HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc.
7578 El Cajon Boulevard
La Mesa, CA 91942
619.462.1515 tel
619.462.0552 fax
www.helixepi.com
September 26, 2023
Carlos Serna
City of Lake Elsinore
Community Development Department, Planning Division
130 South Main Street
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
[email protected] | (951) 674-3124 ext. 916
Subject: Letter Proposal to Provide Environmental Consulting Services for the Collier Commercial Properties Project
Dear Mr. Serna:
HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. (HELIX) is submitting this letter proposal to the City of Lake Elsinore to provide environmental consulting services for the Collier Commercial Properties Project (project) in the City of Lake Elsinore (City), Riverside County (County), California.
The project entails the construction of a one-story warehouse building encompassing 9,875 square feet; a one-story 3,000-square-foot office building; a storage yard; surface parking; and landscaping. The project would be constructed on 2.64-acre site on the north side of Minthorn Street between Chaney Street and Collier Avenue (Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 377-190-002, 377-190-003, and 377-190-004).
The project site is in the central portion of the City, west of Interstate 15 (I-15), and has a General Plan land use designation of Limited Industrial and a zone classification of General Commercial (C-2). The site is characterized by disturbed land that is used for materials and vehicle storage/staging. Surrounding uses include Collier Avenue and I-15 to the north, industrial uses to the east and south, and an undeveloped parcel containing drainage infrastructure to the west. I-15 is located approximately 250 feet to the east and the I-15/State Route 74 interchange is approximately 0.75 mile to the northwest.
The project is requesting approval of a General Plan Amendment to change the land use designation to General Commercial, a zone change to Limited Manufacturing (M-1), and Conditional Use Permit to allow an outdoor storage area as an accessory use.
Letter Proposal to Carlos Serna Page 2 of 6
September 26, 2023
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The services to be provided by HELIX include peer review of environmental technical studies, environmental compliance documentation pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and environmental project management and meeting attendance.
Task 1 Peer Review of Draft Technical Studies
HELIX will conduct a peer review of the first draft of technical studies addressing the following:
• Air Quality/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions/Energy;
• Biological Resources (General Biological Resources Assessment/MSHCP Consistency Analysis); • Cultural Resources;
• Hazardous Materials (Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment [ESA]); • Noise; and
• Paleontological Resources.
The first draft of the technical studies identified above, prepared by the applicant’s consultant, will be provided to HELIX (including the technical report and any technical appendices) in electronic format (PDF and Word). HELIX will review the first draft technical reports for content, focusing on the scope and adequacy of the technical report to support the CEQA impact analysis for the project, as well as completeness, consistency, and accuracy. HELIX technical specialists will review the reports addressing air quality/GHG emissions/energy, noise, biology, and cultural resources, and an environmental generalist will review the hazardous materials report. Review of the paleontological resources analysis will be conducted by Chronicle Heritage as a subcontractor to HELIX.
HELIX will review one subsequent version of the revised technical reports to confirm that revisions have been incorporated to the satisfaction of the reviewer and City staff. This task also includes HELIX team reviewers’ attendance at two, one-hour comment resolution virtual meetings with City staff and the project applicant’s consultant(s), if required.
Deliverables:
HELIX will submit an electronic version (Excel format) of a technical studies comment matrix that details specific comments for each technical study. It is assumed the applicant’s consultant will provide written responses in the comment matrix to facilitate peer review of the revised technical reports. HELIX will provide an updated electronic version of the comment matrix upon completion of peer review of the revised technical reports.
Task 2 Draft Environmental Compliance Documentation
HELIX will prepare an Initial Study (IS) pursuant to CEQA in the City’s standard format that identifies potential environmental effects based on the questions included in the IS checklist. The City’s IS checklist is based on Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines. The IS will include an introduction, a description of the project, an IS environmental checklist, and supporting figures. The IS will summarize the results and conclusions of technical analyses and studies prepared for the project, as well as address each environmental issue in the IS environmental checklist.
Letter Proposal to Carlos Serna Page 3 of 6
September 26, 2023
All technical studies needed to complete the IS will be provided by the City, including, but not limited to, air quality/GHG emissions/energy, noise, cultural resources, paleontological resources, biological resources, hazardous materials, transportation, geotechnical, and hydrology/water quality. Analysis within the provided technical studies shall be prepared to the satisfaction of the City and will address their respective issues at a sufficient level of detail to support the IS in accordance with CEQA. The City will provide HELIX a list of cumulative projects to include for the cumulative analysis in the IS.
The IS will form the basis for the City to decide as to what CEQA environmental compliance document will be prepared for the project. Based on the information currently available regarding the proposed project, it is anticipated that a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) will be the appropriate CEQA documentation for the project; however, should it be determined through review of the IS and technical studies that there is substantial evidence that the project may result in significant and unmitigable environmental impacts, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be required. If the IS concludes that there is the potential for significant effects on the environment which may not be reduced below a level of significance through avoidance or implementation of mitigation measures, HELIX will immediately inform the City. If the City agrees with this conclusion, then an EIR would be required to be prepared and the scope and fee for this task would be amended accordingly. If there are impacts which can be mitigated either through project design or mitigation measures, an MND would be prepared.
