EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE OF THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL BUILDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
HOMEBUILDing
REMODELED The recession is leading many homebuilders to experiment with remodeling
Also in this Issue: Celebrity Chefs
MAY/JUNE 2011
Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association 1738 Elton Road, Suite 200 Silver Spring, MD 20903 Phone (301) 445-5400 Fax (301) 445-5499 E-mail: communications@mncbia.org Website: www.mncbia.org 2011 Executive Committee Martin J. Mitchell President
Frank Bossong, IV P.E., Associate Vice President
Rick Bailey Vice President/Calvert Co.
Steve Nardella Treasurer
Doug Meeker Vice President/Charles Co.
Dave Lunden Vice President, State Legislative/Secretary
Robert J. Spalding Vice President/Montgomery Co.
BUILDING
IN MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON, DC Representing Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland and Washington, DC
FEATURES
William Shipp Life Director
Hillary Colt Vice President/ Prince George’s Co.
Edward R. Curley III Immediate Past President
John B. Norris, III Vice President/St. Mary’s Co.
Stephen P. Elmendorf Legal Counsel
Brian “A.J.” Jackson Vice President/Washington, DC
Diane K. Swenson Executive Vice President
2011 Board of Directors
Mark Macfarland Tom Marshall Pete Mellits Stephen Paul Jim Plazak Steve Robins Marc Rose Gary Rubino Michael Schueler Charlene Thayer Clark Wagner Peggy White Carter Willson
Brian Afnan Hugh Carroll Chuck Covell Mike Conley Tony Crane Timothy Dugan Ken Dunn Lynn Elahi Mary Giles Tom Hyde Robert A. Jacobs Howard Katz David Little
MNCBIA Staff Executive Vice President - Diane K. Swenson, JD, CAE Communications Manager - Kelly H. Grudziecki Financial Services Manager - Linda Groft Director of Government Affairs - F. Hamer Campbell, Jr. Associate Director/Government Affairs Robert Kaufman Associate Director/Regulatory Affairs Annette T. Rosenblum Membership/Events Director Jean Mathis BDGG Manager Lisa Goheen Program Manager - Home Builders Care Foundation Patricia B. Kane
May/June 2011
5 Homebuilding Remodeled A Different Kind of Business
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8 Celebrity Chefs Food, Fun & Networking
DEPARTMENTS
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4 A Message from the President 11 The Legal Pad 12 The Engineer’s Angle 13 MNCBIA Membership News
MNCBIA’s Most Wanted List
STARS Club
New Members 14 Events Calendar
8 Published for: Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association 1738 Elton Road, Suite 200 Silver Spring, Maryland 20903 301 445-5400 Fax: 301 445-5499 E-mail: building@mncbia.org Website: www.mncbia.org
Published by:
E&M Consulting, Inc. 80 West 78th Street, Suite #230 Chanhassen, MN 55317 800-572-0011 Fax: 952-294-9944 Website: www.emconsultinginc.com Published April 2011 MNC-S0210/9844
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FROM THE PRESIDENT
“Where are the Builders?”
