Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Two-Year Agreement with Raimi & Associates in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $225,000, Including Contingencies, to Update the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is statutorily exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies). (Planning, Building and Transportation 10062032) [Continued from November 21, 2023]
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consistent with previous City Council direction to complete a mid-cycle update on the City of Alameda’s (City) Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), staff is requesting City Council authorization for the City Manager to execute an agreement with Raimi & Associates to update the CARP. The CARP was adopted by City Council in 2019 and includes projects and considerations through 2030. The update will include a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and serve as a mid-cycle update and blueprint for the next phase of the City’s climate work from 2025-2030 with a focus on implementation steps needed to address the remaining tasks before 2030 and achieve net zero emissions. The update will also revise and align CARP planning cycles with the City’s 2022 Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan. City Council already approved $200,000 from the General Fund for the CARP update in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-25 budget cycle. This agreement includes $200,000 for services plus $25,000 in contingency funds. The additional $25,000 is available from the capital improvement program for climate planning. A full CARP update will occur in 2030.
BACKGROUND
Alameda’s CARP was adopted in 2019 with the goal of equitably reducing the City’s GHG emissions by 50% below 2005 levels and achieving net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible while adapting to the impacts of climate change. In 2019, the Alameda City Council also declared a climate emergency that supports a global push to net zero emissions no later than 2030, but does not commit the City to this specific goal given the goal setting that was currently underway in the CARP process at the time.
Beginning in 2020, Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) began providing 100% clean electricity to all customers and in 2021 the City hired a Sustainability and Resilience Manager responsible for overseeing implementation of the plan. The City has made good strides towards achieving and completing many of its CARP actions as shown in the CARP annual reports; however, the City is not on track in all areas of the plan. With a focus on equitable implementation, there is a need to develop a roadmap for how to successfully achieve the plan’s goals by 2030.
CARP is not the only City plan that addresses climate change. A number of new plans have been developed or are in the process of being developed since CARP adoption that address many aspects of CARP. These plans include the Transportation Choices Plan (2018), AMP Strategic Plan (2020-2025), Alameda 2040 General Plan (2022), Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022), Active Transportation Plan (2023), Equitable Building Decarbonization Plan (2023), Urban Forest Plan (in progress), and the Zero Waste Plan Update (in progress). The CARP update process should incorporate and align with all these plans.
Alameda has also taken the lead in recent years in forming the Oakland-Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC). OAAC is a coalition of shoreline communities and stakeholders working to co-create a coordinated and inclusive future-looking action plan and subregional organizational structure to accelerate sea level rise adaptation, protect and restore water quality, recreation, and habitat, and promote community resilience. OAAC is organized around the San Leandro operational landscape unit (OLU), which stretches from the Bay Bridge touchdown in the north to Oyster Bay in the south and includes the shorelines of Alameda and Oakland. Through the OAAC, Alameda has been successful in securing grant funding for several projects, including a long-term plan for the entire subregion, and adaptation projects for Bay Farm Island and the Oakland-Alameda Estuary near the Posey/Webster Tubes. These projects address some of the priority flooding areas identified in CARP.
Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) was formed by community members and City staff in 2008 to help the City implement its 2008 Local Action Plan for Climate Protection. Because most of the GHG emissions in Alameda are from residents and businesses (rather than City government), the founders felt that it would be more effective to have a community-based organization as a partner with the City, rather than forming a City commission. CASA is led by a volunteer steering committee and is organized by subcommittees covering different subject areas (including climate education, energy, transportation, and zero waste). CASA works closely with City staff (including those from Sustainability and Resilience, Planning and Transportation, Public Works, and AMP) to implement the strategies identified in the City’s 2019 CARP. CASA also collaborates with other Alameda institutions and non-government organizations, including the Alameda Unified School District, the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, business associations, faith-based organizations, and other non-profits and community-based organizations. CASA became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2016 and receives government and foundation grants to implement climate-related programs in Alameda. CASA is a key partner in CARP development and implementation.
DISCUSSION
Staff prepared and published Request for Proposals soliciting “a qualified consultant or team of consultants (Consultant) to provide facilitation, planning and analysis in support of the Alameda Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) update.” Staff worked with City staff in various departments and CASA during the development of the RFP and proposed scope of work. The document was posted on the City’s website on August 24, 2023 and advertised to an email list of firms that have recently responded to RFPs in other cities as well as firms that have been involved in related planning efforts for Alameda. After a bidding period of 28 days, the City received four proposals on September 21, 2023 from the following consultant teams:
• Eastern Research Group, Inc. (Oakland, CA)
• Raimi & Associates (Berkeley, CA)
• Kim Lundgren Associates, Inc. (KLA) (Boston, MA)
• Thornton Tomasetti (San Francisco, CA).
The Selection Committee reviewed the proposals and selected Raimi & Associates as the most qualified firm after interviews with the top three teams: Raimi & Associates, ERG and KLA. The Selection Committee consisted of representatives of the Public Works Department, AMP, CASA, and the Sustainability and Resilience Manager. Staff contacted the references provided by Raimi & Associates to solicit feedback on its ability to meet the project requirements, as well at the timeliness and quality of the work.
Raimi & Associates has developed the Petaluma Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality, San Luis Obispo Climate Action and Recovery Plan, USDN Equitable Climate Preparedness, Kaua’i Climate Adaptation Plan, Santa Clara County Sustainability Master Plan and Ventura CARP. The subconsultants on the Raimi & Associates team include Pathways Climate Institute, Cascadia Consulting Group and Fehr & Peers. Pathways Climate Institute will draw on their knowledge through their work on the Oakland-Alameda Adaptation Projects, Alameda Groundwater Assessment, Port of San Francisco Waterfront Resilience Program, FEMA San Francisco Bay Coastal Study, Adapting to Rising Tides, Resilient by Design, regional groundwater research, and the Extreme Precipitation Study with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Cascadia has completed the Santa Clara Climate CAP, an equity assessment for Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Climate Protection Program, and contributed to the Tribal Climate Adaptation Guidebook. Fehr & Peers has worked on transportation planning projects in the City of Alameda, including the recent General Plan update and the Marina Master Plan.
Based on this review, staff recommends awarding a contract to Raimi & Associates for a total amount of $225,000 including contingencies. The agreement is attached as Exhibit 1.
ALTERNATIVES
• Authorize the execution of the service provider agreement as recommended by staff.
• Authorize execution of the service provider agreement with revisions determined necessary by the City Council.
• Not approve the execution of the service provider agreement, and direct staff to proceed with a different approach with the mid-cycle CARP update.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No additional funding is requested for the CARP update totaling $225,000. City Council previously appropriated $200,000 in the City’s FY 2023-25 General Fund Budget. An additional $25,000 will be reserved from the capital improvement program for climate planning (C71200) for contingency and to address additional groundwater rise issues as needed.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan goals and the City’s General Plan as follows:
CC-1: Community Action. Empower local community members and leaders to participate, plan, and implement the changes in both individual and collective behavior and actions that are needed to address the climate crisis.
CC-4: Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Take actions to make Alameda a net zero GHG community.
CC-19: Sea Level Rise Protection. Reduce the potential for property damage and loss, and loss of natural habitat resulting from sea level rise.
CC-23: Rising Groundwater. Prepare for the impacts of rising groundwater levels on private and public property.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with CEQA, this action is statutorily exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies): A project involving only feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which the agency, board, or commission has not approved, adopted, or funded does not require the preparation of an EIR or negative declaration but does require consideration of environmental factors.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The CARP update will improve the ability of Alameda to reduce to meet and exceed its CARP goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving resiliency to the impacts of climate chance as described in the Background section of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a two-year agreement with Raimi & Associates in an amount not-to-exceed $225,000, including contingencies, to develop an Update to the CARP.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Acting Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Danielle Mieler, Sustainability and Resilience Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Raimi & Associates Service Provider Agreement