CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
6/8/2026
1 SUBJECT:
Amendments to Consultant Services Agreements with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. to Fulfill the City’s CEQA Obligations in a Timely and Comprehensive Manner, with CSG Consultants, Inc. for On-Call Planning Services, Building Division Staff Augmentation, and Related Services, and with Environmental Science Associates for Mapping Update Services.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
1) Adopt the Resolution titled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Ninth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. for Contract and Related Services” (Attachment A); and,
2) Adopt the Resolution titled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Eighth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement With CSG Consultants, Inc. for Building Official, Building Inspection, Plan Review, and Related Services” (Attachment B); and 3) Adopt the Resolution titled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Second Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Environmental Science Associates for Professional Planning Services” (Attachment C).
STAFF CONTACT:
Samantha Updegrave, Community Development Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Raney Planning & Management, Inc.
The Community Development Department (CDD) processes complex development applications, many of which are subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These projects include large residential developments and long-range planning efforts, all of which require thorough, legally defensible environmental documentation. Due to limited in-house CEQA expertise, the City relies on outside consulting support to assist the City in fulfilling its CEQA obligations in a timely and comprehensive manner.
Raney Planning & Management, Inc. has served as a CEQA consultant for the City under the existing agreement since 2016 (Attachment D), providing expert environmental review services. Their work includes preparing CEQA documents such as Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports, as well as reviewing technical studies and responding to public and agency comments. Raney is currently supporting several ongoing and upcoming high-profile projects that require substantial CEQA analysis, including both project-level and program-level environmental documentation.
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Since the last amendment, CDD’s project workload has grown, with staff simultaneously managing multiple planning efforts and responding to sustained development interest. The City does not have technical and environmental review staff positions, therefore internal staff resources remain limited, making continued consultant support essential to maintaining compliance with CEQA and advancing priority projects. Due to the complexity and ongoing volume of the work, the total cost of services under the agreement is now expected to exceed the existing contract amount. In most cases, CEQA costs are reimbursable through developer deposits or funded directly by applicants.
Staff recommends approval of the Ninth Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. (Attachment E) to (1) increase the contract amount by $80,000 and (2) extend the term of the agreement through June 30, 2027. These changes will ensure continued access to the CEQA expertise necessary to support project review and environmental compliance.
CSG Consultants
In October 2015, the City entered into its current contract with CSG Consultants to provide Building Division services, including plan checking, inspection, code enforcement, building official duties, administration, and special project services (Attachment F). The initial threeyear contract expired at the end of October 2018, and the City Council subsequently extended the contract with additional one-year terms in 2019, 2020, a two-year term in 2021, and a one-year term in 2023 and a two-year term in 2024. The annual maximum compensation for the contract is determined during the budget process each fiscal year.
The Community Development Department is seeking an extension of the term identified in Section 3.1 (“Effective Date”) of the Agreement to June 30, 2028 (see Attachment G: CSG Eighth Amendment).
Environmental Science Associates (ESA)
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 H) to prepare these updates. To complete the work and deliver clear, publicfacing map products that reflect current State guidance, including groundwater and tsunami layers, the Community Development Department is seeking an extension of the term identified in Section 3.1 (“Effective Date”) of the Agreement to June 30, 2027 (see Attachment I: ESA Second Amendment). The extension is needed to finish the work at the level of completeness and clarity expected for Council, agency, and public use.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Deny or modify the amendment.
Denying or modifying the amendments would: impeded the department’s ability to provide defensible of environmental documents; prevent review of permits for compliance with CA Building Standards Code, permit approvals and issuance, and permit inspections; require City staff to absorb additional work while also maintaining progress on critical Council initiatives, such as housing and climate action; significantly delay or prevent map generation; negatively impact development review; ;and reduce staff capacity for strategic priorities.
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CEQA:
The approval of the amendment to the agreement with Raney and CSG are 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.
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.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
The proposed Ninth Amendment with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. supports the following City Council Strategic Plan goals:
• Goal 1: Enhance organizational and fiscal stability by providing critical expert consultant support that helps ensure CEQA requirements are met without diverting internal resources from broader departmental responsibilities and City priorities. • Goal 3: Prioritize protection and development of affordable housing, by enabling timely environmental review of housing-related applications, including those tied to Housing Element implementation.
• Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation through continued environmental review of projects
The tasks being performed by CSG Consultants, Inc. support the following City Council Strategic Plan goal:
• Goal 1: Enhance organizational and fiscal stability by providing contract building services, reviewing and issuing permits, generating revue, and ensuring the City meets its responsibilities for permits and inspections.
The tasks being performed by ESA support the following City Council Strategic Plan goal:
• Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation; Strategy C: Begin Implementation of Pacifica’s Local Coastal Plan and improve communications and collaboration with the California Coastal Commission by updating maps that reflect current State guidance, including groundwater and tsunami layers.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for the proposed Ninth Amendment with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. is included in the Community Development Department’s FY 2026–27 proposed budget for contractual services. CEQA-related costs for qualifying land use development projects are typically reimbursable through developer deposits or funded by applicants. The proposed amendment would increase the contract amount by $80,000 and will support ongoing environmental review work anticipated through the extended term ending June 30, 2027.
Both CSG and ESA Agreements are an extension of time only. The CSG Agreement would be limited to the amount budgeted for Building Division contractual services. The cost to operate the Building Division is offset by permit fees.
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ORIGINATED BY:
Community Development Department
ORIGINATED BY:
Community Development Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - Raney_Resolution_Amendment9_On-Call Services_DRAFT (DOCX) Attachment B - Resolution_Amendment8_CSG (DOCX)
Attachment C - Resolution_ESA_Amendment2_DRAFT (DOCX)
Attachment D - Raney_Agreement_On-Call Services_ORIGINAL (PDF) Attachment E - Raney_Amendment9_On-Call Services_DRAFT (Raney Signed) (PDF) Attachment F - CSG_Original Agreement_EXECUTED (PDF)
Attachment G - Amendment8_CSG_Building Division Services Signed (PDF) Attachment H - Agreement_ESA_LCLUP Mapping_EXECUTED (PDF) Attachment I - Amendment 2_ESA_Coastal Hazards Mapping - signed (PDF)