Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: SANTERO WAY SPECIFIC PLAN UPDATE CONSULTANT
CONTRACT AMENDMENT WITH 4LEAF INCORPORATED
AND ASSOCIATED SUBCONSULTANTS
Date: August 13, 2024
Written by: Noah Housh, Director of Community Development Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution authorizing a budget amendment to the Santero Way Specific Plan Update contract(s) with 4Leaf and the associated project subconsultants, to include analysis of the potential impacts of implementing Transit Oriented Community (TOC) development standards into the environmental impact report (EIR) being prepared for the SWSP Update.
Background
On August 8, 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a professional services agreement with 4Leaf Inc. and several subconsultants to provide planning consulting services to complete the Santero Way Specific Plan Update.
In September 2023, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) published draft administrative guidance on their TransitOriented Communities (TOC) policies. These policies are intended to intensify land uses within one half-mile of transit hubs with the goal of (among other things) increasing the overall supply of housing while also supporting the creation of jobs and increasing transit ridership, in keeping with the Plan Bay Area 2050. While adoption of the TOC policies is voluntary for bay area jurisdictions, it is a consideration for eligibility to receive One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) funds, which have amounted to approximately $500,000 in annual funding for the City of Cotati in recent years. More information on the Plan Bay Area 2050 is available at: https://planbayarea.org/
Around April 2024, staff identified a potential opportunity for the environmental analysis being prepared for the SWSP Update to be expanded to also analyze the potential impacts of implementing ABAG/MTC TOC policies on the other eligible parcels within the ½ mile radius surrounding the Cotati SMART station (graphic attached). Including this analysis into the environmental impact report (EIR) already being prepared would result in significant cost savings, expedite the analysis and prepare the city for future adoption of the TOC policies, if the City Council chooses to do so.
Analysis/Discussion
In summary, these TOC policies will require a City to implement a minimum density range of 25-35 units per acre; a commercial floor area ratio of 1.0; and to eliminate all parking minimums within one half-mile of a major transit stop to approximately nine parcels totaling 15-acres outside of the SWSP area. Parcels developed with existing residential units are exempt from these requirements. More specifics on the requirements of TOC policies are identified in the attached MTC TOC Policy Administrative Guidance document. As discussed above, adoption of these land use policies are voluntary, however they weight heavily as a factor in a jurisdiction receiving OBAG funding. As such, staff finds it beneficial for the City to position itself to be able to implement TOC policies as a component of future land use changes should this be the chosen policy direction of the Council. Completing the environmental impact analysis of said policy implementation is the first step to being able to do so.
Given their existing work and similar efforts underway in Cotati, 4 Leaf Inc.(and their subconsultants) were identified as the most appropriate consultants to analyze the environmental impacts of future TOC policy implementation. Their on-going contract to update the SWSP, the proximity of the Plan area to the remaining eligible parcels within the City and their ability to meet the anticipated schedule for the next OBAG funding cycle were all factors in making this determination.
Financial Considerations
As identified in the attached proposal, the amended scope of services from 4Leaf Inc. and the identified sub-consultants are estimated to total $44,597 resulting in a new not to exceed contract total of $422,591. It is worth noting that the infrastructure modeling identified to be conducted by a separate consultant Carollo and Associates, as a supplemental element of the required CEQA analysis is currently budgeted at $30,000. Although not included in the amended scope of services from 4 Leaf, some additional costs may be incurred to cover any changes to their scope of work (anticipated to be $5,000 or less). The attached resolution also authorizes an increase in their consultant contract to cover this anticipated need.
To ensure all potential increased costs of this expanded scope of work are accounted for, staff requested and received Council approval for a general fund appropriation totaling $50,000 for fiscal year 2024/25. Other than allocated staff time, these are the only anticipated general fund expenditures needed to cover the cost of the project. The City was previously awarded a Priority Development Area (PDA) grant from ABAG/MTC totaling $415,000, which is funding a majority of the SWSP Update scope.
Environmental Issues
This action to approve a contract amendment 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 those future projects.