JUNE 2021
"My Journey"
SHERYL PALMER
Taylor Morrison Home Corporation Chairman & CEO
Q&A with Lynn Jochim FIVE POINT Chief Operating Officer City of Ontario & Ontario Ranch #1 Top-selling masterplanned community in California
Leading with Community and Technology
CADIZ Water Project
How Water Supply & New Homes are Connected
Q&A with Randall Lewis Lewis Group of Companies Executive Vice President, Marketing
BIASC Celebrates Women & Diversity & Much More!
The BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER Edition Designed By
Southern California
What’s Inside New Members
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Renewing Members
5
Chairman’s Message - Dave Bartlett
7
2021 Governing Board
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BIASC Chairman/CEO’s Message
9
Letter From Editor Craig Foster
You Build
C A L I F O R N I A
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Upcoming BIASC & Chapter Events
12-13
BIS 3.0
14-17
My Journey by Sheryl Palmer
19-21
Q&A With Chris Ball – Brookfield Residential
23-25
Remembering an Icon – Eli Broad
26-27
Q&A With Lynn Jochim – FivePoint
29-31
BILD Board Spotlight
32-33
BALDY VIEW CHAPTER ISSUE 35 BIABV Chapter President Update – Tim Roberts
37-39
BIABV Executive Officer Update – Carlos Rodriquez
41-43
Ontario: Past, Present & Future
45-47
Q&A With Randall Lewis – Lewis Group Of Companies
49-52
Ontario: Story Behind America’s Fastest-Growing Airport
53-57
City of Ontario & Ontario Ranch
59-61
SoCalGas is proud to partner with California
Q&A With Phil Burum, City of Fontana
63-67
builders to offer homeowners clean,
Fontana Setting A Standard
affordable, reliable energy.
Working Hard & Striving To Make A Difference – Ali Sahabi
71-73
Brighter West: On Track For A Greener, Faster Future
74-75
To keep your projects moving, we’ve made builders a priority
Government Affairs Spotlight
77-79
for our New Business Builder Liaisons Team so that you have:
Cadiz Water Project
81-83
40-Year Decline In California’s Housing Production
87-91
GMSC
94-95
Advocating For Courage – Steve Greyshock
98-99
• One key point of contact for handling project concerns • Assistance with project tracking and management
Learn more at socalgas.com/builders
• Access to Energy Efficiency programs
© 2021 Southern California Gas Company. All copyright and trademark rights reserved. N21J085A 0621
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Southern California
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June 2021
NextGen Update
Southern California
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April 2021 Chief Editor Craig Foster BIASC Executive Vice President Editor & Production Coordinator Karissa Willette BIASC Public Affairs Manager Production Editors Randy Carver Elain Ng Kovach Marketing BIASC Reporter Laer Pearce 2021 BIASC Chairman Dave Bartlett Brookfield Residential Vice President, Land
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June 2021
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BIASC CEO Jeff Montejano Chief Executive Officer
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUILDER is a copyrighted publication produced by the Building Association of Southern California. Advertising and editorial inquiries and materials should be emailed to: kwillette@biasc.org. All publication rights are fully reserved.
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WELCOME
PLEASE WELCOME BACK OUR
RENEWING MEMBERS MARCH 12, 2021 - JUNE 7, 2021
PLEASE WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
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CDS Insurance Services
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Agio Real Estate, Inc.
Chambers Group Inc.
HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc.
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Highland Fairview
ALBD Electric & Cable
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Citadel Roofing and Solar
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Alston & Bird LLP
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Clark & Green
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Communications Lab
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J De Sigio Construction, Inc.
American Precast Concrete, Inc
Corbett, Steelman & Specter
Jackson Tidus, A Law Corporation
Anderson Chevrolet - Fleet Division
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Applied Photography LLC
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Land Advisors - California
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BSH Appliances
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The Magazine of the Building Industry Association of Southern California
The Magazine of the Building Industry Association of Southern California The Magazine of the Building Industry Association of Southern California
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• Certainty in Uncertain Times – A Message from BIASC President Certainty in UncertainTom Times –A Grable
Message from BIASC President • Hindsight is 2020: Q&A with Tom Grable BIASC CEO Jeff Montejano
• Hindsight is 2020: Q&A with with Your Elected • Connecting Officials: Letters from Your BIASC CEO Jeff Montejano County Supervisors
Building Industry Show Issue
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Contact BIASC Public Affairs Manager Karissa Willette Southern atPlease kwillette@biasc.org for availability and pricing. contact BIASC Public Affairs Manager California Karissa Willette at | June 2021 BUILDER
BIASC Chairman’s Message:
Why Local Inclusionary Zoning Laws Only Worsen
California’s Housing Crisis California made national headlines recently when it was announced that due to the state’s slowing population growth over the last decade, California would be losing a seat in Congress for the first time in the state’s history. The primary cause behind the state’s meager growth is that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2010-2020, more people moved out of California than moved in. Fueling the California exodus is the extraordinarily high cost of housing caused by the state’s dire housing shortage. Frustratingly, Sacramento continues to remain rudderless when it comes to crafting any sort of comprehensive plan that will allow for the supply of housing to begin to meet the overwhelming demand. At the same time, some city and county elected officials have chosen to go down a path of adopting restrictive housing policies that end up limiting, or oftentimes stopping, new home construction. Among these policies is the adoption of extremely restrictive housing regulations known as inclusionary zoning. Under the guise of creating more affordable housing, inclusionary zoning requires homebuilders to set aside a percentage of new housing units to be sold or rented at belowmarket prices. In some instances, builders can forgo these setasides, but only if they agree to pay costly fees to local public agencies to subsidize future affordable housing projects. In reality, inclusionary zoning is essentially a tax on new housing, forcing homebuilders to make up for lost revenue by passing on added costs to market-rate home buyers and renters. The mandates under inclusionary zoning become so financially unrealistic that homebuilders are forced to drastically limit construction, or in many cases, not build at all. A 2019 study conducted by Point Loma University’s Fermanian Business and Economic Institute found that several California cities, including San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and
Southern California
BUILDER |
June 2021
Dave Bartlett
2021 BIASC Chairman VP, Land Entitlement, Land & Housing Development Brookfield Residential
Oakland, experienced considerable declines in housing production and development proposals due to restrictive inclusionary zoning policies. Regrettably, inclusionary zoning laws allow local municipalities to skirt responsibility for many existing policies and procedures, which add to the cost of housing. This frequently includes drawn-out processing times and the imposition of a myriad of costly building fees. In some cases, the motivations behind inclusionary zoning laws are much more deceptive. Knowing the impediments which these types of regulations place on new housing construction, no-growth elected officials will commonly use inclusionary zoning as a thinly-veiled attempt to stop the addition of new housing in their community. This is usually done to appease local NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) forces who apply significant political pressure for the sole reason of stopping new housing. Despite the overwhelmingly negative impact on housing affordability, inclusionary zoning ordinances continue to be adopted across the state. Just recently, the Southern California city of La Habra approved inclusionary zoning requirements on new home projects of just ten units or more. Builders are now required to set aside at least 15% of new units at belowmarket rates or pay the city a fee of $6.50 per square foot for each new home to subsidize future affordable housing construction. In voting against the city’s inclusionary zoning proposal, La Habra City Councilman Tim Shaw said it best, stating in the Orange County Register, “You’re taxing housing as a way of making it affordable – it’s never going to work. You can’t tax something into affordability.” If our elected leaders are sincere about ending California’s housing crisis, they must avoid creating added barriers to new housing and instead focus their efforts on allowing homebuilders to operate in a regulatory environment where new housing construction is encouraged.
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BIA of Southern California
BIASC Chairman/ C E O’s Message:
GOVERNING BOARD MEET THE 2021 BIASC GOVERNING BOARD
DAVE BARTLETT
TOM GRABLE
BIASC IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN
BIASC CHAIRMAN
MICHAEL BATTAGLIA BIASC VICE CHAIR
Q & A with BIA Immediate Past President Tom Grable, Tri Pointe Homes
CHRIS EDGAR
Tom Grable
BIASC Immediate Past Chairman
Jeff Montejano
BIASC Chief Executive Officer
BIASC VICE CHAIR
Tom: What’s the latest news and updates regarding BIASC?
MARK HIMMELSTEIN
PETER VANEK
ALI SAHABI
BIASC VICE CHAIR
BIASC VICE CHAIR
BIASC VICE CHAIR
Jeff: Our events programming and advocacy efforts are in full swing. Our first joint governing board session included the Regional and Chapter governing boards recently held at our Housing Summit in Rancho Mirage. The day had a heavy dose of advocacy, fun, and entertainment. This was our first official live event.
ALAN BOUDREAU BIASC SECRETARY & TREASURER
Why was a special joint session called? Jeff: It’s mind-boggling that a joint session of our boards has never been called before. Our goal is to have three to four of these types of joint sessions annually. Our chapters are the lifeblood of our organization, so we need to start collaborating and strategize more collectively. Did this event meet your expectations? MIKE BALSAMO
STEVE SCHUYLER
RANCHO MISSION VIEJO
IRVINE COMPANY
GREG MCWILLIAMS FIVE POINT
NICOLE MURRAY SHEA HOMES
JEREMY PARNESS LENNAR
ERREN O’LEARY LEWIS GROUP OF COMPANIES
Jeff: We exceeded our expectations by far. It was great to see everyone back together for a live event and to see our chapters all come together for some work, and to take a small break to enjoy everyone’s company. When is the next Board Housing Summit with the Chapter Boards? Jeff: The next board summit will be at the Building Industry Show at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula. The two summits following these will be held at the General Lyon Air Museum in Orange County and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Following our board meetings, our receptions will be open to all members.
MIKE GARTLAN KB HOME
CHARLES GALE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT
JENNIFER HERNANDEZ HOLLAND & KNIGHT
RANDY RICHARDS
WES KEUSDER
RELIABLE WHOLESALE LUMBER
KEUSDER HOMES
VALERIE HARDMAN OUTDOOR DIMENSIONS
These are nice venues, how were they selected? Jeff: Location for one, we want to make sure we move our events throughout the region. With General Lyon’s passing, we wanted to have a special event to honor him and his tenure with BIASC. Los Angeles is long overdue for a BIASC event, so we decided to work with the LA Chapter and plan a special event at the beautiful Reagan library. Our Building Industry show will be an exceptional event this year, so we want to make sure all boards can attend. What’s happening at BIS this year?
JONATHAN WELDY MERIDIAN LAND DEVEOPMENT COMPANY
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DAVE LITTLE
MIKE TAYLOR
PARDEE HOMES
PARDEE HOMES
RICK WOOD WOOD CONSULTING
JEFF MONTEJANO BIASC CEO
Southern California BUILDER | THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP
CRAIG FOSTER BIASC COO
June 2021
Jeff: Our theme is “Expect More,” so come see, and you’ll find out.
Southern California
BUILDER |
June 2021
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Letter From The Editor/Operations Update:
Craig Foster
BIASC Chief Operating Officer
major General William Lyon
I am pleased to present our sixth edition of the Southern California Builder magazine. We now have received several thousand viewerships per edition.
March 9, 1923-May 22, 2020
This edition focuses on the Baldy View Chapter and the exciting things happening in their area as well as key feature stories on members and elected officials that help make Baldy View a leading advocate for builders and developers in San Bernardino County. The Regional section of this edition focuses on and celebrates women and diversity in our industry, and I want to thank Sheryl Palmer CEO of Taylor Morrison and Lynn Jochim COO of Five Points for contributing to this issue. I would also like to thank BIASC Director of Internal Affairs Ana Gromis for coordinating key elements of this issue.
You are cordially invited to experience a virtual celebration on July 4th, 2021 featuring a collection of commemorative photos and videos acknowledging General Lyon’s life of service. You will also have the opportunity to post a personal message to the family.
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Operationally, the association is doing well. We have exceeded budget forecasts each month so far this year and are $460,000 ahead of projections to date. Membership is strong and growing. Events are rolling out and member participation is fantastic. Our members are hungry to get out and network and have some fun after the last 13 months of in-home office time. Please enjoy this edition of the Southern California Builder magazine.
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June 2021
Southern California
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June 2021
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UPCOMING BIASC & CHAPTER EVENTS
UPCOMING BIASC & CHAPTER EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
JULY
DATES TO BE DETERMINED - STAY TUNED! BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WORKSHOP BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER ELECTED OFFICIALS RECEPTION
7/13/21 BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER EMERGING LEADERS MORNING BUZZ 7/14/2021 BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER & BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER BACKYARD BBQ NETWORKING EVENT 7/21/21 BIA LOS ANGELES/VENTURA CHAPTER DODGERS V SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS GAME NIGHT 7/29/21 BIA RIVERSIDE COUNTY CHAPTER FAREWELL & CELEBRATION OF BORRE WINCKEL
OCTOBER 10/9/2021 GSMC SO CAL AWARDS
DATES TO BE DETERMINED - STAY TUNED! BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WORKSHOP BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER LOT BOWLING
10/14/2021 BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER ADVANCED MECHANICS LIEN SEMINAR BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER BITA WINE EVENT
AUGUST
10/18/2021 BIA LOS ANGELES/VENTURA CHAPTER ANNUAL TRAP SHOOT TOURNAMENT
8/13/21 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER CONFERENCE
10/21/2021 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER URBAN INFILL WORKSHOP COUNCIL ON SAGE AWARDS DINNER
8/11/2021 GSMC SUMMER SOCIAL
8/19/2021 COUNCIL ON SAGE BREAKFAST MEETING
10/25/2021 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
8/19/2021 BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER WINE UNDER THE STARS WILSON CREEK WINERY
10/28/2021 ALL CHAPTERS BOARD EVENT, LYON AIR MUSEUM
8/26/21 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
NOVEMBER 11/10/2021 GSMC WEBINAR
8/31/2021 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER ANGELS GAME NIGHT (NY V. YANKEES)
11/12/2021 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER INSTALLATION GALA
DATES TO BE DETERMINED - STAY TUNED! BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER CRAFTS & CARS NETWORKING EVENT
11/19/2021 BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER INSTALLATION GALA
SEPTEMBER
DATES TO BE DETERMINED - STAY TUNED! BIA RIVERSIDE CHAPTER GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WORKSHOP BIA LOS ANGELES/VENTURA CHAPTER GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
9/10/2021 BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT 9/15/2021 BIA LOS ANGELES/VENTURA CHAPTER BREWERY TOUR
DECEMBER
9/16/2021 COUNCIL ON SAGE BREAKFAST MEETING BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WORKSHOP
12/3/2021 BIA LOS ANGELES/VENTURA CHAPTER INSTALLATION GALA
9/29 - 30/2021 BUILDING INDUSTRY SHOW 3.0 - PECHANGA CASINO & RESORT
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12/9/2021 BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER INSTALLATION GALA
QUESTIONS? PLEASE CONTACT BIASC VICE PRESIDENT OF EVENTS LAURA BARBER AT LBARBER@BIASC.ORG
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June 2021
QUESTIONS? Southern California
PLEASE CONTACT BIASC VICE PRESIDENT OF EVENTS LAURA BARBER AT LBARBER@BIASC.ORG
2021 BUILDERR E|GJune ISTER & SPONSOR AT BIASC.ORG/EVENTS
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2021
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DON'T WAIT - REGISTER TODAY!
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ARE YOU READY? COUNTDOWN TO BIS 3.0
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You’re invited to the most anticipated event of the year! Save the Date for BIS 3.0 - September 29-30th, 2021! Sponsor, Exhibit & Register online at www.buildingindustryshow.com Southern California
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You’re invited to the most anticipated event of the year! Save the Date for BIS 3.0 - September 29-30th, 2021! Sponsor, Exhibit & Register online at www.buildingindustryshow.com
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EXPECT MORE
2021
2021
EXPECT MORE
BUILDINGINDUSTRYSHOW.COM
BUILDINGINDUSTRYSHOW.COM
MEET THE SPONSORS
MEET THE EXHIBITORS
SINK CRADLE
Sponsorships Still Available!
Limited Exhibit Space Still Available! Contact llundrigan@biasc.org
Contact llundrigan@biasc.org
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You’re invited to the most anticipated event of the year! Save the Date for BIS 3.0 - September 29-30th, 2021! Sponsor, Exhibit & Register online at www.buildingindustryshow.com Southern California
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June 2021
You’re invited to the most anticipated event of the year! Save the Date for BIS 3.0 - September 29-30th, 2021! Sponsor, Exhibit & Register online at www.buildingindustryshow.com
Southern California
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June 2021
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My Journey by Sheryl Palmer
brand dis•tinc•tion / brand / dəˈstiNG(k)SH(ə)n/
Sheryl Palmer
Brand distinction is defined as what makes you unique.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Taylor Morrison
Your brand distinction drives your success. Kovach Marketing is a full-service communications group that uses experience, intelligence, collaboration and targeted communications tools to let the world know how distinctive you are and act on it. When they act, you succeed.
I certainly didn’t set out to be the sole female CEO of a publicly traded homebuilder—a historically male dominated industry— in fact, my career path almost went in an entirely different direction. Construction tends to be a family business, with many entering the industry to follow in their father’s footsteps. But both of my parents worked in fashion—my mom on the design side and my dad in manufacturing—so my entrance was unintentional and couldn’t have been more different than the life I imagined for myself growing up. I was studying to become a special education teacher and working at McDonald’s when I was asked to step into the Marketing Manager role for the McDonald’s locations in San Diego. That position taught me so much about business, communication and marketing to families—which are all skills I still use today. In my next job at an advertising agency, one of the first clients assigned to me was Del Webb—an active adult homebuilder now owned by Pulte. It’s safe to assume this was the moment that gave me the bug for homebuilding, and set my life and career on an entirely new trajectory. If I could offer one piece of advice to students or young professionals trying to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives, it’s this: Be open to the opportunities that
come your way, even if they seem vastly different than what you envisioned for yourself. You don’t need to have your life figured out at 16 or even 22. If I would have followed down the path I had originally planned for myself, my life would look very different. But without a shadow of a doubt, I can say that stumbling into this field was one of my greatest blessings. Over the next 20 or so years, my career took me around the west coast to markets in California, Nevada and Arizona. During this time, I also started my family. I am so proud of my children—Diane, Lindsey and Randy—who are now grown and have given me five beautiful grandbabies. The years I spent raising my kids while juggling my career are bittersweet in hindsight. There just never seemed to be enough hours in the day to be as devoted to both as I wanted to be. Before settling into my current role at Taylor Morrison, I worked for a handful of different builders: in marketing and then in sales management at Del Webb’s Sun City West, wearing a variety of hats at Blackhawk Corporation, leading Pulte’s active adult brand, and finally landing at Morrison Homes. What seemed like mere months after joining as Regional President, Morrison Homes merged with another homebuilder—Taylor Woodrow. I was extremely honored and humbled when I was asked to lead the newly combined organization as CEO some 15 years ago when Taylor Morrison was born.
