Jim Fawcett

One of the features of our Society is that we visit the home city of two of our chapters each year.  This year, we’re visiting Washington, DC in April and Ottawa in the fall.  Our “Capital City Tour” looks to be quite a unique opportunity not only to visit these two historic cities but also offers the chance to, as our European VP Karen Sieracki says, “get under the skin of the city.”

George Washington Chapter president, Lew Slade, and his committee have arranged for us to stay in the historic Hotel Monaco in the historic Penn Quarter of the city, within walking distance of the Capitol Mall and all of its wonderful museums.  The Hotel Monaco was created out of a former post office and retains the Doric columns at its entrance as well as the lofty ceiling heights in the public spaces.  Recently renovated, George Washington member JoAnn Neuhaus urged us to consider staying at this prime Washington location and it looks to be convenient, historic and beautiful. 

The Executive Committee of LAI and the Board of Directors of the Land Economics Foundation will start the weekend with meetings on the morning of Friday, April 28 but they will take a break to join all of you on the afternoon tour followed by a reception.  Tours will start again on Saturday morning and continue through the day followed by a dinner.  On Sunday morning while members are enjoying the third tour of the weekend, your Board of Governors will meet at the Hotel Monaco.  In all, it sounds like the event will be festive and beautiful since we’ll be there at cherry blossom time.

In the fall, our friends at the Ottawa Chapter, assisted by a few of its neighbors from the Simcoe Chapter are planning a similar Weekend Experience in the Canadian Capital.  We will have dates for you in the next few weeks so you can plan that visit. 

If you’ve never attended one of these Weekend Experiences, I urge you to think about joining us in Washington.  The George Washington Chapter has given us their commitment that this will be a real treat and a unique way to see the nation’s capital.  I do hope you’ll join us.

James A. Fawcett
International President
fawcett@usc.edu

Board of Governors of Lambda Alpha International Thanks Larry Lund

Resolution of Appreciation of Services and Commitment of Larry Lund

1. Whereas Larry Lund has worked tirelessly in pursuit of the growth and success of LAI.

2. Whereas Larry Lund has helped to encourage and establish procedures, meetings and traditions that have enriched the international meetings of LAI with a camaderir, friendship and the pursuit of serious learning about Land Economics.

3. Whereas Larry Lund has encouraged and set in motion management and operations procedures that set LAI on a stable course, which assures its bright future.

4. Whereas Larry Lund has worked to re-instill in LAI a seriousness of mission and a spirit of intellectual pursuit as reflected in the words and life of Richard T. Ely and has tirelessly spread the gospel of such works amongst the membership.

Therefore now be it resolved that the Board of Governors of Lambda Alpha International thanks Larry Lund for his efforts and wishes to utilize his good counsel and efforts to further the ideas, principles and operations of Land Economics.

75th Anniversary President's Reception and Additional Photos Link

Sponsored by former International President Eugene Stunard.

For additional photos on the 75th Anniversary Awards Banquet and Celebration at Millenium Park go to: www.Jeff.jsphotoservice.com click on "Events Online" and you will find Lambda Alpha, click and 365 photos are available for you to view. If you would like a print copy you can order online. 4 x 6 photos are $4, 5 x7 photos are $6, and 8 x 10 photos are $12 per photo. Professional photographer Jeff Brown.

Zia: Starting LAI’s 23rd Chapter

By: Michael Maremont, Zia Chapter President

The three key words are determination, coaching and luck!  I visited New Mexico many times before moving there in the fall of 2004 and was aware that neither LAI nor any similar organization existed in the State. I was a long time Ely Chapter member and knew Larry Lund with whom I discussed the possibility of starting an LAI chapter here.  My first question in determining whether it was possible was to try to gauge the “market”, and I had already decided that the chapter would have to be statewide given the relatively small state population and the wide variety of land use issues involving potential LAI members.  Larry counseled me to see if I could put together a small nucleus of people who might provide leadership, lend their names and help organize a chapter. 