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Martin J. Mitchell
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n several occasions in the last few years, Associate members have asked me, “Where are the Builders?” The BIA has tried many different types of social events, but consistently fewer builder members have been in attendance than in the past. This has frustrated some of our Associate members. Take a minute and think about the many highly motivated and involved builders and board members that you have known throughout the past 10 years that are currently no longer in business. Some of these members were the “heart and soul” of MNCBIA and they were taken down by this housing depression. Those builders who are still in business are hanging on, along with our Associate partners, by the skin of their teeth. It is a constant battle to work through deals that have seen 30 percent, 50 percent or even more value reductions. The pressure and stress from all angles can be overwhelming. About two years ago, one of Mitchell & Best’s advisors asked me if I had “deal fatigue,” based on all of the restructurings we had in process. At the time, I didn’t know exactly what he meant because making deals is what builders do. He explained that if you didn’t have at least one person in an organization that thrived on making deals, it would be impossible to get to the other side of this recession. Our Associate Members may not be working through land deals, but I anticipate they are working their way through other types of contractual commitments to survive. Now that we are four years into this recession, I understand what that consultant meant and how you have to keep pushing forward and know that eventually things will start to turn in the right direction. Leadership is required, but we must all work together as a team for our Association to survive. In addition to hibernation, other places you may find many builders is in Annapolis or Washington, DC, continuing to lobby, alongside many of our Associate Members, against the unprecedented attacks on our industry. Did you know that our Governor recently testified that now is a good time to put regulations and restrictions on the building community that will make it impossible to meet demand in the future because the building industry is so far in the hole, another regulation should not make much of a difference? In early February I attended a dinner sponsored by the MSBA in Annapolis with the House Environmental Matters Committee. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk to the legislators in a different atmosphere, (as opposed to testifying before them). That event proved very important because our industry had many issues before that Committee, including the Governor’s ban on septic fields. On February 24, many of our members were back in Annapolis for BIA’s Board Meeting and Legislative Day. The importance of showing our faces, and the Homes=Jobs buttons we all wore, cannot be overstated. And we were able to see MSBA’s Katie Maloney, Steve Seawright, MSBA President, Tom
BUILDING IN MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON, DC
Farasy, and the “Oracle of Builders,” Roger Lebbin, as well as many others in action; fighting for the survival of our industry. MNCBIA can also be proud of our strong showing on March 11 in Annapolis for the hearings on the Governor’s Septic Ban. Katie and MSBA’s lobbying firm, Gordon Feinblatt did a wonderful job getting the septic ban bill sent to Summer Review. The “facts” presented by the Governor were very similar to those presented by EPA a few years ago. Most of you probably remember that the 2007 SWM regulations were pushed through based on an EPA statement claiming that from 1990-2000 the population in the Bay Watershed went up by eight percent and the impervious area went up by 41 percent. MSBA and MNCBIA paid for studies that proved the population actually went up by 10 percent and the impervious area by 14 percent during that time. The Summer Review of the Governor’s septic ban will allow us to present factual information demonstrating that the bill will do little more than reduce choice and increase housing costs, without a significant benefit to the Bay. I also want to thank all those Builder and Associate members who attended our joint Executive/Board Meeting on March 16 at the National Housing Center. Upon the completion of our meetings, MNCBIA made a strong showing on Capitol Hill with other members of NAHB. Thank you to Diane for coordinating the use of Congressman Hoyer’s Conference room, which allowed us to meet with Senator Cardin, Congressman Sarbanes and the staff for all of the other MD representatives, (except Senator Mikulski.) A few members were also able to catch Congressman Van Hollen in the hall and we hope to set up a formal meeting with him in the weeks to come. To ensure Senator Mikulski did not feel left out, several of us were given a guided tour through the tunnels of DC, including the tram, from the House Buildings to the Senate Building, by way of the Capitol Building, to drop off BIA’s legislative materials to Senator Mikulski. So, if you find yourself asking the question, “Where are the BIA Members, and in particular, the Builders?” remember that many of them are out fighting for survival or fighting for the industry in Annapolis or Washington, DC. Having said all of this, I strongly encourage my fellow builders to redouble their support of MNCBIA by attending the many upcoming networking events and especially the PROS Awards in June. We have made it easier and less expensive to attend, so join your friends and colleagues at an MNCBIA event coming to a location near you soon! m
Homebuilding Remodeled
courtesy of Case Design/Remodeling, Inc.
The recession is leading many homebuilders to experiment with remodeling. They are finding it to be an entirely different kind of business. By Michael Fickes
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hinking about getting into the remodeling business or adding a remodeling specialty? You may want to think twice. Competition among the nation’s 650,000 (according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies) remodeling companies, always fierce, has grown even fiercer during the recession. Like all businesses, remodeling has suffered from the recession. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the industry grossed $116 billion in 2010, down from $146 billion in 2006 during the housing boom. Despite the competition and down market, quite a few homebuilding companies have turned to remodeling in the hopes of rebuilding their recessionbattered companies. “I’m seeing many homebuilders trying to make the transition to remodeling,” says Mark Paskell, president of The Contractor Coaching Partnership, a Sterling, MA-based firm that trains contractors working in the residential homeowner market. “The problem these builders must come to terms with is that homebuilding is an altogether different kind of business than remodeling.” Remodelers pursue different business development and sales strategies, and once they land a project the work itself is different than the work of building a house. “Homebuilders sell a finished product, a house,” says Bruce Case, president of Case Design/Remodeling, Inc. in Bethesda. “But homeowners don’t come to us for a product. They come to us with ideas, goals and needs that can be
achieved by following different paths. We’re selling a service that helps them to figure out what they want and how to get it.” Homebuilders sell a product, agrees David Lupberger, who owns The Remodelers Turnkey Program, a consulting firm based in Boulder, CO. Remodelers sell the experience of remodeling. “A remodeling project is an emotional rollercoaster for a homeowner,” continues Lupberger, who is the author of Managing the Emotional Homeowner: The Remodeler’s Guide to Happy Customers. “It is a remodeler’s job to guide homeowners through the remodeling process, from start to finish. That is done most effectively by setting clear expectations for a homeowner and managing those expectations throughout the entire project.” Successful remodelers work closely with homeowners throughout the entire process of designing, estimating, building, refining and finishing a project. “It is like tailoring a suit, while the person is wearing it,” Case observes. “You and the homeowner are always together.” The Design-Build Remodeling Model Homebuilders typically work from existing plans. Custom homebuilders may participate in design more than production builders. Still, custom home design differs from remodeling design. “Suppose a homeowner asks a remodeler to redo the kitchen,” says Paskell. “Working with the homeowner’s budget, the remodeler and the homeowner
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“Remodeling design is a process of discovery for a homeowner,” says Mark Scott, President of Mark Scott Builders, a Bethesda-based remodeling firm. “There are hundreds of ways to remodel a kitchen.” The design process helps the homeowner decide on specifics. “Homeowners doing remodeling projects usually have some tolerance for seeing prices that are over budget,” Scott continues. “Part of the process is to discuss options that come up along the way. Sometimes a homeowner will like an option so much that the budget will go up.” The Building Phase of Remodeling The building phase of remodeling, called lead carpenter production, differs from conventional homebuilding too. A lead carpenter employed by the remodeler serves as project manager on a remodeling job, Paskell says. As soon as a project is awarded, the remodeler provides the lead carpenter with a critical-path schedule. “The lead carpenter directs the work, oversees the ordering and delivery of materials, manages and schedules the work courtesy of David Lupberger, owner, The Remodelers Turnkey Program, www.TurnkeyProgram.com. of trades and reports progress to the homeowner in regular meetings,” says Paskell. might select cabinets, countertops and flooring and work out a design. The carpenter takes care of the paperwork including reports on Alternatively, the homeowner might ask an architect to develop the design.” the progress of the job, expense reports and budget updates. Next, the remodeler must price out the design and present a revised Permitting falls to the lead carpenter as well. He or she must acquire the permits and make sure that all related inspections are carried out. “...homebuilding is an altogether Finally, the lead carpenter must manage the work in a house where a family lives. The schedule must allow private time for the family in the mornings and different kind of business than time to clean up the construction area before quitting for the day, which might be around the time family members begin returning home from work and school. remodeling.” Schedules must be worked out between the remodeler and the family. Likewise, the carpenter must sometimes tamp down the behavior of suppliers budget. Along the way, facets of design might change, adding to or subtracting and subcontractors. It’s a family’s home, not a site in a housing development. from the budget.
Sales and Marketing Unlike homebuilders, remodelers must market for prospects and then sell, sell, sell. “Word of mouth is great,” says Mark Paskell, president of The Contractor Coaching Partnership, a Sterling, MA-based firm that trains homebuilders and remodelers. “But word of mouth isn’t enough anymore. If your marketing and sales skills don’t match your craftsmanship, you are stuck in today’s world.” The goal of marketing is to attract qualified prospects with targeted advertising. These days, it isn’t enough to advertise in the yellow pages, newspapers and magazines. “You can develop a mix of these things that is appropriate for your market,” Paskell says. “But the most important marketing step involves creating an excellent online presence.” An online presence includes a Website that shows off your work,
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explains your services, and probably offers a blog that you update regularly. The Website may include links to your firm’s Facebook page, which in turn directs Facebook friends back to your Website. When your marketing program turns up qualified prospects, it is time to start selling. Unlike marketing, selling is personal. It is talking to a prospect and his or her family, forming relationships, getting to know what is important to everyone involved and finding a way to put your business together with the family’s wants and needs. If you don’t know anything about marketing, advertising, creating a Web presence and selling take some courses before you move forward with plans to get into remodeling.