949.757.2870 | KOVACHMARKETING.COM
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While in recent years, the gender equality and overall diversity that exists in our industry has grown exponentially, it hasn’t always been that way—and we still have great strides to make. While I can honestly say it never bothered me much, I’ve been the only woman in the board room and on the jobsite more times than I can count. Maybe it’s foolish or naïve of me, but I like to think that no one ever questioned my seat at the table solely due to my gender. In full transparency, until fairly recently, I avoided opportunities that placed any emphasis on my gender (like this article my team encouraged me to write) because I don’t want people to think I’m “playing the woman card.” I’ve always been more of the mindset to let my strategic eye and work ethic define me, but I’ve come to realize that there is an undeniable need for women to be advocates of other women. I am certain I’d come to regret not filling a role so desperately needed. More and more, I’m getting comfortable with addressing the lack of diversity in leadership—understanding that each time I speak to an audience or have the privilege of being interviewed, I’m really speaking on behalf of all women. It’s the reason I always try to say yes to opportunities that might encourage or inspire the next generation.
of diversity. In the past year, conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been taking place across the country and at every organization. By committing to make real, actionable changes to our recruitment process—ensuring we’re casting a wide enough net—and to our operations, marketing and communications efforts, I believe that we have the power to make a difference, to inspire others to do the same, and to make Taylor Morrison a place where every team member and customer feels uniquely valued, appreciated, safe and welcome.
Although many of us ended up in the industry in various ways, my hope for our future workforce is not to stumble into the field by accident—but to do so intentionally. Considering the labor shortage and increasing average age of construction workers (currently 43-years-old, up from 36 in 1985), more than ever before, we need young people to choose homebuilding. And I think that if we can establish our industry as having a reputation of being a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of every walk of life, we can solve for both our lack of diversity in homebuilding and the dire labor shortage.
Unfortunately, real estate and lending have a deep-seeded history of being exclusionary. Our industry has seen this more overtly with things like redlining in mortgage and housing discrimination. But also, in more nuanced and subtle ways, like industry jargon such as ‘cultural buyer’ and ‘master bedroom.’ For some, homebuilding is perceived as the ‘American Dream,’ but many have had very different experiences.
With a nearly gender-equal workforce (46 percent female and 54 percent male), Taylor Morrison is proud to hold the unofficial title of most gender-diverse homebuilder. What’s so great, is that we never set out to do this—it happened organically. It happened because our recruitment philosophy is to always hire the right person for the job. And it happened because there are prominent female executives on our board of directors (44 percent), on our leadership team (44 percent), leading our divisions as president, and beyond. When women can see other women not only in a male-dominated industry, but in leadership positions, they’re drawn to the company.
Not only is upholding an inclusive culture and building a diverse team the right thing to do, but there’s also a business argument to be made for DEI. According to a recent report from McKinsey & Company, there’s a positive correlation between an organization’s profitability and the diversity of their employees. Their data indicates that organizations diverse in gender and in ethnicity are more likely to see higher profits than their peers (25 and 36 percent, respectively). There’s also something to be said about having a workforce that’s representative of the consumer base you serve—it’s simply logical.
A statement that has resonated with our team members is this: ‘If you want to change the world, start at home.’ As a homebuilder, we feel personally responsible to help build a brighter, more inclusive and loving future—and doing so starts with each of us. Thank you for being on this journey with us.
But while we didn’t necessarily get to our current gender diversity levels with specific intent, we understand it will take intent to get to where we want to be with other forms
Southern California
BUILDER |
June 2021
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HCI
railings
A dba of Hardwood Creations, Inc.
Q & A with Chris Ball
#459521
Brookfield Residential’s Specialist for Diversity & Engagement
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Sometimes taking yourself off mute can send your life in a whole new direction. As we’ll see below, that’s what happened when Chris Ball unmuted himself on a Zoom call and started his journey from Assistant Project Manager at Brookfield Residential to Specialist, Diversity & Engagement | People & Culture. Chris shared the story with Southern California Builder, and it’s an interesting one. Southern California Builder: Was homebuilding something that was a tradition in your family, or did you get into the industry some other way? Chris Ball: It definitely wasn’t a family tradition, and it came about by one chance leading to another. After a couple early jobs, I got a job through a friend at what’s now California Market Center in the Los Angeles Fashion District. I started as a marketing coordinator and eventually became Director of Retail Development, where my job was to build relationships with clothing retailers and convince them to come to Los Angeles with their orders instead of New York or some other city. If they did, our tenants would be busy and pay their rent.
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Est. 1982
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After a corporate shake-up that led to the loss of my job and a year of unemployment, I found what was supposed to be a temporary job as an executive assistant at Playa Vista. I also worked on community relations for the Planning & Entitlement team at Playa Vista, then as an assistant project manager after Brookfield’s acquisition of Playa Capital Company, working on projects in Whittier and southwest Riverside County.
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Chris Ball
Brookfield Residential’s Specialist for Diversity & Engagement
SCB: Let’s talk about your title now, because it’s a good one. Chris Ball: I’m working with people of every conceivable background - my own background prepared me for that. My early childhood was spent in a very diverse neighborhood in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles – my closest friends were Chinese, Japanese, White, Ecuadorian and Filipino. After my parents divorced, my mother, my older brother and I lived in various places, one of which was South Central Los Angeles - a primarily homogenous area which, at the time, was predominantly black. It was a drastic change from what I was used to, but I’m very glad it is a part of my story. Between the two, I had interesting experiences and I’m richer because of that. In my new role, I’ve been given an awesome opportunity – one that I’m truly excited about. I get to work on bringing people from every conceivable background together to do the thing we tend to avoid – talking to one another. To me, Diversity & Engagement is as simple as that – bringing people (all people) to the table and talking to one another. Of course, I’m aware that it’s not quite that simple; but for me, I have to make it that simple, because if I focus on how enormous the task is, I might get overwhelmed. SCB: What is Brookfield’s goal in establishing this position, and what are your tactics for meeting that goal?
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CB: Our leadership team at Brookfield is committed to making a difference. One of our creeds is, “Do the right thing!” and addressing issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion/belonging is not only the right thing to do from a business perspective; it’s also right at the human level. Motivated by that creed and concerned about all the issues that were swirling around last year with COVID-19 and the global unrest, Brookfield decided to do the right thing by opening up a broad dialogue through “Open Lines” conversations between employees, with senior leadership also engaging. In one of the Open Line calls, I did something I wasn’t planning to do; I unmuted the microphone on my laptop and began to speak. What followed was the release of pent-up emotion, frankness, and even some tears. After a subsequent “Open Lines” call, I was asked by our President & Chief Operating Officer, Adrian Foley, if I would be interested in chairing an Internal Advisory Council (IAC) that would take an honest look at our diversity, equity and belonging efforts.
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I work with 10 other members on the IAC – each of us focused on the aim of making Brookfield a place where the words Diversity, Equity and Belonging come to life. Right now, our conversations and efforts are focused on building a stronger connection to our internal community. We’ve partnered with our senior leadership team to identify areas where there is room for improvement, and at the same time, we’re celebrating the areas where we’re already ahead of the curve. We’ve got some work to do but that’s the fun part. So, I’m far from the only one passionate about these efforts – every voice in our organization matters. SCB: Why diversity? Is it a reaction to societal concerns, a strategic business decision or both?
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CB: Why diversity? Well, all you have to do is look around. Wherever you go in this world, you will come into contact with someone who is different from you. Even the people in our own households are different than us. We’re so much more than our racial and sexual identities.
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There are definitely positive business results that come from addressing and welcoming diversity, equity and inclusion. With diverse people come diverse ideas and talents. With ideas and talent, progress is made, engagement and production go up, and new life is breathed into old bones. Countless studies highlight the value of having a diverse organization. And to be clear, diversity is not just about race. The landscape of diversity includes race, age, weight, gender, sexual identity, religion, neuro-diversity, etc. It’s about accepting each other for who we are and going a little deeper in our interactions with each other than just the surface. That’s when progress is made and change happens. SCB: How would you score the homebuilding industry’s progress on creating greater diversity in its workforce? CB: I have a limited perspective that doesn’t encompass the homebuilding industry as a whole, but from what I’ve seen in my nearly 20 years in the industry, there’s a lot of room for improvement. And that’s okay. You’ve got to start somewhere, right? SCB: BIA/SC is forming a Women and Diversity Council to provide women and members of underrepresented communities with training, networking and support so they are encouraged to enter Association leadership. What are your thoughts about the Council and its potential? CB: I think the potential is limitless anytime people come together and they’re committed to making a difference. There will be bumps in the road, for sure, but if you allow a bump to derail progress, you aren’t trying very hard. We are capable of the impossible when we want to be – maybe that makes me overly optimistic, but I truly believe that we can make impactful change and I’m confident that there are others out there who think like me. With BIA/SC putting people like us together in a Council that has such a positive objective, both the individuals and the industry as a whole will be helped in reaching their full potential.
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listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1963, the company moved to Los Angeles where, as Broad told Builder Magazine in 2007, “Then, we were the first to introduce townhouses in a number of places, including Southern California. I think it was probably about 1963, in Huntington Beach, we sold like 600 townhouses in like two weeks, which was some all-time record.” Inspired by the row houses of the East Coast and sold at affordable prices for middle-class families, the townhome was a huge success, becoming one of the most recognizable housing designs in Southern California. Under Broad’s leadership, the company became the first multi-market homebuilder, first coast to coast, and then first multi-national homebuilding company. In 1974, Broad decided to step down as CEO of Kaufman and Broad.
Eli Broad Remembering an
Icon
Visionary. Homebuilder. Philanthropist. Icon. These are just some of the words used to describe Eli Broad, a giant in the homebuilding industry and co-founder of Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation, which we know today as KB Home. Sadly, on April 30 of this year, Eli Broad passed away at the age of 87. Broad’s life epitomizes the American dream. Born on June 6, 1933, in New York, Broad was the only child of Leon and Rita, both of whom were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. After moving to Detroit and graduating from high school, Broad worked a number of odd jobs while putting himself through college at Michigan State University. In 1954 he graduated with a degree in accounting and went on to become one of the youngest certified accountants in Michigan history. Working as a freelance accountant, Broad shared office space with Donald Kaufman, a part-time homebuilder who also worked as a contractor to several large homebuilding companies. In exchange for rent-free office space, Broad agreed to do the taxes for some of Kaufman’s homebuilding clients. It was during this time that Broad learned the homebuilding business. In 1957, while Broad was still in his early twenties,
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Broad would go on to achieve massive success in the financial services sector, turning Sun Life Insurance, a company he had acquired in the early seventies, into SunAmerica. Sun America would become the second Fortune 500 company in which Broad served as CEO, eventually selling the company to AIG for $18 billion in 1998.
After the sale of SunAmerica, Broad focused full-time on his philanthropic efforts. He referred to himself as a venture philanthropist, telling Inc. Magazine in a 2013 article, “Philanthropy is not charity. Charity is just writing checks. Philanthropy is an investment where you want to see a return, whether it’s breakthroughs in scientific research or performance in education or broadening the audience for the arts. You want to see results.” Broad was considered one of the most generous philanthropists in the nation, supporting a variety of initiatives in areas including education, science, and the arts. He was the driving force behind numerous iconic buildings in Los Angeles, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Broad told the Los Angeles Times in 2014, “If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don’t just want to maintain the status quo. I want to help people, to work with institutions or create ones when they don’t exist.” Eli Broad will be long remembered for his remarkable contributions to the homebuilding industry and his extraordinarily generous philanthropic efforts.
Matt Petteruto
Principal MP Communications
he and Kaufman launched a new homebuilding company, Kaufman & Broad Home Corporation. In the company’s early stages, Broad learned about a successful homebuilder in neighboring Ohio, which led him to further inquire about what was behind their competitive advantage. The answer turned out to be fairly simple. As Broad told Vanity Fair in 2006, “But I found in Ohio they were building houses without basements. I didn’t understand why you couldn’t do that in Michigan.”
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By avoiding expensive and time-consuming basement construction, and adding a carport and utility room, Broad created his first model home. Known as the “The Award Winner” (even though it had won no awards), Broad built two model homes and optioned 15 more lots. Rival homebuilders snickered at the naiveté of the young upstart. However, it was Broad who would have the last laugh. On the first weekend of sales, all 17 plots sold. A homebuilding legend was born. By 1961, the company had begun a nationwide expansion and had gone public, later becoming the first homebuilder to be
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Want to know more? Call or visit us online. 877.317.6324 | meritagehomes.com/socal Avid Awards® are presented by Avid Ratings, an independent customer experience research firm. Pictures are representative and may depict floorplans, elevations, options, and designer/ decorator features that may not be available in all homes and/or communities. Not an offer or solicitation to sell real property. Offers to sell real property may only be made and accepted at the sales center for individual Meritage Homes communities. See sales associate for details. Meritage Homes® Setting the standard for energy-efficient homes® and Life. Built. Better.® are trademarks of Meritage Homes Corporation. ©2021 Meritage Homes® Corporation. All rights reserved. CA BRE License# 01243526
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Cannon
Reliable Responsive Solutions
Q & A with Lynn Jochim,
Chief Operating Officer, FivePoint Lynn Jochim, Chief Operating Officer of FivePoint Holdings, LLC, oversees the day-to- day operations for the publicly traded real estate company that is currently developing large-scale mixed-use communities across California. Collectively, FivePoint will provide more than 40,000 residential homes and 23 million square feet of commercial space. Southern California Builder invited her to share a little about herself and the thinking that goes into developing masterplanned communities. Southern California Builder: Tell us a little about your background. Lynn Jochim: My two sisters and I grew up working in our father’s land and cattle business in Northern California, which instilled a deep respect for the land and nature. My career in real estate and finance began at a very early age. At daybreak, you’d find me feeding farm animals. By midday, I was tracking penny stocks from the pink sheets. By night, I was fixing fences that the cows broke through. These experiences taught me the importance and responsibility that comes with being stewards of the land and the environment.
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SCB: That’s quite a remarkable background. How did you go from mending fences to your career’s beginnings, and how did it lead you to FivePoint? LJ: During my time studying business and real estate at Sacramento State, I was already learning how to file court documents, create legal corporate entities, and conduct business at our state capital. By the age of 22, my dad helped me entitle my first residential homes and apartments in Northern California. He also had me managing and leasing a shopping center and office building on the corner of Crenshaw and Imperial in Inglewood.
of a large portfolio of commercial and hotel properties and real-estate secured loans. Having gained entitlement and financial experience, I was hired to come work for Lennar under Greg McWilliams and Emile Haddad. Now, more than 20 years later, Emile is Chairman and CEO, and Greg is Chief Policy Officer. We have an experienced leadership team guiding one of the largest land development companies in California. SCB: Having a leadership team that has worked together for that long is unusual to say the least. How do you explain the longevity of the team? LJ: We trust one another. We have experience in successfully navigating challenges and complicated waters, which has strengthened our bond. We also believe that by working together we are better equipped to build communities of the future that are fully integrated, diverse and multi-generational with equal access for all. SCB: How do you describe FivePoint to people who are not in the building industry? LJ: We are a purely California company that collaborates with public and private partners to create a new blueprint for how people want to live and co-exist. FivePoint designs and develops mixed-use communities in three of the state’s most dynamic markets: Orange County, Los Angeles County and San Francisco. These future cities integrate the most important elements in people’s lives – homes, schools, offices, shops and retail, health and wellness, arts
In the early 1990’s, my sisters and I founded a minority and woman-owned business that contracted with the Resolution Trust Corporation, and we successfully managed and disposed
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SCB: Will the many ways in which COVID-19 changed our lifestyles be reflected in how FivePoint looks at community going forward, including home design and office spaces? LJ: There is certainly conversation around home design and the amount of office space that companies will need going forward, given that many industries will remain productive and functional in the future while continuing to work remotely either part-time or full- time. You will see homebuilders incorporating more of a fully functional office within a home, so people won’t have to use their kitchen table or their family room. Digital-based education and personalized healthcare are two other examples of how the digital revolution is breaking down silos of place and time, and COVID-19 simply accelerated this shift. These are things that will continue to evolve and grow incrementally over time.
break down the barriers that make it so hard to build as many homes as we need? LJ: I am optimistic we will see more political will and creative approaches toward homebuilding in the coming years. More than any other time in my career, the political environment is finally taking a more favorable view on new housing. The Governor has set a target of building 3.5 million new homes by 2025, which is approximately a 500% increase from the current annual pace of home production. The public and private sectors must now collaborate and have the will to get it done especially if policy makers are serious about addressing social equity issues such as homelessness. We are having active dialogues with our local and state public partners to explore opportunities for intensification within some of our communities to provide more housing and assist in mitigating the shortfall. SCB: After the long days that you work, what motivates you to get out of bed every morning and do it again?
and entertainment, sports facilities, parks, nature, and open space– all within close proximity to each other. SCB: Not that long ago, you could call something a master-planned community if it had a golf course, a park or two and maybe a commercial/retail hub. How have homebuyer expectations changed, and how have your communities changed in response? LJ: People are looking for more than just a nice home. They crave unique experiences. They want to be in places where they can build relationships, create memories, and feel a strong sense of community pride. They’re seeking a home base where they can be close to family, quality healthcare, multiple entertainment, and recreation options, and the best possible education, particularly public education accessible to all. We believe there’s synergy in having all of these amenities working in harmony together, rather than in silos. FivePoint is creating cities where all these interests converge, so that its inhabitants can have equal access to opportunities and realize their full potential. FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine is a “proof of concept” on what a mixed- use community of the future can look like.
