March 21, 2024
Travis Martin
Senior Planner
Community Development and Housing Department
City of San Bernardino
290 North D St
San Bernardino, CA 92401
Subject: Budget Augment for the City of San Bernardino General Plan Update Dear Travis:
In compliance with the Agreement between PlaceWorks and the City of San Bernardino for professional services for the preparation of the updated General Plan, Downtown Specific Plan, Development Code, and Environmental Impact Report, we respectfully submit this request for an amendment to the budget to cover services additional to those specified by the Scope of Work. These encompass the costs for labor and work products completed to date and anticipated for (a) final publication of the HCD certified 2021-2029 Housing Element, (b) preparation of the 2050 Environmental Justice Element (EJ), and (c) project administration and coordination for the extension of the schedule for completion of the work products beyond the previously City-confirmed timeframe of March 2023. For the Housing and EJ Elements, the increase of fee is attributable to state legislation enacted and new technical guidance issued by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and California Attorney General subsequent to the finalization of the work scope and budget contained in the Agreement, preparation of responses to litigation filed by multiple entities regarding the schedule and content of the Element, as described below, and requests from City staff to prepare the 2022 and 2023 Annual Planning Reports (APR). The fee for administrative and management tasks is largely attributable to delays attributable to prioritization of City staff’s participation in completion of the Housing Element (see below).
Housing Element
With respect to litigation, the Public Housing, Inland Counties, and the ACLU filed litigation, resulting in extensive negotiations and revisions for the draft Housing Element. This has affected the Element’s housing needs assessment, constraints analysis, land inventory, public outreach, and programs. In addition, since the project’s inception, the State of California has issued a new fair housing guidebook (Guidance for All Public Entities and for Housing Elements, April 2021), AB 2339 Emergency Shelter Guidance (2023), and the Group Home Technical Advisory (2022) – all of which have fundamentally expanded the scope of technical analyses and recommended policies and programs of the Housing Element.
Environmental Justice
Since initiating work preparing the Environmental Justice Element, the California Attorney General released a Best Practices Guide for SB 1000 (September 2023) which significantly expands the breadth of analysis, clarifies and expands the areas considered disadvantaged, clarifies expectations for significant public input, and requires detailed implementation programs. In addition, many nearby cities with heavy industry have received close review and/or legal action by the California Attorney General and local advocacy groups over environmental justice issues, improper environmental clearance, or lack of public input. The budget augment reflects a similarly challenging process to address the environmental justice issues in San Bernardino.
January 11, 2024 | Page 2
Project Administration and Management
Budget overrun due to (a) additional weekly project and frequent task-related coordination meetings, project tracking, invoicing, and updates to project schedule due to schedule extension beyond completion date stipulated in contractual agreement for which the budgeted funds were fully expended; (b) additional tracking of tasks/documentation required in response to Housing Element litigation and multiple HCD reviews of draft Elements; (c) preparation and processing of multiple budget modifications in response to requests for additional and/or modified work products (e.g., Annual Planning Reports, Truck Routes Study, Local Hazards Mitigation Plan); (d) and delays in receipt of staff comments on draft work products due to their prioritization of the Housing Element and internal City assignments.
Summary
We request the City approve the additional funding of (a) $199,298.75 for the additional costs incurred and anticipated to completion respectively of the certified Housing Element, (b) $20,028.00 for preparation of the 2022 and 2023 APRs, (c) $157,077.25 for the draft Environmental Justice Element, and (d) $98,280.03 for expanded project administration and management. The attached spreadsheet provides information regarding the existing project budget, amount billed and held for future billing to date, estimate of costs for completion of the work program and products, total associated costs and deficits, and requested budget augment.
As the state-mandated deadlines and litigation demanded that progress in completing the 2021-2019 Housing Element occur in an expeditious manner according to the schedule negotiated by the City with the litigants, PlaceWorks proceeded under the assurance from the City that the budget would be subsequently modified to cover the costs of this work. As substantial costs have been incurred, we would greatly appreciate the City’s prompt action to amending the Agreement in an equally expeditious manner.
We respect and greatly appreciate the collaborative relationship and contribution of City staff in moving forward with an extremely challenging and difficult assignment. We are gratified by the successful approval of the 2021-2029 Housing Element and certification by HCD, in addition to the City Council approval of the 2022 and 2023 Annual Planning Reports, and Environmental Justice Element.
Sincerely,
PLACEWORKS
Woodie Tescher
Principal, Planning + Urban Design