Six Northern California Counties Have Issued New Shelter-in-Place Orders Impacting Construction Industry

Effective 11:59 p.m. on March 30, 2020, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties shelter-in-place rules will be more detailed and restrictive. The construction industry will be significantly impacted. The order only allows the following kinds of construction projects to go forward:

• Projects immediately necessary to the maintenance, operation, or repair of Essential Infrastructure
• Projects associated with Healthcare Operations, including creating or expanding Healthcare Operations, provided that such construction is directly related to the COVID-19 response
• Affordable housing that is or will be income-restricted, including multi-unit or mixed-use developments containing at least 10% income-restricted units
• Public works projects if specifically designated as an Essential Governmental Function by the lead governmental agency
• Shelters and temporary housing, but not including hotels or motels
• Projects immediately necessary to provide critical non-commercial services to individuals experiencing homelessness, elderly persons, persons who are economically disadvantaged, and persons with special needs
• Construction strictly necessary to ensure that existing construction sites that must be shut down under this Order are left in a safe and secure manner, but only to the extent necessary to do so
• Construction or repair necessary to ensure that residences and buildings containing Essential Businesses are safe, sanitary, or habitable to the extent such construction or repair cannot reasonably be delayed

A significant amount of construction that is currently ongoing will now have to stop. It will be much more difficult to argue that certain projects should go forward due to ambiguity in the order.

Construction companies should be sure to carefully review the orders and work with counsel to evaluate their options and potential needs to issue notices of delays in order to protect claims for additional time and damages.

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