Scope of Services
LSA’s Typical Approach to an On-Call Contract
LSA understands that an on-call assignment requires an “oncall” obligation. Building upon LSA’s prior and current experience with on-call contracts, the LSA Team for this contract will act quickly; be responsive, knowledgeable, and ready for a myriad of possible requests that may need to be addressed concurrently; and be solution oriented in order to help City staff accomplish project goals. LSA is equipped with the size and depth of staff and experience to promptly respond to any requests for services from the City, including multiple requests at one time due to our proximity.
We understand that environmental documentation assistance pursuant to CEQA could come in the form of preparation of Notices of Exemption/Memoranda in support of Notices of Exemption, ISs, NDs, MNDs, EIRs, or Addenda to previously prepared EIRs and additional technical studies. LSA has a great deal of experience in undertaking the review and analysis of projects for which the environmental analysis may tier off a program EIR and/or preparing CEQA analysis documents of all kinds. LSA staff members embody the qualities a consultant must have to successfully undertake environmental review assignments and technical studies on an on-call basis, including:
• An ability to quickly gain an understanding of the local environment (both physical and political). • A strong anticipatory project management style that facilitates informed decision-making about key issues and the level of effort needed to address them. • An ability to work effectively and efficiently with City staff, project proponents, and the public. • A strong commitment to identifying and closely adhering to realistic schedules, work scopes, and budgets.
• A willingness to be flexible and responsive to the demands and needs of a particular project.
We are committed to implementing these characteristics of LSA’s approach for every project we undertake. We often hear from our clients that these are the aspects of our approach that they appreciate most and that set us apart from other environmental and planning consultants.
Once we are tasked with reviewing a project and/or conducting environmental review for a particular project, we will initiate the effort by gathering as much initial information as we can about the project from City staff, the project application, a site visit, and the project applicant and its architect or engineer. We will then prepare a detailed scope of work, a schedule, and a budget for the appropriate CEQA document, which will be determined in consultation with City staff.
Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Scope of Services
Exhibit A – Page 1 of 5
EXHIBIT A
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Attachment C - LSA Scope of Services and Compensation Schedule Our work programs and products are designed to achieve the following key objectives:
• Maximize the use of environmental data that have already been assembled for the project site – we will not reinvent the wheel at the City or applicant’s expense. • Make the CEQA document as accessible and relevant as possible through thoughtful and concise writing and use of data-rich graphics.
• Complete an environmental review process that provides informative outreach to the community and agencies throughout the environmental review process. • Complete a CEQA document that provides clear and concise information and level of analysis, is legally sound, and provides the public, agencies, and the City’s decision-makers with a complete understanding of the potential environmental consequences of the project.
We have a proven ability to identify issues early in the process and work diligently with the project team to develop effective solutions. The technical experts on our team will conduct their analysis to meet the standards and methodologies of the City; they also understand that there may be multiple approaches to address issues and meet standards. LSA project managers have a proven ability to discuss multiple approaches and objectives with the City, legal staff, and applicant (as necessary) and come to an agreement on the approach that best meets the City’s needs for complying with State law and the requirements of the decision-makers. Through many combined staff-years of experience providing services for on-call contracts throughout California, LSA has developed an effective process to streamline client requests for services. LSA’s depth of staffing resources and established relationships with potential subconsultants beyond this core project team will enable LSA to respond to any number of task orders that may be requested over the duration of the contract. Ms. Wallace understands the need to assign the most appropriate staff for each specific task order and will delegate responsibilities as appropriate to best serve the interests of the City.
The typical timeline for preparation of an IS/MND may be approximately 4 to 6 months and preparation of an EIR may be approximately 8 to 12 months, depending on the project circumstances and the complexity of the required review. LSA has extensive experience working with public-sector clients to meet aggressive schedules and accommodate deadlines as they may relate to project funding, land purchase options, timing of public hearings, or construction time frames. Schedules may be condensed through a variety of methods, including early agreement on the project description, swift transmittal of requested data, assigning additional staff members to the task order, and shortened review periods. The LSA Team understands the importance of completing tasks within the agreed-upon schedule and has a proven record of meeting aggressive deadlines while providing quality services and not exceeding project budgets.
