BIA LAV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

LOS ANGELES – At an awards gala held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on the evening of December 6, 2016, the Building Industry Association (BIA) Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter presented Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, LEED AP, managing principal of the Los Angeles office of KTGY Architecture + Planning, with its TED Humanitarian Award. This award is bestowed upon a BIA member, public official or an exceptional industry leader who invests their time, energy and resources to help others obtain basic life necessities, food, and/or shelter and for their contributions to the industry.

“I am honored and humbled to accept this award,” said Gonzalez. “I am grateful to the BIA and for Tom DiPrima of The Chadmar Group for nominating me. Los Angeles tops the nation in the number of chronically homeless people and nearly all of them sleep on the streets. I know that it the BIA’s hope that we can shine a brighter light on this issue and together we can make a difference.”

Earlier this year, Gonzalez was elected to The College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects for his work in senior housing. Election to Fellowship recognizes not only his achievements as an individual architect but also his significant contributions to architecture and society on a national level.Gonzalez also received the NAHB 55+ Housing Council’s inaugural Associate of the Year Award, which recognizes an active NAHB 55+ Housing Council member who supports the building industry with exceptional service and/or a quality product; and has achieved success through innovation, financial success and integrity.

Last year, as a tribute to his lifetime body of work, Gonzalez was inducted into the Wm. S. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence in Washington, D.C., awarded by Hanley Wood’s Builder magazine. Gonzalez’ architectural achievements are also known internationally and he was recently invited to speak at the International Symposium on Development, Design and Planning of Senior Living Communities in Qingdao, China to introduce new design concepts for China’s ever-growing and underserved senior population. He was also a speaker on housing at the 1^st International Conference of the Americas in Mexico City.

Throughout his career, Gonzalez has held a variety of leadership positions in industry associations including BIA, National Association of Home Building (NAHB), and American Institute of Architects (AIA).Currently, Gonzalez serves on the NAHB’s Multifamily Leadership Board and is a trustee on the NAHB’s 55+ Housing Council Board. Additionally, Gonzalez holds the position of Vice-Chair of ULI’s Lifestyle Residential Development Council-55+. He has served on the Board of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and was the Design Trends Forum Chair for PCBC. He has also chaired the Senior Housing Symposium in both New Orleans and Philadelphia, which attracted over 1,200 attendees.

Some of the local organizations that he has assisted include the Union Rescue Mission, Habitat For Humanity, Wounded Warrior, Homeboy Industries, Red Cross, California School for the Blind, and Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. He has also been a personal sponsor of The Painted Turtle events, which provides opportunities for children to attend a camp, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and Boyle Height’s Dolores Mission, among other charities.

KTGY has a culture of giving back and is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary in business by highlighting 25 Acts of Gratitude. Highlights from KTGY’s 25th Anniversary Acts of Gratitude include Habitat for Humanity build days where staff members from various offices had the opportunity to spend a day working to build a home for a family in need. The firm’s Making a Difference Program invites staff members to apply for funds to support organizations that are near and dear to team members’ hearts. This year, through the Making a Difference Program, KTGY supported employees’ commitments to feeding the homeless at Thanksgiving time, building parks on vacant lots, and educating girls in need. Several team members volunteer with the ACE mentor program, inspiring high school students to pursue careers in the architecture-construction-engineering field. In India, KTGY’s Pune office supports an orphanage and school for girls, assisting in making higher education possible for some. To learn more about KTGY’s Act of Gratitude, click here.

Founded in 1991, KTGY Architecture + Planning is an international award-winning full-service architecture and planning firm delivering innovation, artistry and attention to detail across multiple offices and studios, ensuring that clients and communities get the best the firm has to offer no matter the building type or location. KTGY’s architects and planners combine big picture opportunities, leading-edge sustainable practices and impeccable design standards to help create developments of enduring value. KTGY serves clients worldwide from offices located in Chicago, Denver, Irvine, Los Angeles, Oakland, Pune and Tysons. Call 888.456.KTGY or visit ktgy.com

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Anne Monaghan
MONAGHAN COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
anne@MonaghanPR.com 
830.997.0963

After a hard-fought battle with leukemia, Lynn L. Jacobs, California Building Industry Association (CBIA) board member and past President of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc. Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter (BIASC-LAV), passed away on July 4, 2016, surrounded by loved ones. 

She dedicated her career to building homes and working on housing issues in California. Lynn was the founder and President of Ventura Affordable Homes, which develops single-family homes for first-time homebuyers under various affordable housing programs.  She developed homes for more than 20 years, building more than 400 homes in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties alone.

In addition to starting Ventura Affordable Homes, Lynn founded and served as President of Affordable Communities in Ventura County.  At the time of her passing, Lynn was a director on the Governing Board for BIASC, serving as the BIASC representative on the CBIA Board of Directors. She previously served as President of BIASC-LAV in 2000.  Lynn was also the chair of both the CBIA Affordable Housing Task Force and the BIASC-LAV Housing Affordability Committee. 