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LJ: The FivePoint executive team and our amazing associates have a daily opportunity to contribute to the evolution of cities in a state that represents the fifth largest economy in the world. FivePoint is offering solutions to some of the state’s biggest challenges – job creation, technological and workforce development, climate change, transportation, and the lack of affordable housing and housing inventory. Our job is to ensure the city of the future will not have to face the same challenges that cities of the past had to contend with. What more motivation do you need than that?
SCB: How did you go about drafting a blueprint for FivePoint Valencia (formerly Newhall Ranch) in Los Angeles County? LJ: It was critically important for us to be stewards of the land and to respect its history, particularly as it relates to the people living in the community and protecting the surrounding native habitat. FivePoint is continuing the award-winning evolution of Valencia, which began more than half a century ago, by introducing a community that will be among the first of its size to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. With plans to create approximately 21,500 energy-efficient homes – including thousands of affordable housing units, FivePoint Valencia will be the largest provider of new homes in housingconstrained Los Angeles County. We are also planning 11.5 million square feet of non-residential space which will create an appropriate jobs-housing balance for the community. And two thirds of our land holdings in LA County – or 10,000 acres -- is devoted to permanent open space. FivePoint Valencia is an example of how you can effectively strike a balance between environmental justice and social equity. It is poised to become one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly communities of its kind in the nation.
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SCB: You recently received the International Women’s Day Award from the Irvine Chamber for your career accomplishments. With all you’ve done and experienced, would you recommend homebuilding and development as a career choice for a young woman or someone from a minority community? LJ:Yes. To be successful in building equitable and sustainable communities of the future, the land development and building industries will need a wide range of voices and perspectives. I think more young people will demand diversity and inclusivity as a prerequisite for joining a company or living in a thriving community. We see it in FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods, where 72 languages are spoken within the Irvine Unified School District.
Before joining FivePoint, Lynn Jochim served as Regional Vice President of Lennar Homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to Lennar, she worked for Ernst & Young San Francisco Real Estate Consulting. Jochim currently serves on the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Executive Committee. She has also served as a president and board member of the Building Industry Association in Northern California and founded the BIA Women’s Education Council. Learn more at fivepoint.com.
SCB: FivePoint is focused entirely on coastal California, which has a severe housing shortage while being one of the most challenging places to entitle new communities. What lies ahead? Will innovation and drive be able to
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BI L D Update:
Adam Wood
BILD Representative
There has never been a greater need for the incredible talents of our Building Industry Legal Defense leadership and team. As we approach the end of Q2, BILD remains engaged on multiple fronts, fighting to defend our industry from a growing list of legal harms. BILD is honored to occupy this role and excited to provide the research and legal weapons necessary to push back against housing limitations. Although there is an extensive list of BILD activities to review, the following is a snapshot of some of our biggest issues over the last month: SoCal Greenprint Initiative The SoCal Greenprint is a $705,601 SCAG project using SB 1 transportation infrastructure funds to sole-source award a contract to an environmental organization whose current process will curtail development and housing across the Region. This is an unacceptable and unnecessary approach to what could otherwise be a valuable tool for the Southern California region. While BIASC is leading the conversation on this topic, BILD has provided detailed legal research and the logistical support necessary to force this issue into the proverbial daylight. Vehicle Miles Traveled – San Diego BILD has long been at the forefront of the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fight. A process that changes CEQA analysis of projects from Level of Service to one that measures the number of miles traveled by occupants of
a building, VMT is a policy designed to crush housing opportunity. While this warning has been shared far and wide, tangible actualization of the warnings materialized in the County of San Diego. There, the County is considering a VMT approach that would increase per-door fees for some housing projects by as much as $2,000,000. County staff provided a report citing multiple areas of the County where mitigation fees will rise to heights as high as $190,000-$425,000 per door. These unimaginable fees will decimate housing opportunity and crush local jurisdiction’s ability to meet RHNA requirements. BILD is working closely with partners across the State to end the threat of these harms. Stormwater On May 28th, troubling language was released by the State that will directly harm construction in Southern California. The construction stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (commonly referred to as the Construction General Permit “CGP”) is periodically updated and renewed by the state of California pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act. BILD has been working with Dr. Mark Grey and partners at CBIA for the past year in preparation for this recently released language update. Harms to the industry include new requirements to implement TMDLs, new regulation of passive treatment technology uses and much more. The costs of these new requirements will be tens-of-
thousands with potential legal exposure into the millions. BILD has litigated and won when a similar approach was attempted over 10 years ago. As such, BILD remains ready to do it again.
actions that could be implemented to assist with housing production. As the State continues to take steps towards addressing the housing crisis, it is important to have the industry’s voice front and center.
HCD Statewide Housing Plan Years back, the Department of Housing and community Development (HCD) reviewed the state’s housing challenges and created a Housing Action Plan. In light of the unprecedented times that have interceded the publishing of that last report, the State has decided to refresh and renew the Statewide Housing Plan (SHP). As part of this effort, you might have seen an email from BIA/SC asking you to participate in HCD’s online survey wherein the State was requesting feedback from stakeholders. BILD has participated in this process and has proffered comments on regulatory and legal
Housing Crisis Act of 2019 When new laws are passed, it can sometimes take years for their full effect to be felt through the judicial system. With that in mind, we are starting to see the full scope of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 take effect. A recent court case out of the San Diego region found the Act’s protections apply not only to votes by County/Councils, but also to referendums. As BIA/SC has seen many attempts to use referendums to block development, this recent legal victory is an exciting development as we move ever closer to October’s Housing Element Update deadline.
THE BROOKSIDE
Spring Meadow Homes Would like to thank Baldy View BIA For its advocacy in support of
THE BROOKSIDE 28 Beautiful Homes Along Lemon Creek in Walnut CA
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Jack Su, Manager (626) 827-9830
June 2021
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THE
Baldy View
Southern California Water Conference
CHAPTER
Friday, August 13, 2021 from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM Ontario Double Tree Hotel
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
: n o i t i d E e d i s n I SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S WATER FUTURE Lunchtime Keynote: Jennifer Pierre, State Water Contractors The Delta Conveyance What we can expect for the region and how can we ensure the project continues moving forward?
WATER & HOUSING
Find out how the building industry is working with local agencies to remain water resilient as we address our housing shortage.
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WATER SUPPLY
What are our options in a critically dry year and how can we become less dependent on imports?
WATER AFFORDABILITY
WATER CONSERVATION
The growing burden of water debt remains a concern. How will water agencies deal with the issue and is the government going to help?
Water conservation is a way of life for most in Southern California, but could we be doing more?
Questions? Contact Nicole Desmond at nicole@dandlpr.com Southern Register and sponsor at biabuild.com/water-conference | June 2021 California
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2021
BIABV Chapter President Update:
BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
SPONSORS
Tim Roberts
BIA Baldy View Chapter President
At long last we are returning to a more normal way of life as California plans to dissolve its color-coded tier system on June 15. For months these color-code updates have set the rules for what businesses could open and set limits on our everyday activities. Like many businesses facing the challenges of COVID-19, the BIA Southern California had to take a hard look at our operations and reimagine the most effective way to deliver our member services. Fortunately, the BIA leaders and membership had already charted a course to modernize our operations prior to the pandemic. Thanks to the leadership of our BIASC Governing Board, Immediate Past President Tom Grable and CEO Jeff Montejano, we were able to move quickly and decisively prior to the throes of the first lockdown to maximize our limited resources and enhance our number one priority – government affairs advocacy. Moving forward, our members will continue to benefit from the operational improvements and best practice efficiencies of our dedicated staff that are now battle tested through the rigors of the COVID-19 crisis. This seismic shift has been best described as embracing a “Battleship” mentality to reassert our focus on protecting the business interests of our members, both Builders and Associates, by widening the scope of our advocacy to include supporting our local residential projects. This “Battleship” mentality strategy embraces the use of technology and features a new digital platform to alert BIA members about the opportunity to join the advocacy fight with a few very simple clicks of your keyboard. I encourage every BIA member to take a moment to click and send
the turn-key ready letters of support to help our builder member projects. Every project that is killed by short sighted elected officials who buckle to the pressures by the vocal minority of NIMBYs only worsens our housing crisis and limits the new business opportunities for members. We desperately need you help! A recent example includes a BIA Advocacy Alert eblast sent to our members to request letters of support to the Walnut City Council on behalf of Brookside Development’s 28-unit single family project on the eve of the public hearing. Despite the modest size, the project still received significant attacks from local NIMBY’s. The BIA member call to action resulted in generating 17 of the 21 letters of support recognized during the public comment period and help offset the formidable opposition at the public hearing.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
THANK YOU TO OUR
Ultimately, the Walnut City Council opted to continue the vote for one month to address a few issues. BIA continues to coordinate with Brookside as the project remains in strong position to receive approval at the next hearing. The Brookside team echoed the sentiments welcoming the “Battleship” support from the BIA. “Our team was impressed with how quickly the Baldy View Chapter got into action in advocating for our Brookside project,” said Jack Su, Brookside’s developer. “Going into public hearings knowing you have BIA in your corner is very reassuring.” In addition, to supporting the approval of new projects, the BIA Baldy View Chapter project advocacy also includes engaging in a collaborative dialogue with local
LEARN MORE ABOUT JOINING THE BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER AT
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BIABUILD.COM
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W AT E R
P R O J E C T
:
S A F E
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S U S TA I N A B L E
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R E L I A B L E
municipalities when obstacles arise that are detrimental to our goal of delivering homes to our eager home buyers. As an example, we recently engaged the City of Chino to assist Meritage Homes on an issue that was jeopardizing the timely move-in date of their excited yet anxious homeowners. As explained by Meritage Homes Vice President of Entitlements & Forward Planning Aaron Talarico,
at the BIA Riverside. We also look forward to hosting our Annual Water Conference in August along with the host of other events available to you this year. In the meantime, I encourage you to join me on the “Battleship” as we support the industry that keeps the American Dream of homeownership alive for future generations.
“BIA was instrumental in helping us get occupancies in the City of Chino so that the families could move into their new homes prior to the Easter weekend. We can’t thank you enough, and greatly appreciate the support and advocacy the BIA provides for Meritage Homes and the building community!” The BIA continues evaluate how we can best provide value to address the member needs of a post COVID-19 lockdown housing market. While there have been many changes at BIA we still understand the need for personal interaction and the importance of networking. I’m excited that we hosted our Crafted networking event last month and look forward to co-hosting our BIA BBQ in July with our friends
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
C A D I Z
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Carlos Rodriguez
Bridging the Minority Wealth Gap Through Increased Homeownership
BIA Baldy View Chapter Executive Officer
A NEW GRAND-SCALE MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY IS COMING TO THE INLAND EMPIRE
Tapestry, a major new master-planned community development in the Inland Empire, is expected to create a multi-billion-dollar economic impact in Hesperia, Victorville and other nearby cities and towns. At more than 9,000 acres in size and entitled for more than 15,000 homes, Tapestry will be one of the largest new communities developed in Southern California in many years.
These new emerging threats now join a longstanding “Parade of Terribles” on display at local city council chambers that also includes punitive fee increases, rigid zoning restrictions, uncertain plan check delays, and elitist NIMBY public comment during public hearings. Ultimately, the outcome of these housing policies serves to widen the divide between the have-and-have-nots and increase the generational wealth gap between whites and minorities.
Situated at approximately 3,200 feet of elevation, Tapestry features towering views of the surrounding mountains in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests. The site includes gently rolling hills, steep bluffs, canyons, and low-lying pasture lands along the headlands of the Mojave River. Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear are within easy driving distance and Silverwood Lake lies just beyond the southern boundary of the property. Tapestry will create the opportunity for thousands of families to live in a gorgeous mountain setting with endless opportunities for outdoor recreation, all within a reasonable commute to San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, and other existing employment hubs.
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The BIA Baldy View Chapter remains on high alert as the continued threats to housing availability and affordability continues to mount in San Bernardino County and throughout our service area. Environmental extremism continues to run amuck as local cities such as Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville are left to sort through new state protections of the Western Joshua Tree restricting development without a clear path of compliance. This is also true for city officials perplexed and struggling to find a way to comply with the adoption of SB 743 - a costly new state requirement to reduce the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for residents of new housing.
The good news is that San Bernardino County housing prices have consistently been more affordable than their peer Southern California counties and the statewide average. As noted by the County of San Bernardino Community Indicators Report (CIR), in 2020,
To view the land plan visit TapestryLiving.com For more information contact John Ohanian at: johanian@tapestryliving.com.
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© Tapestry Development Phase 1 LLC. All rights reserved. Not an offer or solicitation to sell property. Offers to sell property may only be accepted following issuance of a California Subdivision Public Report. Obtain the Subdivision Public Report and read it before signing anything. Community Association fees will be required. All information is subject to change. Void where prohibited.
The county was considerably more affordable than the statewide entry-level single-family home price of $500,820, which required a qualifying income of $76,500. Additionally, 69% of San Bernardino County households could afford an entry-level single-family home in 2020, compared to 52% in California and 41% in Orange County. Likewise, San Bernardino County’s 2019 homeownership rate is above the California rate of 55% but below the nationwide homeownership rate of 64%.
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A Widening Economic Divide Despite these favorable affordability comparisons among neighboring counties, the homeownership gap between whites and minorities within San Bernardino County remains an ongoing challenge. Unfortunately, this disparity also contributes to economic inequality since homeownership is an important driver of wealth for US households. As noted in the CIR, The economic and financial benefits of homeownership have been uneven across demographic groups and may partly explain why Latino or Black family average wealth lags behind White family wealth. In San Bernardino County, the Black homeownership rate in 2018 was 37.5% compared to 68.1% for White households for a homeownership gap of 30.6 between Black and White households. The Latino homeownership rate in 2018 was 53.7% for a homeownership gap of 14.4 between Latino and White households.
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Economic & Sociological Benefits of Housing Similarly, a recent economic analysis from MetroStudy indicates the projected housing shortage in San Bernardino County in 2021 to be approximately 67,000 units - MetroStudy Economic Analysis - Click here Likewise, if local home construction kept pace with the estimated pent-up demand, San Bernardino County would generate approximately $2.8B in direct economic impact. Moreover, a recent study by California State University San Bernardino CSUSB Study - click here indicates several compelling sociological conclusions regarding the housing shortage including: Click here • Communities with higher homeownership rates are associated with substantial reductions in violent crimes, property crime and lower poverty rates.
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• San Bernardino County (SB County) ranks 9th highest in residential overcrowding, among 58 counties in California. One out of every ten residential units in our County is overcrowded (8.9%), that’s significantly higher than the competing counties of Riverside and Ventura. • Reducing the amount of overcrowded homes in SB County by just 1% will have a significant positive impact on education attainment, income inequality and poverty countywide • Hispanic/Latino and African Americans feel the effects of residential overcrowding the greatest and would benefit proportionately more if reduced in SB County. • Increasing the production of new homes and opening a path toward homeownership is one way SB County can address its severe residential overcrowding. • There is a strong correlation between counties with high homeownership rates and positive sociological factors such as; EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, LOWER CRIME and LESS POVERTY. • Increasing homeownership rates in San Bernardino County will have a substantial positive impact on educational attainment, especially among minorities (Hispanics/Latinos & African Americans). Regulatory Burdens Clearly, there are numerous sociological and economic benefits to supporting public policies that ensure an adequate supply of housing. Unfortunately, public policies that discourage home construction result in limited supply, higher housing costs and have a greater adverse impact on the minority population. According to HUD, there are some notable Barriers to Minority Homeownership which we urge cities to consider when examining their housing policies including: Click here
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• Affordability often hits minority home-seekers hardest, particularly in urban centers where the housing stock has deteriorated. The overall homeownership rate for these central cities is only 51.5 percent. Culture of Collaboration As the housing shortage and coinciding wealth gap for minorities continues to worsen, Southern California cities are in the unenviable position of receiving a mix message from Sacramento. On one hand they are presented with a mandate to increase their collective residential zoning from approximately 400,000 units to 1.3 million units in the next several years. Ironically, misguided state regulations concerning Joshua Trees, VMT and numerous other bills abound and only undermine the goal of an increased housing supply in San Bernardino County. The BIA Baldy View Chapter continues our ongoing Member Taskforce outreach to cities to encourage a culture of collaboration whereby we engage with government officials in a productive dialogue that results in meaningful policy reforms. This starts with consistently revisiting the traditional local “Parade of Terribles” referenced earlier and shifting toward a solutions based approach to address each city’s state housing obligations under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment.
• Unnecessary and cumbersome development regulations contribute to high housing costs. Barriers involve zoning, land development and site planning, building codes and standards, infrastructure, administration and processing, and impact fees.
These local solutions take aim at addressing the housing affordability and availability challenges that are particularly harmful to aspiring minority homeowners and the wealth gap. Some of our recommendations include implementing fee increases with an extended phase-in period. This approach on fees includes exemptions from pending fee increase for projects that are currently in the entitlement pipeline and should also provide the option of payment of fees prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Discussions also center on allowing for a variety of lot sizes and product types while seeking market-based alternatives to restrictive development code and costly design requirements. We also continue to advocate for best practices that bring greater certainty during the plan check and entitlement process to avoid costly delays.
• In some instances, developers report that excessive regulation adds 25 to 35 percent to the cost of a new house. Substantial delays to meet burdensome regulations are not uncommon.
Lastly, and perhaps most timely, our success with increasing city housing production will result in overcoming NIMBYism in favor of bridging the minority wealth gap through greater homeownership opportunities.
