February 10, 2026
Agenda Item No. 10
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
Jaime Murillo, Community Development Director - 949-644-3209, [email protected] PREPARED BY:
Benjamin M. Zdeba, AICP, Planning Manager - 949-644-3253, [email protected] TITLE:
Professional Services Agreements for On-Call Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with Sagecrest Planning and Environmental, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Psomas and Moore Iacofano Goltsman ABSTRACT:
For the City Council’s consideration is a request to approve four new professional services agreements (PSAs) for professional planning services to augment staff and support the Community Development Department (CDD). The City of Newport Beach continues to experience strong private property development activity, which requires the support of qualified consultant services to augment the staffing resources of CDD’s Planning Division, especially related to entitlement and permitting. These contract services will provide flexibility to respond to fluctuations in development activity, expanding during periods of growth and contracting during economic slowdowns.
CDD recently conducted a formal Request for Qualifications process to help identify qualified firms to augment. As a result, staff recommends the City enter into three-year PSAs with Sagecrest Planning and Environmental; Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.; Psomas; and Moore Iacafono Goltsman (MIG), Inc.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Determine these actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a three-year On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Sagecrest Planning and Environmental for Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with a not-to-exceed amount of $450,000, in a form substantially similar to the agreement attached to the staff report; Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a three-year On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., for Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000, in a form substantially similar to the agreement attached to the staff report; Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a three-year professional On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Psomas, for Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000, in a form substantially similar to the agreement attached to the staff report; and Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a three-year On-Call Professional Services Agreement with Moore Iacofono Goltsman, Inc., for Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000, in a form substantially similar to the agreement attached to the staff report.
DISCUSSION:
CDD has experienced an increase in residential development activity because of the City’s recently adopted housing overlay, in compliance with State Housing Element law, and continues to see strong development activity for other types of projects. On-call agreements provide the City with the flexibility to adapt to increased workloads and technical services demands during periods of development growth, while also allowing for reductions during economic slowdowns.
In recent years, CDD has regularly relied on external consulting firms to help augment and supplement City staff with providing professional planning services, especially related to entitlement review and permitting. Request for Qualifications (RFQ) No. 25-39 (On-Call Professional Planning Services – Staff Augmentation) was issued to identify a bench of on-call consultants that can provide professional planning services augmenting City staff, on an as-needed basis.
To ensure City staff can continue to offer excellent customer service across all aspects of the planning division’s operations, staff propose entering into PSAs with four consulting firms for the upcoming three-year period. As Sagecrest Planning and Environmental currently has contractors working in staff capacity and placed within the top four proposals, City staff propose to enter into a new agreement with the firm for a not-to-exceed amount of $450,000 over a three-year period. Staff also propose to enter into new agreements with the three other highest-qualified proposers for a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 each over a three-year period. The three firms are Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., Psomas, and Moore Iacafono Goltsman (MIG), Inc.
The approach of entering into agreements with multiple consultants will improve CDD’s ability to secure necessary resources and maintain service continuity during peak development periods.
Staff’s recommendation is based on the quality and clarity of the submitted proposals, the consultants’ relevant experience, and the availability of qualified personnel. Table 1 on the next page lists the firms that responded to the RFQ and staff’s recommended consultant selections.
Table 1 – Proposer List
Proposals Not Selected
Selected for Recommendation
4Leaf, Inc.
Alta Environmental
Community Counterpart Services
CSG Consultants
Evan Brooks Associates
FEI Associates Consulting Engineers
MGT Impact Solutions, Inc.
Precision Civil Engineering
RJM Design Group, Inc.
SuperbTech, Inc.
The Code Group, Inc.
Traffic Control Engineering
Willdan Engineering
Sagecrest Planning and Environmental
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Psomas
MIG, Inc.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total cost for the four consulting firms to be used on an “as-needed” basis is not to exceed $1,350,000 over three years. The current adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this request. It will be expensed to the Planning Professional Services account in the Community Development Department, 01050501-811008.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find these actions are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A - Professional Services Agreement with Sagecrest Planning and Environmental Attachment B - Professional Services Agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Attachment C - Professional Services Agreement with Psomas Attachment D - Professional Services Agreement with MIG, Inc.
Professional Services Agreements for On-Call Professional Planning Services and Staff Augmentation with Sagecrest Planning and Environmental, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Psomas and Moore Iacofano Goltsman February 10, 2026
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