Agenda Item: 13
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: June 9, 2026
SUBJECT: CONSULTANT PREPARATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT REPORT FOR THE SUNRIDGE DEVELOPMENT
CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: David Peterson
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a contract to Michael Baker International, Inc., for the preparation of the Sunridge Development project Environmental Impact Report (Master Case 24-266) in the amount of $875,102, and authorize a contingency in the amount $370,771, for a total contract amount not to exceed $1,245,873.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents, subject to City Attorney review.
BACKGROUND
The Sunridge Development (Project) (Master Case 24-266) is a request by New Urban West, Inc., (Applicant) to develop an approximately 980-acre site located on vacant land (Project site).
The Project site is located directly south of the Santa Clara River; west of Golden Valley High School and Santa Clarita Sports Complex; north of Quigley Canyon Open Space and Circle J Ranch, an existing single-family residential neighborhood; northeast of Claibournes Arch, an existing single-family residential neighborhood; and east of various existing industrial uses. The Plan Area is also west of an existing commercial center known as Centre Point Village, located along Soledad Canyon Road and Golden Valley Road. The subject property is within the Porta Bella Specific Plan zone. The Project would replace the existing Porta Bella Specific Plan which was approved by the City Council in 1995.
The Applicant has submitted entitlements for the Project, proposing a mixed -use community on approximately 980-acres. Additionally, the Applicant proposes a public park to be developed on
a portion of the adjacent 241 -acre City -owned property. The Project consists of 5,750 single - family and multi -family residential units, including an amount of affordable units; 2.9 million square feet of nonresidential space; and 3 30-acres of park and recreational uses, primarily open space. The Project proposes the buildout of one General Plan roadway, Via Princessa, the partial buildout of another, Santa Clarita Parkway, and the elimination of the Magic Mountain Parkway build out. The Project contemplates a total estimate of 29 million cubic yards of grading between the mixed -use community and the adjacent City -owned property. The Applicant has indicated that they are interested in exploring the creation of a community facilities d istrict (CFD) for improvements associated with the development of the project.
The Project site is zoned as a Specific Plan (SP) and includes a range of residential, mixed-use, business park, school overlay, and open space subzones intended to support phased development of residential neighborhoods, commercial and employment centers, schools, parks, trails, and recreational amenities. Residential land uses would range from low-density single-family development to higher-density urban village and mixed-use residential neighborhoods.
Nonresidential uses would include a wave park, business park, retail, institutional, recreational, and open space uses.
Primary access to the Project would be provided via the buildout of Via Princessa and partial buildout of Santa Clarita Parkway, with additional circulation provided through an internal roadway network connecting the various residential, mixed-use, and business park areas throughout the Specific Plan area.
The property is located within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and portions of the site are located within a Liquefaction Hazard Zone and an Alquist-Priolo Fault Zone.
The Project requires approval of the following entitlements:
• General Plan Amendment (Class V) 24-001: A General Plan Amendment (GP) is required to replace the existing Porta Bella Specific Plan with the Sunridge Specific Plan, including a change in the Plan Area boundary. Amendments to the City’s General Plan Land Use Element and Circulation Element will also be required to replace references to the Porta Bella Specific Plan and to reflect revisions to the roadway network and the land uses established in the Sunridge Specific Plan.
• Zone Change (Class VII) 24-001: A Zone Change (ZC) is required. • Oak Tree Permit (Class IV) 24-002: An Oak Tree Permit (Class IV) is required for the removal of four or more oak trees.
• Hillside Development Review (Class IV) 24-004: A Hillside Development Review (HDR) is required as development will occur on properties with an average cross slope greater than 15 percent.
• Ridgeline Alteration Permit (Class V) 24-001: A Ridgeline Alteration Permit (RAP) is required to regulate development located in the ridgeline preservation (RP) overlay zone. • Tentative Tract Map (ENG25-017): To facilitate development, a Tentative Tract Map (TTM) will create 53 lots and roads for the Plan Area.
• Environmental Impact Report 24-002: A Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to analyze the Specific Plan’s impacts that have the potential for significant environmental impacts. • Community Facilities District (CFD): The Applicant has indicated that they are interested in
exploring the formation of a CFD to fund public improvements associated with the Project. • Development Agreement: The MOU contemplates the potential consideration of a development agreement as part of the Project's implementation.
The Project is currently under review and requires environmental review under CEQA. Based on anticipated impacts associated with the Project, the appropriate CEQA document required for the Project is an EIR. Since the City of Santa Clarita (City) does not have the in-house expertise or resources available to complete an EIR, an outside environmental consulting firm is required to complete this task. The EIR will analyze a variety of topics including, but not limited to, traffic, geology and soils, biology, wildfire, air quality, noise, aesthetics, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The EIR will also analyze how the project would interact with and/or impact cleanup efforts, managed by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), of on-site hazardous materials generated by the operation of previous land uses in the project area. The EIR process will help guide coordination between the City and the DTSC regarding this area of study.
