Agenda Item #13.6
For Council Meeting of June 16, 2026
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DAN HENNESSEY, DIRECTOR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS SUBJECT: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH CONGER MOSS GUILLARD, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS TO PROVIDE MASTER PLANNING, COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE SANTA ROSA SOUTHEAST GREENWAY AGENDA ACTION: MOTION
RECOMMENDATION
The Transportation and Public Works Department recommends that the Council, by motion, approve a Professional Services Agreement to provide Master Planning, Community Outreach and Landscape Architectural Design Services with Conger Moss Guillard (CMG) Landscape Architects of San Francisco, California in the amount of $2,447,962, with a fee contingency of $223,447, for a total contract amount not to exceed $2,671,409, and authorize the Director of Transportation and Public Works to make non-substantive changes to the Agreement, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney, and execute the Agreement. This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this Agreement with CMG Landscape Architects is to facilitate an equity-based community engagement and outreach program and develop a comprehensive Master Plan for the Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway Project. The Master Plan and supporting documentation will respond to the community’s input and present a vision, and implementable roadmap for a vibrant and sustainable greenway park and open space that will enhance the lives of residents and families by providing a nearly 2-mile multi-use pathway, along with opportunities for recreation and gathering while contributing to a greener, healthier and more resilient Santa Rosa community.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goal #2 - Invest in the Development and Maintenance of the City's Infrastructure and take an important first step in creating a pedestrian and bicycle trail system anchored by a paved, multi-use pathway, improved street frontages and a variety of easily accessed park and open space amenities that balance recreation with habitat preservation, climate resilience and long-term ecological sustainability.
BACKGROUND
The Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway is a local and regionally significant park and open space project to convert a two-mile long corridor into a vibrant new linear parkway with a continuous, multi-use pathway in the heart of Santa Rosa. The property is approximately 49 acres and was formerly dedicated for a freeway expansion of California State Highway 12. The City, along with partners the Southeast Greenway Campaign Committee and the Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), has the unique opportunity to realize a community vision almost two decades in the making.
For the Master Planning phase the City will continue in collaboration and partnership with the Campaign Committee, an unincorporated grassroots association, and SLT, a 501(c)3 California non-profit corporation serving as their fiscal sponsor. To ensure that this partnership continues to serve the best interests of the public in the planning and development of the Southeast Greenway, the City entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Campaign Committee and SLT providing a framework for jointly advancing the project, and defining roles relative to outreach, planning, fundraising, construction and also maintenance, stewardship, and programming into the future. CMG Landscape Architects will report to the City, but representatives from both partner organizations will have consistent involvement in the project.
CMG Landscape Architects will facilitate a well-supported Master Plan with specific objectives for the project to include:
Outreaching broadly to the community, with a priority focus on immediate neighbors and other under-resourced neighborhoods across the City.
A well-designed non-motorized, multi-use pathway along the entire 2-mile length of the Greenway corridor, with multiple improved neighborhood access points.
Low-stress bicycle and pedestrian crossings of neighborhood streets and arterials that bisect the Greenway.
A variety of park and open space amenities such as community gardens and orchards, play areas, picnic and gathering areas, off-leash dog parks, and other active and passive recreational amenities.
Expanded access to open space and nature adjacent to the diverse urban neighborhoods in southeast Santa Rosa.
A management and stewardship strategy that incorporates conservation values, climate-resilient strategies, and promotes biodiversity and habitat enhancement.
Evolving opportunities for programming and community engagement and activities into the future.
The City’s Transportation and Public Works Department will direct the work of CMG Landscape Architects and continue to actively coordinate with key partners and stakeholders to help translate community input and guide the work of a professional planning consultant team in the creation of a final Master Plan.
PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
On June 17, 2014, Council approved a Letter of Intent with Members of the Southeast Greenway Partnership.
On July 7, 2015, Council adopted Resolution No. 28666 approving the 2015 MOU between Caltrans and the Partnership.
On July 9, 2019, Council certified the Southeast Greenway Project Environmental Impact Report, adopted findings of fact, a mitigation monitoring and reporting program, and statement of overriding considerations pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act and adopted a General Plan Amendment and Rezoning for the Property.
On July 7, 2020, Council approved a first amendment to the 2015 MOU.
On July 25, 2023, Council declared the future Southeast Greenway property for a public purpose, approved a deed restriction for same, and established park land requirements for land retained by Caltrans in Resolution RES-2023-131.
On August 20, 2024, the City Council authorized the submission of a grant application to the Association of Bay Area Governments Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Priority Conservation Area Grant Program for the Master Planning and design of the Southeast Greenway Project.
On May 13, 2025, the City Council authorized a Resolution of local support for the filing of an application for funding assigned to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission through the Priority Conservation Area Grant Program.
ANALYSIS
After careful consideration of the desired scope for the project, and coordination with the project partners, a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide Master Planning, Community Outreach and Landscape Architectural Design Services to prepare a Master Plan for the Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway was drafted and issued by the City’s Transportation and Public Works Department in January 2026.
Twelve (12) proposals were received and reviewed by an evaluation committee comprised of staff from the Transportation and Public Works and Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Departments and representatives from the City’s project partners, SLT and the Greenway Campaign. The firms with the three (3) highest ranking proposals were interviewed by a panel including representatives from the Transportation and Public Works Department, SLT, the Greenway Campaign and The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and as a result, the panel ranked CMG Landscape Architects highest, and thus staff is recommending a Professional Services Agreement with a not to exceed total amount of $2,671,409.
CMG Landscape Architects and their team of qualified subconsultants is expected to begin the required services and tasks no later than ten (10) working days subsequent to execution of the contract, and the preliminary schedule anticipates completion of an approved Master Plan for the Greenway within eighteen (18) months of inception.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. Total cost for the professional services contract is provided by $1,200,000 in Park Impact Development Fees (PDI), $750,000 in a Priority Conservation Area grant through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the balance through a donation provided by the Sonoma Land Trust.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, the recommended action is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because approval of a professional services agreement for master planning, outreach, and conceptual design services does not have the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Environmental review for future discretionary actions and project implementation will be conducted in compliance with CEQA, as appropriate.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Professional Services Agreement
PRESENTER(S)
Scott Wilkinson, Parks Planner
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH CMG LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS FOR SERVICES FOR THE SANTA ROSA SOUTHEAST GREENWAY PAGE 3 OF 3