• The high cost of housing often results from a web of government regulations. Federal, state, and local codes, processes and controls delay and drive up the cost of new construction and rehabilitation.
WWW.FONTANA.ORG/ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT Southern CONTACT: JERRY EDGETT | 909.350.6741 | JEDGETT@FONTANA.ORG California BUILDER | June 2021
• When barriers are intentional - through the “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) syndrome of exclusionary zoning, expensive building fees, and burdensome regulations - the situation is particularly harmful; communities with the most restrictive land use and zoning regulations often have affordable housing shortages.
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F O N TA N A
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ontario Past, Present & Future A Q & A with Mayor Pro Tem Alan Wapner
MEET THE 2021 BIA BALDY VIEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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ANDREW PHAM ACTK CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC
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KJG PRODUCTIONS
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LOAN DEPOT
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EILEEN MERINO
LGI HOMES
MARYLAND GROUP CORP
NATIONAL COMMUNITY RENAISSANCE
DIVERSIFIED PACIFIC COMMUNITIES
CDS INSURANCE
KRISTEN RAHN
SUSAN RICCIO
AMERIFIRST FINANCIAL
VANGUARD BUILDERS
JOHN SCULL LEWIS MANAGEMENT CORP
CASSANDRA TROUTMAN BOUDREAU PIPELINE CORPORATION
Alan Wapner has what may be the longest tenure of any Inland Empire city council member, having served on the Ontario City Council for more than a quartercentury, since 1994. His endless drive to improve Ontario and tackle San Bernardino County’s challenging transportation issues has made him a frequent ally of the BIA. He is courteous and listens in those rare times when issues divided us.
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In the region, Alan is recognized as a leader in transportation policy, leading the successful effort to bring local control back for the Ontario International Airport. Alan serves as the President of the Ontario International Airport Authority, past President of the Southern California Association of Governments, past President of the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, past Chair of Omnitrans, board member of the Metrolink Board of Directors and the Metro Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority. He is also a member of the Boards of the League of California Cities, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Regional Councils, and the California Association of Councils of Governments. Just as important to the building industry is his work in the region and Ontario on behalf of housing, particularly Ontario Ranch, the 8,000-acre mixed-use development slated for 50,000 homes that recently passed the Irvine Ranch as Southern California’s hottest new home market. Southern California Builder caught up with him at the end of a busy day to talk with him about the city he has committed so much of his life to. Southern California Builder: Let’s start at the beginning. What initially brought you to Ontario back in 1978? What were your first impressions of the city? Alan Wapner: It’s a story you’re still hearing today. We were newlyweds renting in Orange County because we couldn’t afford a home, but we wanted to own a home where we could raise our family. Our plan was to buy in the Inland Empire, get some equity and move back to Orange County, but a funny thing happened. We never moved back because Ontario proved to be a fine place to raise our family.
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The first time I visited Ontario was for the Chaffey High School Tournament of Bands in 1974. It felt like we drove forever to get there, and once there, it seemed so empty. I said to myself, “Who would ever want to live in Ontario?” By 1978, it had already started growing, but was still known as a small town without a local economy capable of sustaining it. I could see the promise, but it was just that – promise.
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SCB: Have you always been interested in government? Did you see yourself as a future City Council member when you were younger? AW: In high school I was active in student government and volunteered for political campaigns, but even though I had an interest in politics, my goal was to become an attorney. After graduating from USC, I endured the painful experience of law school, receiving my JD from the Whittier College School of Law, but by then I’d figured out I didn’t want to practice law. I had been a reserve police officer for Ontario PD, so after law school, I asked the Chief if he would hire me as a regular officer. He told me yes, if I committed to at least a year. I ended up making it a career, retiring as a Detective Sergeant in 1998. One of my assignments while at Ontario PD was crime prevention and school resources. While working in the schools, I noticed some changes that I would benefit the students. In 1991 there was an opening on the Ontario-Montclair School Board, so I ran and was elected because, basically, in politics, timing is everything. In 1994 there was a vacancy on the City Council. I thought as a Council Member I could benefit more
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SCB: Having spent more than 25 years on the Council, you have a perspective few can match. Are you pleased with how Ontario has grown both in size and influence since your first City Council meeting in 1994? AW: When I first got on the Council, I saw lots of opportunities being squandered and thought Ontario could accomplish so much more if only we could change our perspective. The process of doing that started around 1996, when our new city manager, Greg Devereaux, helped us develop an economic development strategy that began a transformation in how the city saw itself and how it operated. We began an aggressive diversification plan, with the Ontario Mills mall creating a huge new economic base, followed by the Convention Center to bring more people and business to town and the Ontario Toyota Arena to make it more fun to be in Ontario, and of course logistics and homes. Although people were happy with the status quo, we needed to assure them that their quality-of-life concerns would be addressed as Ontario transformed itself. Ontario became the economic generator for Southern California because we were able to show our residents the nexus between economic development and a good quality of life – that the business community would pay enough into the city to keep resident’s taxes low and the city’s services better and more far-reaching than they ever imagined. So yes, I’m pleased with how Ontario
great partner. I talk all the time about how they’ve helped us, and on a personal level, I treasure the Good Governance award they gave me a few years ago.
has evolved. For a while it was simple: We had cheap dirt and lots of it, but now we are still growing intelligently even as we have less dirt and it’s not cheap. SCB: On growth issues, you have a reputation as someone who manages the process to ensure that Ontario’s growth is responsible. Can you talk to our readers about what makes a residential development proposal responsible in your eyes? AW: It’s complicated question and I don’t wish to over-simplify, but it really gets down to not what you build as much as where you build it. We recently had a proposal for a four-plex in northwest Ontario that created the sort of storm you’d expect from a 50-unit-per-acre project, but when G.H. Palmer came in with apartments at 50 units per acre in the part of town that was right for that project, where there were no neighbors, there wasn’t a word of protest. We are looking for communities, not houses, and we depend on the expertise of developers regarding community-building to lead them to invest their money wisely. That’s how it was with Ontario Ranch, which I started working with Randall Lewis and others on back in 1994 or 1995 as a member of the Agricultural Preserve Advisory Committee. The Ranch is an example of our flexible approach to zoning and land use. Our General Plan, which we call The Ontario Plan, was the first webbased general plan, which made it easier to respond quickly to changes in the market. The Ranch plan started with lots of half-acre lots, but later Randall came to us and showed us how bigger isn’t necessarily better and we trusted him, rezoning down to 5,000 to 6,000 square foot lots, which were small for us. But he was right and now we rezone all the time to play to the economy, SCB: Do you see the Building Industry Association as a partner in helping to bring responsible development to Ontario? AW: Like all organizations, BIA changes. At times they’ve been a good partner, and at times not, but they have evolved into a
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We don’t always agree, of course. I support Vehicle Miles Traveled because I feel you should pay for how much you use the roads and because VMT captures funds from alternative fuel vehicles that the gas tax will miss. BIA doesn’t share my view, but that sort of thing is to be expected. In the bigger picture, look again at Ontario Ranch. People in the City were obviously concerned about such a big development and told us not to use their money to help the developers. The building industry stepped up and kept their promise to fund it all, investing millions to keep their word. As a result, people living in the Ranch having better lighting, more open space, and quicker emergency response times than elsewhere in the city, but it’s at their expense, not at the expense of people elsewhere in town. BIA has risen to become a true partner –our relationship with the BIA should serve as a model for publicprivate partnerships.
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AW: Our planning calls for 50,000 new units, more than double our RHNA requirement, but even with that we’ll be 15,000 units short of being able to house the number of jobs we expect to generate – and it’s not enough for them because they want to know the timing of the units and, more importantly, because of the number of affordable housing units they’re calling for. The state took away redevelopment agencies as a means of financing affordable housing, and they’re not offering us any alternative ways to fund those units. We have the land for it because so much commercial development is dead or dying. We are careful to focus these efforts on infill opportunities including the downtown area, where density is appropriate. Getting there financially will require more cooperation and will be another opportunity for BIA to be with us. SCB: BIA is traditionally a pro-local-control organization because we see legislation and regulation from Sacramento as a primary cause of rising home costs and the current housing crisis. They’re talking a good housing game now, but do you think there is a will in Sacramento to cut the regulatory overburden California puts on development? AW: BIA must be happy with the changing winds in Sacramento, but they’re smart enough to be cautious. Winds don’t change direction just once. We must be careful to not rely too much on the state in these issues and should stay together on local control because the state can seem like they’re on our side now, but I think we’ve all learned not to invest too heavily on what is coming out of Sacramento.
SCB: Few can match your transportation resume, so we have to ask: How is the Inland Empire doing overall in managing its transportation issues? AW: We currently have over $1 billion in transportation projects underway in Ontario – reconstruction of the 60, express lanes on the 10, improvements at the airport, the loop between the airport and Metrolink, and more. That will improve the connections between Ontario and the rest of the Basin, but what I’m really working toward is a smart community that has a jobs/housing balance that eliminates a lot of driving and commuting, and that takes advantage of technology to connect people. BIA has a role in that, working to connect homes intelligently to transportation.
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people including youth and was again elected. At the time of my election, I was the youngest on the Council. I am honored to have been elected to the Council seven times. Now I’m the second oldest on the Council.
SCB: And finally, what does Alan Wapner do for fun when he’s not being a respected Inland Empire leader? AW: Family is #1 for me. My wife Judi and I have been blessed with five children and six grandchildren. I want to spend as much time as possible with them because that’s what life is all about, isn’t it? We’re a Trojan family, so anything Trojan is good for us. Our grandkids and USC football, a hockey game at the Arena occasionally, and USC football and baseball. I love baseball. It doesn’t matter who’s playing – I just love the game…and did I mention I love USC football?
SCB: Ontario’s RHNA allocation is a rather stunning 20,854 units – about 15% of San Bernardino’s total. What are your thoughts generally on the RHNA process and Ontario’s allocation, and how difficult will it be for the city to create a Housing Element that conforms with this allocation?
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The Baldy View Chapter is proud to be the home chapter for one of nation’s premier multigenerational family builders, the Lewis Group of Companies. The first generation saw Ralph and Goldy Lewis equally involved in building the company’s business and social foundations; the second generation saw sons Richard, Robert, Roger and Randall expand the company and build on its social commitments, and now the third generation is well on its way to steering the company into the future. Southern California Builder asked Randall Lewis to talk with us about the company and its heritage.
We see the same happening with the third generation. Four of them are actively involved in the company, each one having specific responsibilities.
Southern California Builder: Can you talk a bit about your mother’s and father’s work starting the company and their accomplished, the second generation’s main accomplishments, and how the transition to the third generation is coming along?
RL: We truly view ourselves as community builders. That goes beyond dealing with entitlements, streets and the physical infrastructure. It’s really about the social infrastructure – building a sense of community and asking ourselves, what can we do to improve people’s lives?
Randall Lewis: Our mother and father were accountants, and a number of their clients were small homebuilders. That sparked their interest in building homes themselves. They started out small, moving to Claremont in the mid-50s and gradually building up the company. They realized this was something they could do – and do well.
We put a heavy emphasis on social engagement, health and education – not just within the communities we develop, but throughout our organization. We have lifestyle directors throughout out apartment communities and planned communities, coordinating activities to help drive quality of life. We also want our employees and our residents to be even more involved in where they live and work.
By the time my oldest brother, Richard, graduated college in 1965, Lewis Homes had grown to the point where we all knew it was going to be a generational business. I graduated in 1973, and over the next couple of decades, we all worked together as a family – our parents, my brothers and me – to build a great company. We expanded into Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Reno, and had grown to one of the largest homebuilders in the country before selling that part of the business to KB Homes in 1999.
As we look ahead, we have enough good land in our portfolio to keep us busy for at least the next six to eight years, and we are always reloading, buying new land. We also may become more of an investor in projects that we don’t necessarily have to build ourselves. There are a lot of great opportunities ahead of us. SCB: Lewis Homes and later the Lewis Group of Companies has developed so many successful master planned communities, including such hallmark developments as Terra Vista, The Preserve and Ontario Ranch. Which in your view best represent your family’s approach to community development?
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At the end of the day, it’s about two questions, how do you build community and how do you give back? It’s about legacy: We can and must make the world a better place. Here, too, I have to credit our parents. They said from the very beginning that we have a responsibility and obligation to help the communities we work in.
By then, the second generation was running the company, and we had moved toward shopping centers, apartments, industrial development and larger scale master-planned communities. We had begun doing that in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but really ramped it up during the ‘90s. To me, that was one of our great accomplishments – four brothers working together to take our company in a bold, new direction. Each one of us has a specific responsibility, and it has worked very well.
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It’s also about understanding our customers and the needs of each segment. We want to know what it is that motivates our residents and motivates shoppers. For our homebuilders as well as our retail tenants, they seek profitability and predictability, and we work hard to make sure that they achieve their goals.
SCB: With the Lewis Group of Companies active in Northern California, Southern California and Nevada, what can you tell us about the current health of each of those markets, and their prospects over the next few years?
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RL: All of those markets are very strong – some of the best in the United States, actually. SCB: Your family has always been deeply committed to improving the quality of life in the communities where you build through philanthropy and involvement. But also, the same is true of communities that you build. How has consideration of ways to improve residents’ quality of life evolved from the earliest communities you worked on until today? What do you see coming next? RL: We’re always looking for ways to give back to the communities we serve and improve the quality of lives of our residents. Again, that was embedded in our company culture, by our parents, from the very beginning.
Please join us in recognizing BIA Member Ackerman Law PC. Ackerman helps clients entitlements and project approvals for residential, commercial, Please joinLaw us inPC recognizing BIAsecure Member SDK ATELIER. and mixed-use projects throughout the Inland Empire, including the Coachella and Victor Valleys. The Please join us in recognizing BIA Member Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. firm comprehensive knowledge ofarchitectural the federal, state, local apply to development SDK has Atelier is an award-winning firm and built on laws the that collaborative process of Quality National Environmental Policy to Act, Clean projects, including theand California Environmental youthful seasoned The ability to Act, mentor onein another improve Cox, Castledesigners & Nicholson LLP is one ofstaff. the largest full-service law and firmsempower specializing real estate in the Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and laws protecting historic and cultural resources. Ackeman team members’ skills individually as well aslegal a team is what us. to The studio atmosphere of Law SDK United states. The firm delivers strategic counsel anddrives services developers, public agencies, PC specializes in providing project advocacy, reviewing environmental documents for legal sufficiency, thought the design process and allows Atelier'scompanies, office enables free thinking ideas to passpension openly funds, energy lenders, investors,and joint ventures, landlords, tenants, corporations, developing and negotiating successful mitigation strategies, and defending land use approvals in court. everynet-worth member of the team and to participate during project development. others in and the contribute management of their complex real estate, business and high individuals litigation challenges. Founded in 1968, the firm has more than 130 transactional and litigation law in theby Inland Empire for nearly 20 years, Jason Ackerman has practiced landdistinct use and environmental SDK Atelier's passion is toAngeles, create valuable architecture attorneys in offices in Los Orangeand County and San Francisco. developing new interpretations and he has served theprovide BIA Baldy View Chapter Board Directors for amore 5 years. costof traditional styleson and captivating designs thatof extend across widethan spectrum of For markets. effective, local and regional expertise, callcapability on Ackerman Law for land usethe and environmental legal of our and SDK Atelier in the has extraordinary design hasPC in influencing Cox Castle believes & Nicholson been a member of BIA for 20 years, and we quality are proud to lives support services. More information about the firm can be found at www.ackermanlawpc.com. that ison whytheir theymission strive toto inspire people discoveraswhy matters. for sustainable communities. For them advocate fortohousing theit foundation more information, visit www.coxcastle.com. sdkatelier.com
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One of the bigger challenges, looking to the future, will be understanding the post-COVID world and what that means when it comes to the way people live. That certainly impacts us on the commercial and shopping center side, with the impact of e-commerce on brick-and-mortar stores. But there’s a huge potential impact when it comes to residential communities. As more employers shift permanently to hybrid or work-from-home models, how does that change floorplans and incorporating technology into home living?
From a philanthropy perspective, just as our company has evolved, so too has our approach to philanthropy. During the first half of our history, we were homebuilders and donated to charities whenever possible. It wasn’t necessary a strategic process, but helping out wherever we could. As we transitioned toward community development, we recognized that we had an even bigger role in improving quality of life and creating a sense of place, and we became more strategic in our philanthropy. We also became more strategic in how we design our individual communities around the quality of living. Moving forward, philanthropy and investing in quality of life will continue to be a major part of how we operate. It’s the right thing to do on so many levels. There’s our social responsibility to make the world a better, happier place. We’re doing that by investing heavily in health and education at the community level, and providing more cultural experiences such as the Lewis Family Playhouse at Victoria Gardens. Investing in the overall community is also good business, helping to create even greater value and that stronger sense of place.
