CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
11/24/2025
1 SUBJECT:
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 Tenth Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Good City Company and to authorize the City Manager to execute the Tenth Amendment to increase the cost ceiling by $829,851 for additional specialized planning services and extend the agreement term through June 30, 2027.
STAFF CONTACT:
Elizabeth Brooks, Management Analyst II
650-738-7341
[email protected]
Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director
650-738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The Community Development Department manages numerous development project applications along with several City Council priority and major long-range planning initiatives, including development and implementation of the 2023–2031 Housing Element. To support this work, the City has been engaged with Good City Company through an on-call planning services agreement that has been amended over time to match evolving workloads and State-driven timelines. The City entered into an “Agreement for Consultant Services” (Agreement) on October 16, 2020. Under this Agreement, Good City provides its expertise in Housing Element implementation and provides technical assistance for City-initiated planning efforts. In addition, Good City provides special project services for applicant-funded private development projects, supporting the department’s ability to process these applications in accordance with statemandated timelines.
As part of the FY 2025–26 adopted budget, City Council allocated General Fund resources for the Community Development Department’s Contractual Services, which fund project review services. Council also allocated Housing Action Fund (Fund 221) resources toward two Housing Element implementation needs: (1) Housing Element Implementation, and (2) Public Sites (Housing Element Program I-3 (HE-I-3)). The first allocation, which is $100,000 for Housing Element Implementation, was intended to provide continuity and structural support for required implementation work, including mandatory reporting. The Public Sites allocation of $150,000 provides funding to initiate a multi-year effort to evaluate City-owned and other publicly owned lands for housing feasibility, conduct community engagement, coordinate with partner agencies, and prepare early technical work such as conceptual test fits and feasibility analyses.
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November 24, 2025
Since adoption of the FY 2025–26 budget, staff priorities and workloads have shifted in order to meet near-term Housing Element implementation milestones. Several Housing Element programs require early progress on zoning modernization and Objective Design Standards (ODS) (HE-I-2), both of which form the technical foundation needed for subsequent actions necessary for implementation and for processing housing projects consistent the certified housing element and State requirements. The sequencing of these tasks makes it clear that these activities must occur early in the overall Housing Element implementation program in order to keep subsequent actions and citywide ODS adoption on track. Moreover, advancing this work now is also advantageous because it aligns with the ongoing work of the City’s Partnership for the Bay’s Future (PBF) Fellow, whose two-year assignment focuses on zoning code modernization, ODS development, and supporting equitable Housing Element implementation. Coordinating consultant tasks with the Fellow’s projects allows the City to maximize resources and maintain consistency throughout these early, foundational stages of implementation.
To support these efforts and maintain continuity between Housing Element Implementation activities, staff recommends reallocating a portion of the FY 2025–26 Public Sites allocation to fund zoning modernization and ODS outreach and analysis. Public Sites work is a multi-year effort, and while early activities such as data gathering and initial community engagement will still begin during FY 2025–26, much of the more resource-intensive activities are scheduled for later phases. This creates an opportunity to re-sequence consultant assistance in a way that maintains the overall Public Sites timeline while supporting more immediate Housing Element implementation needs. This reallocation does not reduce the overall Public Sites program scope but adjusts the timing of consultant tasks to better align with implementation.
Good City’s familiarity with Pacifica’s Housing Element, General Plan, regulatory context, and the Pacifica community positions them to efficiently support this next phase of work. Their existing knowledge ensures continuity and supports coordinated project management across multiple Housing Element programs. Staff is also recommending inclusion of Good City’s optional task, which would provide architectural support for public sites analysis and community engagement activities. Incorporating this optional task will ensure that the City has the technical capacity needed for more detailed work on public lands as the program advances, as reflected in the consultant’s proposed amended Scope of Work (Exhibit A of Attachment B).
The proposed Amendment would increase the cost ceiling in the Agreement by $829,851 for additional specialized planning services, and extend the agreement term through June 30, 2027, to align with the multi-year nature of Housing Element implementation. All Housing Element activities are funded by the Housing Action Fund (Fund 221).
Approval of this amendment ensures that the City has adequate support to meet required Housing Element implementation deadlines, advance zoning modernization and ODS foundational work, coordinate with the PBF Fellow, and maintain momentum on Public Sites activities.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The Council may choose not to approve the amendment or approve a different amount. A reduced amount would require staff to divert internal resources toward, and reduce the scope of zoning modernization, ODS, and reporting requirements. This would maintain barriers toward construction of housing, and delay compliance with the certified housing element other City Council priority initiatives or reduce the level of public outreach and technical analysis planned for FY 2025–26.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
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November 24, 2025
Good City Company’s support of the Housing Element furthers City Council Strategic Goal 1:
Enhance organizational and fiscal stability, and Goal 3: Prioritize protection and development of affordable housing.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the Amendment would increase the Good City Company Agreement cost ceiling by $829,851, which would increase the total compensation amount paid to Good City under the Agreement since its inception in 2020 to $1,632,351. All Housing Element activities, including zoning modernization, ODS development, Housing Element reporting, and Public Sites work, are funded by the Housing Action Fund (Fund 221). On-call special project services for applicant-funded private development projects are fully reimbursable with a net zero impact on the General Fund.
CEQA:
The approval of the Tenth Amendment is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 15000 et. seq.), including without limitation, Public Resources Code section 21065 and California Code of Regulations 15378 as this is not a “project” that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment.
ORIGINATED BY:
Community Development Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: Good City Company Agreement to Provide On-Call Planning Services (PDF) Attachment B: Tenth Amendment to Good City Company Agreement to Provide On-Call Planning Services (PDF)
Pacifica City Council 4
November 24, 2025
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A TENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSULTANT SERVICES
AGREEMENT WITH GOOD CITY COMPANY FOR PROFESSIONAL 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 Good City Company for consulting services under the City Manager’s purchasing authority in October 2020; and WHEREAS the City Council authorized amendments to the City’s agreement with Good City Company for consulting services in November 2021, June 2022, September 2022, January 2023, August 2023, April 2024, June 2024, January 2025, and May 2025; and WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Pacifica has considered the City Manager’s recommendation to approve an additional amendment to the City’s agreement with Good City Company for consultant services;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Pacifica hereby authorizes the City Manager to execute the Tenth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Good City Company to increase the cost ceiling by $829,851 and extend the agreement term through June 30, 2027.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City Council hereby approves the Tenth Amendment, in the form attached hereto, with minor revisions that may be approved by the City Manager and the City Attorney, and to execute any other necessary documents to effectuate the terms of the Tenth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement.
• • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 24th day of November 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