In recent weeks, President Joe Biden unveiled two momentous plans that are part of his "Build Back Better" agenda. The American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan are designed with important goals in mind, but the proposals come with significant costs that could result in consequential tax changes and have a tremendous impact on the commercial real estate industry.

We’re at the beginning of the legislative process for these proposals, and there are months of negotiations ahead of us. As a leader in your chapter, we wanted to ensure you are aware of the issues and how NAIOP will be involved throughout the process.

NAIOP’s team on Capitol Hill will be working with Congress to help preserve existing tax treatments that have supported a healthy and vibrant commercial real estate industry so that we can continue to be a leading contributor to U.S. GDP, create valuable jobs, and build communities.

The following are the major tax proposals in the plans:

On May 6, 2021, Marcus Jones, Charlotte City Manager, released a memo providing an update on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.  Included is a link to the 650+ comments from the community and the next steps.  The timeline continues to move toward a release of the second draft of the plan on May 19 with a potential vote by the City Council on June 21.  To access more information:

• City Manager Memo - https://naiopc.memberclicks.net/assets/Manager%27s%20Memo%20-%20Comp%202040%20Plan.pdf
• City of Charlotte Comprehensive Plan Site - https://cltfuture2040.com/
• REBIC information on the 2040 Plan - https://www.rebic.com/2040-plan
• Public Comments – https://www.cltfuture2040plan.com/
• GetItRightCLT Campaign - https://getitrightclt.com/

Originally published on May 5, 2021, by Toby Burke for NAIOP E-Newsletter

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire country and the world. Most state and local governments in the United States issued stay-at-home orders and imposed business restrictions on nonessential services to slow the spread of the virus. This caused an economic slowdown that initially concerned many state and local lawmakers.

Revenue projections from various sectors, such as restaurants, tourism and the entertainment industry, were lowered. Budgets were restructured to increase health services and reduce expenditures in order to maintain balance. State and local governments also turned to Washington for additional assistance, and they received it.

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Originally published on April 20, 2021, for NAIOP E-Newsletter.

Congressional committees are moving ahead with plans to hold hearings and draft legislation to implement President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal at the same time a group of Republican and centrist Democratic senators are trying to negotiate a smaller, bipartisan package. Republicans have objected to the inclusion of what they consider non-infrastructure provisions, such as $400 billion to cover care for the elderly and disabled people, in Biden’s American Jobs Plan. They also object to financing the program by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% rather than fees such as the gas tax or an alternative mechanism.

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Originally published on May 4, 2021, for NAIOP.

Last week President Joe Biden unveiled his American Families Plan to provide universal preschool, two years of free community college and a paid family and medical leave program, and to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits. The plan, estimated to cost $1.8 trillion, would be financed primarily through tax increases on investments and high-income earners. Many of the tax increases affect provisions important to commercial real estate.

View Biden Plan Tax Proposal

Both chambers of Congress return to Washington, D.C., this week from a two-week recess, prepared to begin work on President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan, an approximately $2.4 trillion package to fund infrastructure investments, research and development, clean energy tax credits, and expansion of Medicaid coverage for long-term care services, among others. Biden is scheduled to meet with Republican and Democrat leaders to begin talks on achieving a bipartisan bill, but the White House and Democrats have signaled their intent to pursue the budget reconciliation process if a bipartisan agreement is too difficult. Budget reconciliation allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually required to avoid a filibuster.

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Originally published on April 6, 2021, for NAIOP Source E-Newsletter.

President Joe Biden has unveiled his American Jobs Plan, a $2.3 trillion plan to fund infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and railways, but also what the administration terms “human infrastructure” investments in childcare, as well as measures to transform the energy sector toward a carbon-free future. In order to fund the plan, the Biden administration proposes to raise the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 28% and would seek a global minimum tax for multinational corporations.

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Originally published on March 30, 2021, for NAIOP Source E-Newsletter

President Joe Biden is expected to unveil his plans for an infrastructure and economic growth proposal amounting to nearly $4 trillion while on a visit to Pittsburgh this Wednesday. The package is expected to be divided into two parts, with the first part focused on infrastructure investments for transportation and initiatives related to Biden’s efforts to address climate change. The second package will be geared toward domestic initiatives such as national childcare programs, free community college, and universal pre-kindergarten.

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Originally published on March 9, 2021, for NAIOP E-Newsletter.

Over the weekend the U.S. Senate passed the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package backed by President Joe Biden on a partisan vote of 50-49, with all Republicans present voting against the measure. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska was not present due to a family emergency. As a result, Senate Democrats did not need a tie-breaking vote to be cast by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Senate made some modifications to an earlier version of the American Rescue Plan that had been passed by the House of Representatives, most notably omitting an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour that had been a controversial element in the House-passed bill. The House must now pass the bill with the Senate changes, which is expected this week. Democratic leaders want to get a final bill to Biden before March 14, the date when enhanced unemployment benefits expire.

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During April 17, 2020, NAIOP Charlotte Board Meeting, the following market perspectives were offered from board members:

• Construction continues to proceed. Seeing smaller work crews on-site, but not slowing progress. Not seeing material issues at this time. New deals, if capitalized, are moving forward.
• Developer and investors are hoping construction pricing to decrease as much as 20% but the construction industry is saying maybe 2%.
• Seeing construction lending delayed by 30‐60 days due to banks focusing on PPP.
• Big picture – Charlotte is still looking good to pull out of this when the time is right.
• “Uneven” based on product type and where a project is in the process.
• Retail is brutal. The only tenants that haven’t requested rent relief are grocery stores, drug stores, and quick-serve restaurants. Each answer is different. We need to look at the space and how we continue to provide a new experience in the retail of the future.
• After this, we will have a greater realization that we create community – not sure brick and mortar retail will be dead.
• On Monday (4/20), City will hold their first virtual rezoning meeting which will include public input through council members, chat, speaking upon appointment. No decline in zoning or permitting applications.
• C‐4 is a new coalition of general contractors on a call twice a week with city and county (maybe 80 people on each call). As a group, developed best practices for a safe environment.
• Many hotel owners are closing their location or 5‐15% occupancy.
• Not seeing distressed sales yet.
• In corporate America, how well offices adjust for future remote working? They are seeing some indications of 10% of remote workers to 30% remote workers. Corporations looking at hoteling and new design features. Will the old‐fashioned suburban office park may come back? New projects, looking at touchless entry for security and door entry.
• WELL program – thinks that may have a good opportunity for a future program.

Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed by a vote of 208-199 a Democratic-backed coronavirus economic recovery bill, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. House Democratic leadership drafted the legislation without Republican input and unveiled it earlier in the week, leading Republican leadership to dismiss it as a partisan exercise.

While the HEROES Act will not be taken up by the Senate, the bill serves as an important opening salvo by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as negotiations continue between the House, Senate and the Trump administration on a “Phase IV” economic stimulus bill.

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The federal government is scrambling to deliver economic help to the American economy under difficult circumstances. A key step is getting the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) up and running. SBA posted its interim final rule to govern the program last Thursday. There have been some glitches, but the SBA began granting loans last Friday, and banks are continuing to work this week to process additional loan applications. Information on the SBA’s loan programs and application information is located here.

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Senate lawmakers cancelled a planned recess and will instead remain at work in Washington, D.C., this week, where they will take up a bill passed by the House of Representatives last week that seeks to provide immediate economic relief from the effects of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. 

The House voted overwhelmingly, 363-40, to approve the measure, for which President Donald Trump had signaled support. The Wall Street Journal reported: “The new measure would still provide two weeks of sick leave to a wide swath of workers affected by the pandemic, including those who are in quarantine, caring for family members with Covid-19, and those who have children whose schools or day-care centers have closed.” The bill would also make free testing for the coronavirus available.

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Originally published on March 17, 2020. 

Senate lawmakers cancelled a planned recess and will instead remain at work in Washington, D.C., this week, where they will take up a bill passed by the House of Representatives last week that seeks to provide immediate economic relief from the effects of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. 