Once the City has approved the scope of work and schedule, LSA will initiate a project team kickoff meeting. The kickoff meeting provides a forum for exchanging information among all team members; reviewing critical scheduling tasks, including time-sensitive field surveys, major deliverables, and review cycles; and confirming the level of technical and environmental documents required for project and permit approvals. Following the kickoff meeting, LSA will prepare a thorough and detailed project description, working closely with the appropriate City staff. Once the City has approved the project description, LSA’s Project Manager will initiate the preparation of all technical studies. As with all phases of the project, LSA’s Project Manager will communicate regularly during preparation of the technical studies to notify the City Project Manager of preliminary findings and impacts. Once the Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Scope of Services
Exhibit A – Page 2 of 5
technical studies have been completed and approved by the City and other responsible agencies, LSA will prepare draft CEQA documentation, as applicable. LSA will typically prepare three drafts of an environmental document: an Administrative Draft, Screencheck Draft, and Public Review Draft.
LSA is also available to assist staff with the preparation of staff reports and presentations for public hearings and agendas and minutes for team meetings. We routinely assist staff with public noticing, findings/statements of overriding considerations, and presentations for public hearings. We are adept at responding to questions from decision-making bodies about complex projects and planning issues.
LSA’s Key Strengths
• Local Experience. LSA has decades of experience
preparing the environmental review documentation
for multiple projects for communities throughout
the East Bay, especially in Alameda and Contra Costa
counties. Additionally, we have prepared CEQA
documents and technical studies for master plans,
residential developments, commercial office
buildings, mixed-use sites, institutional uses,
recreation centers, and other public works projects
throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area
region.
• Extensive Knowledge of CEQA. LSA serves as a “one-stop” choice for documentation in compliance with CEQA. Our staff members maintain and supplement their knowledge, understanding, and technical expertise in the application of CEQA by regularly attending workshops on recent court outcomes and legislative amendments. • Experience with CEQA Streamlining. LSA has extensive experience in the use of recent exemptions permitted by the State, in particular those aimed at streamlining CEQA compliance.
As part of our professional practice, we regularly work with our clients to help identify appropriate CEQA streamlining options. We understand it is extremely important to clearly document a project’s compliance with both the exceptions to exemptions in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2, and with the requirements found in the section of the State CEQA Guidelines pertaining to the relevant exemption. In some cases, exempt projects can be high profile and garner significant public interest. In such cases, having a well-documented exemption process is in the best interest of the Lead Agency. Through our years of experience navigating the ever-changing CEQA/NEPA and permitting processes, we have refined our methods for streamlining CEQA processes on behalf of our local agency clients, which will allow us to meet our deadlines and provide quality projects to the City.
• LSA’s Ability to Respond on Short Notice to On-Call Services. The LSA Team has the experience and range of expertise to provide high-quality environmental services to the City even if several projects are active concurrently. With a network of nearly 180 employees in 9 offices throughout the State, LSA has staff members capable of responding to any of the City’s needs on short notice.
LSA’s professional staff members move easily among the offices and regions, allowing LSA to assemble the most appropriate and specialized team for any given project without hesitation. Our Bay Area office in Point Richmond is staffed by planners and technical specialists throughout the Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Scope of Services
Exhibit A – Page 3 of 5
region and gives us the flexibility to coordinate with City staff on short notice, and the ability to respond to task orders as they arise.
• Understanding of City Staff Needs. Through our experience working with public agencies, we know that City staff can be stretched thin by the time and effort required to manage the planning and environmental review process. All the materials we submit will be as thoughtful and complete as possible, and in full compliance with the City’s environmental review processes and procedures. We believe that the ability of LSA staff to work independently of, but in close communication with, staff is one of our greatest assets. We routinely assist staff with public noticing, the preparation of staff reports, findings/statements of overriding considerations, and presentations for public hearings.
• Experienced Public Outreach. LSA can provide assistance on all aspects of public participation including conducting scoping sessions, workshops, presentations, or open houses; preparing CEQA notices; preparing newsletters and display materials; and providing support to staff for public presentations.
• Objective and Impartial Analysis. We undertake our research, analysis, writing, and presentations with the aim of providing technically competent and scientifically objective work products. Our contribution to promoting the applicant’s objectives is focused on preparing a CEQA document that is technically thorough and conducting the public process in a way that is transparent and accessible.
• Senior Staff Involvement. For any assignment that LSA undertakes, the project team will be directed by a Principal of the firm and managed by an experienced Project Manager who will oversee the project, coordinate with City staff, and ensure that all tasks are completed in an efficient, cost-effective, and timely manner. Our combined expertise allows us to work closely with City staff, review projects comprehensively yet efficiently, and recommend solutions that meet the City’s planning and environmental review objectives.
Quality Control Procedures
Each of our technical groups is managed by a long-tenured Principal and staffed by professionals well versed with the technical requirements of their respective disciplines. In addition, LSA has an adopted Quality Control (QC) Program. To ensure that the company’s QC Program is implemented, all substantial work products are reviewed at the Principal level. LSA’s operational standard of Principal oversight of technical efforts guarantees the delivery of accurate, timely, comprehensive, and legally defensible documents to support the proposed project actions. All work products are also reviewed by an in-house technical editor and formatted by LSA’s document management staff prior to submittal to ensure that documents arrive for review in final form, allowing City reviewers to concentrate on issues of substance rather than on editing tasks.
System to Monitor Budget and Scope
LSA staff members are committed to maintaining schedules and controlling costs. If necessary, LSA will reprioritize workloads to meet its obligations. Before bidding on a project, LSA evaluates its workload and assignments to determine whether it can meet the client’s goals. LSA pursues projects only when it can comfortably commit the appropriate resources. LSA’s reliability is demonstrated by Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Scope of Services
Exhibit A – Page 4 of 5
both its track record of success and its commitment of senior-level staff to any on-call assignments from the City.
The following outlines LSA’s methods and procedures for managing schedules and budgets and ensuring that LSA’s quality control procedures are maintained:
• Communication: Good project management extends beyond the use of sophisticated tools. It has been LSA’s experience that the single most critical element for the successful completion of a project is the early development of clear channels of communication among LSA’s project management and all parties involved. At a minimum, LSA’s Project Managers prepare monthly status reports. These reports include narrative descriptions of all major activities performed during the month. However, contact with the client typically takes place much more frequently. • Product review: To ensure that LSA’s product meets the best technical and professional quality and adheres to the highest industry standards, LSA has developed an internal document review program for each document that leaves the office. Once a document is prepared, it is reviewed by a professional editor and then receives a technical review by a Principal prior to its release. • Budget control: Billing for LSA’s projects is tracked by internal accounting software on a biweekly schedule. All Project Managers have access to real-time budget status on their desktop computers to assist in maintaining tight control over project budgets. • Commitment to scheduling needs: LSA’s commitment to meeting scheduling needs and project demands extends to doing whatever it takes to complete the job. LSA’s work in the past has demanded staff time at nights and on weekends. LSA has also reduced handling time by using 24- hour reprographic houses capable of compiling, printing, packaging, and mailing completed documents in a single efficient operation.
• Quality management: LSA manages quality throughout the life of the project, not merely at the end of the project. LSA’s overall goal is to improve quality on each subsequent project. This requires implementation of strategies to improve quality at the very beginning of each project and applying those strategies throughout the duration of the project and beyond.
Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Scope of Services
Exhibit A – Page 5 of 5
Cost Schedule
Upon receipt of a task order for a specific project or services, LSA will provide a cost estimate in the form of a spreadsheet that details tasks by assigned personnel (hours/rate). LSA’s standard billing rates by classification and in-house direct expenses are shown below in Tables A and B. As rates are reviewed annually, the rates shown below are subject to escalation, which is typically at 3 to 5 percent per year.
