Local Government Affairs Committee (LGAC) Meeting Dates and Speakers
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July 15 |
Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson |
Our July 15 meeting will feature newly appointed Placer County Supervisor for District 5 Cindy Gustafson. This is a meet and greet session with Cindy, so she can meet CATT members and they can meet her.
Cindy’s bio on the County website states: “A thirty-five year resident of Placer County, Cindy has a long-history of both work and volunteer service in the region. Prior to being appointed to the Board of Supervisors on April 11, 2019, Cindy had careers in the public and private sectors. After moving to North Lake Tahoe in 1983, she joined a local real estate firm and in 1988 she was hired as the part-time Field Aide to then Placer County Supervisor Mike Fluty, a position she held for just over a year before becoming a full time employee for Perini Land Development.
In 1991 she joined the Tahoe City Public Utility District where she worked for 26 years, filling a variety of positions, including serving her final eight years as the General Manager, overseeing the full operations of the District. During her career, she secured and administered $30 million in grant funding for a variety of capital projects including bike trails, sidewalks, water and sewer system upgrades, community buildings, public parks, beaches, and environmental restoration projects. In 2017, she retired from local government and took over as the Chief Executive Officer of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and North Tahoe Chamber, a position she held until she was appointed as the District 5 Supervisor for Placer County.” Noteworthy to CATT members is that Cindy is married to Wally Auerbach, owner of Auerbach Engineering Corporation.
Other agenda items for the LGAC meeting include: staffing changes at the Tahoe Building Department, Placer County affordable housing requirements and small project exemption, Truckee General Plan and Housing Element Updates, and North Tahoe Fire hydrant code requirements.
LGAC meetings are usually held the third Monday of the month at the CATT office and start at 4:00 PM. Any CATT member is welcome to attend LGAC meetings. Please contact CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison at 530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com for more information about LGAC activities or issues of concern to CATT.
CATT COMMITTEE REVISES ALTERNATIVE METHODS PROCEDURE TO MEET NORTH TAHOE FIRE FLOW/HYDRANT REQUIREMENTS
The CATT committee working closely with North Tahoe Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Todd Conradson on alternative mitigation procedures for hydrants and fire flow will soon have a final product for NTFPD board review. The CATT committee has revised the NTFPD’s policy and procedures to include a notification timeline, negotiation window, and opportunity for Chief review prior to formal appeal to the NTFPD Board. The revised document was passed out at the June 19 NTFPD board meeting but was not agendized for a vote.
Click here to download the four page “DRAFT Alternative Methods and Materials” procedure proposed by the CATT Hydrant Committee for the North Tahoe Fire Protection District.
Several committee members did make public statements at the June 19 NTFPD board meeting, questioning how code changes are made, asking the NTFPD Board to be more involved in policy discussion, and urging the NTFPD Board to collaborate with water suppliers to address the lack of hydrants and adequate supply of water to fight fires on the north and west shores of Lake Tahoe.
The CATT committee has spent numerous hours learning about the existing NTFPD code and CA Fire Code as it relates to needed flow and alternatives. Committee ideas are translated into words which are then provided to NTFPD for review. The CATT committee is finalizing the package for an August 6 vote by the NTFPD Board of Directors. The CATT committee consists of Chairman Pat Souza (Heslin Construction), Vice Chair John Wood (Loverde Builders), Brad Altman (Evolve Design Works, Inc.), Wally Auerbach (Auerbach Engineering Corporation), Don Fulda (Ward-Young Architecture Planning), Joan Jones (Jones Corda Inc.), and Wyatt Ogilvy (Ogilvy Consulting Land Use & Development Strategies).
For more information about the CATT committee draft procedure or the NTFPD requirements, please contact CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison 530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com
PLACER COUNTY TAHOE BUILDING – NEW SENIOR INSPECTOR NAMED & PERMIT PROCESSOR POSITION ADDED
Placer County filled a vacancy for Senior Inspector for Tahoe by promoting Steve Adcock from Building Inspector II to Senior Inspector, effective June 24, 2019. This was the position held by Dave Barnett until he was promoted in April of 2018 to Supervising Building Inspector to fill Kirk Smith’s vacancy.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors did adopt a tentative budget for 2019/2020 that includes a new administrative technician position for the Tahoe Building Department. This position, informally called the Permit Processor, will be responsible for monitoring the influx of plans and insuring plans are moving forward. CATT members should be aware that this position was added in response to CATT requests over the last two years to improve plan check processing. CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison and CATT President Peter Greenberger both spoke in support of the new position. Board Chairman Kirk Uhler commended CATT for our continuous engagement and noted that the feedback the Board gets from CATT is integral to helping the County deliver a better level of service.
Hopefully the new administrative technician will be ready for the two dates on the calendar when we expect to see more plan volume than normal: the October 15 grading deadline and the December 31 end date for current codes. The end of the year coincides with the transition from the current building/energy/fire codes to the new codes, which become effective January 1, 2020.
For more information about these Placer County changes, please contact CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison 530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com
TRUCKEE LOOKING FOR HOUSING COORDINATOR
With CATT’s strong approval, the Town of Truckee sent out a job posting for a fulltime Housing Coordinator. This position has been on CATT’s wish list for several years. CATT’s expectation is that the Housing Coordinator will help developers and others navigate the complicated requirements for affordable housing. Most “for profit” developers are unfamiliar with the financing and monitoring programs common to affordable housing, nor do they have experience in complying with the Town’s specific requirements imposed on new development. This streamlining effort should result in better understanding of what’s required and assistance to move projects more quickly and successfully to approval and then construction. The desired end result will be more locals housing.
Click here for a copy of the detailed job description.
