City Council Meeting: March 25,
2008
Agenda Item: 1-B
To: Mayor and City Council
From:
Subject: Consultant Service Contract to Assist with the Preparation of Land Use & Circulation Element of the General Plan, Proposed Changes in the Development Review Process and Preparation of a Section of a Work Force Housing Report
Recommended
Action
Staff
recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract
with The Phipps Group in an amount not to exceed $104,000.
Executive
Summary
The Phipps Group provides a broad breath of professional services related to planning and community development. The Planning and Community Development (PCD) department currently has a contract with The Phipps Group for a scope of services to continue to improve and streamline the management of the development review process along with identifying modifications that would provide for the early involvement of the community in the review of projects. The current contract is for an amount not the exceed $69,300, which did not require Council approval. PCD has completed a selection process for technical assistance related to the outreach and preparation of the Executive Summary and associated outreach material for the Land Use and Circulation Element of the General Plan; creation of outreach materials, guidelines and assistance in the implementation of the proposed changes to the development review process, as well as for Transportation Division process improvements; and preparation of a chapter on work force housing.
This will be a separate contract for an amount not to exceed $104,000, thus making the total amount of contract services with The Phipps Group not-to-exceed $173,300. Funds for the contract associated with this recommendation are available in the department’s current budget. Council is reminded that as the City proceeds with the development and adoption of the LUCE, additional work by this firm may be required. If this does occur, additional actions would be brought to Council.
Background:
Preparation of
the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the General Plan has been a
priority for Council. Many community workshops have been conducted along with
public hearings before the Planning Commission and Council. Staff is
endeavoring to present to Council the Concept Plan before the end of this
fiscal year. In order to meet this
objective, additional assistance is needed in preparing materials that will be
easily accessible to the public, including the Executive Summary and
preparation of an informational brochure for the
Another priority
of the City and the Department is to improve and streamline the development
review process, including modifications to provide for the early involvement of
the community in the review of projects. Key recommendations include creating a process
for pre-application at the concept stage; creating a process for early public
review and comment; ensuring predictability of outcome at each stage of the
development review, permitting and compliance process; and developing schedules
to ensure timeliness and predictable turnaround. Consultant assistance is necessary to develop
several outreach brochures, including a guide to the process for the
Discussion
Contractor/Consultant Selection
The Department has developed a list of qualified firms in
the areas of urban design, planning, architecture, community facilitation,
process implementation and project management through distribution of several Requests
for Qualifications (RFQs) to over fifty firms.
Twenty-two firms have responded
and been put on a qualified list. To date, a total of eight firms have been
utilized for various work scopes.
The Phipps Group was selected for
this work as they have exemplary
credentials and extensive experience in planning, the development review
process and the development of informative, well-written documents and outreach
brochures for the public and planning community. The Phipps Group (TPG) is an
award-winning land use and economic development firm in business since
1981. The firm specializes in working closely with jurisdictions in the
development of highly practical recommendations which reflect the consensus of
business, political and community representations. It is the recipient of the
State of
Budget/Financial
Impact
The Phipps Group contract for $104,000
will be paid out of the following accounts:
$56,000 from Account
No. 01265.555060 and $48,000 from Account No. 01265.511690.
Prepared by:
Ellen
Gelbard, Assistant Director, Planning & Community Development Department
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Approved: |
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Forwarded to Council: |
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Director,
Planning & Community Development Department |
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P. City
Manager |