Lynn was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as the Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development in 2006. She served until 2011, leading the administration to the dedication of nearly $5 billion in bond funds for affordable housing.  Since January 2004, $1.6 billion has been awarded and has incentivized or created more than 100,000 affordable homes and shelter spaces for Californians.

She wrote numerous articles for publications and received many awards including the National Building Innovations in Affordable Housing Award in 1997.

Lynn was a dedicated community volunteer, having served as a member of the Foundation Board of Community Memorial Hospital, a Board member of the Museum of Ventura County, member of Soroptimist International of Ventura, and the Assistance League of Ventura County. 

Lynn was a fiercely-independent business woman; a dedicated wife, mother, and friend; and a true champion of housing.  We will strive to honor her and her efforts as we work to continue to provide homes and communities to all who seek them. 

If you knew Lynn on a personal level, you knew her love of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.  She not only talked about it frequently, but she and Gary never missed a year. Gary and Matthew have asked that anyone who wishes to honor Lynn with a donation make that donation to The Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for this request instead.

LOS ANGELES, August 26, 2016 – The Building Industry Association’s LA/Ventura Chapter hosted an invigorating exploration on how Greater Los Angeles can increase housing production and reduce costs to provide new homes, thus improving housing affordability and reducing homelessness. 

"I am committed to continue building on the momentum that we currently have here in Los Angeles,” stated Mayor Garcetti during his keynote remarks. “Together, I am convinced that this room is the right room of builders.” The Mayor addressed his support for the City’s $1.2 billion housing bond, dubbed Measure HHH, which will be on the November ballot, referring to it as, “Measure Homelessness, Housing, and Hope.” 

The Mayor concluded by stating, “If I could be anyting, I’d want to be a builder. I’d want to be able to build the city’s economy, build the infrastructure, and build trust.” 
LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas stated passionately, “Building affordable housing in the County of Los Angeles is a must in the fight for homelessness!” 

Discussion at the summit focused on California’s state housing policy and the local impact that it has, specifically the impact on development fees and how they have evolved in 30 years. It was then followed by a discussion about different perspectives from the planning departments--County Regional Planning Director Richard Bruckner and General Manager from City Planning Vince Bertoni. The Housing Summit concluded with a panel discussion on housing challenges and the possible solutions that may lower housing costs and the homelessness rate. 

“The major issue that the city is facing is the lack of housing production,” said Tim Piasky, CEO of the LA/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association. “The goal for this Summit is to bring the full industry together, government, non-profit, for-profit and talk about the housing needs and issues that we have.”   
“It’s simple.  We need more housing to make it more affordable,” said Piasky. 

About Building Industry Association 

The Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, is a non-profit trade association representing more than 1,000 member companies in the housing industry, construction trades, and affiliated businesses throughout the region. The BIA advocates on behalf of the building industry. Visit its Website at www.bialav.org. 

Across Los Angeles, homes are being torn down and replaced with bigger houses, called "McMansions" by some. Now the city is considering a plan designed to keep the number of supersized homes in certain areas in check.

To prevent some new homes from blocking views and changing the look of neighborhoods too dramatically, the L.A. Department of City Planning has proposed changes to a 2008 citywide "mansionization" law. 

The amended law would scale back or eliminate certain building bonuses and exemptions that could lead to overly large homes. For example,  homeowners could no longer get a bigger space allowance for including energy-efficient features. And certain patios and porches larger than 150 square feet would count toward the size of the house, the current limit is 250 square feet.

"Changing the law would jeopardize jobs," said Tim Piasky, CEO of the Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California was quoted in radio broadcast transcript from LA 89.3 KPCC station.

"There’s a cottage industry out there that is buying older homes and remodeling them and bringing them to current standards. The city is also eroding homeowners' rights by preventing them from adding size — and value — to their property,” said Piasky.

He acknowledged that some houses may offend sensibilities, but said they’re in the minority. "You’re impacting all of them just to address a few outliers," Piasky said. "I think that it’s kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

Complaints about outsized homes have been growing in recent years. The city, needing time to amend its mansionization law, offered a temporary fix last year to about 20 neighborhoods in L.A. predominantly on the Westside and in the southern San Fernando Valley. Two-year building limits went into effect in 15 neighborhoods identified by their councilmembers as having a high rate of mansionization. Five other neighborhoods were being designated as historic zones and got two-year moratoriums on building and demolition permits.

The planned changes to the citywide ordinance will cover the rest of the city's neighborhoods, ranging from Brentwood to South L.A., but the proposal is creating concern within the building industry.

After four public hearings, the city planning commission and the city council's Planning and Land Use Committee will review the proposal before it goes to the full council for a vote. Rothmann said if all goes as planned, the changes could be adopted by the fall.

The planning department will take public comment at the first hearing on Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles.

The other hearing dates are:

• Monday, May 9, 7-9 p.m. - Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center
• Tuesday, May 10, 7-9 p.m. - Felicia Mahood Multipurpose Center
• Monday, May 16, 7-9 p.m. - Marvin Braude Constituent Service

To read the full article, click here.