Each year, the Steering Committee of LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors gathers in Washington to discuss and set the program’s federal policy agenda.
When LOCUS was formed in 2008, its Steering Committee consisted of a handful of committed real estate developers who believed the voice of the smart growth development community was missing from policy discussions in Washington. In a testament to how the program has grown since that time, our 2013 Winter Steering Committee meeting featured nearly 30 leading real estate developers and investors from across the country including our newest members, Rod Lawrence of The JBG Companies, and Jair Lynch of Jair Lynch Development Partners, both leading developers of walkable development in the DC metro area.
On February 18 and 19, 2013, LOCUS’ Steering Committee met in Washington D.C. for this year’s Winter Meeting. The Committee discussed housing and tax reform proposals currently being debated in Congress, received a briefing from USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Beth Osborne on recent modifications to the Transportation Innovative Financing Infrastructure Act (TIFIA), and learned how new federal programs can support transit and transit-oriented development.
As a result of the Winter Meeting, LOCUS is currently updating our Federal Policy Priorities for the 2013-2014 legislative session. The new priorities will be available online later this month.
Interested in joining the Steering Committee in time for our Fall Meeting? Contact us for information about Steering Committee membership.