For more information about the Town’s Housing program and requirements, please contact CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison 530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com
USE COMPLAINT FORM FOR PLAN CHECK & INSPECTION PROBLEMS
CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison created a complaint form that can be used to document a problem with plan check or building inspection. This form allows CATT to track the complaint and also gives the managing entity specific detail for remedy. The complaint outline is simple:
• Project address
• Building permit #
• Date problem occurred
• Brief description of what happened
• Your opinion – what should have happened instead
• Your name and contact info
Click here to download the form. A fillable form is also posted on the CATT webpage at http://www.ca-tt.com/lgac-issues
For more information about the complaint form and CATT involvement once the form is filed, please contact CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison at 530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com
CATT PRIORITIES FOR 2019
This list was unanimously approved by LGAC at their regular meeting December 17, 2018:
2019 PRIORITY ISSUES TO BE HANDLED BY CATT GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER PAT DAVISON
1. Mitigation Fees – coordinate with LGAC as a whole
Review Annual Updates (all jurisdictions)
Resolve issues with Placer County Traffic Mitigation Fees
Seek Placer County Traffic Fee conversion to SF
Monitor/Comment on Northstar Fire Mitigation Fee Study (if Martis Valley West annexation occurs)
Update CATT Mitigation Fee POLICY re when mitigation fee is calculated and 500 SF trigger for additions (all jurisdictions)
2. Truckee General Plan Update – coordinate with specific LGAC committee
3. Placer County Plan Check/Inspection Procedures & Timelines – coordinate with specific LGAC committee
4. Affordable/Workforce Housing – coordinate with specific LGAC committee (House Truckee First, Truckee funding options, Truckee 2nd unit incentives, Placer in lieu fee and small project exemption, 2nd units on smaller parcels with septic systems, Mountain Housing Council, Factory _OS tour, etc)
5. North Tahoe Fire Hydrant Requirements – coordinate with specific LGAC committee
OTHER - Continue to provide reports and information, conduct leadership training and identify committee recruits, assist with fundraising for the Issues Action Fund, attend CATT meetings, read files for scanning, and perform other administrative duties as needed. Continue to emphasize the importance of CATT members being involved in issues to affect the outcome.
2019 PRIORITY ISSUES TO BE HANDLED BY LGAC MEMBERS & OTHERS:
Placer County Structural Observations Report – John Wood
Multi-Jurisdictional Building Working Group – Jamie Brimer & Mike Nethersole
North Tahoe Fire Plan Check Process – Pat Souza
Truckee Citizens Oversight Tax Committee – Craig Weaver
Truckee Fire Property Tax Distribution – John Pruyn
Fire/Building Code Changes (all jurisdictions) – Jamie Brimer & Brad Altman
DONATE TO CATT "ISSUES ACTION FUND"
The Construction Industry is heavily regulated, with codes, fees, and policies changing on a regular basis at all levels of government. Many times, CATT dialogue with agency staff or elected officials can remove impediments or resolve problems.
But sometimes, CATT needs to take action to protect your industry in a different way. That's why you will hear the refrain: The World Is Run By Those Who Show Up with a call to action - comment now or attend a meeting. That's also why you will hear about CATT hiring experts or consultants to provide supporting information as a way to change the outcome of some code, fee, or policy proposal.
Consultants and experts give CATT an added boost, reinforcing a point from an outside perspective. That could make the difference between a questionable proposal getting adopted as is and one getting modified to be more reasonable.
CATT's Issues Action Fund is a dedicated fund set up to channel donations to those special issues where an expert or consultant can make a positive difference. LGAC oversees the Issues Action Fund. Please consider making a donation to the IAF today as a way to protect your tomorrow. Download the donation form here.
For more information about the CATT Issues Action Fund, please contact CATT Government
Affairs Manager Pat Davison (530.550.9999 or pat@ca-tt.com)
WHAT IS LGAC?
CATT's Local Government Affairs Committee is a permanent committee composed of members who are interested in Fees - Codes - Regulation - Policy. This is the committee that analyzes issues affecting the building industry and determines CATT position and strategy. This committee works very closely with CATT Government Affairs Manager Pat Davison.
Bring your problems or concerns to LGAC. You may think you are alone when in reality others may be experiencing the same problems. LGAC could be the place to help you find a remedy. Experience the power of numbers with CATT as your ally.
Come to the LGAC meeting and learn what is happening with TRPA, the Town of Truckee, Special Districts, and the three Counties. Find out what CATT is doing to improve conditions for you and the building industry.
WHO IS LGAC?
CATT’s Local Government Affairs Committee (LGAC) has 20 members. LGAC Chair is Tony Commendatore (Aegis Insurance Markets), Vice Chair is John Wood (Loverde Builders, Inc.). Committee members are: Eric Slominski (Barrish Pelham & Associates), Jamie Brimer (Brimer Construction & Plumbing), Chip Huck (CST Holdings, LLC), Dan Fraiman (Daniel Fraiman Construction), Heather Rankow (Developer’s Connection), Valerie Brinker (Dickson Realty), Michael Forshee (Forshee Construction), Cody Heller (Heller Construction, Inc.), Pat Souza (Heslin Construction), John Pruyn (High West Landscape Architects), Jim Smith (Mark Tanner Construction, Inc.), Ryan Marsden (Marsden Architects), Brian McEneaney (McEneaney Construction), Mitch Clarin (Mitchell T. Clarin), Craig Weaver (Molsby & Bordner, LLP), Kristi Thompson (MWA, Inc.), Justin Bertoli (NSM Corporation), and Christian Edwards (Timberline Construction).
If fees, regulations, codes, and policy interest you, contact LGAC Chair Tony Commendatore at 530.582.6000 or tony@aegisins.com
