July 27, 2026
City of Santa Clarita
Andy Olson, Associate Planner
Community Development Department
23920 Valencia Boulevard, Suite 295
Santa Clarita, California 91355-2196
Submitted via email: [email protected]
Re: Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon / SWCA Project No. 95619 Dear Andy Olson:
SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) appreciates the opportunity to provide you with our scope of work and cost proposal for additional services required to complete the Belcaro at Sand Canyon project. As discussed in our July 15, 2026, weekly management call, an expansion of SWCA's services is necessary to complete the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Belcaro at Sand Canyon Project (Master Case 24-093). Additional SWCA services included additional peer reviews of technical studies; expanded revisions to the Draft EIR sections; additional Draft EIR review cycles; as well as anticipated Final DEIR review cycles.
The cost to complete the additional tasks described in the attached scope of work is $47,205. The original contract amount for the Belcaro at Sand Canyon project was $321,360. On March 23, 2026, the City approved the first contract amendment in the amount of $47,979. Since approval of that amendment, additional services beyond both the original scope and the first amendment have been necessary to support continued revisions to applicant-prepared technical studies, expanded City review, and completion of the Draft EIR. This second amendment would increase the contract to a total not-to-exceed amount of $416,544. As described in further detail in the attached change order request, this amendment addresses the level of effort that was necessary to complete the Draft EIR for publication and seeks to replenish funding in order to complete preparation of the Final EIR. The current contract includes responses to up to 300 individual comments. Should the volume or complexity of comments received during the 45- day public review period exceed these assumptions, SWCA will notify the City and, if necessary, submit a separate contract amendment to complete the remaining work.
The attached scope of work summarizes the remaining effort necessary to complete the environmental review process in accordance with the City's project schedule. Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to work with you. Please contact me at (608) 239-5271 or at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jessica Cleavenger Bobbette Biddulph
Project Manager Project Director
Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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SCOPE OF WORK
On April 3, 2025, the City of Santa Clarita (City) approved and executed a final contract with SWCA, Incorporated, dba SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA), for preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Belcaro at Sand Canyon Project (project). An amendment was approved for the contract on March 23, 2026. Since approval of the first contract amendment, additional services have been requested by the City and have been completed by SWCA.
As agreed upon by the City and SWCA, and in order to maintain the City's project schedule, SWCA accelerated completion of the technical study peer reviews and Draft EIR revisions despite the additional review cycles and document revisions that extended beyond the original scope of work. To meet the accelerated schedule, SWCA advanced work associated with later project phases by utilizing budget originally allocated for preparation of the Responses to Comments and Final EIR. As a result, the remaining budget for those tasks has been depleted and must be replenished to support completion of the environmental review process.
Now that the Draft EIR has been released for public review in accordance with the City’s schedule, the Final EIR funds that were utilized to continue work on the Draft EIR must be replenished to allow SWCA to complete the Final EIR and associated tasks. Accordingly, SWCA proposes this contract amendment to compensate for additional services already performed between May and early July 2026 and to restore funding needed to complete the project.
This amendment addresses the level of effort that was necessary to complete the Draft EIR through publication and the anticipated preparation of the Final EIR. Under SWCA's original contract, the scope of work includes preparation of responses to up to 300 individual, bracketed public and agency comments. Because the number, scope, and technical complexity of comments received during the 45-day Draft EIR public review period cannot be reasonably predicted in advance, SWCA will evaluate the level of effort required following the close of the public review period. If the comments received on the Draft EIR exceed the assumptions established under the current contract, SWCA will promptly notify the City and, if necessary, submit a separate contract amendment to address the additional work required to prepare responses to comments, revise the EIR, and complete the Final EIR.
I. ADDITIONAL PEER REVIEWS OF APPLICANT PROCURED TECHNICAL
STUDIES
A. ADDITIONAL PEER REVIEWS OF THE BIOLOGICAL TECHNICAL REPORT This task included additional senior-level peer reviews of revised Biological Technical Reports to verify the adequacy of the technical analyses and ensure consistency with the Draft EIR. The original scope of work assumed that the biological technical reports provided for preparation of the Administrative Draft EIR would require only a single round of peer review and limited revisions prior to incorporation into the environmental document. The first amendment to the original agreement included a scope and cost to review two additional Biological Technical Reports for a total of four reviews. After the approval of the first amendment, a fifth Biological Report was submitted that required review by senior-level staff.
