Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Approve a Consulting Services Agreement with Two Firms, Rincon Consultants, Inc. and SWCA Environmental Consultants for On-Call Environmental and Planning Services (in an amount not to exceed $300,000 to be paid for by applicable developer fees).
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Planning Division of San Leandro’s Community Development Department requests that the City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into Consulting Services Agreements with Rincon Consultants, Inc. and SWCA Environmental Consultants to provide assistance with the preparation of environmental assessments and other planning services.
BACKGROUND
The Community Development Department released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in April 2020 to select two qualified environmental consulting firms to assist the Planning Services Division with the preparation of environmental assessments under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A selection panel of Planning staff scored Rincon Consultants, Inc. and SWCA Environmental Consultants the best of the fifteen responses received by the City. This selection process to designate on-call environmental consultants is held once every three years.
Analysis
With an approved Consulting Services Agreement, the two recommended firms, Rincon Consultants, Inc. and SWCA Environmental Consultants, will be authorized to provide technical assistance preparing initial studies and environmental assessments for planning applications in accord with CEQA, as well providing application-related contract planning services on an as-needed basis. The two firms will be maintained on the City’s official on-call list for a three-year period. Work will be assigned to one of the two consultants following acceptance of a scope of work/task order and cost estimate based upon the individual requirements of a given application.
Project applicants are provided with the detailed cost estimate of any required environmental work to be performed in advance and are fully responsible for the cost of any work performed by the consultants. Project applicants are required to pay a deposit to the City for the full cost of the work prior to any work commencing. A City deposit account was established for this purpose.
The total cost of all work to be performed by each firm will not exceed $300,000 annually with an allowance to increase the budget by up to 25% with City Manager approval for urgent or unexpected situations such as development projects requiring higher level or extended CEQA analysis. The work of the selected consultants is paid from a City deposit account funded directly by applicants’ deposits. Any planning applications requiring CEQA work that are expected to exceed this amount, such as the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), will be separately contracted through a competitive selection process following a formal Request for Proposals.
The Community Development Department has traditionally relied on outside environmental planning firms to prepare independent environmental assessments on behalf of the City as required by CEQA. Based on past workflow and future estimates of permit activity, staff opted to reduce the on-call list for this term from three to two firms. One of the two firms recommended, Rincon Consultants, Inc., previously provided the City with on-call services under a prior contract. Both of the recommended firms have experience with San Leandro and local offices in Oakland and San Francisco. None of the firms that responded to the RFQ have an office based in San Leandro.
Legal Analysis
This report was reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
Fiscal Impacts
The work to be performed by the two recommended firms is fully funded by project applicants through deposits placed into a deposit account, (Account number 701-220-2223). Approval of this item will have no fiscal impact to the City because Planning staff will not allow the consultants to begin work until the applicant deposits the appropriate CEQA fee amount into the deposit account.
ATTACHMENTS
• Draft Consulting Services Agreement for Rincon Consultants
• Draft Consulting Services Agreement for SWCA Environmental Consultants
PREPARED BY:
Andrew J. Mogensen, AICP, Planning Manager