REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From:Jason Simpson, City Manager
Prepared by:Damaris Abraham, Community Development Director Date:October 22, 2024
Subject:Professional Services Agreement with Environmental Science Associates (ESA) for Historic Resources Inventory Update
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Environmental Science Associates in an amount not to exceed $116,066 to conduct a citywide historic resources survey in such final form as approved by the City Attorney.
Background
The current historic resource inventories for the City were completed in 1983 and 1991, and due to a lack of subsequent updating, the information contained in those surveys is significantly outdated. In January 2019, the City Council adopted a Historic Preservation Ordinance in order to fulfill the City’s responsibilities regarding historic resources under applicable State and federal preservation laws. A comprehensively updated citywide Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) would implement Section 15.78.060 of the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance (Lake Elsinore Municipal Code Chapter 15.78). The updated HRI and associated comprehensive report would assist in supporting the City’s preservation goals, including streamlining the application processes for redevelopment, alterations, and demolition, benefiting City staff, property owners, and project applicants.
City staff met with the Lake Elsinore Historical Society, which helped in the selection of Environmental Science Associates. They are supportive of the City’s efforts to complete this important step, and staff will continue to keep the Lake Elsinore Historical Society involved as the work product is developed.
ESA Agreement – Historic Resources Inventory
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Discussion
On November 15, 2023, the City posted on Planetbids a Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting proposals from qualified consulting firms to update the City’s HRI. Five proposals were submitted on or before the due date of December 28, 2023. All proposals were reviewed and satisfied the City’s requirements as specified in the RFP.
Review of the RFP centered on the quality and thoroughness of the proposal, qualifications and experience of staff, cost, and references. Based upon this review, staff has recommended ESA.
The basis of the recommendation of this firm includes the following:
•Expertise in historic resource investigations,
•Experience in completing numerous large-scale, intensive-level surveys, •Provided the most cost-effective approach, and
•The proposal was the most responsive and provided an appropriate delivery of service.
ESA will conduct and prepare a citywide HRI to update the inventories previously completed in 1983 and 1991. This project would accomplish the following primary goals:
•Evaluate the current status of those structures located within the boundaries of the City of Lake Elsinore that are described in the Historic Resources Inventory completed by the County of Riverside in 1983 and those structures described in the Survey of Historic Structures and Sites completed by the Elsinore Valley Community Development Corporation in 1991,
•Determine if the previously surveyed structures retain enough historic integrity to remain eligible for listing. Identify structures, if any, that are no longer eligible for local listing due to alterations or demolition or lack of historic integrity, •Identify which structures remain eligible despite alterations, •Conduct a citywide survey of structures that are more than 50 years old and were not previously included in a previous HRI,
•Identify those structures, if any, which are eligible for listing for the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, California Points of Historic Interest, Riverside County Historical Landmark and/or Local Historic Landmark, and
•Analyze whether there are any geographic or thematic groupings of properties that would comprise a potential historic district and map the appropriate district boundary.
Fiscal Impact
The cost for these services will be paid from funds allocated in the Community Development Department budget.
ESA Agreement – Historic Resources Inventory
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Attachments
Attachment 1 – Professional Services Agreement with ESA Exhibit A – ESA’s Proposal
Community Development