impaired" to "Most Impaired" based on a number of factors relating to shoreline ecological functions. Among the areas classified as "Most Impaired" are Lake Union and its Ship Canal, the Duwamish near Harbor Island, and the Downtown Waterfront.
Given the State Department of Ecology’s mandate that local Shoreline Master Programs protect "ecological functions of the shorelines," owners of land near the more "impaired" shorelines may see stricter regulations of land use and development under the updated Shoreline Master Program. Public comments on the report are being accepted through April 16, 2009.
In December, we discussed a rule finalized during the final weeks of the Bush administration which limited agencies’ consultation requirements under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a March 3, 2009 memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies, President Obama requested that the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce “review the regulation [and] determine whether to undertake new rulemaking procedures with respect to consultative and concurrence processes that will promote the purpose of the ESA.” The memorandum does not purport to repeal the rule, but rather requests that agency heads “exercise their discretion . . . to follow the prior longstanding consultation and concurrence practices involving the FWS and NMFS.” This memorandum shows a strong preference for agency consultations under the ESA, and may signal a push for future changes to the ESA regulations.
The full text of the memorandum can be accessed here.
Media coverage of President Obama’s ESA memorandum can be reviewed at the following links:
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