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INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
1. AVAILABILITY OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
Contract documents (excluding documents incorporated by reference) may be downloaded, at no cost, from the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.sanclemente.org/vendorbids. Bidders must first register as a vendor on the City of San Clemente PlanetBids system to view and download the Contract Documents, to be added to the prospective bidders list, and to receive addendum notifications when issued.
2. EXAMINATION OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
City has made copies of the Contract Documents available, as indicated above. Bidders shall be solely responsible for examining the Project Site and the Contract Documents, including any Addenda issued during the bidding period, and for informing itself with respect to local labor availability, means of transportation, necessity for security, laws and codes, local permit requirements, wage scales, local tax structure, contractors’ licensing requirements, availability of required insurance, and other factors that could affect the Work. Bidders are responsible for consulting the standards referenced in the Contract. Failure of Bidder to so examine and inform itself shall be at its sole risk, and no relief for error or omission will be given except as required under State law.
3. INTERPRETATION OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
Discrepancies in, and/or omissions from the Plans, Specifications or other Contract Documents or questions as to their meaning shall be immediately brought to the attention of City by submission of a written request for an interpretation or correction to City. Such submission, if any, must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on November 3, 2025. Any inquiries received after this deadline will not be accepted. Questions must be submitted electronically through the City’s PlanetBids system. Emails, phone calls, and faxes will not be accepted. Questions submitted to City staff will not be addressed and Bidder will be directed to the PlanetBids system.
If the City determines that the point in question is substantive and is not clearly and fully set forth in the Contract Documents, the City will issue a written addendum clarifying the matter which will be posted on the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.sanclemente.org/vendorbids. Any interpretation of the Contract Documents will be made only by written addenda posted on the City’s PlanetBids system. City will not be responsible for any explanations or interpretations provided in any other manner. No person is authorized to make any oral interpretation of any provision in the Contract Documents to any bidder, and no bidder should rely on any such oral interpretation.
Bids shall include complete compensation for all items that are noted in the Contract Documents as the responsibility of the Contractor.
4. INSPECTION OF SITE; PRE-BID CONFERENCE AND SITE WALK Each prospective bidder is responsible for fully acquainting itself with the conditions of the Project Site (which may include more than one site), as well as those relating to the construction and labor of the Project, to fully understand the facilities, difficulties and restrictions which may impact the cost or effort required to complete the Project. To this end, a Pre-Bid Conference and Site Attachment 4
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Walk will be held on the date(s) and time(s) indicated in the Notice Inviting Bids. Storm, surface, nuisance, or other waters may be encountered at various times during construction of the Project.
Federal and State laws require the City and its contractors to appropriately manage such waters pursuant to the requirements of California State Water Resources Control Board Order Number 2009-0009-DWQ and any amendment or renewal thereof, the Federal Clean Water Act, and the California Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act. By submitting a Bid, each bidder acknowledges that it has investigated the risk arising from such waters, has prepared its Bid accordingly, and assumes any and all risks and liabilities arising therefrom.
5. ADDENDA
Substantive City changes to the requirements contained herein will be made by written addendum to this Invitation for Bids. Any written addenda issued pertaining to this Invitation for Bids will be posted on the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.sanclemente.org/vendorbids, and will be incorporated into the terms and conditions of any resulting Purchase Order and/or Contract as appropriate. The City shall not be bound to any modifications to or deviations from the requirements set forth in this Invitation for Bids as the result of oral instruction or communication.
Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 4104.5, if City issues an Addendum which includes material changes to the Project less than 72 hours prior to the deadline for submission of bids, City will extend the deadline for submission of bids. City may determine, in its sole discretion, whether an Addendum warrants postponement of the bid submission date.
6. ALTERNATE BIDS
If alternate bid items are called for in the Contract Documents, the lowest bid will be determined on the basis of the base bid only. However, City may choose to award the contract on the basis of the base bid alone or the base bid and any alternate or combination of alternates. The time required for completion of the alternate bid items has been factored into the Contract duration and no additional Contract time will be awarded for any of the alternate bid items. City may elect to include one or more of the alternate bid items, or to otherwise remove certain work from the Project scope of work, accordingly each Bidder must ensure that each bid item contains a proportionate share of profit, overhead and other costs or expenses which will be incurred by the Bidder.
