Fremont City Council Meeting: 05/05/26 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Community Development
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5698) DOC ID: 5698
Updated: 4/23/2026 9:11 AM by Dina Lewis Page 1
Forster Consulting Services Agreement Amendment - Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute an amendment to the Master Services Agreement with Forster Consulting Services to increase the not-to-exceed compensation an additional $50,000 to a new not-to-exceed compensation amount of $650,000.
Contact Persons:
Name: Jennifer Craven Joel Pullen
Title: Business Manager Community Development Director
Div/Dept: Community Development Community Development
Phone: 510-494-4554 510-494-4436
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The proposed action would increase the maximum compensation allowed under the existing master services agreement with Forster Consulting Services, LLC (Forster) an additional $50,000 for a new, not-to-exceed compensation amount of $650,000.
Forster hazmat services include consultation on Planning land use entitlement requests involving chemicals, as well as all hazmat plan review and inspection services on new building permit requests.
The Fire Marshal is responsible for hazardous materials plan check and inspection services. The City outsources these services for new development to Forster. After initial construction, Fire Department inspectors manage all ongoing hazmat regulatory inspections.
Staff recommend that City Council authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the proposed MSA amendment to increase the Forster MSA not-to-exceed compensation to $650,000.
Background/Discussion: The City operates development permitting on a cost-center model, in which prospective applicants pay for the full cost of city permitting services instead of the general public. Some technical reviews are highly specialized, including hazardous materials consultation. For these specialized technical reviews, consultants are hired by the city at the applicant’s cost. The consultants are hired in accordance with the City’s purchasing ordinance and standard development requirements. This is done to manage the varying volume of review and ensure public safety and environmental protection is maintained. Staff regularly review the Council Staff Report (ID # 5698) Meeting of May 5, 2026 Updated: 4/23/2026 9:11 AM by Dina Lewis Page 2
qualifications and costs of these consultants to ensure applicants are paying a reasonable cost and the city is getting trusted advice. Forster consulting is uniquely qualified to provide consulting services to protect the public interest at reasonable rates.
In September 2019, City Council authorized the execution of a five-year master services agreement (MSA) to provide on-call hazardous materials consultation and plan review services on new land use entitlement and building permit requests involving hazmat chemicals to Forster Consulting Services, LLC. The Forster MSA has been amended three times since its initial execution for the following reasons:
• Amendment 1: November 2023 – Added hazmat inspection services • Amendment 2: November 2024 – Extended term of MSA an additional two years through December 2026
• Amendment 3: July 2025 – Increased the maximum compensation $100,000 to new not-to-exceed compensation amount of $600,000
The proposed action would amend the MSA a fourth time to increase the maximum compensation amount allowed under the agreement an additional $50,000 for a new, not-to-exceed amount of $650,000.
New MSA: In Fall 2025, Community Development released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a new batch of on-call consultant services to support the Department’s land use, affordable housing, and construction permitting needs. Review of the qualifications statements that were received from that RFQ is still in-process. Staff expect to request authorization to execute new master service agreements to support Community Development services as a result of the RFQ reviews by July, and so this extension would provide for on-call hazardous materials consultation in the interim. This new batch of on-call MSAs coming forward in July will provide for the continuation of on-call hazmat services.
Fiscal Impact: Since Forster MSA services are solely provided to applicants of land use entitlements and building permits that include operations involving hazardous materials chemicals, each applicant pays the full cost associated with Forster’s review and inspection services. As such, no General Fund monies are required and the service wholly funded by user fees.
Environmental Review: Environmental review is not required as the master service agreement and its amendment is not a project as described by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guideline Council Staff Report (ID # 5698) Meeting of May 5, 2026 Updated: 4/23/2026 9:11 AM by Dina Lewis Page 3
Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b). It can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that authorization of these agreements will have a significant effect on the physical environment.
Recommendation: Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute an amendment to increase the maximum compensation in the Forster Consulting Services, LLC, Master Services Agreement to $650,000.