Tag Archives: Legislation

COVID-19 Update: FAQ on Construction Shutdown, Update on Federal Programs & Resources for CRE

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Shutdown of Non-Essential Construction – FAQ Updated As we shared on Tuesday, the Baker-Polito Administration updated the construction related guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidance limits “essential” construction to housing and critical infrastructure activities. Under the revised list, private nonresidential construction is not considered essential (unless it falls within one of the specified exemptions). As of noon, April 1, only housing projects (including mixed use with housing), infrastructure, public works projects and construction related to COVID-19 can proceed. The state understands the need to wind down and provide security at an uncompleted project. A minimal crew for security is permissible under the following categories of essential service: 1) Security staff to maintain building access control and physical security measures and 2) Workers to ensure continuity of building functions, including but not limited to security and environmental controls (e.g., HVAC). The state has updated the FAQ page to answer questions on this issue.
Legislative Update – Municipal Permit Tolling Bill Expected to be Passed in House & Senate Today H. 4598, An Act to address challenges faced by municipalities and state authorities resulting from COVID-19, which includes language that addresses the tolling of local permits and is supported by the Mass Municipal Association, NAIOP MA, and the Home Builders & Remodelers Association, is expected to be passed in the House and Senate today and, hopefully, signed by the Governor as soon as this weekend. When it is signed into law we will let you know. 
SJC Postpones Trials in MA Until May 4 Yesterday, the Supreme Judicial Court issued an order postponing all state trials to May 4, at the earliest. All civil and criminal trials which were scheduled to begin on or before May 1 will be delayed “unless the trial is a bench trial in a civil matter and may be conducted otherwise than in-person by agreement of the parties and of the court.” The offices of court clerks, registers, and recorders will continue to work. These duties include scheduling and facilitating hearings, issuing orders, answering questions from legal professionals and the public, and performing other necessary tasks. All business except the filing of pleadings and other documents will be done virtually.
CARES ACT – Resources for Small Businesses  The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a loan program designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep workers on the payroll. Loans are up to $10M, with a 0.5% interest rate and a 2-year maturity; there are no payments for the first six months.  

Who can apply? Businesses, non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees.

When can I apply? The Paycheck Protection Program will be available beginning on Friday, April 3rd. Applications must be submitted by June 30, 2020.

How do I apply? You can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any participating federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, or Farm Credit institution. Ask your local lender if it is participating in the program.

What else should I know? The SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The program will be available retroactive from February 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020. Read more here.  

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance is a Loan Advance of $10,000 that is available to applicants who have been approved for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan; it does not need to be repaid, so you can think of the Advance as a grant for business expenses.  

Who can apply? If you have applied or intend to apply to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, you can also apply for a Loan Advance.

When can I apply? The Loan Advance is available now.

How do I apply? Visit the SBA’s website to submit an application for the Economic Disaster Injury Loan and Loan Advance.

What else should I know? Please note that you should submit an application at the above link, even if you’ve previously submitted an EIDL application prior to the Loan Advance being available. Read more here.  

The SBA is also offering Debt Relief to small businesses. Under this relief, the SBA will pay the principal and interest for six months beginning March 27th, 2020 for qualifying new and current holders of 7(a) loans.

Who can apply? Businesses who already have a covered 7(a) SBA loan or receive a 7(a) SBA loan prior to September 27, 2020.

When can I apply? This relief is applied for covered loans beginning with payments due after March 27, 2020.

How do I apply? Reach out to your SBA lender to discuss how this debt relief applies to your SBA loan.