Then came the luck… I attended a continuing education (legal and real estate) seminar on land use issues and the organizer allowed me to address the audience on Lambda Alpha.  I asked that those interested in forming a chapter to meet with me and several did.  From this experience and suggestions from these people and several other contacts I already had, an organizing committee was formed and we met with Jim Fawcett and two members of LAI’s London chapter who were in Albuquerque enroute to Santa Fe for a meeting. 

The next step was to meet with candidates interested in forming a chapter.  They were addressed by both Jim and Larry, at an LAI sponsored event. About 50 people were invited to this meeting and about 30 attended. The group was told we needed 30 to charter and so choosing the right “mix” of potential members taking into consideration eligibility for LAI, professions, geography, gender and ethnicity was the next task for the organizing committee. 

We chose Zia as the chapter name since the Zia symbol is the state symbol of New Mexico and this was to be a statewide chapter. A great deal of work went into the recruitment effort in terms of getting enough people that we wanted to agree to join.  The national office and the new brochures were extremely helpful in all of this.  We exceeded our minimum number for chartering and petitioned the Board of Governors for a charter which I received at the International meeting in October. Along the way Governor Richardson was made aware of the LAI chapter formation and sent the following letter which I presented to the Board of Governors. Newly installed International President Jim Fawcett attended our chartering meeting and installed our new members. 

Special mention should be made of our officer group: Tom Mills, Membership Vice President (and I am convinced knows almost every land use connected person in the state), Lora Lucero, Program Vice-President (and planner par excellence), Anita Miller Secretary (and whose annual seminar  is a major event for land use attorneys in New Mexico and elsewhere) and Dean Roger Schluntz of the University of New Mexico,  Treasurer, (resident Distinguished Person and also a long time LAI member from Phoenix).  The Zia Chapter is up and running and hopes to meet its goal of 60 members by our first annual meeting in September.  Our biggest challenge is balancing our meeting presentations and locations to the geography and interests of the members.

Letter from the Governor of New Mexico

Editor’s Column

Helen Sause

This is to continue consideration of the maintenance and sustainability challenge for publicly developed (often with private funding)   public amenities.  I interviewed Amy Neches, Senior Project Manager for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and LAI member to get her assessment on how well the Agency’s provision for maintenance has held up over the last 13 years of operation.

 The first Disposition and Development Agreement between the Agency and a Master Developer was executed in 1984 for 22 acres in the Yerba Buena Redevelopment Project.  Due to a downturn in the economy and the Developer’s overextension of its capability, they could not proceed. However the Developer paid substantial penalty fees for extensions until 1992 when they relinquished their last development entitlement. These fees were paid because the Agency never conveys land until the Developer has proven financing capability and drawn down its building permits.

The Agreement with the Master Developer provided a 99 year lease for a hotel site and purchase of the remainder.  It also provided that the Agency would build and maintain the public amenities using the sales proceeds and the lease stream to the extent it was needed, the remainder could then be used for other priorities that the Agency established in the Agreement. The Agency also agreed to certain standards of maintenance in its gardens and related facilities.  The lease funds were contractually required to go into a “Separate Account” and the use of this Account was dictated by the Agreement.  The goal was to ensure a dedicated and escalating income that would keep pace with maintenance and capital costs over the life of the project.  When the Master Developer was unable to complete the purchase part of the Agreement, the Agency resold the land to other developers with similar requirements.   

Construction of the first six acres of gardens and cultural buildings was completed in 1993 and the remainder was completed in 1998. These include 10 acres of gardens with a great deal of open space (for example a 5.5 acre meadow) a children’s play area, child care facility. two cultural buildings, a children’s museum, ice rink, bowling center and three small restaurants are built.  Part of the maintenance of this area in the heart of the downtown includes money for programming in the gardens so there is an annual average of 110 cultural events in the gardens ranging from seniors reading poetry to performances by the San Francisco Opera. The Agency believed that such programming provided the best form of security although there are other systems in place.

