Title
Staff Report for a Resolution Approving a Contractual Services Agreement Between the City of San Leandro and The Planning Center | DC&E to Prepare the 2015 General Plan Update, Housing Element Update, and Environmental Impact Report
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council approve a contractual services agreement (CSA) with The Planning Center | DC&E for an amount not to exceed $690,668 to prepare the 2015 General Plan Update, Housing Element Update and the associated Environmental Impact Report (EIR) required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Staff also recommends that the City Council approve an appropriation of $39,560 from the 2013-14 General Fund unrestricted reserves, which would be part of the $690,668 not to exceed amount of the CSA, for the preparation of a qualified Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy related to the City's adopted Climate Action Plan.
BACKGROUND
The General Plan and associated EIR were last updated in May 2002 and cover the timeframe up through 2015. The 2002 effort represented a major overhaul and modernization of the prior General Plan and provides a strong foundation for the forthcoming update to build upon. The Housing Element, which is a key component of the General Plan, was most recently updated and certified by the State's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) in February 2011. The existing General Plan and Housing Element Updates were prepared by Barry Miller Consulting, who will be part of The Planning Center | DC&E consultant team. The Planning Center | DC&E is a highly experienced and award-winning planning and environmental consulting firm with extensive experience state-wide in General Plan and EIR preparation.
The upcoming General Plan Update will not require a major overhaul as was necessary in 2002, but will include more focused and substantive revisions to targeted components of the General Plan including the Housing, Land Use, and Circulation elements. Recent local issues and priorities which the upcoming General Plan Update will address and integrate include:
· Lit San Leandro
· Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
· Next Generation Workplace District Study
· Shoreline Development
· Complete Streets Policies
· Downtown Transit-Oriented Development Strategy
· Sustainability requirements under Senate Bill (SB) 375 and the Association of Bay Area Governments/Metropolitan Transportation Commission Plan Bay Area.
The upcoming General Plan Update and EIR will cover the next 20 years, while the Housing Element Update period will cover 2015-2022, which is the State mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) term for the Bay Area region.
Analysis
In early November 2013, staff distributed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the General Plan Update, Housing Element Update, and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to over 20 qualified planning firms. The RFP was also posted on the City website. Four firms submitted proposals. Staff from the Community Development and Engineering/Transportation Departments carefully reviewed the applications and interviewed the four firms, and their teams of sub-consultants. Upon detailed completion of reference checks, staff selected The Planning Center | DC&E as the best qualified firm for recommendation to the City Council. The consultant team consists of:
· The Planning Center | DC&E (Lead consultant, EIR project manager)
· Barry Miller Consulting (Project manager for General Plan and Housing Element Update)
· Kittelson & Associates (traffic/transportation analysis)
· Strategic Economics (economic/market analysis)
· Center for Collaborative Policy (communications outreach/public meeting facilitation)
· Environmental Collaborative (biological resources analysis)
· Tom Origer & Associates (cultural and historical resources analysis)
In March and April 2014, the consultant team will make public presentations to the City Council and Planning Commission to review the detailed General Plan Update schedule as well as provide a "General Plan 101" overview of the process and the State requirements. Below is an outline of key project dates and milestones; the date ranges may be subject to change:
· Project kick-off meetings with Planning Commission, City Council and staff (March- April 2014)
· Community participation/outreach (March 2014 - December 2015)
· Collect & analyze data (March 2014 - December 2014)
· Complete Housing Element Update (January 2015) - The statutory deadline for the Housing Element Update is January 31, 2015 to be eligible for future State streamlining review.
· Complete Draft General Plan Update (June 2015)
· Complete Draft EIR (August 2015)
· Complete Final EIR (November 2015)
· City Council Adopts General Plan Update and EIR (November 2016)
Because of its primary role under the Municipal Code to review and make recommendations to the City Council on amendments or changes to the General Plan, the Planning Commission will serve as the General Plan Advisory Commission to the City Council. The consultant team will conduct regular public meetings with the Planning Commission to review and receive feedback in order to prepare the drafts and final planning documents in a timely manner. These meetings will be open to the public.
Public participation is a major component to complete a comprehensive General Plan Update. The consultant team, led by Barry Miller and Surlene Grant (from the Center for Collaborative Policy), will customize and refine a broad-reaching and inclusive community outreach strategy with staff for eventual presentation to the Planning Commission and City Council. The strategy will include developing a project website and online participation/public input application, use of social media for outreach and information dissemination, identifying local stakeholders and stakeholder groups, determining number and types of community meetings, and providing bilingual translation services.
The scope of work includes the development of a qualified Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy based upon the adopted Climate Action Plan, and updates to the Master Plan of City Streets and Development Fee for Street Improvements Analysis. These items are not mandatory components of the General Plan Update, but they are included in the overall scope of work because there are data gathering, analysis and cost efficiencies in completing this work along with the preparation of the EIR and Circulation Element.
Previous Actions
· The City Council certified the Final General Plan EIR and adopted the current General Plan Update on May 6, 2002.
· The City Council adopted the current Housing Element Update on April 5, 2010, which was certified by HCD in February 2011.
· City staff presented the General Plan Update consultant RFP process to the City Council on October 21, 2013
Environmental Review
The CSA with The Planning Center | DC&E is a professional services contract and is exempt from CEQA.
Legal Analysis
The City Attorney's Office reviewed and approved as to form the staff report and CSA.
Fiscal Impacts
The contract award is for an amount not to exceed $690,668. The 2013-14 and 2014-15 adopted budget includes $600,000 for the General Plan, EIR and Housing Element Update (010-41-001-5120) and $51,108 from the Master Plan of City Streets/Plan Line budget account (120-28-179) funded from DFSI fee revenue. An appropriation of $39,560 from the 2013-14 General Fund unrestricted reserves for preparation of a qualified Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy based upon the adopted Climate Action Plan is recommended and requested.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment(s) to Staff Report
· None
Attachment(s) to Related Legislative File
· Contractual Services Agreement with The Planning Center | DC&E
PREPARED BY: Tom Liao, Deputy Community Development Director, Community Development Department