BYD’s Electric Bus Expansion in Lancaster and Globally

BYD the electric bus manufacturing company in Lancaster will soon have on the road 60 foot long buses that can travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. This doubles the distance from the prior bus. BYD “Build Your Dreams” has launched into Chicago and New York, as well as, Los Angeles. They have been operating in Lancaster since 2013, and they are on track to deliver 300 news buses this year. Their first year they only produced 50 buses. They will build and deliver a variety of all-electric bus models, including 14 60-foot-long articulated buses that can carry 120 people with a range of up to 200 miles on one charge, 30 commuter coaches and 41 40-foot standard buses. The 40-foot buses cost $660,000, compared with $500,000 for a diesel hybrid according to reports. The company employs about 300 workers currently and may increase to 1000 by 2018. The company has expanded beyond is Long Beach initial bus footprint to Gardena, Greater LA, Denver, Canada, Chicago and New York. Additionally, Silicon Valley has requested commuter buses with coffee bars, video games and more luxury interiors. This is one of a number of areas in Antelope Valley where job growth in growing and showing a long term future foot print.

Land Conservation and Federal Tax Credits for Donating Land for the Benefit of the Community.

If you own land or look to buy certain land than a land conservation land trust maybe a great option. The type of land that may fit this scenario is land for open space, or historically important property. Ideally land in the Antelope Valley in a wildlife habitat area or a water critical area. There are many areas in Antelope Valley where endangered plant and animal species live. If a person owns land that fits these scenarios than a land conservation easement could be done. A land conservation easement is a permanent, legally enforceable agreement between a property owner and a land trust or government entity. The agreement is recorded with the county, so it will ensure the parcel can further serve its conservation purposes in the future. The way it works is that is a person or entity owns conservation land then they contract with one of a thousand local land trusts. If the land trust deems your parcel fits the conservation need and IRS guidelines than the property maybe eligible for future tax breaks. It can also be a portion of your land that fits the conservation such as a river or creek that runs through the parcel. So for example, say you own farmland with an income is $200,000. Part of your land has a river or some conservation value to it. So you donate that easement worth $500,000 (If that is what the appraiser indicates. Then you the farmer, rancher or forester can now deduct the full $200,000 in the year they donated the easement, and their full income in each subsequent year, until the entire $500,000 deduction is reached. Or you can deduct a portion of it over sixteen years until the $500k amount is reached. There also maybe property taxes deducted. But once you donate this land or easement then it is permanent. You can’t undo the land trust and conservation of the land. It is also possible that if your land parcel has endangered species on it like the burrowing owl, kangaroo squirrel, desert tortoise, California poppy’s or other endangered species than a conservation group may wish to buy you land parcel. In many cases developers are forced to buy conservation land in exchange for developing somewhere else. So it you sell or donate your appraised land then you get the tax deduction of the donation value. It is not a bad deal for land owners who find out that their land is only worth the value of the preservation of the land and plant and animal itself. In some cases a tax break is better than selling the land itself.

New Developments and Future Planning in Palmdale

The 47th Pavilion (Avenue R and 47th Street East) Super Target Center America’s Tire is under construction north of the Bank of America. The store will be approximately 7,300 square feet in size. Plaza Vallarta (Avenue R and 47th Street East) O’Reilly Auto Parts is constructing a 7,200 square foot store north of Chase Bank Rancho Vista Boulevard and Town Center Drive WalMart will be constructing a 40,000 square foot market on the north side of Ranch Vista Boulevard, west of Town Center Drive. The market is not a supercenter but it will include grocery. As of April there was a Tentative Tract Map 73143 requesting approval to subdivide a 40 acre parcel into two parcels, a ten acre commercial parcel and a 30 acre residential parcel. Tentative Tract Map 73158 is a request to subdivide a 30 acre parcel into 102 residential lots, including two detention basin lots. The project site is located between Avenue Q and Palmdale Boulevard, east of 42nd Street East

Several Tentative Tract Maps were Approved or Extended for Multi-Family Residential in Lancaster

42nd Street and Ave H was approved on 20 acres to build 115 single family homes. The zoning is MDR (Moderate Density Residential) which allows 1-30 units per acre such as apartments or condos. This plan is for a Residential Planned Community of 115 single-family lots with one common lot for open space and recreation facilities in the MDR and R-7,000 Zones Recommendation a time extension was given to move the tentative tract map along. Two other approvals were granted on 15.1± gross acres located on the northwest corner of future 55th Street West and future Avenue K-14 Request: This is for a subdivision of 58 single-family lots in the R-7,000 Zone Recommendation. There was a one year extension granted. The same applicant requested and extension on 12.66 acres of R-7000 zoned land for 41 single family united. At 35th Street West at J. Two smaller developments were moved forward on 1.71 acres at 52nd West at J-8. This is for 8 single family units. A follow up meeting is set for July. Another 5 acres at 32nd West at M-4 was granted a one year extension for 9 single family lots on SRR zoned land. SRR is semi-rural residential 1-2 units per 1 acre. There is some housing planned for Lancaster. Not huge 40 or 160 acre parcels but things are progressing in the growth phase.