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California has its challenges, but its core strengths – the weather, a spirit of innovation, access to ports and international markets – provide a distinct competitive advantage. The demand for workers remains very strong, which creates a strong demand for housing. The state needs to improve its processes and address the environmental and other regulations that impede housing development, but the demand for new housing is only going to grow.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
BIA of Southern California
Our two Nevada markets – Las Vegas and Reno – benefit from their proximity to California and, quite frankly, an exodus of people and businesses who see California as too expensive and over-regulated. The quality of life in both of those Nevada markets is extraordinary; they’re very desirable places to live. The gaming and tourism industries were hit hard by the pandemic, but are coming back very strong. Nevada also is very pro-business, which creates jobs and economic advancement opportunities. SCB: You are active in homes, apartments, office and commercial real estate and investment properties. How is the new home community side doing now compared to the others, and how do you see it performing over the next five or ten years? RL: The new-home market is extraordinarily strong because of interest rates, low inventories versus demand, and demographic factors that are favorable to buying. We believe the new-home business will be quite strong on the demand side for the next 5-10 years, but we continue to have significant challenges when it comes to production. Rising costs, government red tape, NIMBYs and, in California, never-ending new regulations from Sacramento are formidable hurdles that need to be addressed. SCB: Riverside and San Bernardino Counties have long been the epicenter of new suburban development
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RL: The choice should not be between urban, suburban, and greenfield development; we need an all-of-the-above solution. To this day, I don’t think the state understands that infill only is not enough to solve our housing crisis. SCB: It’s been a little over a year since you told The Register that real estate has been “forever changed” by the coronavirus. Do you still hold that view? How are these changes manifesting at the Lewis Group of Companies? RL: COVID-19 has dramatically changed everything from the cost of housing to where people live. There’s a greater focus on healthy living spaces and how to accommodate working from home. And while it remains to be seen how the work-from-home model will play out long-term, there’s every indication that many employers will continue to operate that way in some fashion. This has given strength to outlying areas, where families can get more home for the dollar. SCB: Articles about the early history of the company are overwhelmingly about “Ralph and Goldy Lewis,” not just “Ralph Lewis.” How did your mother help shape the company and what do her contributions tell you about the value of diversity to homebuilding? RL: Our parents were equal partners in the history and success of Lewis Homes. Our mother was intimately involved in creating floorplans and working with customers, subcontractors and trade partners. And no piece of land was bought without her involvement. It was referred to as the “Goldy Test” – would she think that this property would make for a good family environment? In many ways, she was the heart and soul of the company. She cared so much for our employees and the families we were building for.
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Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
in Southern California. Four years ago, you said the choice between suburban and infill is a false choice. Is it still a choice at all, or has the state pushed us inexorably towards infill? What is the future of suburban development here?
newcomer to the industry about getting involved in BIA? RL: For our parents, my brothers and me, some of our best professional connections and some of our best friends came out of BIA and NAHB. We’re talking really close, lifelong friends. You also gain a tremendous amount of knowledge through relationships such as these. They’re the best sources for understanding the industry and challenges of being homebuilders. In terms of advice, I would say, be involved and stay involved for the knowledge, friendships and business networking, and to help address the common challenges our business faces. SCB: Besides your parents’ fondness for names that begin with “R” (Richard, Robert, Roger and Randall), what makes the Lewis family tick and what’s it like being a part of this family? RL: First and foremost is a strong family bond. Within our family and throughout the company, there is a strong sense of pride about what the family has done and the communities – the legacy developments – we have built. We’ve created something I think we’re all very proud of. As family members, we also trust each other tremendously. Across the generations, we’ve all had very different responsibilities within the company, and we respect each other’s abilities to do our jobs. SCB: Finally, what priorities should the Building Industry Association and its members have as we work to address the housing supply shortfall? RL: We need to stick to housing’s primary purpose – to house people. Unfortunately, the state and others want to use housing to pay more than its fair share to solve climate change, and through excessive fees to often pay more than housing’s fair share for parks and infrastructure. BIA can play an important role in reversing some of that thinking, and working with cities to improve their processes and create a stronger sense of collaboration. Together, we need to build smarter and more efficiently, and to recognize that the housing shortage isn’t impacting just the affordable market, but all price ranges. Finally, we have to work together to address homelessness.
Ontario: The story behind America’s fastest-growing airport Just east of Los Angeles County lies the fastest-growing population center in Southern California and one of the most robust commercial supply chain hubs in the world.
Though they were both accountants, our father was most involved in running the day-to-day activities of the company, such as structuring deals, land transactions, accounting systems and legal matters. He was also a huge believer in equity and opportunity and would often say. “I want to give everyone the opportunity to own a home.”
Over the next 25 years, the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside counties) will welcome more than 1.3 million new residents – a staggering 28% growth rate that dwarfs the rest of the state, according to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). Employment will nearly double, with more than 1 million new jobs, driven largely by innovations in transportation, technology, logistics and workforce development.
SCB: You’ve been active in the Baldy View Chapter, BIASC and NAHB. What have you gotten out of this involvement and what advice would you give a
At the heart of all of this is the fastest-growing airport in the U.S. three years running – an aviation gateway that has emerged both as the airport of choice for business and
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leisure travelers, and a vital cargo hub for the processing and transporting of goods around the world. Five years after its return to local control, Ontario International Airport (ONT) has become one of its industry’s great success stories and a powerful economic engine for the vibrant region it serves. “The success of Ontario Airport has had a huge, positive impact on our region, creating new opportunities for businesses and developers, and serving as a source of pride and inspiration for those of us who believe in the future of the IE,” said Paul Granillo, President of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP).
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The numbers would certainly back that up. • Before COVID-19, ONT had seen its annual passenger volumes climb to 5.5 million – up more than 1.3 million from when the City of Ontario and San Bernardino County took ownership of the airport from the City of Los Angeles in late 2016. Departures increased to nearly 70 per day, with nonstop service to major airports in the U.S., Mexico and Asia. • Even as the pandemic crippled the travel and aviation industry, ONT showed impressive resiliency, maintaining or regaining nearly two-thirds of its preCOVID volumes and ranking No. 1 in California and No. 3 in the U.S. for passenger recovery rates. • On the cargo side, ONT’s freight has doubled since 2013, with total tonnage of 924,000 in 2020, driven by a surge in e-commerce and continued expansion by ONT’s cargo partners. Just last November, FedEx Express opened its new 251,000-square-foot operations center, which includes a sorting facility capable of handling 12,000 packages per hour, nine wide-body aircraft gates, 14 feeder aircraft gates and 18 truck docks. Today, Ontario ranks among the Top 10 cargo airports in the U.S.
Helping to ensure the airport’s continued success are millions of dollars in investments in infrastructure, restaurants and retail concessions, high-end lounges, parking improvements and expanded transit options. In 2020, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) announced it is pursuing negotiations to build a zero-emission transit loop between the airport and the Rancho Cucamonga transit station, four miles to the north. In 2021, the Federal Transit Administration announced it was awarding SBCTA $86.75 million in funding to construct the West Valley Connector, a 100% zero-emission Bus Rapid Transit system that will link ONT, two Metrolink lines and multiple activity centers between Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. These kinds of projects are part of an emerging sustainable 21st century transit network centered in the Inland Empire, with Ontario Airport as a major reason why. Other projects include the Arrow Line – a zero-emission passenger train that will connect Redlands and the East Valley of San Bernardino with the Metrolink system – and a proposed high-speed rail line from Las Vegas to the Rancho Cucamonga station.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
community at large. It has been a remarkable run, and the best is yet to come,” said Alan D. Wapner, President of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commisioners and Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario.
“Creating new transit connections to Ontario Airport is helping to drive much of what we’re seeing right now,” said Frank J. Navarro, President of SBCTA, which is overseeing development of these projects. “Companies like Boring want to invest in our county because of the growth and opportunities that exist here. ONT is a vital part of that narrative.”
With the infrastructure, facilities and customer base all in place, ONT is well positioned to continue growing. Without the expansion restrictions that many other Southern California airports face, ONT has a projected capacity of 30 million annual passengers, according to SCAG. “The extraordinary growth at ONT is a credit to the incredible team we have and the deep and lasting partnerships we’ve established with our airlines and the
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Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
To help manage its growth, OIAA has hired Michelle Brantley as its director of planning – a third-generation airport executive who sees nothing but opportunity at Ontario “There are a ton of potential tenants interested in building on or near the airport,” Brantley said. “My team and I work with those parties on concept development to work through early issues and ensure feasibility.”
Global Traveler magazine thinks so, and has ranked ONT as the fastest growing U.S. airport for the past three years. Wall Street also is bullish on Ontario; this April, OIAA announced the sale of airport revenue bonds totaling more than $103 million to finance capital improvement projects and make the final payment for transfer of the airport from Los Angeles. “The investor confidence reflects our region’s role as a dynamic population and economic center, and Ontario Airport’s unconstrained opportunities moving forward. It also further validates that under local control the airport is operating effectively for our airline partners, customers and other stakeholders, and is well positioned to meet the growing demand for air travel and cargo shipments,” said OIAA CEO Mark Thorpe. “Since our transfer to local control, Ontario Airport has become an international aviation gateway and economic engine for the region, a testament not only to the facilities, services and amenities that appeal to our customers, but the strong community and business support we’ve continued to receive.”
Brantley also oversees development of sustainability improvements that are making ONT a gold standard among airports for environmental stewardship. These include an ambitious construction recycling program, the installation of energy-efficient lighting and the development of a formal sustainability plan. Said CEO Thorpe: “At ONT, we believe strongly that we have an important role to play in reducing our carbon footprint and protecting our environment for future generations.” Ontario’s airline partners, meanwhile, are eyeing an even stronger recovery for America’s fastest-growing aviation gateway in the months ahead. By this summer, nearly a dozen popular U.S. destinations will have been initiated or restarted, including Hawaiian Airlines’ new service to Honolulu, American Airlines’ nonstop service to Chicago O’Hare and Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, and Avianca Airlines’ service to El Salvador. The latter represents the first service from the Inland Empire to Central America, and reflects ONT’s growing stature as an international gateway since China Airlines launched service to Taipei in 2018.
In the meantime, the airport continues to invest in its customers, winning triple-crown honors from the Airports Council International for delivering high-quality customer service experience and ensuring the safety of travellers during pandemic. ACI recognized ONT with its Voice of the Customer award, its Customer Service Experience Accreditation and its Airport Health Acceditation. Among the local initiatives cited was ONT’s on-site COVID testing center – one of the first among airports in California. “It’s all about improving the airport experience,” said Wapner, OIAA’s President. “We recognize that our customers have choices, so it is critically important that we continue to add new services and amenities which make ONT even more convenient than other airports in Southern California.”
“There is so much more ahead of us,” said Jim Bowman, an OIAA Commissioner and Ontario City Councilmember. “We couldn’t be better situated – in the heart of one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, easily accessible to some of the most popular destinations in Southern California, and with a loyal customer base and incredible airline partners. Who wouldn’t love what we’ve got? “We’re not going to stand still, however. Our commitment is to develop ONT into an even more attractive aviation gateway and even more important economic engine for the region.”
These kinds of improvements and investments also have helped ONT increase its non-aeronautical revenues, which boosts the airport’s bottom line and ultimately allow it to hold down costs to its airline partners. So what does the future hold?
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Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Canvas Park
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Over the past year, the Inland Empire has sustained some of the most dramatic growth in the U.S. One key measure of sales shows the region’s masterplans have outpaced even those of Irvine. This growth extends from long-term planning and partnerships with cities such as Ontario – a partnership that include innovative high-tech services for Ontario communities. Community Brookfield Residential has been an essential partner to this sustainable growth by creating community. Its three major Inland Empire masterplans are large-scale, long-term investments in the region and offer home designs from entrylevel (including the booming millennial market) to
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move-up neighborhoods Brookfield places special emphasis on community amenities and connectivity to foster a special sense of place in its masterplans. The recent John Burns Real Estate report shows Ontario Ranch – which includes Brookfield Residential’s New Haven masterplan – as California’s top-selling masterplanned community, and No. 5 nationally. Aided by developers and builders, including The Lewis Co., Richland Communities, TriPoint, Pulte, Landsea, D.R. Horton, Lennar, Taylor Morrison and others, the Ontario Ranch community had 1,292 sales in 2020, according to John Burns – a 71% jump from 755 sales in 2019, ranking it No. 8 in the U.S. This means Ontario Ranch replaced Irvine Ranch as Southern California’s homebuilding hot spot. (This Orange County community has typically rated among the
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Soofa Signs – These electronic neighborhood news sites provide communication and wayfinding in 100% solar-powered electronic displays. These will be at New Haven Marketplace and at New Haven recreation centers. support convenient, pedestrian-friendly access to shopping, parks and amenities – including New Haven Marketplace, and they help limit vehicle trips.
national leaders since the Great Recession ended.) Another Inland Empire Brookfield Residential community – Audie Murphy Ranch – was No. 42 on John Burns Real Estate’s ranking of the top 50 best-selling master-planned communities. “It’s exciting to be a part of the boom in California’s Inland Empire as it emerges as a national leader in new home sales, and positive growth overall,” said Brookfield Residential Senior Director of Sales and Marketing Caitlyn Lai-Valenti. “The phenomenal job growth makes the I.E. one of the bright spots in the U.S. economy. But the factors guiding this growth have long been in place, especially with the logistics industry feeding the nation’s ever-increasing need for shipped goods.” Lai-Valenti explained the home builder anticipated and coordinated closely with the region’s economic trends. In 2020 these communities even attracted significant amounts of buyers from other parts of Southern California. “In the past year our eastern-most masterplans in the I.E. – Audie Murphy Ranch and Spencer’s Crossing – have drawn significant segments of new homeowners from coastal communities in Orange Country and San Diego County. In general, the homes are larger, more comfortable and modern,
with outdoor space and with room for working, distancelearning and entertaining.” Ontario Ranch is doing an exceptional job of absorbing the region’s job growth because the City planned for this growth – coordinating new-home neighborhoods with infrastructure and new retail, investing in recreation and open space, and innovating with very progressive technology. The New Haven masterplan (within the larger in Ontario Ranch plan) recorded close to 400 sales in 2020. And this growth is coordinated with commercial and retail development. New Haven Marketplace, anchored by Stater Bros and Starbucks, is a partnership between Brookfield Residential and Frontier Real Estate Investments to create a community shopping and lifestyle destination integrated within the clusters of residential neighborhoods. New Haven Marketplace is also home to a wide variety of restaurants, services, fitness and the soon to open, Brew Haven, Ontario Ranch’s first brewery. Technology Essential to all these trends has been new technology. The City of Ontario has been a national leader in providing highbandwidth gigabit infrastructure to every new residence, allowing for super-fast downloads – an essential amenity with so many people working, schooling and entertaining at home. Every new home at New Haven has Brookfield Residential’s myCommand smart-home system which works seamlessly with a homebuyer’s choice of the top-three smart-home platforms – Amazon, Google and Apple. The City of Ontario and Brookfield Residential will soon unveil a suite of exciting tech investments. These advances incude e-scooters, robot cargo carts, e-signage and a smart-node communication/security/lighting device. The mobility tools
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“New Haven residents will enjoy exciting tech tools still years away from appearing in other communities,” said Lai-Valenti. “These drones, robot carts, e-scooters, smart nodes and other advances will uplift and simplify life at New Haven. They will also boost sustainability and businesses while propelling Ontario among the nation’s top, smart-technology cities.”
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Still on the drawing boards and perhaps most extraordinary, the City of Ontario is advancing a project to be the first California community to offer drone delivery of packages to private residents in Brookfield’s New Haven community. City of Ontario This public/private partnership stems from the launch of Ontario Ranch, when City of Ontario envisioned and then introduced the “gigabit community” to Park Place, New Haven and Ontario Ranch. The super-fast download impacts of this infrastructure have proven invaluable during Covid, as many residents worked from home. “The City of Ontario is very progressive when it comes to technology,” said Brookfield Residential Vice President of Land Entitlement – and current BIASC Chair – Dave Bartlett.
The state-of-the-art technologies launch in July 2021 with the opening of phase two of New Haven Marketplace. They include: Gita – Pronounced “Gee-tah,” these robot carts carry residents’ items to and from shopping and recreation (up to 40 lbs). They make walking more convenient and shopping and recreation more fun as they follow residents to and from their destinations, carrying the cargo. New Haven will be one of the first communities in California to employ robot carts for its residents. Clevr Scooters – These are similar to Byrd, Lime and other smart, dockless, electric scooters, except Clevr scooters are offered as a free service and require no credit card. The scooters are part of City of Ontario’s extensive research and prioritizing of mobility options in the city.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
or announcements. A subsidiary of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, ENE HUB nodes also measure data for energy and transportation efficiency. Ontario Ranch’s first smart node will be stationed at New Haven Marketplace.
“Several years ago, led by Council member Alan Wapner, the City developed its gigabit fiber-to-the home program, which may have been the first of its kind in Southern California. The builder community was skeptical at first because it was partially financed through a builder fee. But here we are about 15 years later and the foundation of a very advanced technology program is built upon this investment, allowing Ontario Ranch to be a gigabit community.” Bartlett called out current Ontario City Manager Scott Ochoa for embracing this vision and assembling an innovation and technology team that is on the leading edge of smart-city solutions to communication, security, mobility, business applications and consumer preferences. “All of us a Brookfield value and appreciate the City’s leadership in this space,” said Bartlett.
ENE HUB– Pronounced “Any-hub,” these “smart nodes” are thoughtfully designed, multifunctional street furniture that provides lighting, phone charging, wifi and 5G service, wayfinding, security and even speakers for streaming music
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MEMBER M E M B E R S Member P O T L I GSpotlight HT SPOTLIGHT
Q & A with Phil Burum
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Deputy City Manager, City of Fontana On Phil Burum’s LinkedIn page, the line of type under his name says, “Change is good!” That’s no surprise since he raised a lot of eyebrows this February when it was announced that the vice president of DR Horton’s Inland Empire Division, who’s resume also includes vice president of Diversified Pacific, president of the Baldy View Chapter and board member of BIASC, was taking a new position as Fontana’s Deputy City Manager and head of the city’s Development Services Organization, which encompasses community development, engineering, and public works. Southern California Builder caught up with him to learn more about this interesting transition. Southern California Builder: What got you interested in homebuilding? Is it a family tradition or were you drawn into it in some other way?
