Recycle Your Tires Day And Other Recylcing Programs that LA County Sponsors

Saturday April 20th 9am to 3pm Open to L.A. County residents. No tires from businesses, no oversized or tractor tires. Rims accepted. If you transport more than 9 tires per trip you will neec to call ahead. This is sponsored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and cleanLA.com There are other similar programs as part of the recycling programs for the county which can be found via www.cleanla.com There are Plastic Bag Programs now for Stores in unincorporated LA County are no longer allowed to provide single-use plastic carryout bags. To find out more about the County's Carryout Bag Ordinance go to cleanla.com Residential Recycling Program Find out about the County's Residential Recycling programs via this link here: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/rethinkla/ . Los Angeles County Materials Exchange (LACoMAX.com ) The Los Angeles County Materials Exchange, is a free Countywide materials reuse service that can help you find markets for your surplus materials and other usable discards. Also, Construction and Demolition Debris Projects requiring a construction, demolition, and/or grading permit must recycle at least 50% of the debris generated. Illegal Dumping is a big problem for many land owners in the valley and there is a means to report it via You can report large piles of illegally dumped trash, visit our this site: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/illdump/ There are three reasons: money, health, and the environment. It decreases property values, and costs millions in clean up cost. It further pollutes land and water ways, and ruins wildlife habitats. It is a major problem and it ends up being the responsibility of the property owner to remove the debris. If the property owners doesn’t remove the debris then the county will and they will place a lien on the property for the cost to clear up the debris.

BYD to Build Electric Bus Assembly Plant

Reprint of article By Michael Barris in New York and Wang Jun in Los Angeles (China Daily) BYD is taking its big bet on California to the next level. The Shenzhen-based producer of electric vehicles will break ground on May 1 for an assembly plant in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, to make electric buses for US and Latin American public-transportation markets. The facility will be one of only a few making electric buses in the US. Most buses in the country use diesel fuel or compressed natural gas. Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America, said Lancaster's aggressive embrace of solar energy programs was a factor in deciding to build the plant there. "They've been very green," he said. "They've been the solar capital of the United States for a while because they have such great solar resources. "The state of California has led the nation in environmental action. The California Air Resources Board is renowned across the United States for setting a very high benchmark for emissions on all vehicles." He noted that all vehicles made in the US are designed to meet California's strict emission standards. The ground-breaking ceremony will come a month after BYD won a $14 million contract to make 10 electric buses for the transit system of Long Beach, California. Under the contract partly funded by the Federal Transit Administration, BYD - which is backed by investment titan Warren Buffett - will deliver the buses in 2014. Long Beach's transit system serves about 28 million riders. The assembly operation will be located in a defunct recreational-vehicle manufacturing plant on a 13-acre site. The purchase price and other terms of the investment weren't disclosed. Austin did not specify how many jobs the project would create in Lancaster, a city of about 156,000 with an unemployment rate estimated at about 15 percent. He said in an interview that job creation would "depend on market demand for electric buses, with a ratio of one job created for each bus sold per year". The company aims to produce 50 to 100 buses in the first year. Austin said the site was ideal for BYD's purposes because all the required permits already were in place. "Literally, we have a factory that is built to suit," Austin said. "It is perfect because it launches us very quickly into manufacturing, even manufacturing starting this year." Lancaster's selection as the plant site hasn't yet been officially announced, although local media have reported it. Names of other locations that were considered weren't disclosed. When construction on the assembly plant begins, it will come a year and half after BYD opened its headquarters for the Americas in Los Angeles, a move that investors hoped would reverse a profit drop tied to weaker China vehiclesales. Since then, however, BYD's bottom line has been hit hard by a downturn in demand for the photovoltaic cells and rechargeable batteries that it also makes. The company posted a 94 percent drop in annual profit last year, amid a bleak solar market, but forecast robust profits for the first quarter of 2013. Revenue fell 4 percent. Unlike Nissan's Leaf or GM's volt electric vehicles which target the commuter market, BYD's star products are fleet vehicles. Long Beach is exploring adopting a model used in cities such as Shenzhen, where about 1,000 BYD-made buses are on the road. The buses are in service for up to 21 hours, with a range of 120 to 150 miles, then return to the garage where they receive an overnight 50-kilowatt charge from below, when public energy use generally is lower. "Even some utilities are giving them a night-time rate, so it is even cheaper to charge at night," Austin said. Annie Ye, Chair of China Enterprise Council in Los Angeles where BDY is a member, said the Chinese company's move is "exciting and positive" for local residents. "BYD is bringing new technology of making electric vehicles to California and that will for sure make contributions to the local environmental efforts," said Ye, adding the production of electric buses also will help local job creation. Austin didn't provide an estimated sale price for the buses, buthe said the cost could be as much as 50 percent higher than the price of a conventional bus. Some news reports put the price of a BYD electric bus at $550,000 to $600,000 each. "The total cost of ownership over 12 years will save a half a million dollars," when fuel savings are factored in, he said. "The more you drive your electric vehicle, the more it pays for itself, because you are saving money on fuel." Noting that some officials had criticized Long Beach for awarding the electric bus contract to a Chinese-based firm, Austin pointed out that "this is a Chinese company that has an American entity - BYD Motors is an American entity". "Half our investors are US," Austin said. "Our largest shareholder is Warren Buffett (a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns 9.56 percent of BYD). "Those buses will be built using California labor, creating California jobs to create California buses."

