City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Fire
Meeting Date: February 9, 2026
Report #:2601-5798
TITLE
Approval of Four Professional Services Contracts C26194180A-D, with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc, TRB and Associates, Inc., Atlas Environmental and West Coast Code Consultants, Inc. in the Aggregate Total Not-to-Exceed amount of $1,438,800 for On-Call Fire Code, and Hazardous Material Related Services, Inspection, Plan Review and Environmental Consultation over a three- year term; CEQA status: not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the following four contracts to provide on-call inspection, plan review, and environmental consultation services for a term of three years and an aggregate total amount not- to-exceed $1,438,800. Four Professional Services Contracts include: C26194180A with Atlas Environmental; C26194180B with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc.; C26194180C with TRB and Associates, Inc.; and C26194180D with West Coast Code Consultants, Inc.
BACKGROUND
The Fire Prevention Bureau utilizes on-call professional service providers to access specialized project expertise and efficiently process applications related to development activities. In June 2020, the City Council approved six contracts dedicated to on-call inspection and plan review services for all Development Services including Fire Code, Hazardous Material related services, plan review and environmental consultation, amounting to $6 million over a span of four-and-a- half years. At that time, the Fire Prevention Bureau operated under Development Services.
However, a staffing study conducted in September 2023 resulted in the Bureau's reintegration into the Fire Department. This transition necessitated the establishment of separate contracts for plan check services for the Fire Prevention Bureau. With the on-call contracts originally approved in 2020 expiring on December 31, 2024, the City extended these contracts and initiated a Request for Proposals (RFP) to maintain uninterrupted service into 2025. This recommended Fire Department contract reflects Fire-specific services only such as expert plan review, inspection and environmental consultation; Fire Prevention’s actual third-party plan review costs were $550,000 (FY23), $450,000 (FY24), and $470,000 (FY25), totaling $1.47 million over three years.
The attached four contracts will continue Fire plan review and permitting services with the successful RFP respondents for the next three years, from January 2026 through December 2028.
ANALYSIS
The proposed on-call contracts have been developed to continue providing essential services while allowing flexibility in project assignments based on expertise and availability. Fire internal staff capacity remains an ongoing consideration. As future needs are evaluated through the annual budget process, opportunities will be explored to reduce reliance on consultants by increasing in-house staff capacity.
Procurement Process
On May 29, 2025, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for On-Call Fire and Hazmat Plan Review and Environmental Consultation Services was posted on OpenGov, the City’s eProcurement portal, as a multi-award RFP. The proposal period was 21 calendar days and resulted in five proposals of which four (4) service providers were determined to best support the City’s needs for inspection, plan review, and environmental consultation services over a three-year term.
Table 1 below summarizes the RFP process:
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description On-Call Fire and Hazmat Plan Review and Environmental Consultation Services RFP No. 194180
Proposed Length of Project 3 years
Number of Vendors Notified 3,573
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 38
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 21
Pre-Proposal Meeting No
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date N/A
Number of Proposals Received 5
Proposal Price Range – Hourly Rates Hourly rate ranging from $120-$185 Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-alto- ca/projects/173507
The proposals were evaluated and determined to be responsive to the criteria identified in the RFP. Four proposers were selected because of the quality and effectiveness of their services, the experience of their staff, prior record of performance with the City, and their ability to provide future services. Each firm possesses the expertise to provide inspection and plan check services for fire, hazmat and/or environmental services; the on-call contracts provide the Fire Prevention Bureau with the flexibility needed to efficiently select the vendor best suited for any given project in a timely fashion. On-call providers allow the City to scale services up or down based on workload, staffing levels, technical expertise, and economic conditions. These resources also provide specialized expertise required for policy consideration as it relates to Council priorities.
The scope of services includes inspection, plan review, and environmental consultation. Table 2 below summarizes each contractor’s services and contract amounts. Recommended contract amounts per service provider reflect the RFP evaluation rankings and anticipated workload allocation, with a primary provider receiving the majority of assignments and secondary/backup providers available to cover peak demand, schedule conflicts, and specialized or overflow needs.
Table 2: Contractor Services Summary
Contractor Service 3 Year Contract Total
Atlas Environmental Plan check and environmental consultation $ 748,800 Interwest Consulting Plan check and inspection services $ 75,000 TRB and Associates Plan check and inspection services $ 365,000 West Coast Code Consultants Plan check and inspection services $ 250,000 Total: $ 1,438,800
Contract Administration
Staff acknowledge the requested approval provides great flexibility and deference to the management of these professional services with staff. As such, rigorous administration of the contracts will be undertaken to ensure consistency and alignment with project goals. This is particularly important to mitigate the risk of inconsistent feedback to developers when multiple contractors are engaged. The following measures will be implemented:
• Assignment for Project Continuity: For large or complex projects, a single contractor will be assigned to handle all related tasks, ensuring continuity and consistency in feedback throughout the project's lifecycle.
• Standardized Guidance and Training: All contractors will receive standardized training materials, policies, and templates to use when providing feedback. • Quality Oversight: Staff will regularly review project communications and deliverables to ensure feedback provided by contractors aligns with City standards and expectations.
As projects arise, staff will develop a Task Order scope of work issuing the project to the firm best suited to perform the work based on qualifications such as experience, subject area expertise, timeline, and cost. For ongoing management, staff oversee each on-call contract and the associated consultant work through several measures, including:
• Conducting resume reviews and interviews to match service provider staff to specific project requirements.
• Monitoring and verifying consultant timecards to ensure alignment with project deliverables including quality of work.
• Processing and auditing invoices to confirm appropriate allocation of funds and compliance with contract terms.
• Any task orders over $75,000 will require approval by the Department director, and any over $100,000 will require approval by the City Manager or their designee.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Use of consultants for specific assistance is an efficient and effective use of resources, allowing the Fire Prevention Bureau to quickly access technical skills needed. The budget for these contracts is included in the Fire Department’s adopted budget. The use of contractors for planning and permit-related work is contingent on availability of funding in the Department’s approved budget, and no budget increase is required. No work will be assigned to consultants under these contracts unless there is sufficient operating budget to cover the costs. For Fiscal Year 2026 there is an annual budget of $487,000 for these service contracts.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
These on-call contracts support City Council priorities for Economic Development and housing by maintaining timely, predictable development permitting through access to specialized plan review and surge capacity beyond City staffing. The work includes expert review of fire and life safety systems and related building/system permits to verify Fire Code and Building Code compliance for new development, as well as Hazardous Materials plan check and environmental expertise to review code compliance and permits associated with the use and storage of hazardous materials, including on-call technical review of site mitigation and closure plans.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because approval of these contracts is an administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2); 15378(b)(5).
Applicant projects requiring these contracted services will undergo appropriate CEQA review in accordance with the City’s permit and plan review procedures.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Atlas Environmental Contract
Attachment B: Interwest Consulting Group Contract
Attachment C: TRB and Associates Contract
Attachment D: West Coast Code Consultants Contract
APPROVED BY:
Stephen Lindsey, Fire Chief