The Draft MND will describe the proposed project including its location, identify potentially significant impacts and the associated mitigation that would avoid or reduce those impacts to less-than-significant levels, and include a finding that the proposed project would not, as mitigated, have a significant effect on the environment.
Deliverables:
HELIX will submit a draft IS electronically (in Microsoft Word and PDF formats) for City staff review.
HELIX will revise the draft IS one time in response to City comments (which are assumed to be minor, not requiring substantial revisions or new analysis). This scope assumes up to 12 hours of professional staff time to prepare the revised IS. Once the City determines an MND is appropriate for the project, HELIX will prepare and submit an electronic version of the draft MND for concurrent City staff review with the revised draft IS. An electronic version of a pre-print Public Review Draft IS/MND will be submitted to the City to authorize finalizing the Public Review Draft IS/MND. It is assumed that only minor formatting changes would be needed between the pre-print and public review drafts, and no substantive comments related to the technical analysis for any issue area would remain. HELIX will produce up to two printed copies of the Public Review Draft IS/MND (with appendices), as well as an electronic version to be posted on the City’s website.
HELIX will prepare a Notice of Intent (NOI) to Adopt an MND and submit it to the City for review and approval. The City will provide the mailing list for distribution of the NOI. HELIX will be responsible for distribution of the NOI to up to 75 recipients (via regular mail), as well as submitting the required deliverables to the State Clearinghouse and filing the NOI with the County Clerk. It is assumed that the City will be responsible for placing newspaper advertisements and paying the County Clerk filing fee.
Letter Proposal to Carlos Serna Page 4 of 6
September 26, 2023
Task 3 Final Environmental Compliance Documentation
This task assumes that an IS/MND is determined to be the appropriate CEQA document; should an EIR be required, the scope and fee for this task would be amended accordingly. In consultation with the City and project applicant, HELIX will respond to substantive comments received on the content of the Draft IS/MND during public review of the document. This scope assumes that preparation of responses to comments would occur within the limits of a 24-hour professional staff budget. An introduction, the responses, and revisions to the Draft IS/MND (if needed) will be incorporated into the final document.
To support the MND, HELIX will develop a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) to identify responsibility for the mitigation monitoring and reporting schedule, and completion requirements.
Deliverables:
HELIX will submit an electronic copy (Microsoft Word and PDF versions) of a screencheck draft version of the Final IS/MND and revise it once per City staff comments (assumed not to be substantive or alter the analysis). This scope assumes up to 30 hours of professional staff time to prepare the screencheck Final IS/MND, up to 12 hours for the revised screencheck Final IS/MND, and up to 4 hours for the Final IS/MND. HELIX will produce an electronic version and up to two printed copies of the Final IS/MND (with appendices).
HELIX will prepare a draft Notice of Determination (NOD) and submit it to the City for review and approval. HELIX will be responsible for filing the NOD with the County Clerk and State Clearinghouse within five days of adoption of the Final IS/MND. The City will be responsible for payment of applicable California Department of Fish and Wildlife and County Clerk filing fees.
Task 4 Project Management
HELIX will provide general environmental project management services as the project undergoes environmental processing with City. Management tasks will consist of formal and informal communication with the project team, including telephone conversations and email. Other management responsibilities will include tracking budgets and reviewing schedule progress. Quality assurance reviews of major deliverables will be completed by senior staff prior to submittal to City. For the purposes of this cost estimate, it is assumed that the environmental review process will be completed within six months of its initiation and that four hours per month of the HELIX Project Manager’s time would be required. If the City requests additional services that cause HELIX to exceed the time allocated for this task, additional authorization would be required.
Task 5 Meetings
HELIX’s Project Manager will participate in up to four project meetings (assuming each meeting is virtual and 1.5 hours in duration, including preparation time and follow-up). No specific presentation graphics are anticipated for any of the meetings. It is assumed that HELIX attendance at public hearings will not be required and is not included in this scope of services.
Letter Proposal to Carlos Serna Page 5 of 6
September 26, 2023
SCHEDULE
An estimated schedule of the environmental review process is presented below. The schedule shows the sequence, estimated durations, and interdependence of the various tasks, with an assumed start date of November 1, 2023.
COLLIER COMMERCIAL
Estimated Environmental Review Schedule
* Assumes draft technical studies are provided to HELIX at the time of the kickoff meeting. ** Timing is dependent on receipt of revised technical studies. Schedule assumes technical studies will be revised by the Applicant's consultants within 30 days of receiving peer review comments from HELIX. *** Timing is dependent on City approval of the revised technical studies. Schedule assumes City-approved technical studies will be provided to HELIX within 30 days following completion of the revised technical studies.