These multiple reviews occurred during the Draft EIR preparation process, requiring SWCA to compare revisions against previous versions, evaluate the adequacy of updated analyses and mitigation measures, prepare detailed technical comments and discrepancy summaries for the City and project team, and verify that comments from prior review cycles had been adequately addressed. Additional peer review effort was also necessary to evaluate revisions made in response to City review comments and confirm that the technical report adequately supported the environmental analysis and mitigation measures presented in the Draft EIR. These repeated peer review Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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cycles and associated technical coordination exceeded the level of effort anticipated under the original scope of work and prior contract amendment.
Cost: $3,494
B. ADDITIONAL PEER REVIEWS OF THE TRANSPORTATION REPORT This task included additional senior-level peer reviews of multiple revised Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) documents to verify the adequacy of the technical analyses and ensure the transportation analysis remained technically accurate. The original scope of work assumed that the technical reports provided for preparation of the Administrative Draft EIR would require only a single round of peer review and limited revisions prior to incorporation into the environmental document. The first amendment to the original agreement included a scope and cost to review two additional Transportation Technical Reports for a total of four reviews. After the approval of the first amendment, a fifth report was submitted that required review by senior-level staff.
The revised TIAs were submitted in response to City Engineering comments, requiring SWCA to conduct additional peer reviews of each revised document. These reviews included detailed comparisons of the revised TIAs against previous versions, evaluation of changes to traffic volumes, trip generation, future-year analyses, roadway improvement assumptions, and technical conclusions, and verification that previous review comments had been adequately addressed. SWCA also prepared additional technical comments and coordinated with the City to resolve outstanding technical issues. These repeated peer review cycles and associated technical coordination exceeded the level of effort anticipated under the original scope of work and the first contract amendment.
Cost: $3,073
C. ADDITIONAL PEER REVIEWS OF THE FI RE PROTECTION PLAN AND EVACUATION
ANALYSIS
This task included additional senior-level peer reviews of multiple revised Fire Projection Plan and Evacuation Analysis documents to verify the adequacy of the technical analysis and ensure that the report accurately addressed City comments and supported the conclusions of the Draft EIR. The original scope of work anticipated a single round of peer review of the Fire Protection Plan and Evacuation Analysis, with subsequent revisions provided in a format that clearly identified changes for efficient evaluation. The first amendment to the original agreement included a scope and cost to review one additional report for a total of three reviews. After the approval of the first amendment, a fourth report was submitted that required review by senior-level staff.
The final revised version of the Evacuation Analysis did not include tracked changes or other documentation identifying revisions from previous versions. Consequently, SWCA was required to perform detailed version-to- version comparisons to identify substantive changes before conducting each technical review, evaluate the adequacy of the revised analyses, verify that previous review comments had been satisfactorily addressed, and prepare additional technical comments and recommendations for the City and project team. These repeated peer review cycles and associated quality assurance efforts substantially exceeded the level of effort anticipated under the original scope of work.
Cost: $2,884
Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION, SCREENCHECK DRAFT EIR AND PUBLIC DRAFT EIR
A. EXPANDED REVISIONS TO THE AIR QU ALITY, GHG, ENERGY, AND NOISE EIR
SECTIONS
This task included comprehensive revisions to the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to incorporate updated environmental modeling and associated technical memoranda. The original scope of work anticipated only minor revisions to the Air Quality, Greenhouse Gas (GHG), and Noise sections based on a brief memorandum confirming that the revised construction schedule would not affect the environmental analyses or conclusions presented in the Draft EIR. Instead, updated technical memoranda were prepared that incorporated revised environmental modeling based on updated existing (2025) and future (2032) traffic conditions, as well as an increase in average daily project trips from 1,470 to 1,596. These revised modeling assumptions required SWCA to prepare substantial revisions to the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR, including updates to impact analyses, significance conclusions, tables, calculations, and supporting narrative text. Because the revised modeling affected multiple environmental resource sections and required corresponding updates throughout the document to maintain technical consistency and internal accuracy, the level of document revision exceeded that anticipated under the original scope of work and previously authorized contract amendments.