Remodeling Projects According to surveys conducted by the NAHB, remodeling projects, in order of popularity are: Bathroom
Decks
Kitchen
Insurance repair
Window and door replacement
Roof repair and replacement
Basic repair and maintenance services
Basement finishing Siding
Additions Whole house remodeling
Adding or enclosing a porch
NAHB also reports that more than half of the nation’s 125 million existing single-family homes were built before the development of key effective energy efficiency techniques.
Remodeling Niches While full time remodelers by and large discourage the practice, several local homebuilders have successfully incorporated remodeling into their businesses. “We don’t classify ourselves,” says Josh Rosenthal, who owns Cabin John Builders, LLC in Cabin John, MD. “I tell people that we’re custom builders, meaning that we take a custom approach to construction. About seven or eight of every 10 projects that we do are remodeling. The other two or three projects are houses. Revenues from each side of the business are about equal.” Among the remodeling specialties that Rosenthal pursues are universal design projects for homeowners who want to “age in place.” Another specialty is whole-house renovation. Cabin John’s market is in lower Montgomery County, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia. Many established neighborhoods in these areas have hundred-year old homes in need of renovations. “We’ll redo the kitchen, update the plumbing, add central air, put in new flooring, paint and generally make an old house new,” he says. Jeffrey Robins started a custom homebuilding business in 1984 and added remodeling to his offerings after the downturn of 1991. “Many custom builders think about remodeling but don’t want to work with customers around all the time,” he says. “I found that I like it. Currently the managing member of Rockville-based Jeffco Remodeling, LLC, Robins continues to build several custom homes per year while handling 20 to 30 remodeling projects. Jeffco’s remodeling niches include aging in place and green remodeling — Robins is an NAHB certified green professional. “I don’t think it’s time for green remodeling yet,” Robins says. “Homeowners often say they want to be green, but when they see the prices they say no. We have few clients who will pay for it.” The company has completed two large fire restoration projects but doesn’t do many. Jeffco also handles kitchen, bathroom and whole house remodeling projects. Like many remodelers today, Jeffco also offers a full range of homemaintenance and repair services. These and other niches including replacement work (roofs, siding, sidewalks, etc.) government contracting and insurance work are open to remodelers. Still interested in remodeling? The NAHB estimates that the remodeling market will improve significantly this year and next, projecting an increase in revenues of $3 billion to $119 billion this year and $131 billion in 2012. Maybe it is time to remodel your business. In an effort to continually support our members’ needs, MNCBIA formed a Remodelers’ Council. To learn more contact Diane Swenson at 301-445-5401. m
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CELEBRITY CHEFS Food, Fun & Networking
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he ballroom at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, MD was transformed into a sprawling buffet as nearly 200 people ate and drank their way through MNCBIA’s annual Celebrity Chefs night this past March. Still going strong after more than 10 years, Celebrity Chefs is a way to connect our Associate members with our Builder members in a fun, casual environment. And what better way to bring people together then with good food and drink. A highlight of this year’s event was the “Celebrity Chefs Cooking Challenge” that had competitors battling it out to see who would be crowned Top Chef. Our celebrity judges included, world-renowned Chef Francois Dionot, Founder, Owner and Director of L’Academie de Cuisine, the premier culinary school in the Washington area, plus Tom Farasy and Kristy Mitchell Sullivan, two of MNCBIA’s past presidents who sampled two dozen unique dishes ranging from Bourbon Salmon to Baklava. Taking home third place in the Challenge was The Care of Trees with their cowboyinspired BBQ, second place went to Mitchell & Best Homebuilders, LLC for their decadent Rum Soaked Bread Pudding and the 2011 Top Chef was Bozzuto Homes for their south of the border Enchiladas. Adding more fun to the evening was the door prize drawing. BIA member Washington Gas generously donated a Keurig coffee machine, which was won by Ravi Malviya of Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. And Home Builders Care Foundation boosted the excitement level, and put the fun in fundraising, by hosting a 50/50 Raffle. The winner was Bob Spalding of Miller & Smith Homes who donated the majority of his $260 winnings back to HBCF. Many of the same builder chefs have returned year after year, and we thank them all for their support over the years. They have made Celebrity Chefs what it is today, one of MNCBIA’s favorite and most well-attended events. Our “Celebrity Builder Chefs” this year included Artery Development, Bozzuto Homes, Covell Communities, D R Horton Inc., Elm Street Development, Kettler Brothers Homes, LLC, Liberty Home Builder Inc., Mid-Atlantic Builders, Inc., Miller & Smith Homes, Mitchell & Best Homebuilders, LLC, Pleasants Development, Inc. and Winchester Homes Inc. Not to be outdone, a number of our Associate members presented exciting and informative exhibit tables, and some even took on the role of chef. Thank you to our Associate member participants including, Amberlea Photography & Design, Bonder Builders Warranty Group, Builders Mutual Insurance Co., The Care of Trees, christopher consultants, ltd., Dewberry, Fireside Hearth & Home, Georgetown Insurance Service Inc., Geo-Technology Associates, Inc., Greenhorne & O’Mara, Inc., Hercules Fence of MD, LLC, Kim Engineering, Loiderman Soltesz Associates, Inc., Macris, Hendricks & Glascock, PC, McMillan Metro, P.C., Metropolitan Fire Protection, NAI-The Michael Companies, Segmental Wall Specialists Inc., Sport Systems, Inc., Village Settlements and Washington Gas. Of course lots of work goes into planning this event and many thanks are owed to these members of the Celebrity Chefs Committee, Chair, Rob Brock, Masters, Inc. and Lynn Elahi, Washington Gas, with MNCBIA staff support by Jean Mathis and Kelly Grudziecki.
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Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Questions: Contact Jean Matis at 301-445-5411 or jmathis@mncbia.org
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The Legal Pad PlanMaryland Remakes the Development Landscape By Erica A. Leatham, Ballard Spahr, LLP
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he State of Maryland will soon release PlanMaryland, the first statewide land use plan and a point of controversy for those concerned that it usurps local authority and will restrict reasonable growth outside of developed areas. Undeniably, the plan will have a far-reaching effect on new development and redevelopment across the State. But so, too, will the next two decades of growth that it anticipates. PlanMaryland is based on the 12 planning “Visions” of the “Smart, Green & Growing” legislation, signed into law in May 2009. It was developed in conjunction with a two-year “listening tour,” during which the State gathered ideas from stakeholders, including developers, citizens, and government officials. With the release, expected in May 2011, additional comments will be taken at a series of Open Houses for the document and integrated into the final plan, to be released in fall 2011.
The Smart, Green and Growing Visions are: • Development of sustainable communities and protection of the environment • Enabling and encouraging public participation • Concentrating growth in or adjacent to existing population and business centers, any new centers should be selected strategically • Creation of compact, mixed-use walkable communities compatible with the existing community character and readily accessible to public transit opportunities • Ensuring that growth areas have access to water resources and infrastructure to accommodate population and business centers in an “orderly, efficient, and environmentally sustainable manner” • Development of a multi-modal, “well-maintained” transportation system • Creation of a range of housing types and densities serving citizens of all ages and incomes • Encouraging economic development and natural resource-based businesses that promote employment opportunities for all income levels within the capacity of the State’s natural resources, public services, and public facilities • Protection of land and water resources, including the Chesapeake Bay, to “restore and maintain” the natural environment • Conservation of waterways, forests, agricultural areas, open space, natural systems and scenic areas • Collaboration of businesses, government and residents to balance growth and resource protection • Development of strategies, policies, programs, and funding for growth and development, resource conservation, infrastructure, and transportation to integrate across the local, regional, state, and interstate levels to achieve these Visions
jurisdictions. In particular, the supposition that the Visions must be integrated into all new local land use plans has generated much comment. To the extent that counties and municipalities have not been focused on “smart growth” and environmental sustainability, they will have to refocus their plans to accommodate the new governing standards. In some jurisdictions, this will represent a radical and, possibly controversial, shift in planning strategy. Similar to the controversy over the Governor’s proposed septic limitation, developers and communities fear that implementation of the Visions will severely curtail the opportunity to build communities outside of established population centers. Likewise, the same parties, as well as the local jurisdictions, point out that not all of the residents will either want to live in those established areas, or that there is truly the ability to develop or redevelop in those areas. By definition, these areas are already established and infill development is predicated on finding land that can be taken out of service. In response, the State allows that keeping Maryland healthy – from its environment to its economy – is dependant upon not overtaxing the natural resources and infrastructure; where solutions can be found to maintain the environment and utilize existing infrastructure, new development would be permitted. State officials have insisted that PlanMaryland does not require the implementation of any new State programs and that local decision makers retain autonomy, but local authorities are naturally concerned. Critics have targeted against the plan as a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, the form of compact and walkable communities in Montgomery County would necessarily differ from that on the Eastern Shore. Responding to this critique, the Plan allows the counties and municipalities to continue to author their own master plans to address local circumstances. Therefore, the ability of each jurisdiction to integrate the Visions in the land use plans unique to their communities will be key to PlanMaryland’s success. To the dismay of many jurisdictions, the Plan does not offer any new programs or funds to develop such solutions or to integrate the Visions within the jurisdictions’ established land use. Rather, the emphasis is on coordinating existing State-level programs related to Transit Oriented Development and environmental restoration. In the event that local programs contradict State goals, the jurisdictions are responsible for resolving those conflicts. Despite any criticism, most stakeholders agree that PlanMaryland is necessary to guide redevelopment and new development in a systematic and sustainable way by utilizing existing programs and infrastructure. As evidence that such guidance is needed, PlanMaryland reminds its readers that over the next 20 years, the State is expected to grow by 1 million people, 400,000 households, and 600,000 jobs. m Erica A. Leatham of Ballard Spahr, LLP, concentrates in the areas of zoning and land use and real estate taxation appeals. She is a LEED AP and represents clients in zoning and land use matters before various administrative boards and commissions.
From the beginning, developers, government officials, and citizens raised concerns that the State was hijacking land use decisions traditionally left to local
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The Engineer’s Angle The Limitations of Impervious Limits By Andrew T. Der, Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP
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he relationship of impervious surfaces to nonpoint source runoff has been in the forefront of water resource regulation and conservation for many years, especially as a planning tool for watershed compliance as well as the basis for TMDL projections and even some NPDES MS4 conditions. Research indeed shows a relationship between increasing levels of impervious cover and decreasing water quality conditions in receiving streams, and modeling the effects of pre-existing impervious areas with little or no stormwater management can be effective. But does the presence of newer or projected impervious surface in and of itself degrade a receiving stream to a known and inevitable degree? The answer is not so simple in today’s rigorously regulated new development, which is subject to newer federal and state criteria of effectively disconnecting and buffering critical flows. If flow is to be disconnected or, as in Maryland, offset to “woods in good condition”, then requesting EPA to reconsider its inconsistent impervious surface-dependant projections and assumptions regarding TMDL goals is reasonable. What can be variable is the degree of impairment relative to impervious cover at the site level, which can vary significantly depending on numerous site-specific characteristics such as the extent and nature of best management practices (BMPs), subsurface soils, type of project, location of any impervious cover, the pre-existing quality of the water resource, etc. More effort and supplemental approaches are needed to appropriately project the effects of impervious cover accurately for an individual project. While high levels of older impervious cover are historically correlated with impaired stream conditions, low imperviousness is only weakly correlated with unimpaired stream conditions. In other words, the absence of imperviousness does not guarantee high quality stream conditions and using impervious cover alone to predict compliance goals or stream condition has limitations. Historic land use is also a key factor in stream quality and, even in areas where riparian buffers and significant forest cover exist; stream quality may be poor due to lack of any previous stormwater management or a predominance of historic agricultural practices. Single indicators, such as impervious cover do not alone account for the numerous other factors affecting stream quality in some watersheds. For example, some areas potentially subject to impervious caps are already developed without controls or BMPs and any type of retrofit as part of re-development would be a potential water quality benefit. Further, the majority of watershed studies cited to justify the use of impervious modeling and caps as a desktop tool were associated with older developed areas with little or no stormwater management. Projecting effects of impervious surfaces in the present must be done in terms of effective impervious cover – or the runoff that actually will reach a stream after setback buffering and environmental site design (ESD) to the maximum extent practicable (MEP). We simply do not pipe stormwater runoff directly to streams anymore without appropriate management as was done back then.