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everynet-worth member of the team and to participate during project development. others in and the contribute management of their complex real estate, business and high individuals Fenceworks has become an industry leader by meeting the needs of our customers. The Fenceworks litigation challenges. Founded in 1968, the firm has more than 130 transactional and litigation team is proudpassion of being and utilizing the highest quality fence products. Their exemplified SDK Atelier's is professional toAngeles, create distinct valuable architecture attorneys in offices in Los Orangeand County and San Francisco.by developing new interpretations Fenceworks the top fence contractor in California. “take care of the customer” philosophy has made of traditional styles and provide captivating designs that extend across a wide spectrum of markets. of our and SDK Atelier in the has extraordinary capabilityof design has 20 in influencing Cox Castle believes & Nicholson been a member BIA for years, andthe we quality are proud to lives support For visitpeople www.fenceworks.us. thatmore ison whyinformation theymission strive please toto inspire discoveraswhy matters. for sustainable communities. For them their advocate fortohousing theit foundation more information, visit www.coxcastle.com. sdkatelier.com
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Phillip Burum: Family for sure, but I’m not sure it qualifies as a tradition. My elder brother Jeff, the entrepreneur of the family, had established and gained success in several real estate ventures in the region throughout the early to mid-90’s. By the end of the decade, he had a growing homebuilding business, Diversified Pacific, had managed the acquisition of a 440-acre abandoned rock quarry that would later become one of the area’s most successful master planned communities. He had also started Southern California Housing Development Corp., now National Community Renaissance, which has become one of the largest non-profit affordable housing providers in the country. He needed, or wanted, help with the day-to-day project management at the Colonies project in Upland and Diversified’s growing list of new communities so he could focus on growing the non-profit. A few intriguing conversations at a few family gatherings and, with more than a bit of trepidation, I packed up my family in Virginia and moved to Rancho Cucamonga in 1998 to learn the business of real estate.
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SCB: Looking back at those conversations with your brother, now more than 20 years ago, do you have any thoughts about your home building career or any specific moments that you can reflect on? PB: Too many. Very early on in my career when managing my first project for Diversified, I happened to be on site the day a young couple was getting the keys to their first new home. It was a very Norman Rockwell setting, toddler on the hip, older 3- or 4-year-old brother holding dad’s hand and when mom received the keys, she started crying, full on bawling is probably a better description. I’m not ashamed to say I followed suit and, from the day on, I was hooked on the homebuilding industry. I have spent the last 20 years of my life playing a part in delivering the American Dream to thousands of people. Sometimes my part has been delivering plans and pulling permits, other times it’s been finding the land, or leading the design team that created the land plan or the architecture. Regardless of what role I was playing, I was a cog in the wheel that put families in homes. Being a small part of that process was very rewarding. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you participated in the achievement of someone’s dreams.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
BIA of Southern California
Looking back, I can only say that I am grateful for having had the opportunity. When you start your professional life at over 30, effectively as an intern, and can look back as you pass 50 with confidence that you made some good decisions and did some good things along the way, it is extremely gratifying.
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PB: I became active in the BIA after the Great Recession. Diversified Pacific was growing again, and I was encouraged by my partners to get involved. We had always supported the BIA and, with my new role leading the day-to-day operations of the company, it was my turn to serve. When I made the move to DR Horton a few years ago, I stayed very active and the team at Horton was equally supportive, providing me with the flexible schedule that was needed to serve the Board at the executive level. The Baldy View chapter board was a great group of people and I made some strong friendships during that period. After a few years of serving on various committees, I was elected as President and after a few terms as President of the chapter, I was invited to join the SC board. Until this past January, I served as one of the Vice Chairs of BIASC. I am not sure what I gave the organization, other than my time. What the organization gave me, however, was a much deeper understanding of the importance of housing. I became a passionate advocate for housing during my time as Chapter President, focusing on the social justice benefits of housing. An undersupply of new housing leads to homeless and overcrowding, which lead to lower graduation rates and a higher propensity for crime, which leads again to homelessness and overcrowding. It’s just a repetitive cycle of despair that too many people are caught up in. Probably the saddest and simultaneously most optimistic part is that much of that cycle can be fixed by simply increasing the housing supply. Housing fixes everything. I truly believe that. Armed with a mission, I spent most of my time working with local elected officials and agency staff promoting housing and finding ways to encourage growth, looking for efficiencies in processing so more communities could be developed. Developers and homebuilders are up against a lot of negativity when they
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the importance of reinvesting in their community. When you add those factors to a socioeconomically diverse population of nearly 220,000, you begin to appreciate that that City of Fontana is poised for great things. The city is truly in a transformational state. I made the decision to leave private industry for public service because I wanted to be a part of the transformation, to be in a position where I could be a positive influence for change, hopefully changing things for the better.
propose new communities. It takes the form of NIMBYism but it all stems from a conditioned response that most have had since childhood. I found that most of my job was to convince people that Scooby Doo wasn’t a documentary. If you think back, you’ll remember that the villain exposed at the end of nearly every episode was an evil developer. Overcoming that image was always step one in any conversation about a new community proposal. It takes a bit of patience but, if you can change the narrative and perspective, you can turn NIMBYs into YIMBYs. SCB: What made you decide to go to “the other side of the counter” and become Fontana’s Deputy City Manager in charge of the Development Services Organization? PB: I’m not sure it was an active decision, and I have never thought of it as the other side of the counter and I don’t think cities should take that view, either. Fontana doesn’t – we see it as one team. Much like my entry into the homebuilding business 20 years ago, joining the city’s team was a result of a few intriguing conversations, this time with Fontana’s City Manager, Mark Denny. Being a public administrator was never in my career plan. In fact, I’m not sure the idea really settled for me until the moment I signed the contract. Ultimately, the decision was based on a confluence of perfect circumstances. The national economy is expanding and should continue in a generally positive direction for the next several years so we should be well positioned for growth. Fontana still has land available for development and lots of potential for adaptive reuse, and the City Council is unified in its goals for the city and is very supportive of local business. The city manager is a tremendous leader who thinks outside the bureaucratic box and works hard to let the business community know that we are their to support their efforts. After all, what is more out of the box or a better way is there to say you’re supportive of the business community and open to growth than to hire the local BIA president? Finally, we have a great pool of local business owners who understand
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Park, an 18-acre sports park located only blocks away from Downtown Fontana. Early next year, we will break ground on our 48th public park, the South Fontana Sports Park, thanks to fees earned by the incredible growth going on in the city, specifically in the logistics industry. Fontana, as our Mayor Acquanetta Warren often says, is open for business and our residents are benefitting tremendously from the growth.
SCB: After spending your career in the private sector, what’s it like being a public administrator? PB: The job may be very different but the person doing it is still the same. I have the same learned biases, the same goals for exceptionalism from my team, and the same motivation to do my personal best. My responsibilities today have certainly grown in scale and scope, since my experience only covers about 15 or 20 percent of what the Development Services Organization does, but the decision tree is not dramatically different than it was in the private sector. My goal as a homebuilder or real estate developer was to find solutions to enable development, and to lead a group of people and help them learn to do the same. Although I have transitioned from policy advocate to policy implementor, my role and goals with Fontana are the same. Staff has been empowered to find solutions rather than dwell on obstacles. Our development services team is there to guide the development community towards the delivery of the best possible results for the city. My teams in the private sector were focused on delivering the best possible results for the eventual homeowners. For me, so far, I have been able to thrive within my skillsets and prior experience. I truly look forward to coming to work every day. Ask me again in two years and we’ll see if I feel the same. SCB: What is Fontana’s Development Services Organization up to? How many projects is the Organization working on and what are some of the more exciting ones? PB: For new development, the city takes in an average of five new “projects” per week. They can be as small as adding a backup generator to as a large as a million square foot industrial complex or several thousand-unit residential communities. The city is very busy with new development, currently projecting issuing over 1,200 residential building permits this fiscal year. The rest of the department, including Public Works and our Engineering Department’s Capital Improvement wing, are equally busy maintaining our infrastructure and delivering new improvements for the community. We just hosted a grand opening of Central City
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SCB: It seems to us that if more people were to make the move you made, things could get easier for developers and city staff alike. Do you share that view? Why or why not?
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
SCB: Describe your BIA involvement. What most did you get out of the organization and what are you most satisfied with in terms of giving to the organization?
PB: I’d like to think so, but time will tell. I was in a unique place in my life and was able to make a decision based on what I wanted to do rather than what I needed to do. It was difficult to walk away from the private sector during a thriving real estate market but the opportunity to effect real change drove me this way. I hope I can make a positive impact and translate some private sector business principals into the public sector but, as I said, only time will tell. This city understands the positive impacts of growth and they are eager to serve the development community to get projects off the ground. What I think I bring is a more complete perspective on the development industry. While my bias favors housing growth and I hate the term “gingerbread” or “cookie-cutter” when referring to architectural elements, I also have a good idea what your pro forma looks like and will hold builders accountable to delivering houses and communities designed smartly, with character, and with the needs of the end users guiding the process. SCB: After a couple months on the job, what advice do you have for developers considering Fontana? PB: Come now, while you can still afford the land! The Fontana housing market is on fire. With RHNA numbers
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MEMBER M E M B E R S Member P O T L I GSpotlight HT SPOTLIGHT BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER
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finalized, homelessness on the rise throughout the region and affordability becoming more and more of a problem, this city is taking a new look at how it sees density. Smart, well planned communities are key to success in this city, as we enter the ten units per acre single-family detached market in the city, projects that might not have gotten off the drawing board ten years ago are being embraced today. And we’re going vertical next summer, starting with a five-story residential project downtown that hopefully will start, pardon the pun, an upward trend. SCB: And more generally, what have you learned that could make working with cities through the approval process easier for developers in any jurisdiction?
Don’t hold back your best product. Come in on day one with your best rather than “leaving room to negotiate” the final design parameters. That dance that builders and developers do with agencies is a tremendous waste of time. Agencies know that playbook and don’t respond well to those that try to cut corners or hold back from their best submittal. If you address the opportunities and constraints up front and honestly, the process will be a lot smoother. Fontana wants you to be successful. Your success is ours so, when you come in with a new project, come in with your best project on day one, listen to the feedback from the decisionmakers involved and we will find a way to move it forward together.
PB: Plan for the impact to the surrounding community and design for your end user and how they will live/work in your product. If you’re proposing something outside of the norm or outside of the scope of the current zoning, get in front of decision-makers early and listen to their feedback. Sometimes, as developers, we are trying to find a way to force a square peg in a round hole. That isn’t always possible so listen to the feedback you receive and adjust accordingly.
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Design - Installation - Service Please join us in recognizing BIA Member TRANSTECH. Please join us in recognizing BIA Member SDK ATELIER. Please join is us ain full-service recognizing multi-disciplinary BIA Member Cox,consulting Castle & Nicholson LLP. municipal services to public Transtech firm providing SDK Atelier is an award-winning architectural firm built on the collaborative process of agencies and cities since 1989. Transtech’s distinguished team has a broad mix of multi-disciplinary youthful andLLP seasoned The ability to mentor empower onein another to improve Cox, Castledesigners & Nicholson is one ofstaff. the largest full-service law and firms real Construction estate in the expertise specializing in City Engineering Services, Building & specializing Safety Services, team members’ skills individually as well aslegal a team is what us. to The studio atmosphere of SDK United states.&The firm delivers strategic counsel anddrives services developers, public agencies, Engineering & Transportation Planning, Management Inspection, CIP Program Management, Traffic the design process and allows Atelier'scompanies, office enables free thinking ideas to passpension openly thought energy lenders, investors,and joint ventures, landlords, Federally Funded Project Management, Grant Writing, Civilfunds, Engineering & tenants, Design, corporations, Real Estate every member of the team to participate and contribute during project development. and others the management of their ’s complex estate, high net-worth Staff individuals Development, Augmentation & in Other Services. Transtech diversereal range of business services and litigation Founded in approach 1968, thedelivering firm has meaningful more than results 130 transactional litigation expertise challenges. provides a professional to a range ofand private and SDK Atelier's passion is to create distinct and valuable architecture by developing new interpretations attorneys in offices Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco. public sector Clientsinfor over 30 years. of traditional styles and provide captivating designs that extend across a wide spectrum of markets. the of our and SDK Atelier in the has extraordinary capabilityof design has 20 in influencing Cox Castleisbelieves & aNicholson been member BIACalifornia. for years, and we quality are proud to lives support Learn more about Transtech at Transtech proud member of a BIA of Southern that is why they strive to inspire people to discover why it matters. them on their mission to advocate for housing as the foundation for sustainable communities. For transtech.org. more information, visit www.coxcastle.com. sdkatelier.com
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coxcastle.com Nominate a BIASC Member to Spotlight! Learn more about becoming a BIA Member Nominate a BIASC Member to spotlight! Contact kwillette@biasc.orgSouthern at biasc.org/membership Contact kwillette@biasc.org California BUILDER | Nominate a BIASC Member to spotlight!
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2021 CACM, ASLA with BIA, CAI, | June BUILDER
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MEMBER M E M B E R S Member P O T L I GSpotlight HT SPOTLIGHT BIA ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER
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PLEASE PLEASE JOIN US IN RECOGNIZING DAVID EVANS ANDATELIER ASSOCIATES, INC. JOIN US IN RECOGNIZING SDK
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Letter From Your Representative:
Fontana Setting A Standard For Community Building, Economic Opportunity Fontana has always been a city of big dreams, and today, through collaboration and shared visioning, San Bernardino County’s largest city has become a model for community building, economic opportunity and advancement opportunities for all. According to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), within 20 years, Fontana’s young, diverse population is expected to climb to 281,000 – up 25% from where it is today and nearly 20,000 above the next largest city in the county. Total employment in the city is expected to exceed 70,000 – up 21% from current levels – with strong growth expected in logistics and supply chain management, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.
Please join us in recognizing BIA Member David Evans and Associates, Inc. David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA) offers a full spectrum of engineering consulting services. For more than 40 years,
Please join us in recognizing BIA Member SDK ATELIER.
DEA has provided imaginative designs that balance growth with environmental sensibility. Today, DEA’s land development not only thoughtfully designCox, residential butLLP. also find workable, creative solutions for Please joinexperts us in recognizing BIA Member Castlecommunities, & Nicholson
SDK Atelier is an award-winning architectural built on development; the collaborative process complex land development projects, including industrial andfirm transit-oriented commercial, retail, of and entertainment projects; parks recreation facilities; and master planned communities. excels youthful designers andand seasoned staff. Thestreetscapes; ability to mentor and empower one anotherDEA to also improve
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP is one of the largest full-service law firms specializing in real estate in the
at team redevelopment. Converting blighted industrial areas into attractive mixed-use mineral extraction sites skills individually as well as a team is what us. communities, The studio atmosphere of SDK Unitedmembers’ states. The firm delivers strategic legal counsel anddrives services to developers, public agencies, and thinking industrialand waterfronts gathering is the kind of work that speaks to DEA’s into clean industry locations,free thought the design process and allows Atelier's office enables ideas tointo pass openlyplaces
energy companies, lenders, investors, joint ventures, pension funds, landlords, tenants, corporations, everynet-worth member of the team and to participate during project development. others in and the contribute management of their complex real estate, business and high individuals
core purpose of improving the quality of life while demonstrating stewardship of the built and natural environments.
litigation challenges. Founded in community 1968, thein firm has moreandthan 130 projects. transactional and mapping litigationfor DEA has served our Southern California several exciting impactful DEA’s route
SDK Atelier's passion is to create distinct and valuable architecture by developing new interpretations Recognition Award for exemplary the Space Shuttle Endeavour move to the California Science Center earned a National attorneys in offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco. of traditional styles and captivating thatasextend across wide for spectrum markets. engineering achievement fromprovide ACEC. Most recently designs DEA served the Engineer of aRecord the newof SoFi Stadium,
of our and SDKfor Atelier in the Rams extraordinary capability design has inlargest influencing home both believes the Los Angeles and Los Chargers. is the stadium in quality the serving as a global Cox Castle & Nicholson has been a Angeles member of BIAIt for 20 years, andthe we areNFL proud to lives support
sports and entertainment destination and willtoserve as the venue for Super Bowl LVI and the Opening and Closing that is why theymission strive to inspire people discover matters. them on their to advocate for housing aswhy theit foundation for sustainable communities. For Ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic Games. For more information please visit www.deainc.com.
more information, visit www.coxcastle.com. sdkatelier.com
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coxcastle.com Nominate a BIASC Member to Spotlight! LearnNominate more about becoming Member at a BIASC Member a toBIA spotlight! Contact kwillette@biasc.org Southern biasc.org/membership Contact kwillette@biasc.org California BUILDER | Nominate a BIASC Member to spotlight!
While these numbers help quantify Fontana’s emergence as a vital residential and commercial hub for one of the fastestgrowing economic centers in the United States – Southern California’s Inland Empire ¬– the real story lies in the city’s commitment to setting a new standard for diversity, livability, and prosperity. In 2020, the Fontana City Council was one of the first in Southern California to declare racism a public health crisis, and the city has since implemented a variety of steps – including a Police Chief’s Roundtable and an expansion of the healthy community initiative – to promote greater equity and inclusion. The Fontana Mayor’s Education Coalition is connecting schools, the business community and the city around preparing students for 21st century career opportunities. The Fontana Mayor’s Economic Development Council is working to support business growth, job opportunities and career development throughout the city. As these initiatives evolve, and the city’s reputation for quality of life also continues to grow, homebuilders see Fontana as
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Acquanetta Warren Mayor, City of Fontana
the place to be. Hamstrung, like other cities, by burdensome state environmental regulations, Fontana nonetheless has forged ahead with a wide variety of housing options – from low-income affordable housing to middle-income and executive homes that meet the needs of the city’s growing businesses. Keeping up with demand over the next quarter century will be a challenge, and the city’s planning team and leadership are seeking the support of policy makers at the state level and organizations such as BIA to help growing cities meet their daunting housing needs. For example, under the most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), Fontana will be required to plan for more than 17,000 housing units over the next eight years, despite restrictive policies under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that stand in the way of new home development.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
BIA of Southern California
A similar dynamic is playing out on the economic development front, with a newly approved measure by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that mandates the rapid phase-in of electric trucks within the logistics industry. These kinds of standards, dictated by the state, represent the single biggest threat to Fontana’s ability to manage its future and preserve its quality of life. Greater industry partnership and advocacy are critical as Fontana navigates the regulatory environment. The city’s goals remain unchanged – committed to growth, diversity, opportunity and a high quality of life. It is through the leadership of the City Council and partnerships such as the Mayor’s Economic Development Council, that Fontana will continue moving forward. Fontana’s big dreams are coming true.
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As His Parents Taught Him When Ali Sahabi says he learned important lessons about life from his parents, he truly means it. He learned the importance of hard work and dedication from his father, Abbas, an Iranian small businessman who ran an industrial machine shop.
