PLAN CHECK & INSPECTION SERVICES
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
CITY OF REDONDO BEACH
Department of Community Development
415 Diamond Street, Door 2
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Inquiries regarding this project should be directed to:
Mercedes Amely at [email protected] with the subject line “Plan Check and Inspection Services RFP Questions”
Submittal Deadline: Thursday, April 10, 2025
PROPOSAL REQUEST
The City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development, Building and Safety Division, is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide comprehensive plan check services.
These services may also include inspection and permit technician staffing support as needed.
Key responsibilities encompass the review of construction documents, structural design calculations, fire protection system plans with associated design calculations, and all relevant supplemental materials. All reviews must adhere to the timeline outlined in Item 12 of this document. Consultants will be compensated at a rate of sixty percent of the plan review fees collected by the City. To ensure efficiency and compliance with the City's digital processes, all plan reviews must be conducted electronically using Bluebeam Studio Sessions, with final results uploaded into the City’s electronic permitting software. We invite experienced firms with a strong track record in plan check services to submit their proposals for consideration. The Building and Safety Division is seeking a partner who shares our values of providing exceptional customer service to the community with timely plan check reviews.
CITY INFORMATION
The City of Redondo Beach contains 6.35 sq. miles of land and is a suburban city in Los Angeles County located along the Pacific Ocean. The City’s bordering communities include Torrance to the south, Torrance, Lawndale, and Hawthorne to the east, Hermosa Beach to the north of South Redondo, and Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach to the west of North Redondo.
Redondo Beach is largely an urbanized area composed of a mix of single family, multi-family, commercial, and industrial buildings. Redondo Beach is a full-service city with its own police, fire, and public works departments, two public libraries, a performing arts center, several parks, a large recreational and commercial harbor including King Harbor, a 1,500-slip private craft port, the Redondo Beach Pier and Seaside Lagoon, and a bathing and surfing beach. Significant concentrations of employment and retail activity include the northern industrial complex anchored by the Northrop Grumman Corporation campus; the Harbor/Pier area; the Galleria at South Bay– a regional mall being redeveloped at the east end of the City; and an eclectic mix of specialty shops, restaurants, and services known as the Riviera Village area in the south end of the City.
Located in the choice coastal edge of Los Angeles County, just twenty miles from downtown Los Angeles and seven miles south of Los Angeles International Airport, Redondo Beach has been a preferred resort destination for more than a century and one of the most desirable areas to live in the country. The City’s population has been slowly but steadily growing in the past years. As of April 2023, the Census reports an estimated total population of 71,569. The median home price is just over $1.5 million.
Redondo Beach is a “charter city” governed by a council-manager form of government. The Mayor is elected at large, and one Council Member is elected from each of the five City districts. The Mayor and Council appoint the City Manager as the chief administrative officer of the City to guide day-to-day operations.
Building Safety services are managed by the Community Development Department’s Building Division. City Hall hours of operation are typically from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and on alternate Fridays. Building Division operations are being conducted both over the counter and electronically.
COUNCIL APPROPRIATIONS
The City of Redondo Beach operates on a fiscal year spanning from July 1 to June 30. Funding for the Building Division’s plan review services is sourced from the revenues generated through plan review fees.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Building Division provides comprehensive Plan Checking and Building Inspection services for building improvements proposed by private or public applicants/owners that include, but are not limited to the following:
Plan Review: The City may select more than one firm to perform the requested services with plan check submittals assigned to the consultant from the approved list. Consultant shall agree to attend meetings via electronic video conferencing, at City Hall, or at a particular job site when needed to resolve plan check matters or questions, but is encouraged to work directly by telephone, video conferencing, or email with the project's applicant, engineer/architect, and City of Redondo Beach staff when reviewing submitted plans or subsequent corrections. The Consultant must be qualified to review and check plans for completeness and correctness based on the current California Building Code, California Residential Code, California Mechanical Code, California Electrical Code, California Plumbing Code, California Green Code, California Fire Code, California Energy Code, California Existing Building Code, California Historical Building Code, local municipal code amendments as adopted by the City of Redondo Beach, as well as disabled access and other State and Federal regulations.