7. COMPLETION OF BID FORMS
Bids shall only be prepared using copies of the Bid Forms which are included in the Contract Documents. The use of substitute bid forms other than clear and correct photocopies of those provided by City will not be permitted. Bids shall be executed by an authorized signatory as described in these Instructions to Bidders. In addition, Bidders shall fill in all blank spaces (including inserting “N/A” where applicable) and initial all interlineations, alterations, or erasures to the Bid Forms. Bidders shall neither delete, modify, nor supplement the printed matter on the Bid Forms nor make substitutions thereon. USE OF BLACK OR BLUE INK, A TYPEWRITER, OR
ELECTRONIC FORMS WITH COMPUTER-FILLABLE FORM FIELDS (IF PROVIDED BY THE CITY) IS REQUIRED. Deviations in the bid form may result in the bid being deemed nonresponsive.
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8. MODIFICATIONS OF BIDS
Each Bidder shall submit its Bid in strict conformity with the requirements of the Contract Documents. Unauthorized additions, modifications, revisions, conditions, limitations, exclusions or provisions attached to a Bid may render it non-responsive and may cause its rejection. Bidders shall neither delete, modify, nor supplement the printed matter on the Bid Forms, nor make substitutions thereon. Oral, telephonic and electronic modifications will not be considered, unless the Notice Inviting Bids authorizes the submission of electronic bids and modifications thereto and such modifications are made in accordance with the Notice Inviting Bids.
9. DESIGNATION OF SUBCONTRACTORS
Pursuant to State law, the Bidders must designate the name, license number, and location of each subcontractor who will perform work or render services for the Bidder in an amount that exceeds one half of one percent (1/2%) of the Bidder’s Total Bid Price as well as the portion of work each such subcontractor will perform on the form provided herein by City. No additional time will be provided to bidders to submit any of the requested information in the Designation of Subcontractor form. The successful bidder will be required to self-perform at least 50% of the work.
In addition to submitting the List of Subcontractors form with its bid submission, each bidder shall, within 24 hours of the bid submission deadline, provide the City with a list of bid items that correspond to the portion of work listed for each designated subcontractor. Failure to provide this information in satisfactory form within the time prescribed may be cause for the City to deem the Bid non-responsive and the City may reject the Bid.
10. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
Pursuant to Section 7028.15 of the Business and Professions Code and Section 3300 of the Public Contract Code, all bidders must possess proper licenses for performance of this Contract.
Subcontractors must possess the appropriate licenses for each specialty subcontracted. Pursuant to Section 7028.5 of the Business and Professions Code, City shall consider any bid submitted by a contractor not currently licensed in accordance with state law and pursuant to the requirements found in the Contract Documents to be non-responsive, and City shall reject the Bid. City shall have the right to request, and Bidders shall provide within five (5) calendar days, evidence satisfactory to City of all valid license(s) currently held by that Bidder and each of the Bidder’s subcontractors, before awarding the Contract.
The Contractor and all subcontractors must also obtain a valid City of San Clemente Business License and maintain a valid City Business License during the entire time that work is being performed under the contract. Information about obtaining a City business license is available via Internet at www.san-clemente.org/i-am-a-/business/business-license, by email to [email protected] or phone call to (949) 361-6166. Evidence of a valid City business license must be provided at the time specified in Section 19 of these instructions.
11. SIGNING OF BIDS
All Bids submitted shall be executed by the Bidder or its authorized representative. Bidders may be asked to provide evidence in the form of an authenticated resolution of its Board of Directors SECTION 00200
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or a Power of Attorney evidencing the capacity of the person signing the Bid to bind the Bidder to each Bid and to any Contract arising therefrom.
If a Bidder is a joint venture or partnership, it may be asked to submit an authenticated Power of Attorney executed by each joint venture or partner appointing and designating one of the joint ventures or partners as a management sponsor to execute the Bid on behalf of Bidder. Only that joint venture or partner shall execute the Bid. The Power of Attorney shall also: (1) authorize that particular joint venture or partner to act for and bind Bidder in all matters relating to the Bid; and (2) provide that each venture or partner shall be jointly and severally liable for any and all of the duties and obligations of Bidder assumed under the Bid and under any Contract arising therefrom.
The Bid shall be executed by the designated joint venture or partner on behalf of the joint venture or partnership in its legal name.
12. BID GUARANTEE (SECURITY)
Each bid shall be accompanied by security in the form of: (a) cash; (b) a certified check made payable to City; (c) a cashier’s check made payable to City; or (d) a bid bond payable to City executed by the bidder as principal and surety as obligor in an amount not less than 10% of the maximum amount of the bid. Personal sureties and unregistered surety companies are unacceptable. All certified and cashier’s checks must be drawn on a responsible bank doing business in the United States and shall be made payable to The City of San Clemente. The surety insurer shall be California admitted surety insurer, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120. The bid security shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder shall execute the Contract if it be awarded to the bidder, shall provide the payment and performance bonds and insurance certificates and endorsements as required herein within ten (10) calendar days after notification of the award of the Contract to the bidder. Failure to provide the required documents may result in forfeiture of the bidder’s bid deposit or bond to City and City may award the Contract to the next lowest responsive, responsible bidder, or may call for new bids.
