CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
4/8/2024
1 SUBJECT:
Sixth 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 Sixth Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Good City Company, by increasing the contract amount by $30,000 with a total not to exceed amount of $640,000 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 currently handling a large volume of development project applications for City permits, ranging from routine to complex. Additionally, the department is leading various City Council priority initiatives, such as implementing the General Plan update, and updating the Housing Element of the General Plan and Local Coastal Land Use Plan, among others. To manage these tasks effectively, the Planning Department engages three consulting firms to assist with project reviews and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analyses1. Costs for these services are typically covered by project applicants. However, certain activities initiated by the City are funded through the General Fund, grants, or other sources depending on the nature of the task.
Good City Company is assisting the Planning Department with the 6th Cycle Housing Element update and private development project reviews. Their expertise in Housing Element updates, having worked with various jurisdictions in San Mateo County, is particularly valuable. Originally, the cost estimate for preparing a draft Housing Element document was $90,000, with an additional $10,000 contingency, as approved by the City Council on September 26, 2022.
Since that time, the level of effort associated with the Housing Element update became more clearly understood based on what other cities were experiencing. Several San Mateo County jurisdictions 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 required for Pacifica’s Housing Element update precipitating a Fourth Amendment to the Agreement with Good City Company, approved by City Council in January 2023 and which reallocated funds from the Planning Department's budget and provided $90,000 from the General Fund. 1 These three consulting firms are Good City Company, Metropolitan Planning Group (M-Group), and Raney Planning & Management.
Pacifica City Council 2
April 08, 2024
Subsequently, City Council approved a Fifth Amendment in August 2023, allocating $150,000 of funds budgeted for the project in FY 2023-24 to ensure compliance with state law and to address comments from HCD.
After receiving feedback from HCD, staff now seeks a Sixth Amendment to the Agreement to accommodate the extra work needed to address these comments. This additional effort is estimated to necessitate an extra $30,000 in funding.
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.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Good City Company’s support of the Housing Element Update furthers City Council Strategic Goal 3: Completing the Housing Element Update.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Staff has identified $30,000 within the FY 2023-24 adopted budget for the Planning Department that can be reallocated to the Housing Element update.
ORIGINATED BY:
Planning Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Resolution - Good City Company Sixth Amendment(PDF)
Original Agreement - Good City Company (PDF)
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)
Sixth Amendment - Good City Company (consultant signed) (PDF)