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If impervious surface modeling alone is conclusive enough to establish policy and regulatory decisions based on the area of existing or projected surfaces, one then could conversely and logically argue if impervious cover is under any established threshold, then no stormwater management of any kind is necessary – but we know better. Utilizing impervious cover in water quality management and watershed studies can be an effective tool in our toolbox but should be used in conjunction with other technical principles. For example, in certain situations, managing watersheds via impervious surface criteria may actually be incompatible at the project level if clustering areas might conflict with ESD to the MEP approaches of dividing up drainage within an intermittent and fragmented impervious layout. Another artificiality of a desktop approach is, if a given development plan exceeds an established impervious cover limit determined by percentage of the property area, an additional contiguous property or parcel can be acquired to combine with the property. This increases the total project limit acreage and raises the corresponding limit so the exact same project imperviousness is now less than the percent threshold. The impervious area is exactly the same as before but now is considered “safe” – yet the stream does not know the difference. The effective modeling of impervious surface effects in a watershed cannot be static and must account for numerous other factors such as pre-existing property character, actual applicable watershed boundaries, offsite influences, and master plan goals and zoning. Such factors need to be considered in setting goals and decision making rather than default to the single desktop indicator of existing impervious surface as the primary planning tool. Such an approach must also include a baseline reference of pre-existing conditions to provide valid relative growth projections while characterizing impervious cover as effective versus non-effective. Stream impairment relative to impervious cover is an important consideration but using this approach as the primary basis of sweeping regulatory decisions is overly simplistic. m Andrew Der is an Associate and Director of Environmental Services at Whitman Requardt & Associates, LLP and practiced in the consulting industry since 2001 previously completing 18 years of service at the Maryland Department of the Environment. He can be reached at 443-224 1824 or ader@WRALLP.com.
BUILDING IN MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON, DC
MNCBIA Membership New Members & Reinstatements (2/1/11 to 3/31/11) BUILDERS
ASSOCIATES
Acker & Sons Inc. Plumbing Contractor 10516 Summitt Ave. Kensington, MD 20895 Ph: 301-897-0700 Fax: 301-897-0847 racker@ackerandsons.com Sponsor: Kristy Mitchell
Masco Home Services Builder Services Jay Murdoch 91208 Shelton St. Bethesda, MD 20718 Ph: 386-547-3096 jay.murdoch@mascohs.com Sponsor: Marty Mitchell
Augustine Land & Development Inc. Builder/Developer 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 229 Fredericksburg, VA 22406 Ph: 540-372-7770 Fax: 540-710-5649 smigliore@augustinehomes.com Sponsor: Roger Lebbin
Eagle Bank Mortgage Banking Jason Slaughter 12505 Park Potomac Ave Potomac, MD 20854 Ph: 240-406-1148 Fax: 301-841-9795 jslaughter@eaglebankcorp.com Sponsor: Tanya Themistokleous
Segmental Wall Specialists, Inc. Landscape Contractors Jim Weber 11111 Industrial Rd. Manassas, VA 20109 Ph: 703-361-4040 Fax: 703-393-6509 jweber@segmentalwall.com Sponsor: Bill Bilo
AB Construction, Inc. Builder/Developer Paul Dolan 9450 Annapolis Rd. Lanham, MD 20706 Ph: 301-306-3091 Fax: 301-306-3192 paul.dolan@abconstructioninc.com Sponsor: Marty Mitchell
Foxhall Homes, LLC Builder/Developer Michael P. Villa 10525 Aubinoe Farm Dr. Bethesda, MD 20814 Ph: 240-242-7550 Fax: 301-530-4048 mvilla@foxhallhomes.com Sponsor: Joseph C. Smith
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Engineering/Planning & Design Daniel E. Pino 7201 Wisconsin Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814 Ph: 240-383-3700 Fax: 240-383-3701 dan.pino@kimley-horn.com Sponsor: Peggy White
Universal Designers & Consultants, Inc. Architects Kim Ludwig 6 Grant Ave. Takoma Park, MD 20912 Ph: 301-270-2470 Fax: 301-270-8199 kludwig@udconsultants.com Sponsor: Marty Mitchell
MNCBIA’s Most Wanted List
Listed here are firms whose membership in MNCBIA has lapsed in recent months. WE WANT THEM BACK! Please encourage these companies to reinstate their membership. Capital Bank • Dan Ryan Builders Inc. • Dow Solutions • InSight Marketing • JBG • K B Homes • King Electric Inc. • Patriot Land and Wildlife Management Services • Richmond America • The Washington Examiner • The Washington Post
STARS Club (as of April 1, 2011)
The special members of MNCBIA’s STARs Club allow the Association to provide better services for your benefit, to function effectively, to continue special events dedicated to excellent networking and to strengthen our Advocacy program.