Cost: $3,858
B. EXPANDED REVISIONS TO THE B IOLOGICAL RESOURCES EIR SECTION This task included comprehensive revisions to the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to incorporate successive revisions to the Biological Technical Report. The original scope of work anticipated incorporation of a final Biological Technical Report into the Administrative Draft EIR followed by a limited round of revisions during document review. Instead, the Biological Technical Report underwent multiple revisions throughout the Draft EIR preparation process, requiring SWCA to repeatedly update the Biological Resources section of the EIR to reflect revised impact analyses, mitigation measures, survey results, and supporting technical information. The revised technical information also required corresponding updates to the Executive Summary, Project Description, impact discussions, mitigation measures, tables, figures, appendices, and internal cross-references throughout the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to maintain technical consistency and document accuracy. Additional revisions were also necessary to address City review comments requiring expanded analysis and clarification beyond the information contained in earlier versions of the Biological Technical Report. Because the revised biological analyses affected multiple sections of the environmental document and required repeated document-wide updates, the level of effort associated with revising the Draft EIR exceeded that anticipated under the original scope of work and the first amendment.
Cost: $6,687
C. EXPANDED REVISIONS TO TH E TRANSPORTATION EIR SECTION This task included comprehensive revisions to the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to incorporate successive revisions to the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA). The original scope of work anticipated incorporation of a final TIA into the Administrative Draft EIR followed by a limited round of revisions during document review. Instead, the TIA underwent multiple revisions throughout the Draft EIR preparation process in response to City Engineering comments, requiring SWCA to repeatedly update the Transportation section of the EIR to reflect revised traffic volumes, trip generation, future-year analyses, roadway improvement assumptions, and transportation impact conclusions. The revised technical information also required corresponding updates to Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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the Executive Summary, Project Description, impact discussions, mitigation measures, appendices, and internal cross-references throughout the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to maintain technical consistency and document accuracy. Additional revisions were necessary to incorporate changes to project conditions, including roadway improvements such as lane striping and a roundabout, which were incorporated as project-specific conditions rather than general City-proposed improvements. Because the revised transportation analyses affected multiple sections of the environmental document and required repeated document-wide updates, the level of effort associated with revising the Draft EIR substantially exceeded that anticipated under the original scope of work and the first contract amendment.
Cost: $4,224
D. EXPANDED REVISIONS TO THE WILDFIRE EIR SECTION
This task included comprehensive revisions to the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to incorporate successive revisions to the Fire Protection Plan (FPP), Evacuation Analysis, and expanded wildfire analysis requested through City review comments. The original scope of work anticipated incorporation of final wildfire technical documents into the Administrative Draft EIR followed by a limited round of revisions during document review. Instead, both the FPP and Evacuation Analysis underwent multiple revisions throughout the Draft EIR preparation process, requiring SWCA to repeatedly update the Wildfire section and other affected portions of the EIR to reflect revised evacuation modeling, fire protection measures, project design features, technical assumptions, and environmental conclusions. In addition, City review comments required SWCA to expand the wildfire analysis beyond the information contained in the technical reports by incorporating additional technical discussion, preparing new graphics not included in the original scope, conducting supplemental research related to the proposed HeloPod, updating references to applicable City of Santa Clarita Municipal Code provisions, distinguishing between City and County regulatory requirements, and reconciling inconsistencies identified within successive versions of the FPP. Compounding this effort, revised Evacuation Analysis documents were provided without tracked changes or other documentation identifying revisions from previous versions, requiring SWCA to perform detailed version-to-version comparisons to identify substantive changes before corresponding revisions could be incorporated into the EIR. The revised technical information also required corresponding updates to the Executive Summary, Project Description, impact discussions, mitigation measures, appendices, tables, figures, and internal cross-references throughout the Screencheck Draft EIR and Public Review Draft EIR to maintain technical consistency and document accuracy. Because the wildfire technical documents underwent multiple revisions and City review comments required expanded analysis beyond that anticipated under the original scope of work, the level of effort associated with revising the Draft EIR substantially exceeded that anticipated under the original agreement and the first contract amendment.
