City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: June 17, 2025
Report #:2505-4690
TITLE
Approval of Seven (7) On-Call Consulting Contracts to Provide Planning Application Processing and Supplemental Staffing for the Planning and Development Services Department over a Five- Year Term, as needed: 1) Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting, 2) CTC Media Group INC., 3) Good City Company 4) Metropolitan Planning Group, 5) Michael Baker International Inc., 6) Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., 7) Urban Planning Partners Inc. in the Amount not to exceed $2,000,000 ; CEQA Status: Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C25193458K – C25193458Q (Attachments A-G) for consulting services in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 through June 2030. The firms will provide on- call staffing support associated with general planning services. The use of the contracts must be consistent with the funding available in the adopted budget(s). The contracts are:
1. C25193458K - Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting
2. C25193458L - CTC Media Group INC
3. C25193458M - Good City Company
4. C25193458N - Metropolitan Planning Group
5. C25193458O - Michael Baker International Inc.
6. C25193458P - Stantec
7. C25193458Q - Urban Planning Partners Inc.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Planning and Development Services Department utilizes planning consultant firms to augment staffing levels in development review and application processing. These firms offer planners capable of processing development applications, drafting notices and decision letters, supporting the City’s Single-Family Individual Review (IR) program, and conducting entitlement reviews. They also offer expert support in community development functions such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administration and wireless facility siting analysis, including Radio Frequency (RF) engineering expertise. Through a competitive request for
proposal (RFP) process, seven firms have been selected to provide services for these general planning functions. Staff recommends the approval of seven contracts and a shared not to exceed amount of $2,000,000 over a five-year term. The use of these contracts will be subject to available funding within the annually adopted budget.
BACKGROUND
The Planning and Development Services (PDS) Department relies on the use of on-call service providers for project specific expertise and application processing for development activity. In June 2020, the City Council approved eight planning services on-call contracts for a combined not-to-exceed amount of $1.5 million over a four-year period, through June 30, 2024. Although the original anticipated total not-to-exceed amount was for $5.0 million, staff requested a reduced initial amount of $1.5 million given the financial uncertainty at the time and notified Council of the need to return for additional contract authority before the end of the contract term. In April 2023, the City Council approved Amendment No. 1, which increased the not-to- exceed amount to $3.0 million. In April 2024, the City Council approved Amendment No. 2, which increased the not-to-exceed amount to $3.5 million and extended the term through June 2025. Ultimately, this resulted in a total not to exceed amount of $3.5 million over five years.
Solicitation Process
City staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on December 27, 2024, for the provision of planning on-call services.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposals
Proposal Description RFP 193458 Planning On-Call Services Proposed Length of Project Four years, with the possibility of two additional one-year extensions.
Request for Proposal Issued December 27, 2024
Number of Vendors Notified 3,349
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 45
Number of RFP Packages Downloaded 85
Pre-Proposal Meeting and Date N/A
Number of Company Attendees at Pre-Proposal
Meeting(s) N/A
Proposal Price Range* $175 - $335 hourly rate
Number of Companies Interviewed N/A
Final Negotiated Contract Price (Basic Services) N/A
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/po rtal/palo-alto-ca/projects/138159
* For standardization purposes, the hourly billing rates for principals are listed.
The proposals were evaluated, and 32 proposals were determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. An evaluation committee consisting of PDS managers convened to evaluate the proposals that met the RFP criteria. Seven firms were selected as planning staffing on-call support.
ANALYSIS
Given the volume of development activity and the fluctuating demands on City staff, the seven selected firms under the staffing service area will supplement City capacity in delivering planning services. These firms offer planners capable of processing development applications, drafting notices and decision letters, supporting the City’s Single-Family Individual Review (IR) program, and conducting entitlement reviews. They also offer expert support in community development functions such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administration and wireless facility siting analysis, including Radio Frequency (RF) engineering expertise.
These consultants can be deployed quickly through task orders to ensure continuity of services, especially during periods of peak workload, staffing transitions, or project-specific surges. The staffing contracts assist in meeting State-mandated timelines for processing development applications and are a critical operational tool for implementing local programs and regulations and sustaining high service levels across the Department’s core functions, including the critical experts that support staff for IR and wireless application reviews.
Process for Selecting On-Call Consultant
To ensure equity in distribution of work while ensuring alignment between project needs and consultant qualifications, an internal process is in place for selecting and assigning consultants specific task orders.
1. Develop Scope of Work (SOW): Staff project manager will develop a SOW that reflects the planning project requirements, including any technical needs and community engagement.
2. Solicit Proposals: Staff will contact all relevant firms via email notifying them of the request for proposals.
3. Comparison and Analysis: Staff will compare submitted proposals using the following, but not limited to, criteria to determine the best firm for the proposed task:
a. Technical Expertise
b. Relevant Experience and Past Performance on Similar Projects c. Project Cost
d. Timeline of Service Delivery
4. Selection of Consultant: After a consultant is selected, the firm will be notified, and a task order will be issued finalizing the scope of work, budget, and schedule for delivery.
These task orders will be issued in accordance with the terms of the master agreement.
To provide checks and balances, department directors or designee will be required to approve all task orders, reviewing contractor selection and budget adherence. The City Manager or designee will approve any task order over $100,000. Designated staff will manage the deliverables and budget of each task order, approving invoices to ensure that the billed hours match the hours actually worked as well as acceptance of work progress and products. This internal process will allow the Department to be effective in managing concurrent initiatives while leveraging the capabilities and technical expertise of on call consultants.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Use of consultants for specific assistance is an efficient and effective use of resources, allowing the department to quickly access needed technical skills. The cost of the contracts is offset by fees collected by the department for application processing, consistent with the FY 2026 Adopted Municipal Fee Schedule.
The budget for these contracts is included in the PDS Department’s adopted budget. The use of consultants for planning work is contingent on (1) approved contracts with capacity to support the required scope, and (2) availability of funding in the department’s approved budget. Staff is not requesting a budget increase. No work will be assigned to consultants under these contracts unless there is sufficient operating budget to cover the costs.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Professional planners and managers in the PDS Department participated in the development of this recommendation.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of these contracts is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); therefore, no environmental review is required.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Links to Contracts
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director