Council
Meeting: July 13, 2004 Santa
Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Award of Professional Service Contract to Prepare a Comprehensive Update to the Land Use Element of the General Plan and to the Zoning Ordinance; Documentation of the Circulation Element Update; and Preparation of a Comprehensive Environmental Impact Report
This report requests that the City Council authorize
the City Manager to negotiate an agreement with Dyett & Bhatia for
professional services to prepare a comprehensive update to the Land Use Element
of the General Plan and to the Zoning Ordinance; document the Circulation
Element update; and prepare a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report for an
amount not-to-exceed $1,648,830, including a 15% contingency to cover an option
of preparing a new traffic model, additional outreach if necessary, and
unforeseen issues that may come up over a two year period.
BACKGROUND
The last comprehensive development of the Land Use Element of the General Plan took place in the early 1980’s with adoption in 1984. Subsequent revisions were made in 1987, 1993 and 1998. The proposed update will be comprehensive in scope, framing the City’s land-use and urban design vision for the next 20 to 25 years and articulating its objectives and policies to guide the City into the future. It will incorporate fundamentals of sustainability, livability, and smart growth with a special focus on Santa Monica’s unique commercial and residential areas, and areas of transition. Development of the update will involve broad public participation in creating the vision.
The Land Use update effort will be accompanied by a
corresponding comprehensive rewrite of the Zoning Ordinance to create a clear,
accessible and easily administered document.
The Zoning Ordinance update will be expansive and address related
elements of the City’s Municipal Code “Article 9 - Planning and Zoning.” The consultant scope of work calls for
development of an electronic version that will be web friendly. The scope also calls for the development of
helpful illustrations and graphics, as well as easily referenced charts and
matrices.
City staff is proceeding
with a comprehensive update to the Circulation Element of the General
Plan. This consultant team will have
the role of mapping and analyzing survey data collected during the Circulation
Element community outreach process.
The consultant will also incorporate the analysis and recommendations of
the update process into a draft and final document containing the objectives,
policies, graphics and other materials developed.
The Consultant
will prepare one Environmental Impact Report that will cover the Land Use
Element, the Circulation Elements and the Zoning Ordinance. The EIR will meet State and City of Santa
Monica CEQA requirements.
DISCUSSION
Procurement Process:
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to
approximately forty consultants. Proposals
from three comprehensive teams of consultants and sub-consultants were
submitted to the City in response to the RFP.
A selection committee, comprised of eight City staff representing three
City departments (PCD, EPWM and CCS) and the City Manager’s Office, evaluated
the proposals based on criteria stated in the RFP, including: experience in
preparing similar projects; proposed approach, tasks and methodology to be used
in providing the required services, including comprehensive computer-based graphics;
qualifications, experience and availability of key personnel; appropriate
distribution of responsibilities within the project team; record of successful
relationships with other public and corporate clients; ability to complete the
scope of work within an expedited project schedule; and reasonableness of
proposed fee schedule in relation to proposed work plan. All three teams were invited for
interviews. The proposed teams and
their respective budgets were as follows:
·
Cotton/Bridges/Associates
& Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG) (with Urban Studio; Kyser Marston
Associates; and Kaku Associates): $1.6 million plus options
·
Crawford,
Multari & Clark Associates; Design, Community & Environment; and Moule
& Polyzoides (with Strategic Economics; PCR Services Corporation; RBF
Consulting; Stanley R. Hoffman Associates; and Kaku Associates): $1.1 million
plus options
·
Dyett &
Bhatia (with EIP Associates; Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler; Moore Rubell
& Yudell; Kendall Planning & Design; Historic Resources Group; and Kaku
Associates): $1.3 million plus options
Although the decision was difficult because all the teams were well qualified, the Dyett & Bhatia team was selected as the top ranked firm based on the criteria listed above. The management structure under one firm provides assurance of consistency and continuity. The firm has demonstrated strong capability to provide high quality graphics, 3-dimensional modeling and web-based documents that can be effective tools for explaining concepts and illustrating alternatives to both policy makers and the community at large. Sample graphics are provided as Attachment A. The prime consultant offers extensive land use and zoning experience in arenas both national and statewide. The sub-consultants offer valuable local knowledge and presence.
Dyett & Bhatia has worked with cities that are essentially built-out, such as downtown Chicago and downtown Sacramento, demonstrating sensitivity to in-fill issues, while also having extensive smart growth experience. In 2003 the firm completed a voter-mandated Smart Growth General Plan for the City of San Ramon, which met with overwhelming community acceptance. The firm recently completed new zoning code to implement Palm Beach County’s smart growth plan. Currently, the firm is leading the San Diego Downtown Plan, one of the largest urban planning efforts underway on the West Coast and is focused on neighborhood livability. D&B has prepared regulations to promote transit, including the Model Regulations for Transit prepared for Portland's Tri-Met.
Examples of their
work can be found at the following websites:
·
San Diego Downtown
Community Plan Update: The site
illustrates the teams ability to provide a comprehensive web site and extensive
land use modeling:
·
Palm Beach
County Uniform Development Code:
provides an example of
interactive code and the use of graphics and tables in zoning code. Click on “Interactive Code” and review Article 3 “Overlays & Zoning
Districts: Chapter F – Traditional Development Districts”; Article 7 “Landscape
and Buffering” and Article 8 “Signs,”
that were developed by this team:
www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/pzb/new/zoning/newzoning
·
City of
Concord Zoning Ordinance Update:
another example of a comprehensive web site and materials produced:
www.cityofconcord.org/about/zoningupdate
Public Participation:
The RFP did not identify a specific public participation process to guide the preparation of the Land Use Element and Zoning Ordinance updates. Rather, prospective consultants were encouraged to propose an outreach process that would maximize opportunities for public input, ensure transparency in the process and provide opportunities for Council and Planning Commission consideration throughout the conceptualization and preparation stages of plan development. Concepts will be provided to Planning Commissions and Council for comment and generally anticipate joint Planning Commission/City Council Meetings at key points in the process, including an initial session to launch the project. A variety of means to maximize opportunities for a wide range public input, as described in their draft Public Participation Program scope of work is in Attachment B. Proposed components include: newsletters, a inter-active web-site and surveys; a statistically accurate phone survey; community-wide workshops, including a community vision fair; a “road-show” of materials that will be available at a wide range of ongoing community meetings and events; focus groups; intercept surveys; and a youth oriented program.
Next Steps and
Schedule:
The initial steps
of the update process are expected to begin in September with an intensive
two-year process to result in the final EIR, adopted Land Use Element,
Circulation Element and Zoning Ordinance.
A significant budget is
required for an extensive update of this nature that addresses City-wide land
use issues in a comprehensive manner, covering a 20-25 year time horizon, and
provides a thorough analysis and reshaping of the zoning code. In addition to the enormous analytical
effort, the process will include an extensive multifaceted public participation
component; labor-intensive GIS-based mapping; incorporation of numerous graphic
illustrations; and web-based interactive features, all of which are costly
components. Funds will be saved through
the preparation of one program-level environmental review document that
incorporates the Land Use/Circulation Elements and Zoning Ordinance, as
compared to preparing individual documents for each component. The project also incorporates Planning Division
priorities that would have been accomplished individually and will now be
merged into the comprehensive update.
This effort also
provides an opportunity to develop a new travel-demand model that can better
address mode-shifts and other longer term forecasting issues. The decision to proceed with a new model
will depend on whether it can be developed and refined on a timely basis and in
a manner that will be applicable to future projects. The development of a travel demand model is included as contingency
and will be used if it is determined that it is feasible to develop and
implement the model within the necessary time frame. The contingency is also intended to cover any additional public
outreach and to address unanticipated issues that may come up over the next two
years.
Budget:
Contract amount
$1,398,830
Contingency 250,000
Total Budget $1,648,830
Sources of Funds:
An appropriation of $1,648,830 is needed at account number #P010880.589000.
Sufficient funds have been identified in the fund balance from FY2003/04
year-end savings.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended
that City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a
professional services contract with Dyett & Bhatia in an amount not to
exceed $1,648,830 for a comprehensive update of the Land Use Element and the
Zoning Ordinance; documentation of the Circulation Element Update and
Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report and appropriate funds as
described above.
Attachment
A: Sample Dyett & Bhatia Graphics
Attachment
B: Draft Public Participation Program Scope of
Work
Prepared
by: Suzanne Frick, Director
Ellen
Gelbard, Deputy Director for Special Projects
Andrew Agle,
Assistant Director
Amanda
Schachter, Planning Manager
Lucy Dyke,
Transportation Planning Manager
Planning and Community Development Department