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Environmental and Planning Services Consultant Agreements <br />May 21, 2019 <br />Page 2 <br />DISCUSSION <br />In June 2017, the City Council authorized staff to distribute Request for Qualifications No. 17-043 <br />for any and all work efforts related to the California Environmental Quality Act and the National <br />Environmental Policy Act, technical studies, and/or planning services. The intent was to establish <br />a list of qualified consulting firms to be utilized for a period of two years on an as -needed basis. <br />The Planning Division received Statements of Qualifications from 33 firms in response to the <br />Request for Qualifications. The proposals were reviewed for adequacy, evaluated based on the <br />criteria in the RFQ and compiled into a list of qualified firms. One firm did not provide the <br />submittal requirements listed in the RFQ and one firm has since closed. Of the 33 firms that <br />submitted a statement of qualifications, 31 firms are qualified to provide environmental services, <br />technical studies and/or planning services related to current and advanced planning, historic <br />preservation, technical studies and general planning efforts. A list of 31 qualified consultants is <br />included as Exhibit 1. <br />In 2017 and 2018, the City Council approved 31 firms to be on the City's bench list of consultants <br />to provide environmental and planning services for development projects. Under this current <br />structure, the applicant pays for the services as part of the development review process. The City <br />Council approval provided for a three-year agreement period ending on October 3, 2020 for <br />environmental services and June 5, 2021 for planning services. The current proposal will also <br />authorize the bench list firms to provide services for City funded projects for a period of two years <br />(May 21, 2021). <br />The Planning Division's workload fluctuates and oftentimes increase as development applications <br />rise. Having on-call consultants for planning services will assist the Planning Division in improving <br />customer service, meeting deadlines and keeping pace with development schedules. <br />Occasionally, the Planning Division needs technical expertise to assist with city projects related <br />to urban design, historic preservation, environmental assessments and/or assistance with <br />specific zoning ordinance amendments (i.e. billboards, short-term rentals, parking, etc.). Utilizing <br />a consultant's knowledge and experience can help reduce the timeframe needed for completing a <br />planning project and ensure that best practices are used by the City. <br />In addition, the Planning Division is requesting planning and professional services to assist City <br />staff with the timely completion of the General Plan update pursuant to the most recent State of <br />California General Plan Guidelines. The selected consultant(s) will assist in activities related to <br />project management in addition to completion of individual elements, implementation plan, and <br />refinements to completed work product using best practices and first-hand experience of <br />consultant with similar comprehensive General Plan updates. <br />Consultant's efforts related to environmental services could include environmental analysis <br />conducted for City projects, such as an ordinance amendment, that requires preparation of <br />required technical studies such as parking studies, peer review of technical studies prepared by <br />others, preparation of Initial Studies, Negative Declarations, Mitigated Negative Declarations, <br />25B-2 <br />