Real Estate Industry Comments on EPA Guidance, March 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Guidelines Must Consider Cost

Underlying all of these concerns is the issue of cost. In a perfect world, property owners would have access to unlimited resources to make their buildings as impervious to terrorist attack as possible. However, commercial Realtors exist in a highly competitive environment, with competing demands on finite resources. These proposed Guidelines should not let “the perfect be the enemy of the good”. That is why NIOSH and their federal agency partners must incorporate sufficient flexibility in the Guidelines that allows property owners to develop specific actions to accomplish broad safety and emergency response goals within their budget and keeps them competitive in the commercial real estate marketplace.

Better Prioritization Methods Must be Developed (This is tentative)

These proposed Guidelines mistakenly assume that all commercial buildings across the country are equally subject to terrorist attack. Is it reasonable to assume that an apartment building in rural Texas shares the same level of risk as a large office building in Manhattan, and therefore both buildings must conduct the same rigorous terrorist attack prevention activities? We believe that NIOSH and its federal agency partners must develop a better methodology to prioritize which commercial buildings may be more subject to a terrorist attack than others, and outline the safety and emergency response strategies and activities that may be appropriate for each building, depending on its level of risk.

Increased Insurance Premiums The adoption of these guidelines may ultimately give way to an avalanche of increased insurance premiums for property owners/managers as insurance companies, underwriters banks and other financial and legal institutions begin to recognize them as de facto regulatory standards. The stringent requirements will inevitably result in increased violations and subsequent lawsuits by tenants and third-party plaintiffs. Clearly, this will result in skyrocketing insurance claims for property damage and lawsuits, especially in states without tort reform laws. Insurance premiums will rise to accommodate the increased demand for judgments and higher attorneys’ fees.

NAR and IREM thank NIOSH and the other partner federal agencies for allowing comment on the proposed Guidelines. If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact Megan Booth, at 202-383-1222, Russell Riggs, at 202-383-1259, or Doug Miller, at 202-383-1117.

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