What else should I know? This debt relief is available only to 7(a) loans and not to loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program, 504 loans, or microloans. Read more here.   Two other Small Business Administration loan programs are also open: Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available through the SBA website; apply here. EIDL loans can be up to $2M, with interest rates of 3.75%, and are for businesses whose revenues were adversely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The Express Bridge Loan Program is available to businesses that have an existing business relationship with an SBA-approved lender; speak to your lender about accessing this option while you await a decision on long-term financing. 
Statement from Eversource on Services During COVID-19 Eversource wants to reassure the development community that we are currently well prepared to continue providing safe, reliable energy and essential services while also safeguarding the health and well-being of our employees and the communities we serve. Connecting new customers is considered an essential service, therefore, here at Eversource: Our Customer Service and Engineering teams are working remotely, taking orders and designing and engineering your project. In an effort to maximize safety, joint site meetings are suspended and replaced with conference calls and virtual meetings. Individual site visits will continue where necessary.Construction will continue where permitted by local cities and towns, and Eversource field crews will continue working on projects. However, outage requests are being evaluated on a case by case basis.Outdoor meter installs will continue. Indoor meter installs will be evaluated on a case by case basis.Eversource will continue to require any and all State and Municipal Inspection requirements to move forward with energizing your facility.   For more information Eversource’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the Eversource website. 
Ongoing Blood Product Shortage & Need for Blood Donation Sites As you are aware, the COVID-19 virus has caused the cancellation of blood drives across the Commonwealth. There is an urgent need now for patients with chronic conditions and trauma, as well as ensuring an adequate blood and blood product supply going forward. The Governor has deemed “Blood and plasma donors and the employees of the organizations that operate and manage related activities” as an essential service. Donating is a necessity to supply the hospitals with the blood our neighbors require. Donating blood is safe and people should not hesitate to give. In addition, there is a need for community blood drive sites in the eastern part of the state. Identifying donation sites is vital to meet the demand as we go forward. Your local knowledge, suggestions of sites, and potential partners are crucial to meeting the needs of our neighbors who need blood and blood products. To schedule a new blood drive contact Bill Forsyth at (617) 699-3808 or at email William.Forsyth@redcross.org. Those who are healthy, feeling well and eligible to give blood or platelets, are urged to make an appointment to donate as soon as possible by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

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Real Estate Industry Applauds Senate Leadership on Climate Change, Opposes Net-Zero Energy Code

Industry Groups Concerned Provisions Will Chill Economic Development, Increase Housing Costs

BOSTON, MA – NAIOP Massachusetts, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP); the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAM); The Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts (AGC MA); and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR) applaud the Massachusetts Senate for recognizing that climate change is an economic development, public health, and environmental issue that affects every resident in the Commonwealth. 

As the Commonwealth leads the nation in climate mitigation and adaptation, technical and economic realities cannot be ignored. Senate Bill 2477, An Act setting next-generation climate policy includes a proposal to enact an opt-in stretch energy code that defines net-zero building. Achieving a net-zero energy building with today’s technology is not always feasible. As an example, very few net-zero lab properties or residential or office projects over 10 stories have ever been built. The projects that were able to achieve net-zero did so at a cost premium. If implemented, this net-zero code would increase the cost of the construction and maintenance of residential and commercial buildings.  Current rents could not cover the increased costs associated with such requirements.  In addition, the change would dramatically alter project design, in some cases preventing the project from being built at all – threatening the creation of new housing during the existing housing crisis, negatively impacting housing affordability and serving as a financial barrier to homeownership for thousands of young families seeking to purchase their first home.

In addition to increasing costs, it would have the effect of undoing the uniformity of the State Building Code by creating multiple codes – resulting in codes that would vary by community and little to no predictability for developers. This lack of uniformity threatens public safety and security by creating confusion surrounding implementation and enforcement, one of the reasons that the Board of Building Regulations & Standards was charged with implementing a statewide code.

Finally, we are concerned that some communities may adopt the net-zero code as a way to block development.

While we believe that net-zero construction may be possible in the future, we caution the Legislature against codifying timelines that are currently impossible to achieve, and instead encourage the continued investment and development of diverse technologies that will achieve our climate goals.

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NAIOP Contact: Anastasia Nicolaou / 650-380-9440

Home Builders Contact: Benjamin Fierro / 617-429-3053

MAR Contact: Justin Davidson / 781-839-5510

AGC MA Contact: Robert Petrucelli / 781-235-2680, ext. 114

NAIOP Coastal Resiliency Legislation Heard Before Joint Committee on Environment: NAIOP CEO Joined by Climate Resiliency Expert

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Last week, NAIOP CEO Tamara Small and NAIOP Climate Change Resiliency Committee Co-Chair, Stephanie Kruel of VHB, testified in support of NAIOP’s coastal resiliency legislation, S. 430, An Act Relative to Coastal Resiliency Projects.

NAIOP CEO Tamara Small and NAIOP Climate Change Resiliency Committee Co-Chair, Stephanie Kruel of VHB testifying before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

As climate change continues to threaten homes, businesses, and infrastructure, Massachusetts’ coastal communities will need flexibility to properly implement their coastal resiliency plans. Many of these plans, including the Climate Ready Boston initiative, will require the use of fill to protect the City against the impacts of rising sea levels and climate change. Such projects could include berms, waterfront parks, and seawalls. S.430 provides a framework for these critically important projects to be reviewed and approved.