Individuals who perform plan check functions must be registered as civil, structural, geotechnical, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical engineers by the State of California and must also be experienced in structural design, grading, and code requirements. Individuals who perform Fire Protection plan check functions shall be experienced in the Fire Protection requirements as stated in the California Building and Fire Codes, as well as National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
At least one member on staff must be a Certified Access Specialist (CASp).
1. The consultant shall provide thorough and efficient plan review services on an as needed basis for a variety of commercial, industrial, and complex residential projects and shall include but not limited to the following:
a. Review of architectural, fire life safety (Building and Fire codes), structural, geotechnical, civil (grading and drainage), mechanical, electrical, plumbing, energy, green, and disabled access. Review may include calculations, reports and specifications.
b. Recheck of plans after the applicant has made corrections c. Review and recheck of field changes and deferred submittals as needed d. Review and recheck of any additional work on the project as needed
2. Plan review of submitted projects shall ensure conformance with the City's most current codes. Plan review letter comments shall be specific, detailed, complete, and reference plan sheet numbers and code sections where applicable. A plan checks correction list along with any marked-up set of plans shall be provided to the City electronically for each project reviewed via the City’s permitting system or other means designated by the city.
Approved plans shall be electronically stamped on all sheets and cover of all supporting documents.
3. Geo-technical reports, testing lab reports and any other reports shall be considered in the plan review process.
4. Consultant shall perform accelerated plan review on an as-needed basis. When
authorized by the City and agreed to by the consultant, developer-initiated expedited plan check may be accommodated and shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed 1 ½ times the agreed rate.
5. Contract between City and consultant shall be valid for four years.
6. Consultant shall be available to attend pre-submittal and design discussion meetings with the permit applicant as requested by the City. These meetings shall be compensated at the rate of one (1) hour of straight-time compensation and does not include travel time.
7. Incoming calls to consultant shall be answered by a live person with any missed calls returned the same business day. Consultant shall make his cell telephone available to City so that consultant can be contacted, if necessary, by the City between the hours of 7:30 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. from Monday through Friday, except on holidays.
8. Majority of submittals are digital, however, where paper plans are necessary, pick up and drop off of plans at the City shall be part of the plan review services and at the expense of the consultant. Plans shall be picked up within 24 hours by the consultant after receiving notification from the City.
9. Structural plans are to be reviewed by a registered Structural Engineer. A registered Civil Engineer may be substituted if it can be demonstrated that the individual has acceptable experience in structural design and plan review of complex structures.
10. Accessibility for housing and commercial projects shall be reviewed by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp).
11. The consultant shall provide an itemized billing for all services on a monthly basis.
12. The City of Redondo Beach requests consultants to guarantee the following maximum turnaround time for performing plan review services. This turnaround time should be measured from the time a plan is received and sent back with complete comments.
Inspections: Consultant, upon request of the City, shall provide International Code Council (ICC) or Other Certified and experienced inspectors to conduct inspections of all phases of construction for compliance with approved plans and all applicable codes and City Ordinances including but not limited to those relating to structural integrity, fire and life safety, electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, as well as energy conservation, accessibility, grading and site work. Contract inspection services could also include enforcement of compliance with conditions of approval and the requirements set forth on the plans for which the permit was issued. At the request of the City, and upon the availability of the consultant, building inspection may be performed after hours at a rate not to exceed 1 ½ times the agreed upon hourly rate. In addition, building inspectors are required to perform after-hours stand-by emergency response in the event of fires, accidents, etc.
Optional On-site Contract Services: Occasionally, the City may need to augment staff during times of staff vacations, leaves of absence, vacancies, and/or high volumes of plan check requests. If your firm can provide staffing to support these requests, please provide fee schedule and resume for proposed individual(s).
• Plan Check Engineer
• Plans Examiner
• Certified Accessibility Specialist (CASp Inspector)
• Senior Building Inspector
• Permit Technician
• Building Official
• Others as requested, i.e.: Planner, Fire Inspector, Analyst, etc.
The applicant shall identify hourly rate ranges for each of the above responsibilities that could be relied upon during the contract period should the need arise to utilize such services. If you do not have experts in any of these areas, please indicate this in your response.
The City will provide the selected consultant with access to copies of all adopted Building Code Amendments, available data, information, reports, records, and maps available in City files that may be relevant to the contracted work. Research of and familiarity with this material shall be the responsibility of the consultant.
