Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute First Amendments with Bureau Veritas North America (BVNA) and Interwest, Respectively, for Total Agreement Amounts Not-To-Exceed $2,074,999, to Provide Third Party Plan Check Services through June 30, 2028. (Planning, Building and Transportation 20962720)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to request City Council to authorize the City Manager to execute First Amendments to the current Agreements with BVNA and Interwest, to provide as needed On-Call Consulting Services for Plan Check, Inspection, Code Enforcement, Permit Technician and Administrative staffing. The First Amendments with both vendors would increase the amount to not-to-exceed $2,074,999 per agreement. No changes are recommended to the term of the Agreements ending in June 30, 2028. The First Amendments will expand plan check capacity and reduce permitting timelines to enable the City of Alameda (City) to meet statutory deadlines under state housing law. The expanded capacity would also expedite non-residential permitting and business tenant improvements proposed under the Planning, Building and Transportation Department’s planned Express Permits 2.0 program to be rolled out in early 2026.
BACKGROUND
The Planning, Building and Transportation Department (Department) is responsible for providing construction plan review services in order to ensure the safety of building occupants within homes, workplaces, and other buildings in Alameda. The process of reviewing construction plans is critical to ensuring buildings are designed to be safe for its occupants and to comply with applicable building related codes.
Since 2014, the City has contracted with CSG Consultants, Inc. (CSG) to provide third-party plan check, consultation, and inspection services (plan check services) for the City.
In 2024, the Department expanded the third-party plan check consultants to include BVNA and Interwest as part of rolling out the Express Permits program and to enhance the plan check services. The Express Permits program provides expedited permitting for routine improvements such as roof repairs, water heaters, and other minor work not requiring structural plan review. The turnaround time for Express Permits can take up to 3 business days, but 90% of permits are issued within 48 hours. Since the rollout of the Express Permits program, 73% of all permits processed through the Permit Center are coming through as Express Permits.
BVNA and Interwest, are consulting firms specializing in As-Needed On-Call Consulting Services for Plan Check, Inspection, Code Enforcement, Permit Technician and Administrative staffing for jurisdictions. The addition of the two firms is necessary to enhance the level of service and provide the City additional technical staffing options when necessary.
DISCUSSION
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, it remains necessary to supplement the Department’s sole plan check engineer with third-party plan review support to ensure timely processing. Maintaining reasonable plan check timeframes is essential to meeting applicant needs, complying with state-mandated deadlines, and delivering a high level of customer service.
State legislation continues to push for faster permit processing. AB 2234, effective in 2024, requires cities to determine the completeness of housing-related applications within 15 days and provide comments within 30 to 60 days, depending on the project type. If enacted, proposed state legislation AB 253 and AB 1308 would impose even shorter permitting timelines, as little as 14 days.
The continued use of third-party plan check services, in coordination with Permit Center staff, is essential for managing the City's current volume of permit activity while maintaining efficient processing times.
Although state mandates primarily target housing, staff believes the additional capacity provided under the First Amendments will also improve permit turnaround for small business and other commercial projects. Staff plans to expand expedited permitting to small businesses and other job-generating uses as part of the Express Permits 2.0 program.
To support this effort, staff recommends increasing the existing $74,999 Agreements with BVNA and Interwest to $2,074,999 each, with no change to the Agreement term ending June 30, 2028.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize the City Manager to execute First Amendments with BV and Interwest, as recommended.
• Authorize the City Manager to execute First Amendments with revisions, determined necessary by City Council.
• Not authorize the City Manager’s execution of the First Amendments. The existing agreements with Interwest will reach the not-to-exceed amount of $74,999 within the next 30 days. This will result in extensive wait times for plan check services, likely up to several months for every round of plan check review and in potential violation of state law.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City Manager previously approved the original Agreements and the proposed Agreement Amendments for both vendors are presented below:
The agreement will be funded from Plan Check Fees collected on permits as a passthrough cost with no direct impact to the City. No additional budget appropriations are needed.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
BVNA and Interwest will provide as needed On-Call Consulting Services for Plan Check, Inspection, Code Enforcement, Permit Technician and Administrative staffing consistent with the California Building Standards Code, California Fire Code, Alameda Municipal Code and State housing law.
This action is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of an Agreement for plan check services is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is an organizational or administrative activity of the City that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. CEQA Guidelines, section 15378(b)(5).
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute First Amendments with BVNA and Interwest, respectively, for total Agreement amounts not-to-exceed $2,074,999 each, to provide third party plan check services.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Oscar Davalos, Chief Building Official
Mirna Moreno, Administrative Technician III
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. BVNA Agreement
2. BVNA First Amendment
3. Interwest Agreement
4. Interwest First Amendment