Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Second Amendment to Agreement with Douglas Herring & Associates to Increase Compensation by $40,000, for a Total Aggregate Compensation Not to Exceed $220,000, to Complete the Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan 2040 Update. (Planning, Building and Transportation 209)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2019, the City Council approved the 2019 Biennial Budget and 2019 Annual Report on the Status of the General Plan, which identified the need for a comprehensive update of the 1991 General Plan. In 2019, staff initiated work on the update and began initial work on the environmental review of the draft General Plan with the assistance of Douglas Herring & Associates. Per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the environmental impact report (EIR) must be completed and reviewed for adequacy by the City Council, before the Planning Board and City Council can approve a General Plan update.
In early May, the City of Alameda (City) released the Draft EIR. Staff is requesting City Council approval to increase the amount of the contract with Douglas Herring & Associates by $40,000 for a total amount not to exceed $220,000 to provide sufficient funds to complete the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
BACKGROUND
The General Plan must be an “integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of policies for the adopting agency.” (Government Code section 65300.5.) The General Plan establishes the local development and conservation policies necessary to guide physical development and protect the general health, safety and welfare of the community and the environment. The last comprehensive update of the current General Plan occurred almost 30 years ago in 1991.
In August 2020, the staff/consultant team completed a first draft of the General Plan update for public review, launched the project website to allow the public to review and comment on the entire draft General Plan, initiated a series of Planning Board public forums, and mailed a postcard to all Alameda households informing them of the update process.
In March 2021, the team completed the second draft of the General Plan update and initiated the public review of the draft. Access to the draft General Plan and information about commenting on the draft are available at <https://www.alameda2040.org/>.
DISCUSSION
A General Plan update is subject to environmental review under CEQA. Staff began work on the EIR in 2019 and is scheduled to publish the Draft EIR for public review in the first week of May 2021 for a 45-day public review period. At the conclusion of the 45 day public comment period on the Draft EIR, the staff/consultant team is required to prepare written responses to all the comments received on the Draft EIR, prepare the necessary amendments to the Draft EIR, and prepare the necessary resolutions and findings for final action by the Planning Board and City Council on the adequacy of the environmental review. The consultant team estimates that this remaining work will require approximately $40,000.
Douglas Herring & Associates is a qualified environmental consulting firm with a long history of work in the Bay Area and for the City over the last 20 years. The firm specializes in environmental review and has successfully assisted the City with a wide range of projects from Alameda Point to the Blanding Shopping Center. Douglas Herring & Associates is on the City’s on-call list of pre-qualified environmental consultants.
ALTERNATIVES
The City Council may:
• Approve the contract amendment as recommended;
• Approve the contract amendment with revisions determined necessary by the City Council; or
• Deny the contract amendment and direct staff to solicit a different proposal from a different environmental consulting firm.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The necessary funds are available and budgeted for this use in the Planning & Building Department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 Budget. No additional budget appropriations are needed. In addition, in 2020, the City received a $310,000 State Grant to partially fund the General Plan update and project EIR. These grant funds are designed to supplement the Community Planning Funds collected over the past 10 years to fund General Plan and Zoning Ordinance updates.
Completing the General Plan EIR will have no impact on the General Fund.
|
Contract |
Approval Date |
Authorized Amount |
Expended to Date |
|
Original Contract |
April 16, 2020 |
$70,200 |
$70,200 |
|
First Amendment |
September 16, 2020 |
$109,800 |
$109,800 |
|
Second Amendment |
Pending |
$40,000 |
0 |
|
Total |
|
$220,000 |
$180,000 |
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The General Plan update will result in an updated long-range planning document that guides physical development, and will include the City’s overarching goals, policies, and implementation actions regarding future development.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A decision to amend a contract for environmental review and the preparation of a study or EIR is not a project subject to review under CEQA.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
The General Plan update implements and establishes a policy foundation for future actions to implement the City’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan. The General Plan update and EIR are being completed as an almost “paperless” update, with an emphasis on use of electronic media instead of printed copies of the various drafts of the document. The EIR will include a full analysis of the impacts of the General Plan on the climate, air quality and the environment.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to Agreement with Douglas Herring & Associates to increase compensation by $40,000, for a total aggregate compensation not to exceed $220,000, to complete the Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan 2040 Update.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends approval of the $40,000 amendment for a total contract not to exceed $220,000.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Annie To, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Original Agreement
2. 1st Amendment
3. 2nd Amendment
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager