Form: S-8

Initial registration statement for securities to be offered to employees pursuant to employee benefit plans

November 26, 1996

S-8: Initial registration statement for securities to be offered to employees pursuant to employee benefit plans

Published on November 26, 1996


As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 26, 1996

Registration Statement No. 333-
================================================================================

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


BAY APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

MARYLAND 77-0404318
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)

4340 STEVENS CREEK BOULEVARD, SUITE 275
SAN JOSE, CA 95129
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

1996 NON-QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
(Full title of the Plan)

---------------------------------------

GILBERT M. MEYER
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND PRESIDENT
BAY APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.
4340 STEVENS CREEK BOULEVARD, SUITE 275
SAN JOSE, CA 95129
(408) 983-1500
(Name, Address and Telephone Number,
Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

---------------------------------------

copy to:
DAVID W. WATSON, ESQ.
GOODWIN, PROCTER & HOAR LLP
EXCHANGE PLACE
BOSTON, MA 02109
(617) 570-1000

---------------------------------------



Calculation of Registration Fee
=========================================================================================================================
Proposed Maximum Proposed Maximum
Title of Securities Amount to be Offering Price Per Aggregate Offering Amount of
to be Registered Registered (1)(2) Share(3) Price(3) Registration Fee
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Common Stock,
$.01 par value 1,000,000 $31.9375 $31,937,500 $9,679
=========================================================================================================================


(1) Plus such additional number of shares as may be required pursuant to
the 1996 Non-Qualified Employee Stock Purchase Plan in the event of a
stock dividend, reverse stock split, split-up, recapitalization or
other similar event.
(2) In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended ("the Securities Act"), this registration statement also
covers an indeterminate amount of interests to be offered or sold
pursuant to the employee benefit plan described herein.
(3) This estimate is based on the average of the high and low sales prices
of the Common Stock of Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. as reported on
the New York Stock Exchange on November 19, 1996, pursuant to Rule
457(c) and (h) under the Securities Act, and is made solely for
purposes of determining the registration fee.

================================================================================
PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.

Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates by
reference the documents listed in (a) through (d) below, which have previously
been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission").

(a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 1995 filed with the Commission pursuant to the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act");

(b) Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31,
1996, June 30, 1996 and September 30, 1996, each filed with the
Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act;

(c) Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 6, 1996, Current Report on
form 8-K dated May 23, 1996, as amended by Current Report on Form
8-K/A dated May 23, 1996, Current Report on Form 8-K dated July
5, 1996 and Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 26, 1996, each
filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act; and

(d) The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
registration statement on Form 8-A, dated December 7, 1993 filed
with the Commission pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act
and any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating
such description.

In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Company with the
Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a) and (c), Section 14 and Section 15(d) of
the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment hereto which
indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be a part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not Applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not Applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Company's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, each as amended,
provide certain limitations on the liability of the Company's directors and
officers for monetary damages to the Company. The Articles of Incorporation and
Bylaws obligate the Company to indemnify its directors and officers, and permit
the Company to indemnify its employees and other agents, against certain
liabilities incurred in connection with their service in such capacities. The
Company has entered into indemnification agreements with certain of its
executive officers and members of the Board of Directors who are not officers of
the Company, pursuant to which the Company has agreed to indemnify them against
certain liabilities incurred in connection with their service as executive
officers and/or directors. These provisions and contracts could reduce the legal
remedies available to the Company and its stockholders against these
individuals.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

5.1 Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality of the
securities being registered


2
23.1 Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants
23.2 Consent of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1
hereto)
24.1 Power of Attorney (included in Part II of this registration
statement)
99.1 Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. - 1996 Non-Qualified Employee
Stock Purchase Plan
99.2 Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. - 1996 Non-Qualified Employee
Stock Purchase Plan - Plan Information Statement

Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this
registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)
(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
arising after the effective date of the
registration statement (or the most recent
post-effective amendment thereof) which,
individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information set forth in
the registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to
the plan of distribution not previously disclosed
in the registration statement or any material
change to such information in the registration
statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii)
herein do not apply if the information required to be included in
a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in
periodic reports filed by the undersigned registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
incorporated by reference in the registration statement;

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment
shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed
to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which
remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes
of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each
filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section
13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where
applicable, each filing of any employee benefit plan's annual
report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and
controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing
provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in
the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against
public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment
by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the
opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the
question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by
the final adjudication of such issue.