Lancaster California Proposing Mandatory Solar for New Homes

Reprint of Lancaster News Press Release- At its upcoming March 26, 2013 meeting, the Lancaster City Council will consider adopting a new ordinance which will require residential units built within Lancaster on or after January 1, 2014 to provide an average of 1 kilowatt (kW) of solar-generated electricity per housing unit. “Lancaster is already strongly committed to furthering green energy and reducing our carbon footprint. In fact, we’ve been nationally and internationally recognized for our solar achievements. However, to truly establish ourselves as the Alternative Energy Capital of the World, we must continue to take a progressive approach. I would like to commend our Planning Commission for this innovative revision of the Residential Zones, which will rapidly advance us towards becoming a net-zero City in record time,” remarked Mayor R. Rex Parris. The proposed new ordinance is a comprehensive revision of the City’s current Residential Zoning. The specific section addressing solar energy systems requires new single family residential units to provide solar-generated power at a minimum average of 1 kW per unit (depending on the type of lot). Installation of solar energy systems is not required for all homes within a production subdivision; however, the builder will still be required to meet the aggregate energy generation requirement within the subdivision. In addition, the proposed ordinance includes revised development standards, additional design and performance measures, infill development incentives, accessory dwelling unit requirements, provisions allowing corner duplexes, and live-work provisions. The ordinance also contains regulations to implement provisions of the City’s adopted Housing Element and current State housing law, which are necessary to comply with State law. “City Planning staff and Planning Commissioners did a great job in collaborating with the residential building industry as well as organized real estate and building trade associations to receive input and feedback during the development of this proposed ordinance,” said Planning Commission Chair, James Vose. Shortly after the adoption of the General Plan Update in 2009, City staff began initial research on the Residential Zones update. An administrative draft was released in June 2011, followed by a public draft in January 2012. Following several outreach efforts and a series of public hearings, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 13-01 on January 28, 2013, recommending to the City Council approval of the City’s Residential Zoning Ordinance. Other zoning code amendments for implementation of specific actions from the City’s Housing Element are also included in the same resolution. “The layout and design of buildings and streets comprise a crucial component of any thriving cutting-edge city. As such, to ensure that the City of Lancaster remains at the forefront of innovative and progressive design and technology, the Architectural and Design Commission conducted a comprehensive revision of the City’s previous design guidelines, creating new principles which better reflect the current design approach and philosophy,” said Mayor Parris. “This proposed ordinance also reflects Lancaster’s commitment to become a net-zero city.” The Revised Residential Zoning Ordinance will be considered by the City Council at the March 26 Council Meeting held at 5 p.m. in the Lancaster City Council Chambers (44933 N. Fern Ave).

The City of Lancaster is on a Quest to be the “Green City” as far as Energy and Recycling

A private firm, Ecolution plans to build a more than $100 million high-tech automated recycling center in the city of Lancaster instead of sending waste to landfills it reuses and recycles the waste for energy and other purposes. The 100 hundred million is said to come from private financing, and their facility is said to recycle more products than similar facilities in use and there are less labor costs. Mayor R. Rex Paris has been quoted as saying “The City of Lancaster stands to be the first Net-Zero City in America,” “I support innovative public-private partnerships which promote green energy development and maximize our available resources. The long term success of Lancaster hinges on our ability to position ourselves as a leader in alternative energy production.” According to Ecolution’s website, they have a mechanism for sorting trash that they call GreenStream, which separates waste into 20 categories of materials, including recyclables, wet and dry organic fuels, electronic waste, household hazardous waste and inert materials such as rocks, concrete and soil. This allows them the ability to collect 85% of the recyclable material that Lancaster throws away. They can turn this into energy, or a new recycled product. The project is undergoing an environmental impact report, and maybe situated in the Fox Field Enterprise Zone. The city has previously agreed to provide a forty acres area for the facility.