His mother, Leila, stressed to him the importance of making a difference in the world, leaving it a better place and having compassion for others. She would take he and his younger brother door-to-door in their community delivering fruits to poor families.
Beyond his many brick-and-mortar accomplishments, it is the lasting impact Sahabi’s work has had on others that stands out as exemplary. Sahabi has influenced a generation of builders, architects, engineers, business leaders and government officials with his vision of the future. Sahabi has helped transform much of Southern California by promoting more sustainable and resilient communities, inspiring clean and green technologies, and demonstrating a lifelong commitment to social and economic balance in his many professional endeavors. He led a push in the early 2000s for clean and green technologies, renewable energy and sustainable development that can still be seen growing today throughout Southern California.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Ali Sahabi Works Hard and Strives to Make A Difference Everyday – Just
Following his mother’s tragic death in a car accident, Sahabi immigrated to the United States at age 13 with his younger brother to live with relatives. He soon began working in a family restaurant washing dishes and working the counter late into the night. He studied hard in school and became friends with people from all backgrounds. In the years that followed, Sahabi became a true American success story. He held a variety of jobs in sales and advertising before beginning work in the construction field in 1988. He rose to the position of Executive Vice President of Vahdani Construction, and subsequently became president of SE Corporation, a land-planning, entitlement and development firm. While leading SE Corporation, he drew national attention as he worked for a decade to make a reality of his dream to transform an abandoned 543 acre silica mine in Corona into a thriving, sustainable mixed-use community known today as Dos Lagos. His success in developing this farsighted project, which many others had thought unachievable, earned him the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for Sustainable Communities, along with many other statewide and national accolades.
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Ali Sahabi reviews plans at the site of one of Optimum Seismic’s major retrofits projects in downtown Los Angeles.
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presents the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award to Ali Sahabi for the Dos Lagos mixed use development.
As part of his push for sustainability in California, Sahabi generously endowed the University of California Riverside’s Center for Sustainable Suburban Development, and was instrumental in bringing the U.S. Green Building Council to the Inland Empire.
He has worked closely with major partners such as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles County Business Federation, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation and U.S. Resiliency Council to promote the series of complimentary seminars and webinars he sponsors on the importance of resilience. The monthly Resilience Advantage webinars are watched by business, government and education leaders, as well as architects, engineers and property owners around the globe.
A strong believer in the need for regional cooperation to improve the quality of life in California, Sahabi initiated a regional movement towards sustainability through his nonprofit Green Institute for Village Empowerment, or GIVE, and launch of the Green Valley Initiative, which is credited with sparking some of the region’s most forward-thinking projects.
Sahabi also serves as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, one of California’s leading seismic retrofit engineering, fabrication and retrofit companies, whose goal is to make cities safer and more resilient -- something the Optimum Seismic team has been doing since 1984.
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Widely known for his philanthropic efforts, Sahabi supports a broad range of causes and organizations that promote important issues of community; social justice; public health and welfare; as well as primary, secondary and higher education. Optimum Seismic Co-Founder Ali Sahabi announces the new Resilience Advantage webinar series at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce offices in 2020. The series is highly successful in educating business leaders about the importance of earthquake resilience.
Sahabi kept most of the Optimum Seismic team on the payroll. He knew employees had families counting on paychecks. He was determined to not let them be hurt economically by the pandemic if he could avoid it. While other companies were forced to lay off or furlough employees, Sahabi searched for a better way. He combined crews to get projects done faster, worked harder to gain new clients and projects, expedited completion of engineering plans and got construction underway quickly on newer projects. After a difficult 2020, Sahabi is very hopeful that the worst of the pandemic has passed. Recent months have shown an upswing in new projects. He believes the changes made to get through the economic slowdown – working faster and competing harder -- will actually help Optimum Seismic do even better in the future.
Today, Sahabi serves as President of Optimum Group, LLC., and provides innovative real estate development and construction management services to government agencies, public and private companies, nonprofit organizations, and Native American tribes. He speaks frequently as an industry leader at government and business functions advocating for sustainable and resilient development that will protect both the economy and communities. A two-term past president of the Building Industry Association of Southern California’s Baldy View Chapter, he currently serves on the BIA of Southern California’s executive board and a trustee of the political action committee. Sahabi received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 in recognition of his many achievements and positive impact on the region as a developer. He is credited with inspiring collaboration between various professional disciplines to help improve communities. He worked with the County of San Bernardino and San Bernardino Community College District to establish a workforce development program.
encouraged by government officials and YMCA leaders to lend their volunteer and financial support. Sahabi would later accept a position on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA.
Building Industry Association Baldy View Chapter announces a new entrylevel residential construction trades training program in 2019.
Indeed, Sahabi has become a prominent voice encouraging leaders in Sacramento to take significant steps to offer incentives to assist California property owners protect existing, affordable multifamily housing and tenants from earthquake damage. For more than a year during Covid-19, Sahabi was busy keeping the essential work of constructing seismic retrofits on apartment and commercial buildings moving forward. This became increasingly difficult as the impacts of the pandemic deepened and much of the construction industry and the overall economy slowed.
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The pandemic stirred another reaction from Sahabi that harkened back to his mother’s teachings. Like most Americans Sahabi was concerned with the dramatic health impacts of Covid-19, but he felt a growing concern with the hunger, unemployment and homelessness that accompanied the pandemic. He decided to do something to help. Like many successful people, he opened his wallet to assist needy families. But Sahabi went beyond simply writing a check. He donated masks to a local hospital. He worked to organize others in the business community to help with the cause. He remembered a friend, an administrator at Cal State Los Angeles, who was working with the Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA to help hungry children and families. He contacted the YMCA and arranged to sponsor five Facebook Live webcasts of food distributions at locations with the greatest need around Los Angeles County. Thousands saw the online food distributions, heard from grateful recipients, and were
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Sahabi strives to make a difference in numerous other ways. He provides annual scholarships and professional organization memberships for young structural engineering students. He supports programs advancing women and minorities in business. Actively involved in multiple business, civic and nonprofit organizations, Sahabi serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles County Business Federation. He is active in the California Apartment Association, California Building Officials, California Manufacturers & Technology Association and U.S. Resiliency Council. He is also involved in numerous local apartment associations, chambers of commerce, and Realtors associations.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
For the past four years, Sahabi has been talking extensively with the business community to spread his message about the importance of resilience. He is passionate about the subject, and believes that we have reached a tipping point where the costs of earthquake resilience are quite reasonable and the future savings are very high.
Sahabi earned a Master of Real Estate Development degree from the University of Southern California School of Urban Planning and Development, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Pepperdine University. Sahabi and his wife, Aida, live in the Los Angeles area with their two children, Leila and Edward. A successful businessman. A compassionate leader. Ali Sahabi tries to show everyday how an individual can help to make our world a better place for all.
Ali Sahabi enjoys a birthday celebration with members of his family. His wife, Aida Ekmekjyan, daughter Leila, and son, Edward.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Ali Sahabi, President of Optimum Group, LLC. and Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, Inc. addresses the audience after accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Building Industry Association of Southern California Baldy View Chapter.
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The line will follow the I-15 right-of-way, operating to the side or in the median of the freeway in a dedicated, protected rail corridor. By doing so, the line is eliminating at-grade crossings and minimizing its impact on the surrounding environment. Economic Impact
Brightline West: On Track for a
Greener, Faster Future
Traveling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is about to get faster and greener. Brightline, the only privately owned passenger rail business in the U.S., is continuing to advance development on Brightline West, its system connecting the two iconic destinations through multiple intercity projects. Stations at the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard, I-15 and Dale Evans Parkway in the Victor Valley will anchor the line and provide easy, quick access, parking, and amenities. The company is also exploring separate, independent segments connecting Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, as well as Victor Valley and Palmdale, for access into Los Angeles and other key destinations throughout Southern California via Metrolink, California High Speed Rail, and other transportation providers. “There is a great deal of support for Brightline West as we continue to advance design, development, and our plans to connect Los Angeles and Las Vegas,” said Sarah Watterson, President of Brightline West. “Whether they are going on vacation, taking in a game or event, or traveling
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environmental advantages. As Brightline West moves forward, it will be exploring opportunities for development of its station land in California and Nevada. Taking a Ride on the Green Side
for business, people are excited for the travel experience that Brightline will provide: one that maximizes your time and minimizes your carbon footprint.” The concept isn’t new to Brightline, which developed and operates a passenger rail system in South Florida. That line, which opened for service in 2018, connects Miami to West Palm Beach, and its expansion to Orlando is expected to be complete in 2022. In its first calendar year, Brightline carried more than one million passengers through a unique hospitality-driven approach to transportation. The system also spurred transit-oriented development around its stations as part of a real estate vision to reenergize neighborhoods by connecting multi-modal transportation systems, office, retail, commercial, and residential spaces. Ancillary development around transportation hubs can create a host of community benefits, including increased economic activity, job creation, housing opportunities, and greater productivity and efficiency for users of the system, as well as further emissions reductions and other
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Brightline West will be true high-speed rail, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour using zero-emission, all-electric trainsets, powered by an overhead catenary system. The trains are capable of whisking up to 400 passengers per trainset (with the ability to couple trains for periods of peak demand) between Southern California and Las Vegas in about half the time of driving. Amenities will include free WiFi in the stations and onboard, food and beverage, spacious seating choices, and a clean, comfortable, and relaxing ride.
The system is also poised to create a significant number of jobs throughout the corridor, with 40,000 anticipated construction jobs and about 1,000 permanent jobs, ranging from hospitality and service roles to those in maintenance and engineering of the track and trainsets. Overall, the anticipated economic impact of the line is $9 billion, with $1 billion in tax revenue.
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
Stations will be energy and water efficient, and materials used throughout both the trains and stations will include reclaimed, reused, recycled, and sustainably sourced products wherever possible. Parking areas will also have electric vehicle charging stations. The company has also pledged to plant a tree for every round trip completed on Brightline West.
Brightline West plans to work collaboratively with communities throughout the corridor on spreading the word about hiring, opportunities for contracting and subcontracting, and development. As Brightline West continues to move forward, you can stay on track with updates at www.BrightlineWestConstruction. com and by following the company @BrightlineWest on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Questions can also be submitted to outreach@brightlinewest.com.
Brightline West’s system incorporates sustainability and greening efforts in nearly every aspect of its operations and will remove about three million cars and about 400,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. “Sustainability is part of our mission at Brightline,” said Watterson. “We consider how we can be better stewards of the environment throughout the planning process, so we can continue our commitment throughout development and operations.”
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BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
CURRENT TEAM ROSTER
Government Affairs Issue Spotlight:
MEET THE BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER TEAM
CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
LAURA BARBER
EXECUTIVE OFFICER BALDY VIEW
VICE PRESIDENT EVENTS/HR
CHAPTER
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BIASC ADVISORS *
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LISA MEADOWS
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BIASC MEMBER SERVICES MANAGER
BIASC PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BIA BALDY VIEW CHAPTER PLEASE VISIT BIABUILD.COM.
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Officials from San Bernardino Community College District, Building Industry Association Baldy View Chapter, and legislative representatives at the SBCCD headquarters in San Bernardino, CA
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BIA of Southern California Baldy View Chapter
BIA Baldy View Chapter & San Bernardino Community College District Team Up To Train Future Home Builders While California is experiencing a shortage of affordable housing, the home building industry is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.
Krehbiel. “That is why we are proud to partner with the BIA Baldy View Chapter to equip students with realworld skills to be effective on the job on day one.”
Fortunately, help is on the way. The BIA Baldy View Chapter and San Bernardino Community College District previously teamed up in 2019 for a successful pilot program designed to train students for careers in the home building industry. Now after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions are back underway for a re-launch of the training program with an eye to also expand the program into Riverside County.
Building homes is no easy task explains BIA Baldy View Chapter President Tim Roberts. “Workers in this field need hands-on training to operate equipment while practicing personal safety, teamwork, and workplace communication,” said Roberts. “SBCCD will teach those skills valued by employers through the Entry-Level Residential Construction Trades Training Program.”
“Addressing the labor needs of our economy is our highest priority,” said SBCCD Executive Director, Economic Development & Corporate Training Deanna
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Participating students will receive 275 hours of instruction, culminating with a career readiness certificate recognized by the BIA Baldy View Chapter.
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Partnering employers include: • 20/20 Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
• Lennar • Marina
• Andrew Lauren Interiors • MDI Interiors • Boudreau Pipeline Corp. • New West Designs • Concrete Alliance, Inc.
• OC Hills Masonry, Inc.
• Custom Quality Finish Carpentry
• Overhead Door & Fireside Experts
• Diversified Pacific Communities
• Paulus Engineering, Inc.
• Duct Testers, Inc. • IES Residential • Infinity Plumbing Designs, Inc.
• RSI Energy • Rockwell Drywall, Inc. • Simpson Strong Tie • SoCal Framing, Inc.
• Joseph Holt Plastering, Inc.
• Trilogy Plumbing Inc.
• Kana Pipeline, Inc.
• Watt Companies
• Larrabure Framing
• West Coast Drywall & Paint
• TWR Enterprising, Inc.
trained construction workforce is at the forefront of consideration for county officials. “The public-private sector partnership will pay significant dividends for Inland Southern California,” said Jonathan Weldy, San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board Member and BIA Baldy View Chapter Past President. “Our number one priority for this region is growing the economy in a healthy and diversified way,” said Weldy. “We do that with programs like this which give all of our residents the opportunities to earn a livable wage.” Ali Sahabi, Immediate Past Board President of the BIA Baldy View Chapter, initiated the pursuit of the program by the Board of Directors and underscored his confidence in the Entry-Level Residential Construction Trades Training Program. “This program between the BIA and the San Bernardino Community College District demonstrates the amazing results that can be achieved when public and private organizations collaborate,” said Sahabi. “I am honored to be involved in this effort because it’s a win-win-win: we’re helping individuals restart their life, businesses find trained labor, and communities build more affordable housing.”
Inside Edition: THE BALDY VIEW CHAPTER
In addition, over two dozen industry leaders have pledged to give priority hiring consideration to graduates of the Entry-Level Residential Construction Trades Training Program.
Kimberly Epps, San Bernardino County deputy chief probation officer, also views this program especially helpful for formerly incarcerated individuals. The county probation department has also collaborated with SBCCD to refer students into the program. “Ex-offenders making the transition from jail or prison to the community need a second chance at a better life, and with this career training program, we can give them the tools to start again,” Epps says. The potential of fueling the economic engine of new home construction through a pipeline of well
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San Bernardino County’s Largest Private Landowner Is Important to BIA – It’s the Housing/Water Connection The Baldy View Chapter is BIA’s voice in support of the Cadiz Water Project, a proposed new water supply project that illustrates how closely water supply and new home development are tied – not just because new homes require water, but also because both new home projects and new water projects can face organized opposition and daunting hurdles.
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For over 20 years, Cadiz has been growing lemons, grapes, row crops and now hemp in the most unlikely of places: a particularly dry and barren stretch of the Mojave Desert off old Route 66, midway between Barstow and Needles. In all, Cadiz owns 45,000 acres in the Mojave, making it the largest private landowner in San Bernardino County. On the 9,600 acres zoned for agriculture, crops flourish because of a long growing season, abundant sunlight … and water: Billions and billions of gallons of water, as much water as there is in Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir with up to 20 million acre-feet in storage.
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buys, for example, 1,000 acre-feet of water from Cadiz, it would pass through the pipeline to the aqueduct, and they would then be able to take 1,000 acre-feet of water out of the MWD system, after paying MWD’s charges for transporting and treating it. (The aquifer also has capacity to store up to 1 million acre feet of water, so providing much-needed new water storage capacity is the second phase of the Cadiz project.) If the project isn’t built, the fresh, much-needed water will flow to saline dry lake playas at the base of the watershed, where it would become ten times saltier than the ocean and eventually evaporate away, never having been useful to a single plant, animal or person. The Cadiz plan conserves this water and puts it to beneficial use, keeping an incredible amount of fresh water from being lost to evaporation. Every year, just over 10 billion gallons of water is lost to evaporation from the dry lakes.
A permit from San Bernardino County allows Cadiz to pump an average of 50,000 acre-feet of water a year from the Cadiz aquifer, which is enough to meet the needs of up to 400,000 people – if only if it wasn’t in the middle of the Mojave. Since 1998, Cadiz has been trying to secure the permits required to bring that water to Southern California to create a new, drought-proof and sustainable water supply.
The current Cadiz plan, revised in 2008 to ensure commitments to environmentally sustainability, has an approved EIR, a groundwater management plan approved and enforced by San Bernardino County, and permission from the federal government to place its pipeline in a railroad right of way. It has prevailed in 12 separate court actions challenging the project, with not one word of the EIR being changed or a single additional study being required.
The mechanism is easy enough: Build a well field and a 43-mile pipeline to connect Cadiz to the Metropolitan Water District’s Colorado River Aqueduct. Once built, Cadiz would turn operations over to the water agencies participating in the project, who would operate the facilities and implement the required groundwater and environmental monitoring. When one of the agencies
Normally, that would mean the project would be built by now and would be delivering water to Southern California users who are worried as a second year of severe drought wracks the state. But challenges from the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, who oppose virtually all new water projects in California because they oppose the growth that water projects support, have put roadblocks in
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the way of construction. In 2019, they successfully lobbied for a new state law (SB 307) that requires water conveyed from the Cadiz area to be subject to an additional state review, over and above CEQA. The adoption of this law has delayed project implementation, but the need for additional supplies options in southern California has not abated, so BIA’s support, which started with support for the EIR and groundwater management plan in 2012, continues today. “As the home chapter for Cadiz, we are always ready to advocate for the project,” said Carlos Rodriquez, EO of the Baldy View Chapter. “We’re there for them because we don’t take water for granted. We need to be able to show long-term supplies for new projects and we can’t complacently think that will-serve letters will continue to be issued without new supplies. And even more, we support Cadiz because we oppose the abuse of CEQA that is being perpetrated by the project’s opponents.” The opposition’s current stage is the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in Claremont, whose service area includes the far western reaches of the Baldy View Chapter. The Sierra Club and others, after arguing that more science is needed when lobbying for SB 307, are
trying to stop a scientific study being conducted by Three Valleys to determine the validity of their claims that the project would adversely affect desert resources. BIA has joined the San Gabriel Valley Coalition for Water Security (www.SGVCoalition.com) to advocate for the study, which would gather and make available new data about the water resources in the area, and we recently conducted a public opinion poll that showed broad support of the study and all other efforts to make the region’s water supply more secure. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner than BIA,” said Cadiz CEO Scott Slater. “People want to have a home for their family and they’re counting on their home to continue to increase in value and be in a place with economic opportunity. More than anyone, Carlos and the BIA team know how to speak to their dreams and their concerns and show them how home ownership is indelibly tied to our ability to provide their homes with a reliable water supply.” You can help support the Cadiz Water Project by logging onto www.SGVCoalition.com and clicking the “Take Action” button at the top of the home page.
