FEDERAL:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2008 LEGISLATIVE GOALS:

• FHA Reform
  Action Needed: Enact legislation that would make FHA a more flexible and widely-utilized program for borrowers and lenders alike.
• GSE Reform
  Action Needed: Enact comprehensive GSE reform legislation that preserves the housing mission of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system.
• Homebuyer Tax Credit
  Action Needed: Enact a tax credit that would be widely available for prospective homebuyers. Assure that the credit is available for any property purchased as a principal residence.
• National Flood Insurance Program
  Action Needed: Reauthorize the Flood Insurance Program before it expires on September 30, 2008.
• Property and Casualty Insurance
  Action Needed: Enact legislation that enhances the availability and affordability of homeowners' insurance.
• Small Business Health Insurance
  Action Needed: Enact legislation that will make health insurance more widely available and more affordable for self-employed individuals and owners of small businesses.

HR 3221 – Housing Tax Credit – Support

The House has passed, H.R. 3221. The housing and tax sections of the bill were voted on separately; the tax section passed on a vote of 322 - 94. The bipartisan vote was not unexpected, as this tax package passed the Ways and Means Committee on a vote of 35 - 5 in early April. Prominent among the relief provisions is a tax credit for first-time homebuyers. (For a summary of the housing program changes, see related report.)

The House-passed package creates a $7500 tax credit that would be taken in full on the tax return for the year of purchase. Any principal residence would be eligible for the tax credit, but only first-time homebuyers with incomes of $70,000 ($140,000 on a joint tax return) would be eligible to use it. NAR data show that more than 95% of first-time homebuyers fall within that income level. The Ways and Means tax credit would be available between April 8, 2008 and April 1, 2009.

H.R. 3221 will be sent back to the Senate. The Senate version of H.R. 3221 is very different from the House-passed package. It is not yet known whether the Senate will further revise H.R. 3221 or whether it will move to a House-Senate conference to resolve the many differences in the bills.

Other provisions in the House tax package include revisions that modernize the low-income housing tax credit, permit state housing agencies to issue bonds and use the proceeds to refinance subprime mortgages, allow a limited property tax deduction for individuals who do not itemize their tax returns and that change the Social Security number disclosure requirements for real estate settlements.

STATE:

On May 14^th 2008 the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent to the California Legislature what is known as a May Revision of the budget. This is due in part to the fact that revenues came in at $6 billion less than projected and the California economy is still under performing. The budget problem that was approximately $14.5 billion in January has grown.  It would stand at nearly $24 billion; including a $3 billion budget reserve, if the Legislature had not taken the necessary step in February of making mid-year cuts.  At this writing the budget problem is over $17 billion.

Highlights of the Governors May Revision are:

• Fully funds education under Proposition 98, increasing funding to K-14 schools over the current year budget by about $200 million;
• Keeps state parks open;
• Does not let any felons out from behind bars early;
• Does not raise taxes.

Budget reform highlights include:

• The Governor’s May Revise will put budget reform in place by increasing the value of the underperforming state lottery and using the proceeds to create the Rainy-Day Fund (Revenue Stabilization Fund).
• Get more out of our Lottery. The California Lottery has for a long time underperformed the national average, and taxpayers deserve more out of it. A bill moving through the state Legislature will help modernize the Lottery, and that modernization will allow the state to jump-start the rainy day fund and pump an estimated $5 billion in new revenue into the 2008-09 budget year.
• Putting a Rainy-Day Fund in place will take California off the broken budget rollercoaster. Protecting California’s priorities in the long term means putting in place reform that will help the Legislature and future governors stabilize the state’s revenue stream - eliminate the feast-or-famine cycle of dramatic increases in revenue one year and dramatic shortfalls the next.

Both houses of the Legislature will have to vote on the proposals.  More information on the May Revision can be found on: www.gov.ca.gov/may-revise.

REGION:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY:

A group of San Gabriel Valley cities have mobilized to rally in support of the Pomona (60) Freeway as their preference for a light-rail route from East Los Angeles.

Five cities - Alhambra, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead and South El Monte - have sent letters of support to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Their officials also have gone to community meetings to bolster the Pomona Freeway route. Unlike three of the routes, which end in Uptown Whittier, the Pomona Freeway version ends at the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway. There also is a fifth proposal for a busway along the freeway.  Officials contend that the Pomona Freeway route is the shortest and fastest route and would impact one of the largest redevelopment projects, the El Monte Transit Village, and help provide access to the Montebello Town Center. State officials will decide in August or September whether to proceed with any light-rail line in this area and, if so, to choose one or two alternatives.

LOCAL

AZUSA:

Bruce Coleman, who joined the city's staff as economic and community development director in October of 2005, will worked his last day in Azusa in May. City officials called him an integral part in making various projects, including long-awaited downtown developments, move forward.  Coleman will take a similar position in Murrieta.

Additionally Assistant City Manager Robert Person also left the City of Azusa. Person joined Azusa's staff in October 2000 to work as assistant for former City Manager Rick Cole. He previously worked as assistant to Pasadena's city manager for more than a decade.  Public Works Director James Maksnoff will fill the gap left until replacements can be found.