COST ESTIMATE AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES
HELIX submits this cost estimate not to exceed $53,700, which is provided below in a breakdown by task. All work shall be invoiced on a time-and-materials basis pursuant to Exhibit A, Schedule of Fees.
Task
Number Task Name Cost
1 Peer Review of Technical Reports
Air Quality/GHG Emissions/Energy $3,600
Biological Resources 5,400
Cultural Resources 3,000
Hazardous Materials (Phase 1 ESA) 3,000
Noise 3,000
Paleontological Resources 3,200
2 Draft Environmental Compliance Documentation 17,300
3 Final Environmental Compliance Documentation 7,700
4 Project Management 6,000
5 Meetings 1,500
TOTAL $53,700
Letter Proposal to Carlos Serna Page 6 of 6
September 26, 2023
ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
The following assumptions and limitations are a material component of this proposal:
• City will provide HELIX with current available digital baseline data and project plans for p
roducing all maps and graphics, which should be submitted in one of the following fo
rmats: .dxf, .dwg (AutoCAD), .dgn (Microstation), .shp (ArcView shapefiles), .gdb (ArcGIS geodatabase) or .kmz (Google Earth). In some cases, .pdf files will be acceptable. • City will provide HELIX with copies of all relevant technical studies/information prepared for the project, including relevant guidance documentation that the City previously provided to the applicant, such as scopes of work for the subject technical studies. The City also will provide information necessary to address utility service.
• HELIX may contact the specialists who prepared technical studies to ask questions and obtain additional information, as necessary. Any required additions or revisions to these reports are not included.
• Costs associated with additional meetings, public meetings, technical studies, biological surveys, permit preparation and processing, and/or CEQA processing not otherwise described in this scope (“additional work”) are not included within the scope of services. • Once peer reviews and preparation of the IS have begun, no changes to the project design will occur such that major revisions to the project description or re-analysis of any environmental issue will be required.
• Client is responsible for ensuring that technical reports that are provided to HELIX for the public record by any party not under subcontract to HELIX are consistent with the document accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and any similar requirements.
• HELIX is committed to meeting accessibility requirements for the ADA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for public-facing digital document deliverables. Information presented from third-party sources (e.g., California Emissions Estimator Model outputs) and documents prepared using the strike-out/underline feature, a standard for annotation of final CEQA documents, may not achieve the full level of accessibility.
CLOSING
This quote is good for 30 days from the date of this letter. We look forward to working with you on this project. If you have any questions concerning this proposal, please contact your Project Manager, Tim Belzman, at (619) 462-1515 or [email protected], or me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Jo
anne M. Dramko, AICP
Environmental Planning Discipline Leader
E
nclosure: Exhibit A, Schedule of Fees
EXHIBIT A
SCHEDULE OF FEES
CONSULTING SERVICES
Consulting services performed by HELIX typically include, but are not necessarily limited to, office, field, meetings, hearings, and travel time.
Consulting services for expert witness review, deposition, and/or testimony will be provided at one and one-half times our standard rates.
Overtime also may be charged at one and one-half times our standard rates.
DIRECT COSTS
Certain identifiable direct costs will be charged to the project at cost plus ten percent. Examples of direct costs include subconsultants, vehicle or equipment rentals, airplane and train fares, parking, per diem and lodging, mileage (at IRS rates), communications, reproduction, and supplies. A 4-wheel drive premium will be charged at $25 per project day. There will be additional charges for use of noise monitors, GPS, and other field equipment, as well as for plotting, color printing, and aerial photographs.
Payment
Invoices will be submitted monthly. Payment on invoices is due within thirty days of receipt.
PROFESSIONAL RATES
Current hourly rates for consulting services:
Principal $230-300
Principal Acoustician $215-225
Principal Biologist $225-290
Principal Landscape Architect $190-210
Principal Planner $220-290
Principal Regulatory Specialist $225-290
Principal Cultural Resources Specialist $190-210
Safety Manager $210-220
Senior Fisheries Scientist $250-255
Senior Noise/Air Quality Specialist $200-220
Senior Project Manager I-III $165-230
Senior Scientist $155-195
Senior Regulatory Specialist $160-$170
Project Manager I-III $135-175
Assistant Project Manager $120-145
Regulatory Specialist $105-150
Environmental Planner I-III $105-135
Biologist I-V $100-155
Noise/Air Quality Specialist $130-145
Environmental Compliance Specialist $85-125
Senior Archaeologist $125-170
Senior Architectural Historian $165-175
Archaeology Field Director $125-$135
Architectural Historian $120-155
Staff Archaeologist $80-125
Senior Landscape Architect $145-160
Landscape Architect $120-140
Landscape Planner I-III $110-120
Senior GIS Specialist $150-185
GIS Specialist I-III $110-140
Graphics $115-$125
Technical Editor $110-125
Operations Manager $100-140
Word Processor I-III $90-100
Clerical $65-75
Rates are subject to change on a yearly basis