“Many laws and regulations, including the Wetlands Protection Act, were written decades ago and did not anticipate the potential impacts of sea level rise, nor the range of solutions that might be required to reduce flood risk,” testified Kruel. “As noted in the October 2018 Coastal Resilience Solutions for South Boston report, to be able to implement proposed resiliency measures, some existing regulations and permitting requirements may need modification to consider the impacts of sea level rise and flood protection projects. In the same vein, Bill S.430 is intended to prevent provisions of the WPA and 310 CMR 10 from inhibiting the construction of coastal resiliency projects.”

“Coastal municipalities in the Commonwealth must be given the tools and resources they need to implement their coastal resiliency plans,” said Small. “We believe that the flexibility this bill provides allows for the public and private sectors to work together to protect communities from the impacts of climate change.”

NAIOP believes that S. 430 is a critical component to the Commonwealth’s climate resiliency efforts and will continue to advocate for the passage of this legislation.

CEO TAMARA SMALL TESTIFIES IN SUPPORT OF NAIOP LEGISLATION REGARDING UTILITY ACCOUNTABILITY

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On Tuesday, July 9 NAIOP CEO Tamara Small testified before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Cable in support of NAIOP bill H. 2861, An Act to Encourage Predictability in Utility Connections. Introduced by Representative Thomas Golden of Lowell, the legislation is targeted at addressing the frustrations the commercial real estate sector has expressed for years regarding the lack of transparency and predictability for utility connections at development projects. If passed, the bill will ensure that commercial customers, as well as new connections and relocations of existing connections, are included in the service quality standards.

NAIOP CEO Tamara Small testifying before the Joint Committee of Telecommunications, Utilities and Cable July 9,2019

Currently, when utilities request a rate increase, they are “graded” based on how they perform under the Department of Public Utilities’ Service Quality Standards.  Customer satisfaction, response times for service outages, and repairs and maintenance are some of the criteria considered under M.G.L. Chapter 164 §1E.  However, utilities are only judged based on their performance with residential customers, not commercial customers.  In addition, only existing connections, and not new connections, are included in the service quality standards.

“As we saw with the gas moratorium and lockout last fall, new utility connections are absolutely critical for economic growth,” testified Small. “Small business owners could not open their doors, companies could not relocate to new office space, and tenants who had signed leases for new apartments did not have a place to call home.”

NAIOP believes that by including commercial projects, the relocation of existing connections, and new connections in the review process, we will have greater transparency and accountability in the regulation of our utilities statewide. NAIOP will continue to advocate for the passage of this bill so that future real estate development projects could benefit from the proposed change.

NAIOP Joins Mass. Municipal Association, Housing Advocates and Business Leaders in Support of Housing Choice Legislation

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On May 14, NAIOP’s CEO Tamara Small testified before the Joint Committee on Housing in support of H.3507, An Act to Promote Housing Choices. If passed, the bill would enable cities and towns to adopt certain zoning best practices related to housing development by a simple majority vote, rather than the current two-thirds supermajority.

Small testified on a panel with representatives from a coalition of groups responsible for permitting and building housing throughout the Commonwealth including Jon Robertson, Legislative Director at the Mass Municipal Association; Benjamin Fierro III, Counsel to the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of MA; Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board; Robert Brennan, President of CapeBuilt Development; and Kathleen Franco, CEO of Trinity Management. The group expressed their strong support for the bill, which would make it easier for communities to enact local zoning changes that encourage housing development.

In her testimony, Small underscored the importance of partnerships between developers and the communities. “Any successful housing development requires a partnership between the developer and the community to ensure that the project addresses local needs,” said Small. “The legislation preserves that partnership by requiring a majority vote, while making it easier for communities to rezone property to encourage more housing production.”

Throughout the hearing, mayors, housing advocates, and business leaders, including Mayor Kim Driscoll of Salem, Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Smart Growth Alliance, CHAPA, and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable testified in support of the bill and called on the Joint Committee to report H. 3507 out favorably.  

NAIOP will continue to advocate for passage of the bill as soon as possible. Because communities enact zoning changes at annual Town Meetings, quick passage of this bill is needed to ensure that implementation of these important reforms is not delayed another cycle.