BIA Survey Shows Strong Support for New Water Supplies
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The Baldy View Chapter recently conducted a public opinion poll in the Three Valleys Municipal Water District’s service area to gauge public support for new water supplies. Three Valleys serves the western San Gabriel Valley, including the communities of Claremont, Diamond Bar, Covina, Glendora, Montclair, Pomona, Rowland Heights and Walnut. Here are some of the poll’s findings:
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• Ensuring that your water is safe and clean: 98% • Providing reliable water service: 95%
• Preventing water shortages: 95% • Keeping water rates affordable: 93%
Environmental Concerns Lag Behind: While still important to many, just 84% said “Making sure that water supplies are environmentally friendly” should be a top or major priority, well below the responses related to water quality and reliability. Water Leaders Who Don’t Support New Supplies Are Vulnerable: Nearly two-thirds of respondents – 64% – said they would be very or somewhat more likely to support water district candidates who support new water supplies, while only 26% said they would be very or somewhat more likely to support a candidate who supports stronger environmental laws.
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During the 80-year period covering 1940 to 2020, California’s housing production underwent intermittent periods of economic recession, accompanied by steep declines in the raw numbers of the housing units that were produced per year. After the post-WWII recovery, sizable California homebuilding recessions occurred during each of the following time periods:
The 40-Year Decline in California’s Housing Production Official governmental estimates of California’s population date back to before the Civil War – given that the state’s first full federally conducted census was in 1860. Official government counts of California’s housing stock (number of “dwellings” or, more recently, “housing units”) exist dating back to 1940 or earlier. Such estimates were determined originally through the federal decadal census process and, in more recent decades, with constant attention and growing sophistication by both federal and state officials.1 An analysis of these estimates over the last 80 years reveals very troubling, continuing trends. This paper examines the relationship between changes in both California’s population and its housing stock over the last 80 years: 1940-2020. The key takeaway is that, over the last four decades in particular, the rate of California’s annual housing production has declined – even in terms of the nominal average number of housing units produced annually (i.e., the average raw numbers of housing units added annually in each respective decade). Moreover, California has also experienced a recent free fall in the state’s housing production rate when its population growth is considered, a trend shown most starkly in the data about the most recent decade ended (the 2010s). The free fall is especially detectable when the data about nominal housing production are normalized by (or against) both (i) the state’s corresponding population data, and similarly (ii) the corresponding total number of thenexisting housing units. 2 Compared against the historical data, California’s housing production slowed to a mere crawl in the 2010s.
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The data used for this paper were derived from federal census reports from 1940 through 1970 and, for more recent decades, from data reported by the California Department of Finance (which reports housing unit and population data annually rather than by decade). Data from these sources are available online at https://www. census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html and http://www. dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/. Taken together, the sources show the following historical California population and housing stock estimates determined as of April 1 of the respective years shown below:
TABLE 1 CALIFORNIA POPULATION AND HOUSING UNITS Beginning of Each Decade – 1940-2020 Year:
Total CA Population:
Total CA Housing Stock (Units):
1940
6,907,387
2,340,400
1950
10,586,223
3,590,700
1960
15,717,204
5,465,900
1970
19,953,134
6,997,000
1980
23,667,902
9,279,244
1990
29,758,213
11,182,513
2000
33,873,086
12,214,550
2010
37,253,956
13,670,304
2020
39,804,743
14,353,528
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TABLE 2 Average Annual California Nominal Housing Production Number of Units Annually (by Decade – 1940-2020) Decade:
Avg. Ann. Housing Units Produced:
1940s
125,030
• The mid-1960s – due to an interest rate spike following an overheated wartime economy,
1950s
187,520
1960s
153,100
• Briefly the early-mid 1970’s – precipitated by the oil crisis
1970s
228,224
1980s
190,327
• The early 1980’s – from the interest rates spiking and erratic fiscal/tax policies
1990s
103,204
2000s
145,575
• The beginning of the 1990s – following the savings and loan crisis
2010s
68,322
The 80-Year Average of Annual Nominal Housing Unit Additions (1940-2019):
150,163
• Beginning in or before 2008, when the nation plunged into the Great Recession During the 1960s through 1980s, housing production in California tended to recover after each such recession and return to relatively robust levels. The same cannot be said, however, about more recent decades. During the most recent three decades, however,the 1990s through the 2010s, each successive recession has been followed by a successively more anemic and inadequate homebuilding recovery. The following Table 2 shows that nominal California homebuilding has, in recent decades, been persistently below the levels seen during the earlier decades reviewed.
Table 2 (above) and Figure 2 below show that the average annual nominal additions to the housing stock made during each of the last three decades (1990-2020) has been below the average nominal annual housing stock additions averaged over the entirety of the last 80 years (the orange line graphed below). With the exception of some periods of slightly recovering production (e.g., the late-1990s through 2005), nominal annual housing production in California has been in a long, generally downward drift that began in the 1970s.
FIGURE 2
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To better understand the impact of the nominal decline in California’s housing production, one needs to look beyond the so-called “nominal” unit production data. One should also consider the nominal data normalized by (or against) each of (1) California’s population, and (2) its housing stock – the number of existing housing units – both of which have grown continuously from 1940 to now. When one considers California’s growing population and housing stock as the context against which to consider the state’s down-trending nominal housing unit production, the recent decades’ decreases in average annual nominal housing production becomes starker and more troubling. California’s April 2020 population was roughly 476% larger than was its April 1940 population, having risen from 6,907,387 in April 1940 to 39,804,743 in April 2020. The state’s population has nearly doubled over the 50 years since 1970. Table 3 and Figure 3 below list and depict California’s growing population estimates for the decades shown.
TABLE 4
TABLE 3 BEGINNING-OF-DECADE (APRIL 1) CALIFORNIA Population Estimates – 1940-2020 Year:
Population Est.:
% Decadal Increase:
1940
6,907,387
53.5%
1950
10,586,223
48.5%
1960
15,717,204
27.0%
1970
19,953,134
18.6%
1980
23,667,902
25.7%
1990
29,758,213
13.8%
2000
33,873,086
10.0%
2010
37,253,956
2020
39,804,743
California’s accumulated housing stock grew 513% over the same 80-year period – from an estimated 2,340,400 in April 1940 to 14,353,528 in April 2020. The housing stock grew extremely fast in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when strong economic growth and changing demographics and lifestyles (including greater mobility, fewer inter-generational adult households, deferred marriages, and smaller households) and federal policies spawned vigorous homebuilding production. Both in nominal and relative terms, the growth in California’s housing stock has slowed in the most recent decades – even more so than has California’s population growth. Table 4 and Figure 4 below list and depict the ending California housing stock estimates for the years shown:
BEGINNING-OF-DECADE CALIFORNIA Housing Stock Estimates – 1940-2020 (April 1 estimates) Decade:
Beginning Housing Stock:
% Increase During Decade:
1940s
2,340,400
53.4%
1950s
3,590,700
52.2%
1960s
5,465,900
28.0%
1970s
6,997,000
32.6%
1980s
9,279,244
20.5%
1990s
11,182,513
9.2%
2000s
12,214,550
11.9%
6.8%
2010s
13,670,304
5.0%
–
2020s
14,353,528
–
FIGURE 4 FIGURE 3
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Viewed over the 80-year time period considered, there has been a drop in the ratio between (i) the percentage growth in the California housing stock over the timeframe, and (ii) the corresponding percentage growth in California’s population. It may be difficult to assess the all of the implications of the falling ratio between housing production and population growth given that the growth in both growth factors has slowed in recent decades when compared to the explosive growth in the 20th Century. Even so, it is clear that the state’s population has grown at faster rate than has its housing stock in three out of the last four decades. The disparity is all the more worrisome because census data show that California’s average household size has been falling through the decades. Consequently, a ratio greater than one is needed merely to maintain a constant percentage of households being housed.
TABLE 5 RATIO BETWEEN CALIFORNIA’S POPULATION GROWTH AND HOUSING STOCK GROWTH Decades 1940s - 2010s Decade:
Ratio of Decadal Growth in Housing Stock / Population
1940s
1.00
1950s
1.08
1960s
1.04
1970s
1.75
1980s
.80
1990s
.67
2000s
1.19
2010s
.74
Average - All Decades
1.034
(the orange line graphed below):
FIGURE 5
88
The data discussed above allows consideration of California’s annual housing production estimates when they are normalized by (or against) California’s population and growing housing stock estimates over the same 80-year timeframe. First, we can calculate California’s housing production expressed in terms of the average number of housing units that were added annually during each decade in relation to the corresponding population at the time. The calculations yield the average number of housing units that were added during each respective decade per 1,000 persons of California population utilizing the median state population for each decade as the respective denominator. Table 6 and Figure 6 below show the results. California’s annual average housing production normalized against California’s population is expressed as the decadal average annual housing units produced per 1,000 in California population, as follows:
TABLE 6 Decade:
Average Annual Housing Units Added per 1,000 in Population – by Decade:
1940s
14.29
1950s
14.26
1960s
8.58
1970s
10.46
1980s
7.12
1990s
3.24
2000s
4.09
2010s
1.77
80-year Average Annual Housing Units Added per 1000 in Population (the orange line graphed below)
7.98
FIGURE 6
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TABLE 7
Next, we can calculate California’s housing production expressed as the average number of housing units that were added annually during each respective decade as a percentage of the then-existing housing stock (using the median number of units that existed in the decade). Table 7 and Figure 7 below show the results. California’s annual housing production normalized by (or against) California’s accumulated housing stock is expressed below as the average annual housing units produced as a percentage of the median stock of housing units during the decade.
Decade:
Average Annual Housing Units Added as a Percentage of Then-Existing Housing Stock:
1940s
4.26 %
1950s
4.14 %
1960s
2.46 %
1970s
2.80 %
1980s
1.86 %
1990s
.88 %
2000s
1.12 %
2010s
49 %
Average Annual Housing Units Added as a Percentage of Existing Housing Stock – 1940s through 2010s (the orange line graphed below)
2.25 %
FIGURE 7
The last two tables and graphs (both Tables and Figures 6 and 7) show a persistent, multi-decadal, and profound drop in California’s normalized housing production – with the nadir to date in the 2010s (the decade that ended April 1, 2020). Specifically, they show that:
indicate the dire undersupply of homes, California’s policies require change to spur a much faster pace of homebuilding activities, undertaken at a rate much closer to historical norms. Data about California’s growing housing stock and population are reflected in more recent decades in annual estimates maintained by the California Department of Finance. Expectably, the decadal and annual estimates do not perfectly reflect the actual numbers of both the population and its stock of housing units present within the state from time to time. However, because this paper analyses only decadal changes in the state’s population and housing stock, the necessary imperfections in the federal and state estimates over time are likely smoothed and minimized in their effect. The trends described in this paper likely would not be appreciably affected by better perfecting the estimates used – assuming it were possible to do so. 1
• In the decade just ended (the 2010s), there were added in California, on average, fewer than two (2) housing units to California’s housing stock annually for every 1,000 Californians – compared to an average rate of eight (8) housing units per 1000 Californians annually over the entire 80-year period, 1940 through 2019. • In the same decade just ended (the 2010s), there were added housing units at an annual rate of only less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) in relation to the existing housing stock – compared to an average rate of 2.25% over the same 80-year period, 1940 through 2019. In light of California’s worsening rates of homelessness and its housing unaffordability – both of which
Normalization is the act of relating (i) nominal data garnered for a field of inquiry to (ii) other information also garnered pertaining to one or more correlated fields. For example, if one were to record the respective heights of many children covering different age groups, their respective heights viewed alone (without more context) would vary widely and be of little use for analysis or comparison. However, if the same information were related back to – i.e., normalized by (or against) – the corresponding ages of the children measured, then the resulting data would yield more meaningful information for use in mass and individual comparisons. 2
The estimates shown in this paper for April 1, 2020 were extrapolated from the January 1, 2019 and 2020 estimates because estimates for April 1, 2020 were not yet available. 3
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residents of the city we were in; others were not. But they all had an interest and passion for the project, and it showed. Social media and email campaigns also allowed local residents to show their support directly to decision makers.
Advocating for
Courage
It was organic and authentic. Most importantly, it was infectious. Buoyed by the presence of housing advocates, supporters rose up and ignored the bully tactics from opponents to support sensible housing in their community. Steve Greyshock Founder and Owner, GREYCOMM, LLC
My phone buzzed as an opponent ranted on about an affordable housing project I represented in an Orange County city. He was berating city staff and anyone who dared to speak in support.
The chapter’s advocacy program is emerging as a beneficial tool in the region. When it fits within an overall strategy, it can bolster a project’s momentum at city councils or planning commissions. Perhaps its greatest potential is to give courage to local supporters - those that are otherwise frightened from voicing their opinions on a plan. It gives them a “support group” to discuss the benefits of a project coming to their neighborhood. Nothing replaces the power of a neighbor standing up for a project in their backyard. But sometimes, they need the help and encouragement from the people in our industry, and that’s the power of BIAOC’s emerging advocacy program.
The text was from a project supporter sitting a few rows away. “I’m sorry,” it read. “I can’t do it. These people are horrible!” She felt unsafe, and I can’t blame her -- I had to arrange police escorts for project supporters and team members later that evening.
Steve Greyshock is the founder and owner of GREYCOMM, LLC, a public affairs firm dedicated to helping builders and developers secure project approvals. He can be reached at steve@grey-comm.com or (714) 330-0321.
So she sat quietly, her voice unheard and an evening wasted. This is an extreme, yet increasingly common, example of what public hearings can be like for new residential development, especially infill projects. The vitriol frightens supporters into giving up; why risk their family’s well-being over our industry’s projects? But this experience offered an important lesson, too: mob momentum can be stunted when we, as an industry, advocate for ourselves. BIAOC Advocacy Program Around that time, I was volunteering with BIAOC on its emerging advocacy program. It was still in its infancy, but we now had a perfect project to target. My client was supportive of the program, so chapter leadership and I put our heads together and crafted a plan that fit within the overall entitlement strategy. The chapter mobilized more than two dozen members for a pre-hearing rally down the street from city hall. Some were
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SAVE THE DATE BIASC COUNCIL ON SAGE
SAGE AWARDS
Saturday, October 9, 2021 The Westin Resort of Anaheim Encompassing all facets of professional achievement, sales, marketing, merchandising and design.
The Council on SAGE [formerly 55+ Housing Council] of the Building Industry Association of Southern California is now accepting nominations for its 2021 SAGE Awards.
Partnership Opportunities Still Available Entries due August 30th
Celebrating 27 years of Shaping Advancements in Generational Environments (SAGE), these annual awards honor the innovative professionals, projects and programs that have contributed to the enhancement of life for Western U.S. residents age 55+.
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B IA SIG NS . C OM
NextGen Update :
WAYFINDING THAT GETS YOU
SEEN
Lindsay Hezmalhalch
& Diversity
Director of Marketing, WHA Co-Chair, NextGen
Growth
Since its formation, NextGen has opened the doors for opportunities of growth and connection in the industry for all its members. The founding principles of the committee were to gather like-minded individuals to help foster relationships and professional development. Two of the founding members have now assumed roles as division presidents, creating a legacy in the industry and providing a source of inspiration. Both of these persons happen to be women, Nicole Burdette and Nicole Murray. While their career success is attributed to much more, NextGen offered them and their peers an area to grow and create strong leadership characteristics.
YOU TAKE P RIDE IN WHAT YO U BUI LD... INCREASE TRAFFIC WITH INCREASED SALES WIT H BIA SIGNS
LET BI A S I GN S P O I NT B UY ER S I N Y OU R DI RE CT ION . For inquiries, please c all 951 - 756-581 3 or emai l si gns@bi asc .org
Today, these leaders are continuing to support these principals and NextGen as a whole. Recently, Nicole Burdette spoke at a Morning Buzz and discussed the importance of connecting with people and being comfortable receiving feedback from your peers. The candid advice she gave from her experiences set an example of leadership for the future leaders who attended the event. NextGen also offers a place to have open dialogue with a diverse group of people, coming from different backgrounds, each with their own unique perspective. I was lucky enough to be paired with Nicole Murray in our mentorship program and learn from her experiences. Nicole stressed the importance of intellectual curiosity, to always be interested and continue learning both personally and professionally. Since I joined BIAOC NextGen as a member, I witnessed firsthand the growth in diversity. In just a few short years, women have shifted from a minority in the group to comprising the majority. From my own experience, I was encouraged to join NextGen by a friend, a woman, who encouraged me to get involved in the industry and start making connections. This has been a crucial step for my career and has allowed to me to create lasting relationships. It has exposed me to many leaders in the industry and taught me invaluable lessons. As a woman who is now leading the committee, I feel inspired to see more change in the next few years.
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D A T E
BIA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
ALL GOVERNING BOARDS & HOUSING POLICY SUMMIT AT THE LYON AIR MUSEUM THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 Registration Coming Soon. Contact lbarber@biasc.org for Sponsorship Opportunities.
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