The House voted overwhelmingly, 363-40, to approve the measure, for which President Donald Trump had signaled support. The Wall Street Journal reported: “The new measure would still provide two weeks of sick leave to a wide swath of workers affected by the pandemic, including those who are in quarantine, caring for family members with Covid-19, and those who have children whose schools or day-care centers have closed.” The bill would also make free testing for the coronavirus available.

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The City of Charlotte is considering several changes to the Stormwater Pollution Control Ordinance (SWPCO). They include the following:

• Makes “Improper Storage, Handling, and Processing of Materials” a new and separate enforceable violation in cases where this can cause stormwater pollution; 
• Makes “Failure to Comply” with requirements and directives set forth by the Director in an enforcement remedy a new and separate enforceable violation;
• Makes “Violation of Non-Municipal NPDES Discharge Permit Limitation(s)” a new and separate enforceable violation in cases where a permittee’s discharge violates a permitted numeric discharge effluent limitation;
• Makes the use, distribution, and sale of “Coal Tar” and “High PAH” pavement sealants a new and separate enforceable violation;
• Increases the maximum potential civil penalty for each violation from $5,000 to $10,000;
• Authorizes the City to place a lien on real or personal property owned by a violator for unpaid civil penalties, administrative costs, and/or abatement costs associated with an enforcement remedy.
• Formally authorizes the Director of the department over the City’s NPDES MS4 stormwater permit to administer the SWPCO and defines responsibilities, delegates authority, and requires the development of administrative policies and procedures; and
• Makes several minor wording changes to better define the meaning of terms and phrases

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Posted on January 28, 2020

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army released the final version of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. This regulation defines the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) for purposes of determining the application of the federal Clean Water Act.

 NAIOP has strongly supported WOTUS reform that would provide greater clarity on the application of federal jurisdiction over domestic water bodies, and which would increase the predictability and consistency of government environmental permitting decisions.  NAIOP provided a comment letter to the EPA in 2019 with suggested revisions to the existing rule.

For developers and property owners, perhaps the most notable change concerns jurisdiction over ephemeral streams, which only flow intermittently, typically after rainfall. Regulation of these dry channels has been a contentious issue for years. This is especially true in more arid Western states, where they can account for the vast majority of streams, and may not see any water flow for long periods of time.

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Posted on January 23, 2020.

Today, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a final Waters of the United States rule. 

Thomas J. Bisacquino, president and CEO of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, issued the following statement upon the announcement of the regulation:

"For years, the lack of a clear definition regarding the scope of federal regulation of our nation's waters has been a costly source of confusion, delays and compliance challenges for the commercial real estate industry. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is a critical step forward and represents a reasonable approach to federal oversight that balances environmental protection with economic realities. NAIOP appreciates and commends the work of EPA and Army Corps of Engineers for addressing many of these concerns, and for developing a rule that implements commonsense streamlining measures, as well as appropriate jurisdictional definitions, among other changes."

Posted on January 29, 2020

Lawmakers return to Washington with a possible presidential impeachment trial in the Senate on their minds. But as that process plays out, policymakers are discussing other issues that are important to commercial real estate.

Just before Christmas, officials at the Treasury Department released the final round of regulations governing opportunity zones, the economic development tool designed to spur job creation and economic development in distressed or developing communities. Opportunity zones were created as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that NAIOP supported.

The final rules address questions such as:

• What types of gains may be invested and when?
• When may gains be excluded from tax after an investment is held for a 10-year period?
• How can large C Corporations invest in opportunity zones?

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Posted on January 14, 2020

The Charlotte Land Development Standards Committee has determined that various details in the CLDSM need to be revised or added as Revision No. 19 of the CLDSM. DRAFT updated details are available on the CLDSM website at https://charlottenc.gov/cldsm in a PDF marked up with revision clouds and revision notes. The projected effective date for the updated details and Revision No. 19 of the CLDSM will be January 27th, 2020. Please review the DRAFT details and provide any feedback or comments to Brendan Smith at [email protected] by January 15th, 2020.