Table A: LSA Hourly Billing Rates, Effective June 2025
Job Classification
Hourly Rate
Range Planning 1,2 Environmental Transportation Air/Noise Cultural/
Paleontological
Resources
Biology GIS
Principal Principal Principal Principal Principal Principal Principal $245–355 Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate Associate $170–255 Senior
Planner
Senior
Environmental
Planner
Senior
Transportation
Planner/Engineer
Senior Air
Quality/Noise
Specialist/Noise
Engineer
Senior
Archaeologist/
Architectural
Historian /
Paleontologist
Senior Biologist/
Botanist/Wildlife
Biologist/Ecologist/
Soil Scientist/
Herpetologist/
Arborist
SeniorGIS
Specialist
$145–210
Planner Environmental
Planner
Transportation
Planner/Engineer
AirQuality/
Noise Specialist/
Noise Engineer/
Climate Change
Specialist
Archaeologist/
Architectural
Historian/
Paleontologist
Biologist/Botanist/
Wildlife Biologist/
Ecologist/Soil
Scientist/
Herpetologist/
Arborist
GIS
Specialist
$110–165
Assistant
Planner
Assistant
Environmental
Planner
Assistant
Transportation
Planner/Engineer
AirQuality/
Noise Analyst
Field Archaeologist/
Paleontologist
Assistant Biologist/
Botanist/Wildlife
Biologist/Ecologist/
Soil Scientist/
Herpetologist/
Arborist
Assistant
GIS
Specialist
$110–140
Office Services
Marketing $0–190
Office Assistant $110–150
Project Accountant $110–140
Document Management/Technical Editing/Graphics $115–165 1 The hourly rate for work involving actual expensesin court (e.g., giving depositions or similar expert testimony) will be billed at $400 per hour regardless of job classifications.
2 Hourly rates are subject to review at least annually, on or about December 1 of each year and may be adjusted to reflect changing labor costs at LSA’s discretion at that time.
Table B: In-House Direct Costs
Description Unit Cost Description Unit Cost
Reproduction (8.5 x 11) B/W $0.07 per page Total Station Surveying Instrument $50.00 per day Reproduction (8.5 x 11) Color $0.40 per page Level (Laser or Optical) $25.00 per day Reproduction (11 x 17) B/W $0.10 per page Laser Rangefinder $25.00 per day Reproduction (11 x 17) Color $0.75 per page Sound Meter $75.00 per day CD Production $5.00 per CD Sound Meter with Velocity Transducer $85.00 per day USB Flash Drive $5.00 per drive Aerial Photo Cost
Plotting $3.75 per sq ft Boat Rental Cost
Aerial Drone $200.00 per day Water Quality Meter $25.00 per day Mileage On-Road Current federal rate Night Vision Goggles $50.00 per unit/night Mileage Off-Road Current federal rate Wildlife Camera $25.00 per day GPS Unit $75.00 per day
Direct costs shall be reimbursed at cost plus 10 percent.
EXHIBIT B
COMPENSATION SCHEDULE
Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Compensation Schedule
Exhibit B – Page 1 of 2
Table C: Individual Billing Rates, Effective September 2025 Staff/Title Hourly Rate Staff/Title Hourly Rate
Theresa Wallace, AICP,
Principal in Charge $320 Michael Hibma,Associate/Architectural Historian $170 Florentina Craciun,
Associate/Senior Environmental Planner $240 Kelly Vreeland, M.Sc., Associate/Paleontologist $170 Shanna Guiler, AICP,
Associate/Senior Environmental Planner $230 Jessica Coria, Associate/Director of Air Quality and Climate Change Services $260 Ashley Honer,
Environmental Planner $140 Cara Cunningham,Associate/Senior Environmental Planner $200 Lauren Peachey,
Environmental Planner $145 John T. (J.T.) Stephens, EIT,Principal/Noise and Vibration Specialist $275 Lynnea Palecki,
Environmental Planner $135 Dean Arizabal,Principal/ Transportation $270 John Kunna,
Associate/Senior Biologist $190 Pam Reading,Principal/ Environmental Planner $295 Ivan Strudwick, RPA,
Associate/ Archaeologist $195
Consulting Services Agreement Between City of San Leandro and LSA Associates, Inc.
Compensation Schedule
Exhibit B – Page 2 of 2