CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
9/22/2025
1 SUBJECT:
Amendment to Consultant Services Agreement for Professional Planning and Related Services Between the City of Pacifica and Consulting Firm Environmental Science Associates (ESA) RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to adopt the Resolution approving an Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Environmental Science Associates (ESA), for mapping update services associated with the City’s Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP), to increase the contract amount by $29,448 for a total contract amount of $131,448, extend the contract term through June 30, 2026, authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment, and find the action exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3).
STAFF CONTACT:
Brianne Harkousha, AICP, Community Development Deputy Director 650-738-7341
[email protected]
Samantha Updegrave, LEED AP, Community Development Director 650-738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) update has been underway since 2009 and was certified by the California Coastal Commission in May 2025. Since fall of 2023, City Council held several community meetings to discuss needed changes to the LCLUP and directed staff to update the Coastal Vulnerability Zone (CVZ) map and prepare a new Tsunami Inundation Zone (TIZ) map. ESA is already retained under an existing agreement (Attachment A) to prepare these updates. To complete the work and deliver clear, public-facing map products that reflect current State guidance, staff request an increase to the ESA contract and an extension to contract term. The increase funds the completion of updated coastal hazards mapping – now including groundwater and tsunami layers – and ensures the products are ready for agency review and implementation with the certified LCLUP.
The City’s certified LCLUP hazard maps were developed using 2018 California State sea-levelrise guidance and past Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) data. Since that time, State guidance and regional datasets have been updated. In Fall 2023, City Council asked staff to modernize the hazard mapping for the LCLUP, including:
• Updating CVZ maps to reflect current State guidance and datasets; and • Creating a new TIZ map for community awareness and development review.
ESA, which authored the original CVZ maps, was retained to prepare the updates for a contract amount of $102,000. The current effort replaces older hazard layers with mapping consistent Pacifica City Council 2
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with 2024 State sea-level-rise guidance and more recent coastal data. It also adds two critical layers that were not previously included: groundwater (to illustrate potential shallow water table rise) and tsunami hazard areas. Together, the updated maps offer a more complete and current picture to guide adaptation planning and project review.
Since initiating the updates, staff has been coordinating closely with ESA and Coastal Commission staff to review ESA’s analysis and mapping approach. Coastal Commission staff reviewed and provided valuable feedback that requires refinement of certain layers and development of additional technical documentation to ensure consistency with State guidance.
The increase is needed to finish the work at the level of completeness and clarity expected for Council, agency, and public use, and to ensure there is sufficient time to attend the anticipated Planning Commission and City Council hearings associated with this work. Compared to the original estimate, the update has required additional effort to:
• Incorporate the State’s latest guidance and datasets in a manner that is consistent across all hazard layers;
• Add the new groundwater and tsunami mapping and harmonize these layers with flooding and erosion depictions; and
• Prepare user-friendly map products and web materials that can be readily shared during public processes and with permitting agencies.
• Conduct additional technical and coordination work with Coastal Commission staff to respond to feedback, refine the mapping methodology as needed, and prepare for hearing attendance.
These tasks are necessary to ensure the maps are current, internally consistent, and usable for both policy and permit decisions. Proceeding without the requested increase would either defer the completion of activities or result in products that do not fully meet the City’s implementation needs for the updated LCLUP.
If the proposed contract amendment (Attachment B) is approved, staff and ESA will proceed to complete the updated hazard maps and related public-facing materials. Approval of the amendment would increase the ESA contract cost ceiling from $102,000 to $131,448 (an increase of $29,448) and extend the contract term through June 30, 2026.
A tentative schedule for bringing the completed maps forward is as follows:
• FY 2025-26, Q3: Planning Commission and City Council hearings to consider adoption of updated hazard maps.
• FY 2025-2026, Q4: Submittal of adopted maps and supporting documentation to CCC for certification.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Do not authorize the First Amendment. An action to not authorize the Amendment would result in the contract amount remaining at $102,000, which would limit ESA’s work to the scope authorized under the original agreement. Without additional funding, the full set of CVZ and TIZ map updates will not be completed as directed by City Council. This may delay Council’s ability to consider the LCLUP with the most current coastal vulnerability information.
Additionally, because comments have been received from both City and Coastal Commission staff, additional technical and coordination work has been added to ESA’s scope of work (Attachment B). This work is necessary to revise and refine mapping products, provide Pacifica City Council 3
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responses to Coastal Commission staff comments, and ensure ESA’s attendance at public hearings. Without additional funding, these critical steps would not be completed, leaving the City without maps ready for adoption and CCC submittal and potentially delaying the overall LCLUP certification timeline.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
The tasks being performed by ESA are directly associated with the following item(s) in the Council-adopted Strategic Plan and Priority Work Plan for FY 2024-25:
• Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation. o Strategy C: Update Pacifica’s Local Coastal Plan and improve communications and collaboration with the California Coastal Commission.
CEQA:
The approval of the amendment with ESA to provide mapping update services associated with the LCLUP is exempt from review under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the services that will be provided by ESA to update the maps will have a significant effect on the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of the Amendment is $29,448, bringing the total contract amount to $131,448.
Sufficient funds are available in the adopted Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget under the Community Development Department’s Consultant Services budget. No additional budget appropriation is required.
ORIGINATED BY:
Community Development Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - ESA Agreement for Consulting Services (PDF) Attachment B - Amendment to ESA Agreement for Consultant Services (PDF) Pacifica City Council 4
September 22, 2025
RESOLUTION NO. ______
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE CONSULTANT SERVICES
AGREEMENT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATES FOR PROFESSIONAL
PLANNING SERVICES
________________________________________________________________________ WHEREAS, consistent with the City of Pacifica’s Purchasing Policy (Administrative Policy No. 76), the City of Pacifica entered into an agreement with Environmental Science Associates for mapping update services associated with the City's Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) and related services under the City Manager’s purchasing authority on August 12, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the City and Consultant now desire to amend the Agreement to modify the Scope of Services in section 170.1 (“Scope of Services”), increase the Contract Amount in section 2.1 (“Compensation”), and extend the Contract Term in section 3.1 (“Effective Date”) of the Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pacifica as follows:
1. The above recitals are true and correct and material to this Resolution.
2. The City Council hereby approves the First Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Environmental Science Associates for the purpose of expanding the Scope of Work, increasing the cost ceiling by $29,448 with a total contract amount of $131,448, and extending the contract term through June 30, 2026. All other terms of the Agreement, as amended, remain in full force and effect.
3. The City Manager is authorized to execute the First Amendment and any related documents necessary to implement the intent of this Resolution.
4. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. • • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 22nd day of September, 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