For electronic submittal of bids, the original bid security must be received at the City of San Clemente Public Works office, 910 Calle Negocio, Suite 100, San Clemente, CA 92673 within 24 hours of the bid opening date and time (excluding weekends and holidays). The bid security must be submitted in a sealed envelope bearing the name and address of the bidder, and the outside of the envelope must read as follows:
OFFICIAL BID SECURITY - DO NOT OPEN
Project Name: CALLE FRONTERA LIFT STATION
SOIL STABILIZATION PROJECT
Bid Opening Date: 11/12/2025
13. SUBMISSION OF SEALED BIDS
Bids will only be received electronically through the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente.org/vendorbids. Bids will not be accepted after the specified Bid Opening date and time. The Bidder shall have the sole exclusive responsibility for ensuring that a Bid is received by the specified Bid Opening date and time. For technical support with the SECTION 00200
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electronic bidding system, please click the red question mark from any PlanetBids screen to be directed to the technical support help desk.
14. DELIVERY AND OPENING OF BIDS
Bids will only be received electronically through the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente.org/vendorbids. Bids will not be accepted after the specified Bid Opening date and time. The Bidder shall have the sole exclusive responsibility for ensuring that a Bid is received by the specified Bid Opening date and time. For technical support with the electronic bidding system, please click the red question mark from any PlanetBids screen to be directed to the technical support help desk.
15. WITHDRAWAL OF BID
Any Bidder may personally withdraw his Bid from the City’s PlanetBids system prior to the bid opening date and time stated in the Notice Inviting Bids. Any request to withdraw a bid after bid opening shall meet all requirements of Public Contract Code section 5100 et seq. and must be submitted in writing within five (5) working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays, specifying in detail the mistake.
16. BASIS OF AWARD; BALANCED BIDS
City shall award the Contract to the lowest responsive, responsible Bidder submitting a responsive Bid. City may reject any Bid which, in its opinion when compared to other bids received or to City’s internal estimates, does not accurately reflect the cost to perform the Work. City may reject as non-responsive any bid which unevenly weights or allocates costs, including but not limited to overhead and profit to one or more particular bid items.
17. LOCAL VENDOR PREFERENCE
Prices, fitness, quality, delivery, and service being equal, a seven percent (7%) rating scale preference may be given to Local Bidders as defined in the San Clemente Municipal Code Section
3.40.030 and City Ordinance No. 1750.
18. DISQUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS; INTEREST IN MORE THAN ONE BID No bidder shall be allowed to make, submit or be interested in more than one bid. However, a person, firm, corporation or other entity that has submitted a sub proposal to a bidder, or that has quoted prices of materials to a bidder, is not thereby disqualified from submitting a sub proposal or quoting prices to other bidders submitting a bid to City. No person, firm, corporation, or other entity may submit sub proposal to a bidder, or quote prices of materials to a bidder, when also submitting a prime bid on the same Project.
19. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
The successful bidder shall procure the insurance in the form and in the amount specified in the Contract Documents.
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20. AWARD PROCESS
Once all Bids are opened and reviewed to determine the lowest responsive and responsible Bidder, City Council may award the contract. The apparent successful Bidder should begin to prepare the following documents: (1) the Performance Bond; (2) the Payment Bond; and (3) the required insurance certificates and endorsements. Once City notifies the Bidder of the award, the Bidder will have ten (10) consecutive calendar days from the date of this notification to execute the Contract and supply City with all of the required documents and certifications. The City will issue a Notice to Proceed on or after the pre-construction meeting.
21. FILING OF BID PROTESTS
Bidders may file a “protest” of a Bid with City’s Public Works Director / City Engineer. In order for a Bidder’s protest to be considered valid, the protest must:
A. Be filed in writing no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third (3rd) business day after the bid opening date;
B. Clearly identify the specific irregularity or accusation; C. Specify, in detail, the grounds of the protest and the facts supporting the protest; and
D. Include all relevant, supporting documentation with the protest at time of filing.
E. Include verification that the party filing the protest has concurrently transmitted a copy of the protest to the apparent low bidder.