BALDWIN PARK:

The City Council unanimously approved a new police chief. The decision to enter into contract negotiations with Ken Alva was made in closed session, then later announced in open session at the regular City Council meeting,

The City Council interviewed four candidates earlier in May for the city's open police chief position. Officials were looking to fill the position vacated by former Police Chief Edward Lopez in February.

CHINO:

The city intends to spend $1.8 million to mend deteriorating roads at Central Avenue, from north of El Prado Road to Edison Avenue; Yorba Avenue, from Edison to Eucalyptus Avenue; and Ramona from Schaefer Avenue to Chino Avenue. The public works project was unanimously approved by the City Council. Most of the money - $1.6 million - will come from the city's General Fund with $160,000 from Measure I funds for street improvement.  City officials believe the work should be underway by summer.

State voters in 2006 approved a bond to fund improvements to local streets and roads.

Funds apportioned to each city may be used for improvements to transportation facilities.

Chino will be the recipient of about $1.3 million of the bond funds in 2007 and 2008.

In addition, the city received a grant of $150,000 from the California Integrated Waste Management Board as incentive to use rubberized asphalt concrete on the project.

CLAREMONT:

The city will pay $1 million to the owner of the DoubleTree Hotel as part of a three-party land sale designed to keep the hotel viable long into the future. The deal will result in the sale of the land beneath the hotel to the hotel owner, who previously had a lease agreement. The deal was approved unanimously by the City Council.

Hotel owner Harry Wu will purchase the land from the Towne family for $6 million. The city's $1 million contribution accompanies an agreement from Wu to keep the hotel in current condition for 15 years. The million-dollar contribution was a necessary part of the deal because without it, Wu and the Towne family would not have been able to come to an agreement, said council members and city officials. City officials and council members say $1 million is a small price to pay to support an economically viable hotel. Under Wu's ownership, the annual transit-occupancy taxes at the DoubleTree have quadrupled - from $150,000 to $600,000. Wu completed a $10 million renovation in 2006, a massive overhaul that resulted in an occupancy increase from 35 percent to 75 percent.

EL MONTE:

The city's $10 million Community Building Initiative is seeking the community's help. The initiative, a community project of the California Community Foundation, was launched in July with the goal of improving the quality of life for El Monte residents.

The foundation manages more than $1 billion in assets and since 1915 has awarded millions of dollars in grants to Los Angeles County communities. CCF plans to invest about $1 million a year in El Monte through 2016, using grants, low-interest loans and guarantees, and land trust investments. Although grants have already started to be awarded, CCF continues to look for ideas and suggestions from residents and community members about where and how the money should be spent. Community wide meetings and a citywide telephone survey  will be conducted by a private polling firm, in five different languages, to collect information about residents' engagement, input and quality of life issues.  REALTORS® interested in obtaining or submitting information should call CCF at (213) 413-4130, TLUC at (213) 613-0800 or visit www.calfund.org/CBI.php

GLENDORA

BUSINESS LICENSE TAX

CVAR attorney Jim Klinkert sent a letter to the City of Glendora asking to agendize the Business License Tax Issue.  The city responded with a letter citing their position not to agendize the matter.

OTHER ISSUES:

Antique street lights in the city's downtown area that have been shut off for almost four years will remain dark. The city announced that residents in the area voted against paying for the maintenance of the lights for the second straight year. The proposed lighting district would have run roughly between Wabash and Pennsylvania avenues on the north and south, and between Virginia and Ada avenues on the west and east, according to city documents. The maintenance fees would have cost citizens about $12 a month according to Glendora staff.

Out of 273 residents, business owners, and land owners, 165 cast ballots, with 60 voting in favor, and 98 voting against. Seven ballots were disqualified. The antique lights were installed in 1911 and 1914, according to city documents. They were shut off in 2004, following concerns about the wiring. The city sent out ballots in 2007 to ask local residents to pay for both the restoration of the lamps and their upkeep, They were voted down. After the plan was rejected, the council voted to pay for the upkeep with city reserves, authorizing $1 million in expenditures. But even with the reduced payment, district residents were not willing to approve the measure.

Two Glendora women arrested last year for putting stickers on the political signs of Glendora elected leaders can take their lawsuit against Councilman Gary Clifford to trial a judge ruled. However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green said that, from his perspective, the lawsuit involves "small town politics" and "a campaign prank" and should never go before a jury. Clifford's attorney, Steve Rothan, said in an interview that he agreed that the case should not go forward, and he is disappointed the judge's ruling did not reflect his words. He also said he thought the judge had not looked carefully enough at evidence in the case.  Keleigh Marshall and Christina Giammalva, both 19, filed the suit against Clifford in May 2007, alleging false arrest and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.  The stickers the women placed on the signs on Feb. 19, 2007, read, "This sign violates Glendora city ordinance," a reference to Glendora's law prohibiting campaign signs on public property. They were confronted by Clifford, who was among those running for re-election and was eventually successful in holding his seat, according to the women. Marshall is the daughter of former Councilman Paul Marshall, who was ousted in a 2002 recall election.

