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PHR's to the voting poll

A question unanswered between agents is whether the issue of PHR's is still going to the voting poles. It was put there by a signature petition and therefore is mandated for the city to have it on the ballot.

Even though talks have been ongoing and somewhat agreed upon by different sides of the issue, that is only on how the ordinance will be enforced upon voter approval.

We know that PHR's are a great value to agents and home owners alike. The terrible management of a few agencies, ( you know the offenders ), has made this issue a big problem to R-1 zone residents.

Remember the pool?

The last pool ordinance that was overwhelmingly voted down by the voters was the biggest defeat of an issue in the state of California! It was not the opinion or whether anyone wanted a pool but how they (the County) wanted to collect the money through property taxes.

The County said to everyone it was not a Mello Roos type of collection. Despite their insistence, Bear Valley News was 1 hour away from filing an injunction against the County (through the Freedom of Information Act) to make them provide details of the proposal.

Upon just meeting the deadline, the facts emerged. Indeed the procedure was that if the property taxes and the tax for the pool were not collected, (estate, probate delays etc.) the county could have started foreclosure procedures within 90 days of default payment unlike the State which has a 5 year waiting period. The County said they would never do that because of a reserve account and to trust them.

Bear Valley News made this fact known and the result was the landslide defeat.

Fire retardant application

There is an ordinance 2005-351 that requires a fire retardant to be applied to new housing if extra expense wall board is not used to comply. To date there is only a few products that qualify and are certified to use. Both products available have the same restrictions because of certifications when testing .

One product is No Burn. The problem is in order for a product to comply with fire codes, it must be applied by a certified application person for many reasons. To determine thickness, area surface, wood moisture content, mixed properly when applied, temperature of application and mixing etc. This is to guarantee that the product will work as designed and tested by the fire code certification process.

This is to stop things like a builder buying a few gallons and applying it to the whole house then the City certifies that the product was applied. (Believe me this has happened) If there is a fire the product will not work and the city is never liable in any case. The manufacture of the product is not either in this case. The builder is.

The good news is having the experts apply the product will not interfere with the building schedule. The cost including product and labor is from $2.00 to 3.00 a square foot. In addition the owner will get at least a 10-15 % discount on their homeowners insurance. Also the builder can receive a 30-50 % monthly discount on the fire insurance portion of the building risk insurance.

Usually after a few months it is less expensive because of the discount to have it applied by professionals than to try and buy the product and apply it yourself. Plus you get the benefit of the home owner insurance discount. The new condo project in town will probably use No Burn as Dennis keeps up with the latest technology.

Either product is only available from a Certified No Burn Dealer at the present time.

New City Positions

At their regular meeting on Dec. 10, Big Bear Lake City Council elected Rick Herrick as Mayor for 2008. In addition, Bill Jahn was chosen as Mayor Pro Tem, effective immediately. Liz Harris was appointed as Chairman of the Improvement Agency and Rick Herrick as Vice-Chair. Michael Karp will serve as Chairman of the Fire Protection District Board and Bill Jahn as Vice-Chair.

Herrick was first elected to Council in November 2006. Over the last year, he became the primary voice of the Council in the legislative arena, advocating against measures that would impact City services and seeking enhanced funding options for smaller communities such as Big Bear Lake. He will continue those efforts in his new role. Herrick also sits on the City’s newly formed Green Sustainability Efforts Committee, which analyzes environmentally friendly programs the City can engage. Upon accepting the Mayoral seat, Herrick stated, “I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Council. Our varied backgrounds and viewpoints will help us work through important issues facing the City. I will continue to work on mounting an effective effort with partner agencies during storm events to keep Highway 18 open. I will also concentrate on long-range planning efforts that maintain the quality of life we cherish in our beautiful alpine environment.” The Council chooses a Mayor amongst them selves as part of an annual re-organization.

Outgoing Mayor Bill Jahn stated, “Thank you to my counterparts on the Council, city staff and the community for your on-going dedication and support. It has been a pleasure to serve as Mayor for the last two years.” During his tenure, Jahn oversaw the appointment of a committee to work on an Enforcement Ordinance for the Transient Private Home Rental Program; continuation of the Neighborhood Chipping Program utilizing a partnership between the Fire Department and Public Works Division and working on a proposed Native Brush and Shrub Reduction Ordinance to help property owners create defensible space around their homes and businesses.

Harris’ appointment as Chair of the Improvement Agency (IA) comes with much enthusiasm, after the IA, for the most part, has been dormant over the last several years. With the recent hiring of a Redevelopment Director on staff, strong financial position and renewed focus, the Improvement Agency is slated to hold monthly meetings in the coming year. Those meetings will focus on setting policies and priorities for both the Big Bear and Moonridge Project Areas.

Karp, who has been on the Council since November 2006, assumes the role as Chairman of the Fire Protection District Board on the heels of the City Council introducing a Native Brush and Shrub Reduction Ordinance this past fall. That ordinance is currently in the review process to comply with CEQA requirements. Given that the ordinance would require property owners to remove certain types of native brush and use shrub reduction measures on their parcel, the Fire Board will play a vital role in reviewing policies and programs first-of-their-kind for a government agency in the State of California.

Council members will now complete their requests for 2008 committee assignments so that official appointments can take place in January.

Article courtesy Bear Valley News 12/19/20007

New e-mail marketing for agents

As you probably noticed, things have changed in the way I do e-mails and manage my e-mail lists. The newest technology process is here and with a big bang. TTF Publishers is not using new technology but making it easier and inexpensive to manage and use e-mail to your advantage.

To have TTF Publishers make a professional attractive e-mail message and deliver it to my hundreds of colleagues or even to my interested buyers list for $7 each, is a time saver and a better option for my marketing dollars.

See a sample by e-mailing a blank e-mail here.

They have made a program just for Big Bear Valley Realtors. ( Big Bear Valley Real Estate Group ) BBVREGroup.com

I personally had a great response over previous e-mail notices of my listings by using this service.

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