Daily Business Report-Aug. 23, 2013

 City Council President Todd Gloria 

What’s Todd Gloria’s Role

If the Mayor Resigns?

Voice of San Diego — By this afternoon, City Council President Todd Gloria — a 35-year-old native San Diegan — might take over the reins of the city, at least for a few months. But it won’t be as simple as referring to him as hizzoner. While the job of interim chief is defined, for the most part, his temporary title isn’t. That’s not the only difference between old and new. While the city has a “strong mayor” system, Gloria would be anything but a super-powered top official. He would actually be more like a “Caretaker Mayor,” said Gil Cabrera, a local attorney and former chairman of the city’s Ethics Commission. That’s all thanks to the wisdom of the City Charter, a kind of municipal constitution that strictly limits the powers of anyone who temporarily takes charge at City Hall without being appointed or elected. (Appointments are only allowed when there’s less than one year left in the term of the mayor who’s left office.)

For questions and answers about the man who may be in charge, sort of, click here…

  Allred Urges City Council Not to Authorize

Payment to Mayor Filner for Resignation

City News Service — The lawyer for the woman who sued Mayor Bob Filner and the city of San Diego said Thursday she has not been provided with details of a proposed agreement reached after three days of mediation, and that the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his ex-communications director is not settled. At a news conference, Gloria Allred urged the City Council not to authorize the payment of any money to the mayor in exchange for his anticipated resignation. A settlement was reached in the talks overseen by retired federal Judge Lawrence Irving. The deal is scheduled to be presented to and considered by the City Council this afternoon in closed session. But Allred said the sexual harassment litigation filed on behalf of Irene McCormack Jackson against Filner and the city of San Diego was not settled. Allred’s remarks raise the possibility that the deal reached in mediation will only affect the city’s portion of the lawsuit.

National City Partners Acquires National City Industrial Building

National City Partners Ltd. has acquired the 40,000-square-foot industrial building at 1010 W. 19th St. in National City for $3 million. The seller was International Paper. Cassidy Turley represented the seller. The buyer was represented by Lee & Associates. International Paper had occupied the property for several years as a San Diego distribution center for its paper products. The property was listed for sale after the company’s decision to handle distribution through Los Angeles. 

During escrow, the building’s new owners, National City Partners, with Fiedler Construction Group as general partner, negotiated a new lease for the entire property with a San Diego defense contracting firm.  Terms of that transaction were not disclosed.

Ameron Pipe Facility Sold for $7.4 Million

The Ameron Pipe facility in Lakeside,has been sold to Old Castle Precast for $7.4 million. The seller was National Oilwell Varco. The facility totals 48,043 square feet on a 14-acre site at 10441 Vine St. The property includes a two-story office building and warehouse. Cassidy Turley represented the seller. The buyer was represented by CBRE.

Union and Political Leaders Say Sequestration Must Stop

Leaders from the American Federation of Government Employees and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council and Reps. Susan Davis and Scott Peters described the negative impacts of sequestration on San Diego at a press conference on Thursday. Federal employees have taken 22 furlough days this year and have dealt with three years of pay freezes, said George McCubbin III, the national vice president of AFGE District 12. Davis said sequestration has cut important services like preschool, forcing 57,000 young children to leave Head Start, a program for children from low-income families.

Students Donate ‘Smart House’ to

Cal State San Marcos for Use as a Veterans Center

Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., has agreed to donate a student-designed “smart house” to Cal State University San Marcos for use as a veterans center. The center will support the nearly 900 students who identify as a veteran, service member or military dependent. The center is a gift from a group of 60 Stevens students who are building a “smart house” for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 Solar Decathlon, a biannual competition in which 20 university teams from around the globe compete to design energy-efficient solar homes.

The competition culminates with the XPO — a world’s fair of clean, renewable and efficient energy from Oct. 3-13 in Irvine, which will put the student-designed houses on display to the public . After the competition, Stevens has chosen to give its home, Ecohabit, a second life by donating it to the university. Cal State San Marcos has the highest percentage of student veterans per capita of any California State University campus. One of every ten Cal State San Marcos students is a veteran, service member, reservist or dependent.

NAI San Diego Adds Associate

Daniel Weiss has joined NAI San Diego as an associate. Weiss will be involved in all areas of brokerage, including leasing, sales, and advisory services, focusing mainly in North County.  Weiss is a graduate of the University of San Diego and a native of Del Mar.  Prior to joining NAI San Diego, he was a sales and leasing associate with Pacific Coast Commercial.

Housing Development Law & Policy Seminar Sept. 13

The San Diego Housing Federation will offer a Housing Development Law & Policy Seminar on Friday, Sept. 13, from  8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be held at the SDG&E Energy and Innovation Center, 4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego. The seminar will focus on the legal tools and constraints to building housing in California.  The loss of California Redevelopment Law left cities and counties without many of the traditional tools to support development in their communities.  Recent federal and state court rulings are changing the legal context for determining how land use can be regulated.  Speakers include: Alfred Fraijo Jr., partner, Sheppard Mullin; M David Kroot, partner, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP; Seth Merewitz, partner, Best, Best, & Krieger LLC; Ted Reguly, director of customer programs, SDG&E; and Suzanne Varco, attorney, Opper & Varco LLP. For more, visit www.housingsandiego.org.