Cost: $5,122
III. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT REVIEW CYCLES
This task includes comprehensive document coordination, revisions, and quality assurance associated with an expanded multi-stage Draft EIR review process. SWCA's contract assumed preparation of one Administrative Draft EIR followed by one Screencheck Draft EIR, with a single consolidated set of City review comments provided for each review milestone. Similarly, the original scope assumed preparation of one Response to Comments document and one Preliminary Final EIR followed by a single consolidated City review prior to publication of the Final EIR. Instead, the Draft EIR review processes evolved into four separate document iterations, consisting of (1) an initial Administrative Draft, (2) a second Administrative Draft, (3) a Management Review Draft, and (4) a Screencheck Draft. Each review cycle required document management, coordination Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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among the project team, evaluation and incorporation of comments, tracking of revisions across multiple document versions, and comprehensive quality assurance to maintain consistency throughout the Draft EIR.
Cost: $9,893
IV. ADDITIONAL FINAL EIR DOCUMENT REVIEW CYCLES
Based on the City's established review process and the level of coordination required to produce the Draft EIR, SWCA anticipates that preparation of the Response to Comments document, Preliminary Final EIR, and publication-ready Final EIR will similarly require additional document revisions, coordination, and quality assurance beyond the review assumptions included in the original contract. This amendment provides additional budget to support the anticipated level of effort necessary to complete the remaining phases of the CEQA process under the City's expanded review process. Should the number or complexity of review cycles of the Response to Comments document, Preliminary Final EIR, and publication-ready Final EIR exceed the review cycles discussed in Section III (Additional Document Review Cycles) of this amendment, SWCA will notify the City and, if necessary, prepare a subsequent contract amendment to address the additional level of effort required.
Estimated Cost: $7,970
GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS
SWCA assumes no additional changes to the project plans or technical analyses will occur throughout the duration of the EIR drafting and approval process. For example, if additional off-site transportation improvements are required by the City, SWCA may need to request additional funding to incorporate the project changes into the Project Description and, depending on their location and extent, into the environmental analysis.
SWCA assumes the project schedule will remain co nsistent and will not be extended. Additional schedule extensions would require additional funding.
SWCA assumes no more than 300 individual public and agency comments will be received during the 45-day public review period. If the comments received exceed the assumptions established under the current contract, SWCA will promptly notify the City and, if necessary, submit a separate contract amendment to address the additional work required to prepare responses to comments, revise the EIR, and complete the Final EIR.
This scope of work does not include subcontractor expenses to attend and/or participate in Planning Commission or City Council meetings to discuss the project. SWCA assumes project coordination m eetings with City staff will continue on a bi-weekly basis until the week of November 17, 2026. Meetings beyond this date would require additional funding.
COST PROPOSAL AND ASSUMPTIONS
Based on thoughtful consideration of the project requirements, SWCA proposes a time-and-materials budget for the proposed amendment of $47,205.00 to complete the project as presented in the table below.
To accommodate project changes and scheduling, it is assumed that SWCA will be able to use the overall project funding and will not be held to phase and task limits so long as the overall budget is not exceeded.
This cost proposal is valid for ninety (90) days from the date of the proposal.
Contract Amendment Proposal – Belcaro at Sand Canyon
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Table 1. Cost Estimate
PHASE/TASK TOTAL $
I. ADDITIONAL PEER REVIEWS OF APPLICANT PROCURED TECHNICAL STUDIES A. Additional Peer Reviews of the Biological Technical Report $3,494.00 B. Additional Peer Reviews of the Transportation Report $3,073.00 C. Additional Peer Reviews of the FPP and Evacuation Analysis $2,884.00 II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION, SCREENCHECK DRAFT EIR AND PUBLIC DRAFT EIR A. Expanded Revisions to the AQ, GHG, Energy, and Noise EIR Sections $3,858.00 B. Expanded Revisions to the Biological Resources EIR Section $6,687.00 C. Expanded Revisions to the Transportation EIR Section $4,224.00 D. Expanded Revisions to the Wildfire EIR Section $5,122.00 III. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT REVIEW CYCLES $9,893.00
IV. ADDITIONAL FINAL EIR DOCUMENT REVIEW CYCLES $7,970.00 PROJECT TOTAL $47,205.00