FEE SCHEDULE/ RATE SHEET
Consultants engaged in plan review services for the City of Redondo Beach will be compensated at a rate of sixty percent of the plan check fees collected by the City. Compensation for staff augmentation services will be based on an hourly rate. Consultants must submit a detailed hourly rate sheet, including a fee breakdown by personnel, to align with the service requirements outlined above. Additionally, consultants are required to provide a comprehensive accounting of hours worked on a monthly basis, which must be included in the corresponding monthly invoice.
CONSULTANT'S PROPOSAL
The City's third-party plan review consultant shall be compensated for their services based on percentage and/or hourly basis where identified. Proposals shall specify the following requirements.
1. Provide a proposed schedule of total fees for the components of the scope that you are submitting a proposal for and a listing of estimated other direct costs.
2. Where plan checks are designated as accelerated/expedited reviews by city staff, the
consultant will be compensated an additional 50% of the agreed hourly rate submitted in items above for the accelerated/expedited review. The consultant shall track the total number of hours spent on plan reviews and submit as part of monthly invoicing.
3. Applicants shall provide the City with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at least three (3) references that have used their services over the past three years. Please advise these references that someone from the City of Redondo Beach may be contacting them to inquire about the firm’s past/present services to them.
4. Applicant shall provide the City with a resume for each of the staff within your organization.
This resume should include but not be limited to:
a. Related plan review experience
b. Type of structures reviewed
c. Number of years reviewing plans
d. Educational background
e. Appropriate degrees and certifications as related to plan checking
5. Applicants shall also submit one additional resume for the company. This resume would give a brief overview of the organization and would include (but not be limited to):
a. Plan check experience
b. Size of the organization
c. Number of years in the plan review business
6. Applicants shall provide a single point of contact and accountability for the City.
7. Describe how your firm manages client relationships, including your process for responding to phone calls and/or emails from City staff, including expected timelines for replies. and discuss your anticipated relationship with the City of Redondo Beach and your organization.
8. List any lawsuits or arbitration proceedings that have been initiated by or against your firm in the past five years. Briefly state the nature of the action and the outcome.
9. Describe your firm's customer service philosophy and provide examples where this philosophy is demonstrated.
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Communication with the City of Redondo Beach
All communications about this Request for Proposal must be directed through email to [email protected] with the subject line “Plan Check and Inspection Services RFP QUESTIONS”. All questions related to this RFP should be submitted in writing via email and be addressed directly to the referenced contact person ensuring equity among proposers.
All questions must be submitted to the City via email no later than Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 5:30 PM. Responses to all questions will be disseminated at one time to all proposers via email by end of day on Thursday, April 8, 2025. Telephone communications or emails outside of the official RFP process shall not be binding upon the City. Contact with City employees or officials, other than the referenced contact person, is expressly prohibited without prior consent and may result in the disqualification of the applicant.
The proposal shall designate a representative to communicate with the City of Redondo Beach.
The representative must be a person authorized to negotiate a contract in the company's name.
The vendor must also identify a person who will act as the vendor's contract administrator. This person or a successor must have full authority to resolve any disputes arising with the City of Redondo Beach.
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted to the city electronically no later than 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2025, to [email protected] attention Mercedes Amely.
Proposals received after this date will not be considered and will be rejected. Proposals can be returned upon request.
The City will only accept electronic proposals at this time. If the file size is over 15MB, please email a link from a file-sharing website (such as Dropbox). Proposals must be submitted via email.
In-person, hard copy, or FAX submittals will not be accepted. All Proposals must be submitted via email with the Subject Line “Plan Check and Inspection Services Request for Submittal”. In the body of the email, include the following:
Request for Proposal
Plan Check and Inspection Services
“Name and Address of Proposer”
Proposals must be signed by an individual authorized to bind the proposing entity to all commitments contained therein. If necessary, proposers may place in a separate folder or files clearly identified as "confidential" all financial statements, copyrighted material, trade secrets, or other proprietary information that it asserts is exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act. All claims of confidentiality will be assessed by the City Attorney’s Office should any request for records be made in the future.
Tentative Proposal Schedule
The City reserves the right to make changes to the below schedule, but plans to adhere to the implementation of this bid process as follows:
RFP released date: Monday, March 24, 2025
Deadline for submitting questions: Thursday, April 3, 2025 Responses to question: Thursday, April 8, 2025
Proposal submittal due date: Thursday, April 10, 2025
Costs Incurred by the Consultant
The City of Redondo Beach shall not be liable for any costs incurred by the consultant in preparing or submitting a proposal to the City of Redondo Beach. Further, this request does not obligate the City to accept or contract for any expressed or implied services.