When Can a Buyer Buy a New Home or Land after Foreclosure or Bankruptcy?

It is not all bad as you think if you have had a Bankruptcy or Foreclosure. We found information that can help those hurt in the recent Real Estate Financial crisis. A period of time needs to elapse and you also need to retain good current credit before you can get back into the real estate market. There are some really short times frames that prior borrowers can take advantage of, Here is the breakdown. Bankruptcy Conforming and High Balance Chapter 7 The time period is four years from discharge date Conforming and High Balance Chapter 13 The time period is two years from discharge date and four years from dismissal date. FHA Standard Chapter 13, 1 year if the payout period under the BK has elapsed and the borrower’s payment performance has been satisfied with all required payments. The borrower may also have to receive written permission from the court before getting another mortgage. A FHA Standard Chapter 7 bankruptcy person will have to wait two years since the date of discharge, and must re-established good credit or no new credit. A borrower with a high balance FHA chapter 7 or 13 will have to wait seven years before entering a new mortgage, while a high balance VA loan borrower with a Chapter 7 or 13 with have to wait two years, or one year but maybe case by case before entering a new mortgage. Pre-Foreclosure or Short Sale A conforming high balance borrower will have to wait four years after the credit report date. The borrower could get up to a 90% LTV (loan to value) also. A standard FHA high balance borrower will have to wait three years while a VA borrow will wait two years. Foreclosure Conforming and High Balance borrows will need to wait seven years from the credit report date while and FHA and VA loan borrower will need to wait three and two years respectively. There you have it. This past foreclosure crisis maybe well behind many prior borrowers and each situation maybe case by case. But with the low interest rates in today’s market there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Beautiful Earth Solar Project US Treasury Cancellation and City of Lancaster Planning Extension

Beautiful Earth Group LLC is planning a solar project on 180 acres of land at Avenue H to Avenue H-8, and between 80th Street West, and 90th Street West. The construction of their 38 megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility is comprised of two19 MW solar fields in the Rural Residential zoned land (RR-2.5). Lancaster planning approved a (CUP) Conditional use permit back in November of 2010 to construct their proposed solar facility. The planning commission also recommended approval of General Plan Amendment and zone change. The City Council approved both the GPA and the Zone Change and CUP which became effective on February of 2011. Beautiful Earth Group later constructed a fence around the site area. The US Treasury 1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits. According to the US Treasury site, the purpose of the 1603 payment is to reimburse eligible applicants for a portion of the cost of installing specified energy property used in a trade or business or for the production of income. A 1603 payment is made after the energy property is placed in service; a 1603 payment is not made prior to or during construction of the energy property. The deadline for new projects has passed and no new projects will be accepted according to the program. If a project has submitted an application prior to October 1, 2012 for energy property not yet placed in service (known as a Begun Construction application) they must update to a Converted Application within 90 days after the energy property is placed in service. The project applicant will not need to wait for a response from Treasury on their Begun Construction application. Applications updated after 90 days of an energy property being placed in service will not be accepted. Looks like Beautiful Earth Group may fall under this converted version as to our knowledge they have not begun construction. Beautiful Earth Group has applied for and they were granted an extension of one year with the city of Lancaster, Ca. in order to complete the construction of the project. It shows that well funded and Federal and locally approved alternative energy projects run into construction and timeframe obstacles.

Wal-Mart Supercenter Gets Final Approval at 60th West at L in Lancaster Ca.

A five member City Council approved the Wal-Mart Supercenter this week. Mayor Rex Parris helped push it forward, so the center wouldn’t move to Palmdale instead. Several years ago there was discussion of using Palmdale as an alternative site, but eventually it was decided that the 60th Street West and Avenue L site would be the best location. There has been much debate and opposition and challenges to the environmental report. A second report was completed and that was eventually approved. It takes quite and effort and funds to get real development in an undeveloped location like Antelope Valley, so Wal-Mart was looking to the future for this site. 60th West at L is mostly open space as you look west. The city limits of Lancaster generally ends at 70th street West, so Wal-Mart must see a growing future in this area. They must see a larger population moving to this area in the coming decades. The population of Lancaster is approximately 150,000, and large box stores look for 250,000 people to accommodate such a supercenter. Wal-Mart has five stores in the valley currently, and this adds another. It looks like they project the Antelope Valley to have 1 million residents in the coming future. Looks to this big box store growth as a sign of growth and development in the Valley’s future. These large chains stores put a lot of effort and thought before they endeavor to build and grow their establishments, so this is a good sign for land prices in the area.