Blogs

Construction

Montgomery County Passes Carbon and Energy Tax

Last week, Montgomery County, Maryland passed what has been described as the nation’s first local carbon tax. The tax imposes $5 per ton on any entity that emits more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide in a single year. Interestingly, the tax only applies to Mirant Corporation which owns the Dickerson Generating Plant in…

May 24, 2010

Construction

Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions

Here is a new sampling of cases in which the Virginia Supreme Court has recently granted appeals. In April, the Court granted the petition for appeal in Studio Center Corporation v. WKW Construction, LLC, Record No. 092257, challenging the ruling of Judge Shockley from the Circuit Court of the City of Virginia Beach. Studio Center…

May 19, 2010

Construction

Economics and Sustainability Meet – Walmart’s Progress Update

Improving sustainability does not mean just increasing costs. Indeed, the best thinkers in the sustainability dialogue understand and embrace the need to include economics and profitability into the equation. This is particularly true in the current economic environment.

May 17, 2010

Construction

Bean Kinney Receives a Green “Best Business” Award

We were very pleased to be recognized Thursday by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce at their 24th annual Best Business Awards, the ABBIES. Bean Kinney received a Green Business Award for our efforts in green building projects, lecturing and writing, and development of our sustainability policy. As quoted from the event by our friends at…

May 14, 2010

Construction

To Arbitrate or Not To Arbitrate

I regularly face the question of whether arbitration is “good or bad”, “better than court”, or best for a particular client. I always give that most lawyerly of all answers: It depends. Arbitration is presented as a means of streamlining disputes, cutting down expenses, and providing the parties with a more informed decision maker to…

May 10, 2010

Construction

Subordination, Non-disturbance and Attornment Agreements

Given the current commercial real estate market and the difficulties faced by many lenders, it is no surprise that many tenants are more concerned than ever about their landlord’s financing. In particular, even if the property is mostly leased and producing a steady income stream, tenants are concerned that highly leveraged landlords will have difficulty…

May 7, 2010

Construction

Buildings and Uses: Section 15.2-2282’s uniformity requirement in Schefer v. City Council of the City of Falls Church

Back to another of the cases highlighted in Case Watch: Upcoming Virginia Supreme Court Opinions. In Schefer v. City County of the City of Falls Church, the Virginia Supreme Court was confronted with a 2006 amendment to a Falls Church ordinance that specified different building height requirements for one-family dwellings in the same zoning district.

May 5, 2010

Construction

Virginia and MWAA Issuing Transportation Bonds

This week we have announcement of two significant bond offerings to cover transportation funding. According to ENR, Governor Bob McDonnell announced last Friday that Virginia will sell $500 million in bonds for transportation projects in the Commonwealth. This will be the first in a wave of bond offerings contemplated by Virginia which will total $2.2…

May 3, 2010

Construction

Lead Paint Regulations Changing: Owner Exception Going Away, Commercial Structures Coming Soon??

The EPA’s new lead regulations officially went into effect on April 22. As expected, EPA has promptly issued notice that it intends to change the regulations to remove the “opt out” provision. The opt-out created an exemption from the regulations where a home owner certified that no child under 6 or pregnant woman occupied the…

April 30, 2010

Construction

No Funding Available Yet for Virginia’s Chinese Drywall Remediation Fund

Back on April 14th I blogged about the creation and anticipated operation of the Virginia Defective Drywall Correction and Restoration Assistance Fund (the “DDCRAF”) via two new provisions to the Code of Virginia patroned by Delegate Oder this session. If you read that posting you’ll recall that the purpose of the DDCRAF is to create…

April 28, 2010