ApartmentFest04: Back to School with the SFAA

The San Francisco Apartment Association (SFAA) is happy to announce the return of our full-scale trade show this fall. ApartmentFest 04: Back to School with the SFAA will be held at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center on Saturday, September 18, 2004, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This exciting weekend event will offer numerous educational seminars in nearby Building C. ApartmentFest04 is unrivaled and promises to be the biggest in the history of the SFAA, with attorneys and mortgage brokers as well as numerous vendors such as pest control and security experts offering services to all our apartment owners.

Vendor booths and sponsorships are still available for SFAA Associate Members and any other businesses interested in targeting up to 35,000 potential new customers. For trade show vendor sales, please call Jennifer Finlay at 415-255-2288 ext. 10 or email jennifer@sfaa.org.

Congratulations
SFAA is proud to announce the appointment of Executive Director Janan New to the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC). The NPC is a coalition of community-based park groups actively involved in improving neighborhood parks throughout San Francisco. NPC networks with park volunteers, providing them with direction and support in organizing and advocacy, fundraising and public outreach, scheduling park clean-ups, and planning special events such as concerts and festivals. Believing that healthy parks and recreational programs are important to the city’s rental housing industry, New explains that, “Quality-of-life issues are the key to attracting and retaining high-quality tenants to San Francisco.”

More Congratulations & Thank You
Former SFAA treasurer and board member Jim Hurley has been appointed by Mayor Newsom to serve on the City’s Rent Board Commission. A Certified Public Accountant by trade, Hurley played a major role a few years ago in SFAA’s transformation into a professional trade organization for the city’s apartment owners. He replaces Bart Murphy as the Landlord Alternate on the commission. Mr. Murphy, a current member of the SFAA Board, has been promoted to full Commissioner, replacing long-time Commissioner Merrie Turner Lightner.

San Francisco’s rental housing community owes Lightner a big thank you for her many years of dedicated work on behalf of the industry. A past president of SFAA, Lightner served for 10 years as the Landlord Commissioner on the Rent Board. An enthusiastic supporter of property rights both on a local and statewide level, Lightner has tirelessly served as a civic volunteer, a member of the SFAA board and an industry leader.

Security Deposit Interest Rate Legislation Passed out of Land Use Committee
Legislation amending San Francisco’s Security Deposit Interest Law is continuing to wind its way through City Hall. Approved by the Land Use Committee of the Board of Supervisors in late April, the proposal to peg interest payments to the Federal Reserve’s Six-Month CD rate is not expected to receive any opposition at the full Board of Supervisors. If approved, the rate would be set at 1.2 percent, retroactive to March 1, 2004.

CAA Legislative Conference - May 25, 2004
Members of SFAA are encouraged to attend the California Apartment Association’s Legislative Conference in Sacramento this month. This event provides members with a great opportunity to meet with state legislators and discuss rent control and upcoming landlord-tenant legislation. The association has arranged for a bus to transport members to and from Sacramento. For more information, please call SFAA at 415-255-2288.

Window Pains
San Francisco’s Planning Department is working on strict guidelines for window replacements in the city (please see the article on page 10). Interested parties in the proposal should contact Tom Katz, owner of Bob and Tom’s Windows at 415-468-5501.