Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH 4LEAF INCORPORATED FOR THE
SANTERO WAY SPECIFIC PLAN REZONING PROJECT
Date: August 08, 2023
Written by: Noah Housh, Director of Community Development Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution to authorize the City Manager to execute a professional services agreement contract with 4Leaf Inc. to provide planning consulting services for the Santero Way Specific Plan re-zoning project.
Background
From time-to-time the City of Cotati Community Development Department has the need for planning consulting services to assist with workload management, special projects, and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis. Specifically, the Santero Way Specific Plan (SWSP) has been identified as outdated, inconsistent with long-term development goals of the city and lacking parcel specific residential density, which is contributing to a challenge in implementing state housing law. As such, updating the SWSP zoning to address these issues was identified as a department goal for the 2023/24 fiscal year.
Analysis/Discussion
To assist the City with the identified SWSP inadequacies and inconsistencies, staff are requesting the City Council approve a contract for contract planning services with 4Leaf Incorporated.
Details on the identified scope of work and timeframe for completion of the SWSP rezoning related items are identified in the Scope of Work, attached to this report. The proposed work will require adoption of a resolution and ordinance, and will include significant public engagement, technical advisory input, and a recommendation from the Planning Commission prior to presentation to the City Council for review and approval.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) process was undertaken to find the most cost-effective and professionally capable consultant team to undertake this project. Two responses to the RFP were received, and the proposal from 4Leaf Incorporated was identified the lowest qualified response.
Financial Considerations
As identified in the attached proposal and scope of work, the proposed services from 4Leaf Inc. and the identified sub-consultants are estimated at a not to exceed total of $378,000. Separately, infrastructure modeling conducted as a supplemental element of the required CEQA analysis is budgeted at $25,000 (with a consultant yet to be identified). Additional staff time is anticipated to not exceed $12,000, for a total project cost of approximately $415,000. To address these costs, staff applied for, and the City was awarded, a Priority Development Area (PDA) grant from ABAG/MTC totaling $415,000.
Though staff are not requesting new general fund appropriations, staff are requesting are required the approval for of a budget amendment for both the grant revenues as (an increase of $415,000) as well as an corresponding increased in expendituresse account and related encumbrance to meet these proposed contracts for an amount not to exceed $415,000, all to be accounted for within the Grants Fund 201.
Environmental Issues
This action to approve a contract for services is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378. Any resulting plan amendments or rezoning efforts will be analyzed for potential environmental impacts and a separate environmental determination will be made regarding that future project.
Attachments:
RFP - Professional Consulting Services for the City of Cotati Santero Way Specific Plan UpdateJuly 17, 2023 (PDF)