 The interview with Amy concerns how well the 22 year old agreements are holding up under the demands of   the last 13 years of operation. Her comments are as follows:

“The YBC set up (the Separate Account) is still working fairly well, except for a (predictable) shortfall of funds.  We've pulled in a large chunk of capital repair funds from the YBC (project)  budget, and have amended our operating agreements with the cultural institutions to both limit CPI increases and to make them more explicitly subject to availability of funds.  We have had these operating shortfalls both because some of our leases have not performed as well as projected, (due to the severe downturn in the economy San Francisco has experience since the dot.com industry collapsed Ed.)  and because operating support amounts (especially for YBCA (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts)) have grown over time more quickly then revenues have increased.  However, on the whole, I think the arrangement (long term leases plus committed payments) is brilliant."
Thank you Amy. 

Over the next few months, I hope to outline the way other communities have handled the issue of sustainability and maintenance of public places. The Millennium and Bryant Parks are examples of such spaces.  It is difficult for cities to provide maintenance of public places. Budget cuts for such “invisible” expenditures are often the easiest ones to make when faced with choices between infrastructure and maintenance costs or social services and public safety.

Helen Sause
International Editor
helensause@alamedanet.net

Chapter Corner

Aloha Chapter:

For Mark Hastert the end of 2005 and his 65th birthday made it apparent that work, at least as he currently knew it, should be cast aside to make room for a multitude of other wonderful (but
previously neglected) opportunities that lie ahead for him, particularly time with wife, Diane and his enchanting family.

Mark officially retired from The Queen Emma Foundation atthe end of December and wanted assure everyone that business matters are being handled by others in the Foundation. If anyone needed direction to the proper person Mark's former assistant, Shirley Kimoto,(808.594.4711) or skimoto@queens.org . For personal messages (and congratulations!)call Mark at home (808.941.8094) or email him at hastertm001@hawaii.rr.com.

Golden Gate Chapter:

An excellent discussion of “A matter of Time: Current Trends in Disaster
Risk Assessment, Preparedness and Response was presented at the February meeting.  In the wake of the Katrina/Gulf Coast disaster and with the 1906 earthquake centennial on the horizon, there has been a renewed focus on the topic of disaster prediction and preparedness.  The key issues discussed focused on the impact property owners, operators and real estate professionals may experience.  The latest prediction models were explored  with regard to what we might expect. Other issues addressed were the primary determinants of building performance and the best strategies for addressing the risk, including insurance coverage.  A very thought provoking presentation and one that could apply to any community. 

Phoenix Chapter:

The Chapter of has hired a new executive administrator, Sheila Hamilton. Sheila's other clients include the Urban Land Institute Arizona, Arizona Commercial Real Estate Women, Arizona Association of County Engineers, Turnaround Management Association Arizona Chapter.

On February 22 7:30am - 9:30am there will be a chapter presentation on “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2006” with Peter Korpacz, MAI, Director of the Global Strategic Real Estate Research Group, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Pete Bolton, Senior Managing Director, CB Richard Ellis, Inc., www.lai-phx.org to register or 623-581-3597 for more information.

The new Chapter website has been launched! You may RSVP for events, search the membership directory, review events for other RE organizations in Arizona, and much more. Be sure to  check it out at www.lai-phx.org.


Vancouver Chapter:

Vancouver's Co-Directors of Planning since 1994, Ann McAfee and Larry Beasley, announced their plans to retire later this year. Both have had a significant impact on the city.

Dr. McAfee, with 32 years of civic service, will retire on June 30, 2006, after the World Urban Forum in Vancouver.

Larry Beasley, who has had over 30 years of experience, will give up his day-to-day responsibilities as the Director of Current Planning on June 30, 2006, and relinquish the formal authorities of the Director of Planning and Membership on the Development Permit Board on September 1, 2006 (or earlier pending the appointment of a new Director of Planning).

Dr. McAfee and Larry Beasley have been Co-Directors in the City of Vancouver's Planning Department since 1994.