City Of Lancaster Approved CUP (Conditional Use Permit) for Solar Power Site

This is likely not a surprise for many but recently Lancaster Planning Commission approved 89± gross acres generally bounded by Avenue I-4, Avenue J, 102nd Street West, and 105th Street West to construct a 10-megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility on the RR-2.5 (Rural Residential 2.5) Zoned land. The subject location is designated NU (Non-Urban Residential) by the General Plan, zoned RR-2.5 (Rural Residential, minimum lot size 2.5 acres). The City of Lancaster has determined that the development and use of alternative energy is beneficial to the community, and this determination is evident in the decisions made by the City Council. This is one of many alternative energy sites the City Council has implemented. There are several solar and wind energy programs installed on City facilities, and has become a provider of solar generated electricity to local school districts and other entities. Additionally, the City’s General Plan has several objectives and policies pertaining to alternative energy. These objectives address the need to develop new sources of energy, as well as reduce energy consumption. The proposed project is consistent with the City’s goals as addressed in Policy 3.6.6, which is to Consider and promote the use of alternative energy, such as this one. The solar company is Sustainable power sPower LLC

California is Building a High Speed Rail for Florida

Brightline, being developed by All Aboard Florida. It will connect riders in Miami to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando via railway. This is much the same as the Calhigh Speed Rail is attempting in California, but the Cal High Speed Rail is a Government project. The Brightline Miami to Orlando project is completely privately funded. They anticipate a plan to get people out of their cars by featuring food, drinks, affordable rates and comfortable seats. They are attempting to make a train more convenient than driving a car. They will also build travel hubs with retail space, residential homes and commercial properties. These trains are being built by Siemens in Sacramento. It seems like Florida has created a more cost effective solution to high speed rail travel with private funding and control, while California very expensive system is government run and currently underfunded. Maybe California will get a clue that privately funded Brightline and the Hyperloop is a more economical solution. The bottom line though is high speed transport is the future. If you look at self driving cars, Uber and Lyft private car solutions then a personal car is not like it used to be. Additionally, the potential growth of electric buses like BVD, and electric cars like Tesla also project a more economical environmentally friendly outlook in the plans.

Selling Homes Has been Tough for the Builder, But they have a New Buyers from Abroad

CNBC reported "This is a tough market condition. We have seen the market recover since the downturn, but the recovery has been slow, steady and in a pretty tight band," said Stuart Miller, CEO of Miami-based Lennar. He said land costs and entitlement costs are getting too high. Although, the demand for an entry level home is at the highest. This area is mortgage constrained, since first time buyers can’t get a mortgage easily. The builders like Lennar are now building multiple housing development apartments and renting them. They are also building rental communities. They build the home and rent out each home in the entire community. DR Horton makes a starter home brand called “Express Homes”, which are tailored for the first time home buyer. There is a new buyer in the US and it is the Chinese. They are the primary factor driving up investments in the US. According to a CNBC report from Rosen Consulting Group the Chinese direct investment in the US commercial real estate sector and residential sales could hit $218 Billion in the next four years. Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.S. totaled about $22.3 billion in 2015, an increase from roughly $18.1 billion in the prior year, according to the report. The increase is an average of 54 Billion a year. According the CNBC reporting Chinese owners acquired at least $8.5 billion in commercial property and at least $28.6 billion in residential property in 2015. Looking to 2025, the report projected that commercial acquisitions could hit $20 billion by then and residential buying could reach $50 billion. The reason for all this new investment increase is that larger firms in China including insurance firms have not invested in the US. This large Chinese investment is based upon the Chinese government currency value, and economic uncertainty in China. The Chinese government is imposing controls on how much money can leave China, but the Chinese are still getting their money out into US Real Estate Investment. The currency devaluation issue and the rules on long term real estate investment in a communist country has been the impetus for capital to flee. In China a person only has a lease-hold on property for say 70 to 100 years, so you can not pass on real estate to heirs. This is not an issue in the US. Expect greater Chinese investment in real estate, and home builders to build apartments instead of entry level homes.