Contract
The selected consultant(s) shall agree to enter into a contract with the City of Redondo Beach to provide the services agreed upon.
Rejection of Proposals
The City of Redondo Beach reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive informalities in the proposal process. The City of Redondo Beach does not intend to enter into an agreement solely on the basis of a submitted proposal or otherwise pay for the information solicited or obtained.
Subsequent procurement, if any, will be in accordance with the appropriate City of Redondo Beach contractual action. Noncompliance with any condition of this proposal may result in a recommendation to the City of Redondo Beach Council that the consultant be disqualified.
Insurance
Failure to provide insurance coverage and written acceptance of the tendered policy shall be deemed to constitute a material breach of contract by the vendor. The City of Redondo Beach reserves the right to then award the contract to another applicant. In order to protect the public interest and notwithstanding any provisions herein to the contrary, the consultant's failure to comply with any provision in this Section shall subject the contract to immediate termination without notice and without recourse by any person. Insurance requirements are included in the attached “Insurance Requirements for Consultants (General)”.
Business License
The successful applicant(s) shall possess a current City of Redondo Beach business license on file at City Hall or purchase said license.
Validity of Proposals
Proposals shall be valid for one hundred eighty (180) working days from the submittal deadline.
Cost of Services
The City of Redondo Beach reserves the right to negotiate the amount for contract services.
CONSULTANT INFORMATION
In submitting a proposal, each applicant shall also provide the following information. Brochures and advertisements will not be accepted as a direct response to the questionnaire. A qualifying proposal must address all items.
Organization: Describe your firm's qualifications to provide the service specified in this RFP. Be sure to include: the founding date (month and year) and brief history of the firm; facility/office location; current number of employees (full-time and part-time); special equipment acquired for the work; firm's vision and mission statements, and key services offered.
References: List three or more clients for whom you have provided plan check services. List references that are current and similar in size and scope of work. For each of these references, include the organization name, address, and the name and telephone number of the contact person.
Quality Control Program: Describe your firm's established "proactive" Quality Control program that you will be providing to the City, to ensure a high level of performance is maintained on a consistent basis.
Contract Administrator: Indicate the name, title, telephone number, and years of experience of the individual who will be administering the contract, if awarded to your firm.
Subcontracting: Is your firm planning to subcontract portions of the work? Please specify yes or no. If yes, indicate the name of the subcontractor(s) and the portion of the work that will be subcontracted in each case.
Employees: How many employees do you plan to hire or retain to provide the services specified in this RFP? Are they going to be permanent full-time or part-time employees? Affiliations and Accreditation: If any, what are some of your firm's professional affiliations, accreditation, and awards?
EVALUATION PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Evaluation of the proposals will be based upon a competitive selection process. Selection will not, however, be limited to price alone. The City's primary objective is to retain a consultant(s) so that the City is best positioned to provide timely and professional plan review services in a qualified, efficient, and cost-effective manner, in combination with in-house City staff resources. City staff and evaluators will review all statements of proposals received prior to the stated deadline. The candidate will be evaluated on the following criteria:
1. Experience in providing the same or similar services
2. Ability to understand and perform the plan review and inspection tasks efficiently and in accordance with the requirements of City, approved documents and State adopted codes
3. Demonstrated ability to make appropriate judgments about building code interpretations and alternate methods of achieving compliance with applicable codes in consultations with the City's Building Official
4. Knowledge and familiarity with City of Redondo Beach Department of Community Development operations
5. Strength of personnel and team proposed to provide services
6. Cost to perform the required services as stated in the Scope of Work
7. Oral and written communication abilities
8. References
9. Responses to Scope of Work
The consultant must demonstrate its ability to perform the services required. The consultant must demonstrate and document a history of timely and satisfactory performance of similar projects in a manner that addresses the stated evaluation criteria. Consultant shall be responsible for the accuracy of information supplied concerning references. In addition, the City may consider evidence of untimely and unsatisfactory performance on prior similar projects, or litigation by the Consultant on previous contracts to be grounds for proposal rejection.
