CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
8/14/2023
1 SUBJECT:
Fifth Amendment to Consultant Services Agreement for On-Call Planning Services Between the City of Pacifica and Consulting Firm Good City Company
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to adopt the attached resolution to approve the Fifth Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Good City Company, by increasing the contract amount by $150,000 with a total not to exceed amount of $610,000 and, to authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment.
STAFF CONTACT:
Christian Murdock, AICP, Planning Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Planning Department is processing a significant number of routine and complex development project applications submitted for City permits. The Planning Department is also the lead department for several City Council priority initiatives, including but not limited to ongoing efforts to implement the General Plan update and Sharp Park Specific Plan, and updating the Housing Element of the General Plan. The Planning Department also has a key supporting role in several other priority initiatives.
The Planning Department currently relies on three consulting firms to augment planning staff resources for routine project reviews and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analyses1. The costs for these activities related to private development projects are reimbursed by project applicants. However, certain activities initiated by the City are funded from General Fund, grant, and/or other funding sources depending on the nature of the activities being undertaken.
Good City Company is supporting Planning Department staff with the 6th Cycle Housing Element update, as well as private development project reviews. Good City Company brings unique expertise to the Housing Element task as it has supported several other jurisdictions in San Mateo County with their Housing Element updates. Good City Company, in consultation with City staff, originally estimated the cost for it to prepare a draft Housing Element document at $90,000. The City Council authorized the Third Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services (“Agreement”) for this amount plus a $10,000 contingency on September 26, 2022.
Since the City Council authorized the Third Amendment to the Agreement with Good City Company, the level of effort associated with the Housing Element update became more clearly 1 These three consulting firms are Good City Company, Metropolitan Planning Group (M-Group), and Raney Planning & Management.
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August 14, 2023
understood based on what other cities were experiencing. Several San Mateo County jurisdictions have received their comment letters from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the state agency responsible for reviewing Housing Element updates for substantial compliance with state law. The extent of analysis requested by HCD, and the number and detail of comments provided in those letters on other jurisdictions’ draft housing elements required a significant upward recalibration of the amount of work that will ultimately be required for Pacifica’s Housing Element update. Therefore, the City Manager recommended a Fourth Amendment to the Agreement with Good City Company for work on the Housing Element update to continue uninterrupted, which Council approved in January 2023, reallocating $50,000 from Planning Department’s FY 2022-23 budget for actions that would not be undertaken in that fiscal year, and providing $90,000 from the General Fund.
The Planning Department’s FY2023-24 adopted budget included an allocation of $150,000 for continued preparation of a draft Housing Element that complies with the requirements of state law and support for responses to HCD comments that were anticipated at the time the FY 2023- 24 budget was being prepared2. Staff now requests a Fifth Amendment to the Agreement to account for this additional work on the Housing Element update so that staff and consultant activities may continue uninterrupted.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Deny, or authorize a different amount for the proposed amendment to the Agreement.
Authorization of a reduced amount will require Planning Department staff to shift direct staff resources to the Housing Element update and away from other City Council priority initiatives.
Doing so would also delay adoption of the Housing Element update while Planning Department staff take over responsibilities from Good City Company while continuing to perform other general staff responsibilities, including obligations to process building permit applications and other private development project applications.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Good City Company’s support of the Housing Element Update is consistent with the following item (s) in the Council-adopted Strategic Plan and Priority Work Plan for FY 2023-24:
● Goal 3, Strategy A: Complete the Housing Element Update.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The FY 2023-24 approved budget for the Planning Department included the $150,000 associated with this Fifth Amendment to the Agreement.
ORIGINATED BY:
Planning Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Resolution - Good City Company Fifth Amendment (PDF)
Original Agreement - Good City Company (PDF)
2 The City received HCD’s comment letter on its draft Housing Element on August 8, 2023. Planning Department staff was still evaluating the content of HCD’s comment letter at the time of this staff report’s publication.
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First Amendment - Good City Company (PDF)
Second Amendment - Good City Company (PDF)
Third Amendment - Good City Company (PDF)
Fourth Amendment - Good City Company (PDF)
Fifth Amendment - Good City Company (PDF)