For those within the San Diego County building industry, the ability to meet commercial and residential building demands continues to be hindered by various obstacles. According to industry specialists who were part of a roundtable put on by The Daily Transcript and the San Diego Building Industry Association (SDBIA), these obstacles lengthen the time between the planning and regulatory approval process and the start of actual construction.
While the amount of land available for building within the county and the new types of development that will result were debated, the sensitive point of discussion for the participants was the obstacles holding back the rate of building.
"We've reached the point where anything that has entitlement in it, there's going to be a process, there's going to be an issue," said Chris Morrow, one of four principals at Project Design Consultants.
One obstacle that makes it difficult for developers and builders to move forward on a project is community planning groups, which if opposed to a project can delay and possibly stop a project from being constructed, especially during a period when a delay in a project can amount to a significant price increases to the developer and contractors, a result of increasing costs.
Both Morrow and George Hawkins, CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors San Diego chapter, expressed concerned that many members on planning groups are not professionals in planning or related building fields, yet are making community-affecting decisions.
Ure Kretowicz, CEO of Cornerstone Communities, said planning group resistance is usually met when a builder is eyeing a revitalization project in an existing neighborhood.
"Whether change is good or bad ... people are afraid of change," Kretowicz said, citing local government's inability to regulate such planning groups. "In San Diego I have yet to see the intestinal fortitude to stand up to community planning groups." A lot of opportunities lie ahead, "but you can't get there without having political support."
Chandra Waller, general manager for land use and environmental group for the San Diego County, said one way for builders and developers to combat community-planning group resistance is to bring supporters of their project with them to city meetings.
"You've really not done a very good job of getting all those folks who are supportive of your project with you," Waller said.
Aside from planning groups, the lengthiness of government regulatory and approval processes have caused irritation to those in the industry.
"That in itself is something we need to improve on a local area ... right now we recognize our process is overly complex," said Waller, adding the land use department's business process re-engineering is taking steps to speed up the process.
Currently it takes the county an average of 45 months to process an environmental impact report and an average of 14 months to process a negative declaration. The county's planning commission has set a goal to bring the figures down to 22 months for an EIR and nine months for a negative declaration without eliminating land use regulations or changing the current public review process.
"We can get you guys on the ground more quickly," Waller said. "What we need to do is get together (developer, planning group, land use department, environmental advocates) very early when you've just got a big chunk of raw land and say 'what makes the most sense here and how do we do it?' We have to bring folks in who understand there's a balance."
For Mike Binkle, CEO of Shamrock Development, the success of a quicker regulatory process lies in predictability.
"That's the biggest problem, dealing with a process that has so much unpredictability," Binkle said, adding this unpredictability makes it difficult for developers to make project decisions. Waller agreed saying predictability is important for a developer financially vested in a project.
"The way to get predictability is through credibility ... give us a defined set of rules," said Kretowicz. "(Currently) there's no time when you really feel like you can live within the rules," and that rules will be upheld.
For some on the roundtable the fact that developers, builders and government together in one room are discussing these issues is a step in the right direction.
"With the direction the county is willing to go there is room for optimism," said Paul Tryon, CEO of the SDBIA.
A concern regarding project approval for some on the roundtable is the California Environmental Quality Act's effect on project progress.
"CEQA is one of those ways to interfere, it can be used as an interference device even after all the approvals have been done," Hawkins said.
But Waller interjected that even if the city and county were to ignore CEQA regulations, it's still a state law and will remain something developers and builders must deal with.
Much like CEQA, zoning in areas of the county protects certain land, which could be developed for community benefit.
"We all recognize that there are physical constraints to our developments ... but we're not out of land," Tryon said, adding what the shortage is really of land that is entitled for more urban developments.
"The zoning is not set up to allow what it needs to from a density standpoint," said Russ Haley, one of three principals of Citymark Development, who added that even after approval and regulatory processes are complete, the legal challenge still looms.
"Every single project that gets approved right now you're just crossing your fingers hoping that you're not going to get sued by a local community group," Haley said.
After extensive discussions over the various obstacles that slow a builder and developer's project, the panelists were asked what they thought would be an appropriate timetable for certain processes.
Morrow described a project in Jamul that already met regulatory guidelines and had a general and specific plan that met with zoning density. The step left is the environmental review process.
"I'm used to four or five years for that, maybe we can get that down to a year ... isn't that a sufficient amount of time," Morrow said. "Anything that takes longer than that, it better be a series of Taj Mahals."
Kretowicz said the entire process, including environmental review, general plan approval and pulling of permits, typically takes 10 years. He believes it should take four.
"Anyone who says it can't (be sped up) isn't telling the truth," Hawkins said.
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