May 6, 2025
Community Development
DATE: May 6, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Daniel Chavarria, PE, Director of Public Works
Robert Armijo, PE, Deputy Director of Public Works/City Engineer
Eva Mann, Code Enforcement Manager
Subject:
Contract with 4LEAF, Inc. For As-Needed Code
Enforcement Services
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $550,000 expenditures will be charged to professional services object code in the applicable
department’s Fiscal Year budget for either Code
Enforcement (CE) and Public Works (PW) (Account
String (CE): 01163019-400201)/Account String(PW):
01231031-400201).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Community Development’s Code Enforcement Division
and Public Works Engineering are requesting City
Council approval of a contract with 4LEAF, Inc., in an
amount not to exceed $550,000, to provide as needed
code enforcement services. The contract is essential to ensure continuous code enforcement support while the
Division works to fill its current staff vacancies, and while the City evaluates options for staffing the enforcement of the recently adopted sidewalk vendor ordinance. The
contract will allow Public Works and Code Enforcement
to address ongoing enforcement needs until these issues are resolved.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE a contract with 4LEAF, Inc. for as-needed code enforcement services, for a total contract amount
not to exceed $550,000, for a term beginning April 22,
AGENDA
REPORT
May 6, 2025
2025, through January 30, 2027 – Community
Development Department/Public Works Department
(Lina Velasco/ Eva Mann 510-621-1283).
DISCUSSION:
Given vacancies within the Code Enforcement Division, staff are requesting City Council approval of a contract with 4LEAF, Inc. to allow for as-needed code enforcement services and program development support (Attachment 1). There are currently six (6) vacancies within Code Enforcement and the unit has been relying on contract services to help address ongoing enforcement needs. The Community Development Department is requesting approval of a contract with 4LEAF, Inc., with a contract limit of $300,000 for a term beginning April 22, 2025, through January 30, 2027. Public Works is also requesting an additional $250,000 for the same term to allow for as-needed enforcement services because the Personnel Committee has determined that sidewalk vendor enforcement responsibilities are not appropriate for inclusion in the Construction Inspector classification. This funding will allow the City to continue enforcement activities while evaluating alternative staffing models to carry out this work with City employees in the future.
4LEAF, Inc. (4LEAF) is a California “C” Corporation that was established in 1999 and incorporated in 2001. They have an extensive team of engineers and managers fully equipped with training and experience to provide a full range of services, including code enforcement, plan check, Certified Access Specialist (CASp) evaluations, inspections, permit technician support, professional development training, and other related technical services to municipalities.
Summary of Procurement Process
Rather than initiating a new procurement process, the City of Richmond is proposing to utilize a piggyback procurement method, which is permitted under California Public Contract Code Section 20118 and Richmond Municipal Code Section 2.52.330.
Piggyback procurement allows one public agency to leverage an existing competitively bid contract from another agency, provided that the procurement process complied with all applicable laws, and the services being procured are substantially similar to the services already covered in the existing contract. This method helps reduce costs, streamline the procurement process, and expedite service delivery while ensuring competitive pricing and compliance with public procurement requirements.
The City of Pinole conducted a competitive procurement process for building division plan check and on-call staffing services, including code enforcement officers. The nature of the Request for Proposals issued by City of Pinole aligns with the City of Richmond's code enforcement needs (Attachment 2). 4LEAF, Inc. has extensive experience providing on-call services for municipalities, including regulatory compliance, inspections, and enforcement—functions that are critical for enforcing Richmond's Municipal Code. By piggybacking on the City of Pinole’s Request for Proposal process, the City of Richmond can efficiently secure the necessary services, without completing
May 6, 2025
a new competitive bidding process which reduces staff costs and unnecessary delays in procuring needed services.
With the support of Human Resources, the Community Development Department has completed a meet-and-confer process with the respective labor union, SEIU, to discuss the temporary contracting of code enforcement services.
Update on Code Enforcement Recruitment
As noted above, the Code Enforcement Unit currently has six (6) vacancies. Some of the vacancies are the result of staff turnovers, and two positions were recently added to the Division to meet on-going enforcement needs. Human Resources opened recruitment in February 2025, and it closed on March 8, 2025. Over 120 applications were received for this recruitment. The Division recently received a certified list for the Code Enforcement Officer II and interviews are being scheduled. The certified list for the Code Enforcement Officer I is pending.
Update on Revisions of Job Specification Related to Sidewalk Vendor Ordinance
In July 2024, the Richmond City Council adopted an ordinance adding Sidewalk Vending regulations to the Richmond Municipal Code. Human Resources Staff, in collaboration with the City Manager, Public Works, and Community Development, assessed the need for staffing to enforce the sidewalk vending ordinance. It was determined that the Construction Inspector I/II classification would have primary enforcement duties, while the Code Enforcement Officer I/II classification would also be able to enforce the ordinance as back-up to the Construction Inspector I/II positions and to support special enforcements activities, as needed.
The proposed revisions to the job specification were presented to the Personnel Board on March 25, 2025; however, after public comment and discussion, the Personnel Board requested that Human Resources further evaluate the appropriateness of this assignment to the Construction Inspector positions and asked that they return at a later date after conducting further evaluation. This delay requires that these services be temporarily provided by contractors while this issue is resolved.
When professional services are required, a task order will be authorized outlining the scope and the amount of the service. Through the annual budget review and approval staff will propose a budget amount for professional staffing services on a fiscal year basis.
CONCLUSION:
The contract will cover as-needed code enforcement services, utilizing a piggyback procurement method based on the City of Pinole’s competitive bid process for similar on-call services. The contract is essential to ensure continuous enforcement services while the Code Enforcement Division works to fill its current vacancies, and Public
May 6, 2025
Works completes required revisions to certain job specifications. Continued use of contract enforcement services is critical to avoid disruption to existing programs while permanent staffing solutions are explored.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Standard Contract with 4LEAF, Inc.
Attachment 2 – Piggyback Approval Form