CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
6/9/2025
1 SUBJECT:
Seventh Amendment to Consultant Services Agreement for On-Call Planning and Related Services Between the City of Pacifica and M-Group
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to adopt the attached resolution to approve the Seventh Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and M-Group to increase the cost ceiling by $175,000, for a total amount of $1,250,000, and to extend the term of the Agreement to December 31, 2025, and authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment.
STAFF CONTACT:
Elizabeth Brooks, Management Analyst II
(650) 501-6025
[email protected]
Samantha Updegrave, Planning Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Community Development Department continues to manage a high volume of planningrelated work, including both routine and complex development review and long-range initiatives that align with the City Council’s Strategic Plan. Key priorities include ongoing support for the 2023-2031 Housing Element update, the Housing Element Rezoning Program, and the Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) implementation.
To meet these demands, the Department relies on contracted planning support to maintain timely project reviews in order to meet state-mandated timelines for project reviews and CEQA.
M-Group, originally engaged in 2016 following a competitive RFP process, is one of the primary firms providing these services. M-Group has been instrumental in supplementing City staff capacity by managing entitlement processes and conducting environmental reviews, and are currently working on the Housing Element Rezoning program, among other projects.
In addition to project-based work, M-Group played a critical staffing support role during recent staff transitions. M-Group provided the interim Community Development Director while the City was recruiting for a permanent Director, and supported the Department during vacancies in senior-level planning positions, including the Deputy Director and Senior Planner roles. These staffing needs significantly increased the City’s reliance on M-Group’s services beyond initial Pacifica City Council 2
June 09, 2025
budget projections.
The existing contract with M-Group (Attachment A) has been amended six times, with the most recent amendment setting an amount of $1,075,000. Due to the continued volume of active applications and long-range planning work, the current contract ceiling is projected to be insufficient to complete the required services through the end of the year. In addition, the current contract term does not extend far enough to cover active and anticipated projects in progress or upcoming through 2025.
To ensure continuity of service, staff recommends adopting the resolution to approve the Seventh Amendment (Attachment B) increasing the cost ceiling by $175,000, bringing the new total to $1,250,000, and extending the agreement term through December 31, 2025. This extension will allow M-Group to continue assisting with application processing, CEQA, and the Housing Element Rezoning Program.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Deny or authorize a different amount for the amendment.
Reducing the amendment amount would limit the City’s ability to rely on M-Group for planning support, requiring City staff to absorb additional work while also maintaining progress on critical Council initiatives, such as housing and climate action. This could significantly delay application review and reduce staff capacity for strategic priorities.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
The tasks being performed by M-Group-such as CEQA compliance, planning permit review, and development proposal processing-are core governmental responsibilities of the City as a local public agency. The benefits and efficiencies of engaging professional planning firms to perform these tasks will indirectly allow in-house staff resources to devote time to the goals and strategies of the City Council’s Strategic Plan, including:
· Goal 1: Enhance organizational and fiscal stability
· Goal 3: Prioritize protection and development of affordable housing · Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposed increase of $175,000 is partially covered by the Community Development Department’s Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget and will be included in the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget. Additionally, a portion of this increase is offset by salary savings from recent vacancies in management and senior-level planning positions in the current fiscal year. A significant share of M-Group’s work is related to private development projects and is reimbursed by applicants, resulting in no net fiscal impact to the City for that portion of the work.
Pacifica City Council 3
June 09, 2025
ORIGINATED BY:
Community Development Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - M-Group Agreement to Provide On-Call Planning Services (PDF) Attachment B - Amendment 7 to M-Group Agreement to Provide On-Call Planning Services (PDF)
Pacifica City Council 4
June 09, 2025
RESOLUTION NO. _______
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A SEVENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSULTANT
SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH M-GROUP FOR ON-CALL PLANNING AND RELATED
SERVICES
______________________________________________________________________ WHEREAS, consistent with the City of Pacifica’s Purchasing Policy (Administrative Policy No. 76), the City of Pacifica entered into an agreement with M-Group for consulting services under the City Manager’s purchasing authority in July 2016; and WHEREAS, the City Council authorized amendments to the City’s agreement with M-Group for consulting services in November 2016, January 2018, December 2018, January 2020, July 2021, June 2023; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Pacifica has considered the City Manager’s recommendation to approve a SEVENTH amendment to the City’s agreement with M-Group for consultant services on June 9, 2025;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pacifica to authorize the City Manager to amend the agreement with M-Group for the purpose of increasing the cost ceiling amount by $175,000 with a total contract amount of $1,250,000 and to extend the term of the agreement two years to December 31, 2025. • • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 9
th day of June, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES, Councilmembers:
NOES, Councilmembers:
ABSENT, Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN, Councilmembers:
_________________________________
Sue Beckmeyer, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ _________________________________ Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney