October 21, 2025
TO: City Council
REQUESTED BY: Travis Randel, Deputy City Manager, Development Services APPROVED BY: Robert A. Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Approval of On-Call Environmental Consultant List (FY 2025–2030) RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the On-Call Environmental Consultant List for a five-year term ending June 30, 2030, and authorize the City Manager to execute Professional Services Agreements with the firms included on the list, each agreement not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total compensation over the term of the contract.
BACKGROUND:
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was enacted in 1970 following the adoption of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at the federal level in 1969. Together, these laws require public agencies to evaluate the environmental consequences of discretionary projects, disclose those potential effects to the public, and consider alternatives or mitigation measures to avoid or minimize impacts. CEQA and NEPA have become the cornerstones of environmental review in California, shaping how cities plan for development, infrastructure, and long-range growth.
For a city like San Jacinto, the ability to comply with CEQA and NEPA is fundamental to the land use and infrastructure decision-making process. Projects as simple as a small commercial building addition may qualify for a categorical exemption, while large residential master plans, shopping centers, or infrastructure investments may require the preparation of Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, or full Environmental Impact Reports. Each level of review requires a mix of legal, technical, and scientific expertise to ensure defensibility and compliance with the statutes and associated Guidelines.
As with most municipalities, San Jacinto does not employ the full range of environmental specialists in-house. The City does not maintain biologists, cultural resource experts, air quality modelers, or traffic engineers on staff, and it would not be financially prudent to do so given the variability in workload and the technical specialization involved. Instead, the City has historically relied on outside consultants to prepare environmental documentation and to peer review technical studies prepared by applicants. These consultants serve as an extension of City staff, helping to translate highly technical data into legally defensible, understandable reports for decision makers and the public.
In October 2019, the City Council approved an On-Call Environmental Consultant List for a five-year term that expired on June 30, 2025. That action provided a streamlined procurement mechanism and created transparency for developers and the community. The list served the City well during a period of significant growth, supporting projects such as the Corman Leigh Residential Project, McLeish Ranch, and Walmart Gas Station, and numerous residential, commercial, and infrastructure improvements. With the expiration of that list, the City must now adopt a new list to ensure continuity in CEQA/NEPA compliance and to maintain flexibility in assigning specialized consultants to projects.
While this On-Call List is intended to cover both CEQA and NEPA, staff notes that the vast majority of projects in San Jacinto are subject only to CEQA. NEPA review is required less frequently and typically only arises when a project receives federal funding or requires a federal permit. By including firms with demonstrated NEPA experience, the City ensures that it is prepared to address those situations should they occur, while maintaining its primary focus on CEQA compliance for most development and capital projects.
DISCUSSION:
On June 3, 2025, the City released a new Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for On-Call Environmental Review Services. The RFQ was published through PlanetBids, the City’s electronic procurement portal, and invited statements of qualifications from firms interested in providing on-call CEQA and NEPA services. The solicitation remained open until June 23, 2025.
By the closing date, the City received twenty-three (23) complete proposals representing a broad range of environmental consulting firms.
Each proposal was evaluated by staff using the criteria identified in the RFQ. Proposals were reviewed for responsiveness to the RFQ instructions, the qualifications of the firm and key personnel, the relevance of past project experience, the clarity and practicality of the proposed project approach and work plan, and the competitiveness of the billing rates. This evaluation resulted in numerical scores, which established a ranking of firms based on the overall quality and merit of their submissions.
Beyond the numerical scoring, staff also considered the appropriate “fit” of each firm for three service categories: (1) comprehensive CEQA/NEPA document preparation, such as Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports; (2) environmental services for Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects, including infrastructure, drainage, transportation, and public facilities; and (3) technical studies, such as air quality modeling, biological assessments, cultural and tribal studies, greenhouse gas analyses, noise and traffic studies, hydrology, geology, and paleontology. This dual evaluation process ensured that firms were judged both on the merit of their proposals and on their demonstrated capacity to fulfill specific types of assignments.
The resulting On-Call List represents a cross-section of large multi-disciplinary firms, mid-sized planning and engineering firms, and niche technical experts. Firms such as FirstCarbon Solutions, Dudek, UltraSystems, and Webb scored at the top of the evaluation due to their wellrounded proposals, demonstrated expertise, and extensive track record in San Jacinto and Western Riverside County. Others, such as Applied EarthWorks, specialized in narrower technical fields such as cultural and tribal resource studies, and could serve the City well in that targeted capacity.
Approval of the On-Call List will provide the City with the flexibility and efficiency necessary to meet its environmental review obligations under CEQA and NEPA. The list ensures that qualified firms are available to support both private development and City-initiated projects, while also providing transparency to applicants and the public regarding the consultants the City has prequalified.
Selected firms may enter into a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with the City, at the discretion of the City. The PSA establishes the legal and contractual framework for City-directed work and will be limited to a maximum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in aggregate compensation over the five-year term ending June 30, 2030. This cap applies across all three service categories; Comprehensive CEQA/NEPA Document Preparation, Capital Improvement Program Environmental Services, and Technical Studies, combined. While some firms may ultimately receive multiple assignments, others may not receive any during the contract period, depending on project demand and the specialized expertise required.
Under each PSA, work will be issued through task orders that define the scope, schedule, and budget for the specific assignment. Assignments will be made not only on the basis of technical expertise, familiarity with the project, and project-specific qualifications, but also on consultant availability and workload capacity at the time the task order is issued. This approach ensures that each project is assigned to a consultant who can provide timely, high-quality work, while recognizing that some firms may receive multiple task orders during the contract term and others may receive none.
For City-initiated projects, including those in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), consultants will be selected from the On-Call List based on their technical qualifications and best fit for the project. Task orders valued at less than $100,000 may be assigned directly to a single firm. For task orders exceeding $100,000, staff may solicit quotes from more than one consultant on the list to comply with San Jacinto Municipal Code Section 3.08.050, which governs the procurement of professional services.
For private development projects, applicants may select consultants directly from the City’s approved list. In those cases, the consultant will contract directly with the applicant, and the City will not issue a task order because the consultant is not performing work for the City. Applicants may also choose consultants not on the City’s list; however, the City reserves the right to require peer or third-party review by one of the listed consultants to maintain objectivity and quality control.
This framework builds on the successful model established by the 2019 On-Call List but expands the breadth of technical expertise available to the City. It reflects San Jacinto’s continued growth, the increasing complexity of its development environment, and the City’s ongoing commitment to responsible, efficient, and legally defensible environmental review.
CEQA DETERMINATION:
The preparation and approval of the Qualified Consultants List has been evaluated pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2), this action does not constitute a “project” because it involves only the creation of a roster of consultants and does not commit the City to any activity that could cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the physical environment.
Even if considered a project, the action is exempt from further CEQA review under the “common sense exemption” set forth in Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty that the approval of a consultant list will not result in a significant effect on the environment. In addition, Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) provides that organizational and administrative activities of governments which will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment are not subject to CEQA.
Accordingly, the proposed action is not subject to CEQA, and any necessary environmental review will occur on a project-by-project basis when individual development or capital improvement projects are brought forward.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City from approval of the On-Call Environmental Consultant List or the execution of the associated Professional Services Agreements. Approval of the On-Call List does not introduce, expand, or change any fees or costs; it simply provides a streamlined process for procuring consultant services when needed.
For private development projects where the City hires a consultant to prepare environmental technical reports or documents, or to serve as a third-party reviewer, the costs will be reimbursed by the applicant through the project deposit account. When an applicant contracts with a consultant directly, the City does not issue a task order and no City funds are involved. For Cityinitiated projects, including those in the Capital Improvement Program, consultant costs will be charged to the appropriate project budget. No General Fund appropriations are required.
Each Professional Services Agreement will include a maximum compensation limit of one million dollars ($1,000,000) over the five-year term ending June 30, 2030. This limit covers all task within each of the three service categories: Comprehensive CEQA/NEPA Document Preparation, Capital Improvement Program Environmental Services, and Technical Studies. The total cap ensures fiscal accountability while providing the City with flexibility to assign work as project needs arise.
ATTACHMENTS:
On-Call Environmental Consultant List (2025-2030)
Request for Qualifications