STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
April 14, 2026
CONSENT
12 SUBJECT: SERVICE PROVIDER AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY COUNTERPART
SERVICES FOR VIEW PRESERVATION, VIEW RESTORATION AND HEDGE
HEIGHT CLAIM PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to execute an Agreement with Community Counterpart Services for a not-to-exceed amount of $150,000 per fiscal year for a three (3) year and two (2) month term; and
2. Find that the action is not a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines.
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
This report recommends that the City Council authorize an agreement with Community Counterpart Services (“CCS”) (Attachment 1) for $150,000 per fiscal year for a three (3) year and two (2) month term to provide view preservation, view restoration and hedge height claim services. This agreement follows the completion of CCS Agreement #25-24 in May 2026 and will allow the City to continue receiving view preservation, view restoration and hedge height claim services while ensuring the availability of funding to support ongoing program needs. Sufficient funds will be included in the annual budget appropriations for each fiscal year of the extended term.
DISCUSSION
The City administers view preservation, view restoration, and hedge height programs to establish and maintain protected views and ensure compliance with Title 12 of the City’s Municipal Code (Trees and Vegetation) and other applicable regulations. These services involve processing view preservation applications, administering and evaluating view restoration and hedge height claims, and conducting site inspections on private properties to assess potential view obstructions and verify compliance with established City standards.
On February 12, 2025, the City issued a Request for Statements of Qualifications (RFQ) for view preservation, view restoration, and hedge height services. Community Counterpart Services was selected and entered into Agreement #25-24 (Attachment 2) with the City for an amount not to exceed $75,000 for a one-year term ending on May 6, 2026. The consultant has demonstrated the consistent ability to respond to requests in a timely manner and perform work consistent with the City’s operational needs and Laguna Beach Municipal Code. Further, due to the consultant’s continued work for the City in the fields of view preservation, view restoration, and hedge height, the consultant has developed a familiarity with best practices and developed professional relationships with the various stakeholders and decision-makers in the City’s processes. Thus, even if the services were not competitively bid in 2025, CCS’s demonstrated work product, familiarity with the City’s Municipal Code, programs, and processes, and increase in applications and cases, staff would still recommend awarding the contract per Laguna Beach Municipal Code sections
2.30.050 (a) and/or (g) (No Competitive Advantage and/or Best Interest of City). The City does not believe that going out for another competitive bid process would produce an equal or better consultant at a better
SERVICE PROVIDER AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY COUNTERPART SERVICES FOR
VIEW PRESERVATION, VIEW RESTORATION AND HEDGE HEIGHT CLAIM PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
April 14, 2026
price due to the learning curve necessary. Further, CCS has performed satisfactorily, and City staff are confident in the efficacy of this agreement.
The proposed Agreement authorizes an amount not to exceed $150,000 per fiscal year for a three (3) year term and two (2) month term from April 2026 through June 2029. The increased appropriation will ensure that adequate funding is available to support the anticipated level of services and demand. This adjustment also provides flexibility to address potential increases in service utilization or program needs during the contract period. The proposed contract start date ensures continuity of services by allowing reimbursement for ongoing work associated with the currently pending caseload, while the June 2029 end date will align with other Community Development Department consultant agreements, which simplifies contract administration and future procurement processes.
Over the past six years, the City has experienced an increase in cases requiring inspections, preparation of staff reports, impact analyses and case presentations at public hearings for the View Restoration Committee.
For example, view preservation applications have more than doubled, increasing from 32 applications in 2019 to 69 applications in 2025. Staffing shortages within the Community Development Department have limited the City’s ability to address these cases solely with in-house resources. As a result, staff have relied on the services of CCS to assist with view preservation, view restoration, and hedge height claim applications associated with the program. Importantly, the City had previously employed a full-time Associate Planner whose responsibilities were largely dedicated to administering the City’s view preservation, view restoration, and hedge height claim processes. After that employee departed, responsibility for those functions shifted to CCS, with City staff involvement generally limited to narrower administrative support tasks. Additionally, the gap between the employee’s departure and the City’s procurement of CCS contributed to a backlog of applications and increased the cost of consultant services to manage the workload.
The proposed agreement is not an amendment to Agreement No. 25-24, but instead establishes a new contract. This approach was taken to ensure the as-needed contract aligns with the fiscal year, consistent with all other Community Development projects. The original Agreement No. 25-24 was procured through a competitive Request for Qualifications process and included multiple options for extension. However, based on administrative preference, Community Development has elected to create a new agreement rather than amend the existing one. This change is intended to better align the contract cycle with the department’s other as-needed contracts.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The proposed Agreement authorizes an amount not to exceed $150,000 per fiscal year for a three (3) year and two (2) month term, for a total potential contract amount of $450,000 over the duration of the agreement.
Funding for these services is included in the Community Development Department’s annual operating budget - Planning Contractual Services is 110-41-4106-10-000-55036. Expenditures will occur on an asneeded basis and will be supported through existing appropriations allocated for view-related programs. No
SERVICE PROVIDER AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY COUNTERPART SERVICES FOR
VIEW PRESERVATION, VIEW RESTORATION AND HEDGE HEIGHT CLAIM PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
April 14, 2026
additional appropriations are requested at this time. This additional funding is expected to cover the cost of planning services through June 2029.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES
The proposed Agreement supports the City Council’s strategic priorities by preserving and restoring private views throughout the City. By authorizing a contract agreement with CCS, the City ensures that planning services continue without interruption despite increased project demand. Additionally, utilizing an experienced service provider ensures efficient program implementation and responsible management of public resources while allowing the City to respond effectively to increased program demand.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
This action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) ("CEQA") because it does not qualify as a "project" under CEQA. The State CEQA Guidelines provide that "[a]n activity is not subject to CEQA if ... The activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378." (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15060(c).) Section 15378 defines a project as an activity that "has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment." (State CEQA Guidelines, §15378(a).) Here, the action does not qualify as a "project" as defined in State CEQA Guidelines section 15378 because the action is to authorize a new agreement for consultant planning services to support the ongoing implementation of existing Municipal Code regulations, which will not result in any reasonably foreseeable impacts.
ATTACHMENTS
1. CCS Service Provider Agreement (Pgs. 4-44)
2. Agreement #25-24 (Pgs. 45-93)
Submitted By: Matthew Schneider Approved: .David A Kiff Matthew Schneider, Director of
Community Development
Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Erin Fabian, Administrative Analyst Wendy Jung, Principal Planner Anthony Viera, Deputy Director of Community
Development