3
SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, Bay Apartment
Communities, Inc. certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it
meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, California on this 31st day of
October, 1996.

BAY APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.

By: /s/ Gilbert M. Meyer
-------------------------------------
Gilbert M. Meyer
President and Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, the undersigned officers and
directors of Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. hereby severally constitute and
appoint Gilbert M. Meyer and Max L. Gardner, and each of them singly, our true
and lawful attorneys with full power to them, and each of them singly, to sign
for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, the registration
statement filed herewith and any and all amendments to said registration
statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and in our
capacities as officers and directors to enable Bay Apartment Communities, Inc.
to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act and all requirements of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming our
signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of them, to said
registration statement and any and all amendments thereto.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration
statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and
on the date indicated.



Signature Capacity Date
--------- -------- ----

/s/ Gilbert M. Meyer Chairman of the Board and October 29, 1996
- -------------------------------------------- President (Principal Executive Officer)
Gilbert M. Meyer


/s/ Max L. Gardner Director and Chief Operating Officer October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Max L. Gardner


/s/ Geoffrey L. Baker Director and Chief Development October 29, 1996
- -------------------------------------------- and Acquisitions Officer
Geoffrey L. Baker


/s/ Bruce A. Choate Director October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Bruce A. Choate


/s/ Brenda J. Mixson Director October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Brenda J. Mixson


/s/ Thomas H. Nielsen Director October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Thomas H. Nielsen


/s/ John J. Healy, Jr. Director October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
John J. Healy, Jr.


/s/ Jeffrey B. Van Horn Chief Financial Officer (Principal October 31, 1996
- -------------------------------------------- Financial and Accounting Officer)
Jeffrey B. Van Horn


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the undersigned
directors who constitute all of the members of the Compensation Committee who
administer the 1996 Non-Qualified Employee Stock Purchase Plan (or other persons
who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on their behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on October 31, 1996.


By: /s/ Gilbert M. Meyer
-------------------------------------
Gilbert M. Meyer
President and Chief Executive Officer


POWER OF ATTORNEY


KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, the undersigned directors of
Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. hereby severally constitute and appoint Gilbert
M. Meyer and Max L. Gardner, and each of them singly, our true and lawful
attorneys with full power to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and
in our names in the capacities indicated below, the registration statement filed
herewith and any and all amendments to said registration statement, and
generally to do all such things in our names and in our capacities as officers
and directors to enable Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. to comply with the
provisions of the Securities Act and all requirements of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming our signatures as they may
be signed by our said attorneys, or any of them, to said registration statement
and any and all amendments thereto.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration
statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and
on the date indicated.



Signature Capacity Date
--------- -------- ----

/s/ Bruce A. Choate Member of Compensation Committee October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Bruce A. Choate


/s/ Brenda J. Mixson Member of Compensation Committee October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Brenda J. Mixson


/s/ Thomas H. Nielsen Member of Compensation Committee October 29, 1996
- --------------------------------------------
Thomas H. Nielsen


EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No. Description
- ----------- -----------

5.1 Opinion of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP as to the legality
of the securities being registered

23.1 Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., Independent Accountants

23.2 Consent of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1
hereto)

24.1 Powers of Attorney (included in Part II of this registration
statement)

99.1 Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. - 1996 Non-Qualified
Employee Stock Purchase Plan

99.2 Bay Apartment Communities, Inc. - 1996 Non-Qualified
Employee Stock Purchase Plan - Plan Information Statement

6