F. Be signed and submitted under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California.
If the protest does not comply with each of these requirements, it may be rejected without further review.
If the protest is valid, the City will review the basis of the protest and relevant information prior to formal award of the bid. The City will not be required to hold an administrative hearing to consider a timely protest, but may do so at its sole option, or if otherwise legally required. The City has the sole authority to issue a final determination on all bid protests.
The procedure and time limits set forth in this section are mandatory and are the sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a bid protest. Failure to comply with these procedures shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies and a waiver of any right to further pursue the bid protest, including filing of a challenge of the award pursuant to the California Public Contract Code, filing of a claim pursuant to the California Government Code, or filing of any other legal proceedings.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as a waiver of the City’s right to reject any and all bids, to award any or all individual part/item of the bid, and to waive any informalities, irregularities or technical defects in such bids.
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22. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
Each bidder shall submit the Contractor’s Certificate Regarding Workers’ Compensation form.
23. SUBSTITUTION OF SECURITY
Pursuant to Public Contract Code section 7201, the City has made a determination that the project described herein is substantially complex, and therefore a retention of 10% will be withheld from payment until after the work is complete. At the request and expense of the successful Bidder, the City will substitute securities for the amount so retained in accordance with Public Contract Code Section 22300.
24. PREVAILING WAGES
City has obtained from the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations the general prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality in which this work is to be performed for each craft or type of worker needed to execute the Contract. These rates are on file and available at Office of the City Clerk or may be obtained online at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr. Bidders are advised that a copy of these rates must be posted by the successful Bidder at the job site(s).
25. DEBARMENT OF CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS
In accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code, contractors or subcontractors may not perform work on a public works project with a subcontractor who is ineligible to perform work on a public project pursuant to Section 1777.1 or Section 1777.7 of the Labor Code. Any contract on a public works project entered into between a contractor and a debarred subcontractor is void as a matter of law. A debarred subcontractor may not receive any public money for performing work as a subcontractor on a public works contract. Any public money that is paid to a debarred subcontractor by the Contractor for the Project shall be returned to City. The Contractor shall be responsible for the payment of wages to workers of a debarred subcontractor who has been allowed to work on the Project.
26. IRAN CONTRACTING ACT CERTIFICATION
For bids of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more, each bidder shall submit the certification required by the Iran Contracting Act of 2010, Public Contract Code section 2200 et seq. as provided with the Bid Documents.
27. PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION CERTIFICATION
Pursuant to Labor Code sections 1725.5 and 1771.1, all contractors and subcontractors that wish to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, or enter into a contract to perform public work must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations. No bid will be accepted nor any contract entered into without proof of the contractor’s and subcontractors’ current registration with the Department of Industrial Relations to perform public work. If awarded a Contract, the Bidder and its subcontractors, of any tier, shall maintain active registration with the Department of Industrial Relations for the duration of the Project. To this end, Bidder shall sign and submit with its Bid the Public Works Contractor Registration Certification on the form provided, attesting to the facts contained therein. Failure to submit this form may render the Bid non-responsive. In addition, SECTION 00200
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each Bidder shall provide the registration number for each listed subcontractor in the space provided in the Designation of Subcontractors Form.
28. PERFORMANCE BOND AND PAYMENT BOND REQUIREMENTS
Within the time specified in the Contract Documents, the Bidder to whom a Contract is awarded shall deliver to City four identical counterparts of the Performance Bond and Payment Bond in the form supplied by City and included in the Contract Documents. Failure to do so may, in the sole discretion of City, result in the forfeiture of the Bid Guarantee. The surety supplying the bond must be an admitted surety insurer, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120, authorized to do business as such in the State of California and satisfactory to City. The Performance Bond and the Payment Bond shall be for one hundred percent (100%) of the Total Bid Price.
29. REQUEST FOR SUBSTITUTIONS
The successful bidder shall comply with the substitution request procedures set forth in the Bid and Contract Documents. Any deadlines for substitution requests that occur prior to the bid opening date are set forth in the Special Conditions.
30. SALES AND OTHER APPLICABLE TAXES, PERMITS, LICENSES AND FEES Contractor and its subcontractors performing work under this Contract will be required to pay California sales tax and other applicable taxes, and to pay for permits, licenses and fees required by the agencies with authority in the jurisdiction in which the work will be located, unless otherwise expressly provided by the Contract Documents.
31. EXECUTION OF CONTRACT
As required herein the Bidder to whom an award is made shall execute the Contract in the amount determined by the Contract Documents. City may require appropriate evidence that the persons executing the Contract are duly empowered to do so.
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