The City conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare an EIR for the Project. The Memorandum of Understanding approved by the City Council for the project in September 2024, identified preparation of a Program EIR for the project. However, at the request of the project applicant, and with the concurrence of City staff, preparation of a Project EIR was ultimately within the scope of the RFP. The RFP was published and circulated via the City’s e-procurement system, BidNet, on March 10, 2026. The City transmitted the solicitation to 4,542 vendors on BidNet, of which 97 vendors downloaded the RFP. Seven firms provided proposals for consideration.
An evaluation panel comprised of City staff reviewed and evaluated the proposals based on qualifications, relevant experience, project approach, and the firms’ demonstrated ability to successfully prepare and manage complex CEQA documentation. Evaluation criteria included the following:
• Contractor qualifications, plan of study/scope of work, program management (40 points) • Experience on similar projects (30 points)
• Thoroughness of proposal, approach to providing sound services, and ability to provide services to meet objectives and standards (30 points)
• Cost of materials and services provided as well as discounts offered (reviewed separately for completeness and reasonableness and not used as part of the scored ranking process)
Consistent with California Government Code Section 4526, the selection of professional architectural, engineering, environmental, and related professional services is based on demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required, rather than price alone. Accordingly, proposals were evaluated and ranked based on qualifications and non-cost criteria.
The scoring results are shown below:
RANK FIRM LOCATION SCORE
1 Michael Baker International, Inc. Long Beach, CA 92 2 HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. La Mesa, CA 86
3 Envicom Corporation Westlake Village, CA 81
4 SWCA Incorporated Pasadena, CA 77
5 Impact Sciences Los Angeles, CA 73
6 UltraSystems Environmental Inc. Irvine, CA 72
7 EcoTierra Consulting Los Angeles, CA 72
In addition to evaluating written proposals, City staff conducted interviews with the three highest-scoring firms: Michael Baker International, Inc., HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc., and Envicom Corporation. The interviews provided an opportunity for the firms to further discuss their project approach, CEQA strategy, experience with complex environmental review processes, project team composition, and overall ability to manage the preparation of the EIR in coordination with City staff and the project applicant.
Based on the interviews, City staff determined that Michael Baker International, Inc. (MBI) demonstrated the strongest overall understanding of the Project, the most comprehensive approach to managing the environmental review process, and the greatest depth of relevant experience with comparable CEQA projects.
Interview scores were as follows (10 points maximum):
RANK FIRM LOCATION SCORE
1 Michael Baker International, Inc. Long Beach, CA 9
2 HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. La Mesa, CA 6
3 Envicom Corporation Westlake Village, CA 6
Based on the quality of MBI’s proposal, qualifications, relevant project experience, and interview performance, City staff recommends MBI as the firm most qualified to complete the preparation of the EIR for the Project.
The proposed cost for the MBI scope of services is $875,102. The Scope of Work includes preparation of the Project Description; peer review of technical studies; coordination of the Notice of Preparation and Scoping Meeting; preparation of the Draft EIR; responses to comments; preparation of the Final EIR and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP); and attendance at public hearings. Michael Baker International, Inc., anticipates an approximate 16-month schedule to complete the EIR once all applicant-prepared technical studies have been submitted. This is consistent with the proposed timelines for other projects
including the 12-month proposed timeline for the Belcaro project and the 20-month timeline for the Shadowbox project. Most recently, the City approved an EIR contract for the Belcaro Development Project, which is a smaller-scale project with an anticipated review process of approximately one year.
Due to the complexity of the Project and surrounding area, City staff requested that consultants include contingency pricing as part of their proposals. The Request for Proposals (RFP) was released while the Project Description was still being finalized; therefore, consultants were requested to provide a separate schedule of pricing associated with potential revisions to the Project Description and related environmental analysis.
The proposed contingency amount is $370,771, bringing the total contract amount to a not-to- exceed amount of $1,245,873. The contingency is intended to address potential recirculation of the Draft EIR and any supplemental environmental analysis that may be required if revisions to the EIR are necessary. The contingency also provides flexibility to address unforeseen issues identified during the environmental review process. The Applicant will be responsible for all costs associated with preparation of the EIR and the related consultant contract. Upon award of the contract, the Applicant will deposit the required funds into a trust account maintained by the City.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
All costs associated with the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report will be the responsibility of the Applicant for the Sunridge Development. There will be no fiscal impact to the General Fund associated with this item.
ATTACHMENTS
Cost File-Sunridge Project