GOLD
DGG-MC Elm Street Development Hanley Wood Market Intelligence Linowes and Blocher NVR, Inc. Pleasants Development
SILVER
Acacia Federal Savings Bank BB &T Bank Georgetown Insurance Services, Inc. Loiederman Soltesz Associates, Inc. McMillan Metro, P.C. Miles & Stockbridge
Rodgers Consulting Winchester Homes
BRONZE
Baker Tilly Ballard Spahr Bank of America Burgess & Niple EYA Gutschick Little & Weber, P.A. Holland & Knight Lerch Early & & Brewer CHTD. Mid-Atlantic Builders, Inc. Reznick Group Sandy Spring Bank
Shulman Rogers St. Charles Community Steuart-Kret Homes, Inc.
FRIEND
Bowman Consulting Bozzuto Group Charles P. Johnson & Associates christopher consultants ltd Columbia Bank Craftmark Homes Dewberry DICO Furey Doolan & Abell LLP Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.
Kettler Brothers K Hovnanian Homes Liberty Home Builder, Inc. M&T Bank Macris, Hendricks & Glascock, P.A. McLaren Engineering Group Michael Harris Homes Mitchell & Best Homebuilders, LLC. Miller & Smith O’Malley, Miles, Nylen & Gilmore Ward & Klein Washington Gas
BUILDING IN MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON, DC
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MAY/JUNE 2011
13
Events Calendar 9
MAY 2011 3
Custom & Small Builders Council meeting
WSSC Liaison Committee meeting Executive Committee meeting
13
4 Development Review Process Subcommittee [DRPS] Environmental Committee meeting
Summer Golf Tournament
14 Real Estate Finance Committee meeting
6 Prince George’s Liaison Committee meeting MNCBIA’s 3rd Annual Tennis Classic
11 Judging for PROS Awards Green Building Committee meeting Codes & Standards Committee meeting
15 Montgomery County Liaison Committee meeting Charles County Liaison Committee & Chamber PGM Committee meeting
16 Home Builders Care Foundation board meeting
23
12 Judging for PROS Awards WSSC Liaison Committee meeting
Board of Directors meeting
17
Record Plat Committee at P&P
New Members Only Committee meeting
28 29 Membership Committee meeting
18 Montgomery County Liaison Committee meeting Calvert/St. Mary’s County Joint Liaison Committee meeting Charles Liaison & Chamber PGM Committee meeting
19 Home Builders Care Foundation Board meeting Joint Executive Committee/Board of Directors meeting
25 Membership Committee meeting
26
Membership Dinner featuring the Custom Builder Awards
30 MNCBIA Closed for Memorial Day
31 Record Plat Committee at P&P
JUNE 2011 1
Environmental Committee meeting
3 Prince George’s County Liaison Committee meeting
7
11th Annual PROS Awards
8 Green Building Committee meeting Codes & Standards Committee meeting
14
MAY/JUNE 2011 |
BUILDING IN MARYLAND AND WASHINGTON, DC
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Appliance Distributors Unlimited, Inc......... Back Cover Bowman Consulting..................................... Page 7 CAS Engineering...................................... Page 13 General Electric......................................... Page 15 JG Landscaping.......................................... Page 7 Lighthouse Property Management, Ltd............ Page 9 Linowes and Blocher LLP........................... Page 14 Monument Bank....................................... Page 10 Norton Land Design................................... Page 12 Shulman Rogers....................................... Page 10 Vintage Security.......................................... Page 2
1738 Elton Road, Suite 200 Silver Spring, MD 20903