Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/923123
for it. On the other side, President Donald Trump is pushing for a blend of public/private partnerships. He has proposed incentives to encourage private companies to invest in U.S. infrastructure. This is a big divide to bridge between the two par- ties. However, no solid plans have been developed yet. But the potential for consensus is promising. Elected officials from both parties don't want to return to their constituents without any tangible gains in 2018. Infrastructure is a potential win for both sides and could cleanse the partisan rancor. The other challenge for infrastructure spending is defining its focus over the next decade. Currently, providing mass transportation is a top priority within cities and suburbs. However, future priorities include considerations for security of the U.S. electrical grid and build- ing the technology and infrastructure for driverless vehicles and drones. Highways, parking lots, and garages could be repurposed if driverless vehicles take off during the next 10 to 20 years as many experts anticipate. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini- tiated a 10-year, $3.9 billion investment to accelerate the development and adoption of safe vehicle automa- tion through real-world pilot projects. Google, Uber, Apple, Tesla, and all the auto manufacturers are racing to develop self-driving vehicles. For drones, traffic lanes may need to be devised to protect them from crashing into each other. If Repub- licans and Democrats can find a middle ground on investing dollars from the federal budget on infra- structure, plenty of discussions will focus on how much to allocate for fixing existing roads, bridges, and mass transit compared to paving the way for building and securing future technology. Reform for the ADA Reforming the American Disabilities Act may be in the hopper for 2018. e ADA requires commercial properties to be accessible for disabled citizens, which include providing ramps, elevators, and specific heights for sinks. As the ADA is written, if a commercial property is not in full compliance, such as no wheelchair access, the owner can be sued for noncompliance. While the ADA was a milestone in humanitarian legislation, unfortunately a cottage industry of drive-by lawsuits has sprung up in its wake, according to Stackley. In some states, swarms of attorneys have entered businesses like locusts wielding rulers and finding minor issues with slight variations in the height of a shelf or sink. The attorneys will send demand letters to owners often for slight infractions that could be fixed in a few minutes. These businesses are not bad actors and are not intentionally committing violations. In circumstances like this, the lawsuits are counter- productive. Owners usually can fix the ADA infrac- tions quickly and easily. The lawsuits gum up the real issues of accessibility and potentially work against the ADA, Stackley says. The issue comes down to tort reform. It's a civil rights issue for commercial real estate businesses that have been dinged for small infractions. Own- ers should be given an opportunity to fix the minor violations before they become a lawsuit for the ADA. Currently, a bill in the U.S. House of Representa- tives has passed that asks the plaintiff to provide a reasonable notice to the property owner. For example, the ramp is not steep enough, an aisle not quite wide enough, or a shelf is not low enough. Owners would have time to fix the issue before a lawsuit can be filed. By allowing owners time to fix these issues, the businesses do not have to have a law- yer on staff to file and respond to ADA noncompli- ance requests. The U.S. Senate is working on companion legislation and NAR expects to see a reform bill in 2018. "This Congress is the best opportunity we have seen in a long time," Stackley says. "We are not sure of the timeline, but we have seen positive momentum on this bill and expect it to carry through to early 2018." Dodd-Frank While Dodd-Frank has been discussed informally by President Trump, its laws and regulations may be fine-tuned in 2018. Dodd-Frank regulations were intended to rein in the larger banks, but the regula- tions were written in ways that unintentionally target smaller lenders. Community and small banks cannot afford to hire a bevy of lawyers. Often one officer has to devote time to ensure Dodd-Frank compliance. It takes away from the limited resources of small lenders and hampers their goal of providing loans to the communities they serve. During 2018, NAR expects refinement of the Dodd-Frank regulations to be less stringent for com- munity and smaller banks. The weight of these regu- lations is affecting their ability to help their communi- ties with commercial real estate development projects. While NAR expects legislation favorable to com- mercial real estate during 2018, nothing is certain or absolute. Many commercial real estate professionals hope President Trump's knowledge of the industry will help them emerge relatively unscathed. Sara S. Patterson is executive editor of Commercial Investment Real Estate. Nisian Hughes January | February 2018 39