Dr. McAfee was Vancouver's first Housing Planner. She authored policies that formed the City's social housing strategy and contributed to national housing programs which resulted in the first neighborhood improvement funds for the Downtown Eastside and attracted millions of social housing dollars to Vancouver. As Director of City Plans she authored many of the City's land use, transportation, sustainability, regional and public participation strategies. She also managed award-winning planning initiatives including: CityPlan; Community Visions; Neighborhood Centers; and Financing Growth. These programs are contributing to neighborhood liveability and ensuring that new growth pays for the cost of services.

Larry Beasley is widely recognized for the "Living First Strategy" a plan that helped revitalize Vancouver's inner city. He began his career as a neighborhood planner and later became the City's Senior Area Planner before founding and managing the Vancouver Legacies Program (a project that raised private funding for civic projects for Vancouver's Centennial). Beasley also collaborated in the formation of policies related to community amenity standards; development cost levies; view corridors; the city skyline; green building; heritage, and urban design. He directed award-winning initiatives including: the Central Area Plan; the False Creek North and Coal Harbor community plans; the Central Area Transportation Plan; the Southeast False Creek plan; and the Gastown/Chinatown Heritage Incentives Program.

Mayor Sam Sullivan noted the significant contribution that both Dr. McAfee and Larry Beasley have made to the citizens of Vancouver. "We are sad to see them retire as these two planners have played a decisive role in creating the remarkable city that we enjoy today," said the Mayor. "Their vision, tenacity and thoughtful advice has helped Vancouver achieve the status as one of the world's most lovable cities. We thank them for their all their work over the years."

With these retirements, the City has decided to combine the two co-director positions into that of a single Director of Planning. An international search will begin immediately with the goal of having a new director in place no later than September 1, 2006. City Manager Judy Rogers promised, "There will be no interruption in the top quality planning services provided by this vital City department."

Larry Beasley will now be working as an adviser to a number of Canadian and American cities and introducing some of the successful urban planning approaches developed and implemented in Vancouver.

Announcements

New Members

Aloha Chapter
William L. Beaton, Hawaiian Development Group LLC
Eric G. Crispin, Starwood Vacation Ownership
Daniel Dinell, Hawaii Community Development Authority
Lisa H. Gibson, Hawaii Science & Technology Council
Timothy E. Johns, Estate of Samuel Mills Damon
Randolph G. Moore, Department of Education, State of Hawaii
John B. Ray, Parker Ranch Foundation Trust
Charles P. Wathen, Wathen and Associates, Ltd

Los Angeles Chapter
Jim Center, Grubb & Ellis – City of Industry
Eddy Chao, APCC
David Drummond, Colliers-Seeley International
Clay Dunning, Kastle Systems
David Fong, Stroock, Stoock and Lavan
Cliff Goldstein, J. H. Snyder Co.
Laurence Goldstein, Keystone Asset Management
Scot Graham, Los Angeles Unified School District
Jeffrey Gunther, Morlin Management
Hassan Haghani, City of Glendale
Calvin Hollis, Keyser Marston Associates, Inc.
Anne Kaufman, Buss-Shelger
John McGann, McGann Asset Management Inc.
Bill Moran, Pacific Financial
Jim Negele
Drew Planing, Snyder Partners
Neil Resnick, Grubb & Ellis
Stuart Rubin, Rubin Pachulski Properties
Eric Shewfelt, Wilshire Escrow
Steve Soboroff, Playa Vista
Alan Stahl, Future Vision Development Group
Patrick Tooley, Tooley Interests, LLC
Jerry Wang, Charles Dunn Company
Laughlin Waters, L. E. Waters Construction
Eric Westermeyer
Joe Zeiden, Z-Gallerie

San Diego Chapter
Donna Alm, Centre City Development Corporation
Bill Anderson, Economics Research Associates
Howard Blackson, HB3 Urban Design
Craig Evanco, Evanco Realty Advisors
Samuel Kahn, Kent Holdings
Mary McLellan, M Cubed Strategies
Richard Opper, Esq., Opper & Varco LLP
David Watson, Esq., Hecht, Solberg, Robinson, Goldberg & Bagley, LLP