The City reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, amend the RFP, and to discontinue or re-open the selection process at any time. The City reserves the right to request and obtain, from one or more consulting firms, supplementary information as may be necessary for the City to analyze the proposal pursuant to contract selection criteria. This may include requests for proposal clarifications, or solicitation of revised and/or best and final offers.
Upon completion of the evaluation phase, the City will select those consultants for interviews whose proposals and qualifications most closely conform to the requirements of this RFP. The consultant, by submitting a response to this RFP, waives all right to protest or seek any legal remedies whatsoever regarding any aspect of this RFP. The City may choose to interview one or more firms responding to this RFP and may enter into more than one contract with multiple individuals or firms, if the City determines that is the best way to address the full range of services needed under this RFP.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTANTS (GENERAL)
Without limiting Consultant's indemnification obligations under this Agreement, Consultant shall procure and maintain for the duration of the contract insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder by the Consultant, its agents, representatives, or employees.
Minimum Scope of Insurance
Coverage shall be at least as broad as:
Insurance Services Office Commercial General Liability coverage (occurrence form CG 0001).
Insurance Services Office form number CA 0001 (Ed. 1/87) covering Automobile Liability, code 1 (any auto).
Workers' Compensation insurance as required by the State of California.
Employer's Liability Insurance.
Minimum Limits of Insurance
Consultant shall maintain limits no less than:
General Liability: $2,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage. The general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this project/location.
Automobile Liability: $2,000,000 per accident for bodily injury and property damage.
Employer's Liability: $2,000,000 per accident for bodily injury or disease.
Deductibles and Self-Insured Retentions
Any deductibles or self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by the City.
At the option of the City, either: (1) the insurer shall reduce or eliminate such deductibles or self-insured retentions as respects the City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers or (2) the Consultant shall provide a financial guarantee satisfactory to the City guaranteeing payment of losses and related investigations, claim administration and defense expenses.
Other Insurance Provisions
The general liability and automobile liability policies are to contain, or be endorsed to contain, the following provisions:
Additional Insured Endorsement
General Liability: The City, its officers, elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers are to be covered as insureds with respect to liability arising out of work performed by or on behalf of the Consultant. General liability coverage can be provided in the form of an endorsement to the Consultant's insurance, or as a separate owner's policy.
Automobile Liability: The City, its officers, elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers are to be covered as insureds with respect to liability arising out of automobiles owned, leased, hired or borrowed by or on behalf of the Consultant.
For any claims related to this project, the Consultant's insurance coverage shall be primary insurance as respects the City, its officers, elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers. Any insurance or self-insurance maintained by the City, its officers, officials, employees, or volunteers shall be excess of the Consultant's insurance and shall not contribute with it.
Each insurance policy required by this clause shall be endorsed to state that coverage shall not be canceled by either party, except after thirty (30) days prior written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, has been given to the City.
Each insurance policy shall be endorsed to state that the inclusion of more than one insured shall not operate to impair the rights of one insured against another insured, and the coverages afforded shall apply as though separate policies had been issued to each insured.
Each insurance policy shall be in effect prior to awarding the contract and each insurance policy or a successor policy shall be in effect for the duration of the project. The maintenance of proper insurance coverage is a material element of the contract and failure to maintain or renew coverage or to provide evidence of renewal may be treated by the City as a material breach of contract on the Consultant's part.
Acceptability of Insurers
Insurance is to be placed with insurers with a current A.M. Best's rating of no less than A:VII and which are authorized to transact insurance business in the State of California by the Department of Insurance.
Verification of Coverage
Consultant shall furnish the City with original certificates and amendatory endorsements effecting coverage required by this clause. The endorsements should be on the City authorized forms provided with the contract specifications. Standard ISO forms which shall be subject to City approval and amended to conform to the City's requirements may be acceptable in lieu of City authorized forms. All certificates and endorsements are to be received and approved by the City before the contract is awarded. The City reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, including endorsements affecting the coverage required by these specifications at any time.
Subcontractors
Consultant shall include all subcontractors as insured under its policies or shall furnish separate certificates and endorsements for each subcontractor. All coverages for subcontractors shall be subject to all of the requirements stated herein.
Risk Management
Consultant acknowledges that insurance underwriting standards and practices are subject to change, and the City reserves the right to make changes to these provisions in the reasonable discretion of its Risk Manager.