The lawsuit was filed for $3.263 million, plus punitive damages of $5 million, according to court documents.

ONTARIO:

Residential rental units with problems ranging from collapsing ceilings to dysfunctional appliances may have to be inspected under a new regulation by the city. 

The program requires all rental properties more than five years old to be inspected at least once every four years, with funding provided by annual fees of $36 per unit on owners of the properties.

The program will entail two new clerical positions and eight new field staff positions, and may take a few months to take effect.  Officials state that at present, code enforcement officers only are able to inspect the estimated 22,280 rental dwelling units in Ontario when there is a specific complaint.

DETAILS:

Ontario's new Health and Safety Inspection Program will require inspection of all the estimated 22,280 residential rental units that are five years or older at least once every four years. Inspections check for code violations, such as faulty wiring, inoperable appliances, leaking roofs, plumbing problems, broken heaters, sewage drainage problems and general maintenance.

POMONA:

Next year's city budget shortfall has been reduced from $10.4 million to $3.6 million, but it comes at the cost of at least 35 jobs. The city may need to tap into its reserve to close the remaining gap.  In a recent update on the development of the city's 2008-09 preliminary budget, the gap was narrowed through a variety of reductions that include the elimination of 25 vacant positions and another 10 that are filled. The city's general fund preliminary budget estimates revenue will be $93.6million and expenses $97.2million.

Among the positions proposed for elimination, is the assistant city manager. The Public Works Department could lose five positions, including a traffic engineer and a civil engineer. The Police Department is expected to lose 10 civilian positions and have six sworn positions left unfunded.  The six positions would be left vacant when they become open, officials said.

Officials are investigating the concept of going to the voters in November with a special tax. The city's general sanitation fee now produces $1.4 million a year but the programs it pays for cost the city $2.79 million a year.. Services such as graffiti removal, street sweeping, landscape median maintenance and right-of-way cleanup are paid for with these funds.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA :

Fresh & Easy - a market with a "think small" approach - wants to open a 14,000-square-foot store on the northeast corner of Vineyard Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, behind the historic Thomas Winery building. The property is zoned specialty commercial, and the Planning Commission ruled in March that the grocer didn't fit that designation.  The City Council overturned the Planning Commission decision by a unanimous vote, saying the grocer is indeed different from typical supermarkets.  Mayor Don Kurth said there isn't any doubt in his mind that Fresh & Easy is a specialty store. British retailer Tesco began tapping into the U.S. market last fall and has opened two locations in Upland. More stores are on the way for San Dimas, Fontana and another Rancho Cucamonga location at Haven Avenue and Town Center Drive.  Construction for the Thomas Winery Plaza store is expected to begin at the start of 2009. Property owners intend to demolish the two buildings that currently house Antonino's Ristorante, Yatai Sushi Express and other businesses before constructing a new building that would incorporate winery elements.

Existing businesses will relocate within the plaza because there is 15,000 square feet of vacant property. The Thomas Winery building, with Coffee Klatch and Bobby Baja's as tenants, will not be affected. The historic building is billed as the state's oldest winery and is the reason for the specialty commercial designation.

ROSEMEAD:

It took nearly $12 million, the firing of a construction management firm and two years of construction, but the Garvey Avenue Bridge upgrade is now completed.

In May city officials celebrated the opening of the bridge, which extends over the Rio Hondo Channel and serves as the east entrance to the city.  Widened lanes, better traffic flow, decorative light poles, improved pedestrian walkways and seismic upgrades are just some of the improvements the bridge received.  Officials said the 70-year-old bridge was out of compliance with earthquake codes and was too narrow for the amount of vehicle and pedestrian traffic that it gets.

 Construction on the bridge began in February 2007. During that time, the City Council replaced its construction management firm, Willdan, with Del Terra Construction Group, because of conflict of interest concerns. Willdan was also serving as the city's engineering company. 

The new bridge will be 420 feet long and 100 feet wide, with three piers in the channel.

Willdan officials said that the city wanted to keep roadways as its signature bridge to serve as a gateway to the community. Most of the funding for the project came from the grants provided by the Federal Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program, as well as local transportation programs.

SOUTH EL MONTE

The city might be investing $700,000 into housing to help low-income residents. Ismael Mayans, president of Mayans Development, asked for the funding to fill a gap left by a last-minute drop of county funds. Council members asked staff to come up with a resolution to help seven families purchase affordable homes in South El Monte Villas. Fifteen of the thirty homes at the development site on Cogswell Road are designated as affordable housing, according to city documents. The Los Angeles County's Community Development Commission had committed to help with the affordable homes through funds from its Home Ownership Program and American Dream Down Payment Initiative. In April, the county notified Mayans that it was out of funds and will only be able to provide for eight of the fifteen homes for this fiscal year. The city will look into using a combination of bonds and city funds to help with the request, Ybarra said.

South El Monte has already committed $50,000 to each of the fifteen homes through its First Time Home Buyer Program for this project.  Although the homes are not scheduled to be completed and ready for move-in until summer, fifteen buyers are waiting for funds to complete the closing of the escrow.