Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a First Amendment with CMG Landscape Architecture for up to $75,000, Including Contingencies, for a Total Contract Amount Not-To-Exceed $2,842,000, to Provide Additional Technical Services Related to the Sea Level Rise Adaptation Projects.
This project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. (Planning Building and Transportation 10062032)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consistent with City Council direction, the City of Alameda (City) has been leading the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC) to plan for sea level rise adaptation in the Oakland-Alameda subregion since 2021. OAAC has been working on two high-priority projects - the Estuary Adaptation Project (Estuary Project) and the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project (BFI Project). They have also been supporting the Oakland-Alameda Subregional Adaptation Plan (Subregional Plan). The purpose of this agenda item is to request City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a First Amendment with CMG Landscape Architecture for up to $75,000, including contingencies, for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $2,842,000, to continue providing technical services related to the abovementioned adaptation projects.
BACKGROUND
This adaptation agenda item is a culmination of the following City Council actions:
In 2019, City Council adopted the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), which outlines an interagency collaborative approach to prepare for sea level rise and address priority flooding locations, such as BFI that is hydraulically connected to State Route 61 (SR-61)/Doolittle Drive Oakland Airport and parts of the City of Oakland (Oakland).
In 2022 and 2023, City Council adopted the Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan, and through a series of budget, grant and contract authorizations, enabled OAAC’s work on the early concept phase of sea level rise planning and project development. Currently, OAAC is working on the following planning efforts:
• Estuary Adaptation Project: www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationEstuary <http://www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationEstuary>
• BFI Adaptation Project: www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationBayFarmIsland <http://www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationBayFarmIsland>
• Subregional Adaptation Plan: www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationLongTermPlan <http://www.alamedaca.gov/AdaptationLongTermPlan>
In 2024, City Council held a work session on adaptation and approved the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant submittal for the BFI/Doolittle Drive project. The City Council also approved a resolution authorizing the Three Major Trails grant application submittal totaling $937,000 to Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) to offset the local match for the City and the Port of Oakland (Port) at $316,000 and $621,000, respectively.
Staff separately sought City Council endorsement for the concept designs for the Alameda portions of the Estuary and BFI projects and a status update of the Subregional Plan at the January 21, 2025 City Council meeting.
The purpose of this agenda item is to request City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a First Amendment with CMG Landscape Architecture for up to $75,000, including contingencies, to provide additional technical services related to the sea level rise adaptation projects.
DISCUSSION
The First Amendment of the CMG Landscape Architecture agreement will allow for the CMG consultant team to continue supporting the City and OAAC with general project management and coordination including meeting attendance and facilitation as well as grant writing. The CMG consultant team has worked on the three funded sea level rise adaptation projects for over one year and has successfully led the City and OAAC on design concept completion and several grant applications. The First Amendment of this contract will continue the momentum for seeking additional grant funding and for supporting project implementation (Exhibits 1, 2 and 3).
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may consider a range of alternatives:
• Authorize the recommended amendment.
• Authorize the recommended amendment with revisions.
• Direct staff to pursue a different approach.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
In September 2023, City Council approved a contract agreement with CMG Landscape Architecture totaling $2,767,000 (Exhibit 1). Table 1 summarizes the CMG Landscape Architecture agreement history with a requested authorized amount not-to-exceed $2,842,000.
Table 1: CMG Landscape Architecture Agreement History
|
Contract |
Approval Date |
Authorized Amount |
Expended as of January 2025 |
|
Original Contract |
September 5, 2023 |
$2,767,000 |
$2,034,847 |
|
First Amendment |
February 4, 2025 |
$75,000 |
NA |
|
Total |
|
$2,842,000 |
$2,034,847 |
There is no financial impact to the General Fund for the approval of the CMG Landscape Architecture First Amendment. These additional funds already have been appropriated as part of the City’s Climate Plan, which is Project No. 91852. The three adaptation projects total $3,690,000 and are funded with grants contributing $2,765,000, or 75 percent, and local match funding the remaining $925,000, or 25 percent.
The next project phases will require additional funds, which staff is seeking through grants such as FEMA BRIC for the BFI Project totaling $55.5 million or federal legislation such as WRDA for the Estuary Project totaling up to $30 million depending on the second step of appropriations. More funding is expected to be needed beyond these two potential federal sources. For example, the Estuary Project near-term coastal shoreline protections in Alameda are expected to total $70 million and the north side detention basins in Alameda are expected to cost $80 million. The near-term BFI Project is also expected to need additional funding beyond the initial FEMA BRIC grant and more detailed cost estimates will provide this information as the project progresses. Separate City Council actions will be required to appropriate additional funds for further project implementation.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The proposed actions described in this report are consistent with CARP (2019), the Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022), the 2040 General Plan (2022) and the Strategic Plan (2023), in particular:
General Plan Policy HS-16 Funding and Partnerships. Develop partnerships with local, regional, and state agencies to expedite adaptation projects and ensure a healthy watershed that protects and restores water quality, habitat and community vitality along San Leandro Bay and the Oakland-Alameda Estuary.
Strategic Plan Project CC6. Develop long-term adaptation plan and short-term adaptation projects.
This action is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This phase of the project involves planning studies for further actions, which are yet to be approved, and is thus exempt from CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. Further environmental review will be conducted for the individual resilience projects upon further development of infrastructure design work.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Successful completion of the adaptation project will improve the community’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a First Amendment with CMG Landscape Architecture for up to $75,000, including contingencies, for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $2,842,000, to provide additional technical services related to the sea level rise adaptation projects.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Gail Payne, Project Manager
Danielle Mieler, Sustainability and Resilience Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Agreement - CMG
2. First Amendment - CMG