City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: June 15, 2026
Report #:2603-6118
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract Number C26195541 with HDA Architects, Inc. in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $221,650 to Provide Architectural Design Services for the Animal Shelter Renovation – Capital Improvement Program Project PE-19002; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(e)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C26195541 with HDA Architects, Inc. to provide architectural design services for the Animal Shelter Renovation capital improvement program project (PE- 19002) for a total not-to-exceed amount of $221,650, including $201,500 for basic services and $20,150 for additional services.
BACKGROUND
For the last 40 years, the City has operated a full-service animal shelter located at 3281 East Bayshore Road. Animal services include a spay and neuter clinic, vaccine clinic, and adoption services for various types of animals. In November 2018, Council approved an operating agreement with Pets In Need (PIN)1 to provide full-service shelter operations at the Palo Alto Animal Shelter. Under the agreement, the City was responsible for remodeling the medical suite and installing a modular office/building, with those projects completed in September 20202 and December 20203, respectively. A new partnership agreement with PIN was established in March 20244 for five years with the ability to mutually extend for an additional five years. The current agreement identifies facility improvements to the shelter’s premises, for which the City has a lump sum budget of $2.5 million for design and construction. The improvement areas are prioritized in the following order and evaluate the following needs:
1. Cat Wing (Small Animal Rooms)
a. Reconfigure cat rooms
b. Addition of flexible multi-purpose space for medical assessment and treatments c. Addition of dedicated space for small animals
d. Provide dedicated meet and greet/socialization space
2. Dog Kennel
a. Improve air circulation for kennel house
b. Addition of guillotine doors between side-by-side kennels
3. Medical Suite
a. Adjustments to accommodate larger dogs
In addition to the identified priority areas, the City is responsible for regular capital maintenance of the existing facility and will include re-roofing in coordination with the shelter renovations and project phasing as needed to ensure the least amount of disruption to shelter operations.
ANALYSIS
Solicitation Process:
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was published on February 4, 2026 on OpenGov, the City’s eProcurement platform, and 3,804 vendors were notified. Vendors had 35 days to respond to the RFP. A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on February 18, 2026, and 29 1 City Council, November 26, 2018; Agenda Item #13; SR 9822; https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=76122&page=1&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 2 City Council, October 7, 2019; Agenda Item #15; SR 10605; https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=87963&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto 3 City Council, February 25, 2019; Agenda Item #11A; SR 10057; https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=87962&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto&cr=1 4 City Council, March 18, 2024; Agenda Item #8; SR 2402-2596; https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=6447&dbid=0&repo=PaloAlto vendors attended the meeting. The solicitation period was posted for 35 days and 6 proposals were received. The solicitation closed on March 11, 2026.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description Design and Consultant Services for the Animal Shelter Renovations/RFP 195541
Proposed Length of Project February 4 – March 11, 2026
Number of Vendors Notified 3,804
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 72
Total Days to Respond to Bid 35
Pre-Proposal Meeting Yes, Non-Mandatory
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date February 18, 2026
Number of Proposals Received 6
Proposal Price Range $201,500 to $779,500
Public Link to Solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo- alto-ca/projects/197093
An evaluation committee, consisting of representatives from the Public Works Engineering Services Division, reviewed the proposals. The committee carefully reviewed each firm’s qualifications and submittal in response to the criteria identified in the RFP. The committee reviewed each firm’s qualifications related to its experience in animal facility design and qualifications of specific staff to be assigned to the project. HDA Architects was selected due to their proposed project approach, past performance on new animal service facilities and remodels of existing shelters, and understanding of the project goals.
Staff recommends the approval of Contract No. C26195541 with HDA Architects, Inc (Attachment A). The contract is divided into three parts, one for each identified priority area, and further broken down into five tasks for each project delivery milestone. This approach provides flexibility when assembling the construction bid package as one package or phased packages for each priority area once the project scopes and budgets are established. Tasks may be combined in order to eliminate repetitive fieldwork, account for accessibility and floodplain considerations early, and reduce conflicts between disciplines among the three priority areas.
Staff will provide prior written authorization to proceed for each task for each identified priority area.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for this contract recommendation is available in the Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Capital Improvement Budget for the Animal Shelter Renovation Project (PE-19002).
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
As part of the new partnership agreement between the City and PIN in March 2024, City staff coordinated with PIN staff to determine the priorities and refine the scope of work for the improvements at the Animal Shelter.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project is a Class 1 Categorical Exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301(e). The Class 1 exemption covers additions to existing structures provided that the addition will not result in an increase of more than 50 percent of the floor area of the structures before the addition, or 2,500 square feet, whichever is less.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: HDA Architects, Inc., Contract C26195541
APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer