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sr-110910-3jCity of! ' '' ~$R$8 ~~ORHC a~ City Council Meeting: November 9, 2010 Agenda Item: j -~ To: Mayor and City Council From: Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services Subject: Urban Forest Master Plan and Web Based Forest Management System Contract Modification Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a First Modification for Agreement No. 9064 (CCS} with Artecho Architecture + Landscape Architecture, in the amount of $100,839 for additional services related to the development of a Long Range Urban Forest Master Plan and Web Based Forest Management System, resulting in a total amended contract amount of $304,630 Executive Summary The City is in the process of preparing a Long Range Urban Forest Master Plan and Web Based Forest Management System. A First Modification for Agreement No. 9064 (CCS) with Artecho Architecture + Landscape Architecture is requested for additional services related to development of the master plan and additional enhancements to the electronic management system. The expanded scope includes attendance at additional meetings of the Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force, development of detailed street segment drawings to address the provision of multiple tree species in response to community input for incorporation into the master plan; and development of a component of the electronic forest management system to track the growth of 1,000 trees as part of a grant condition for funds recently received from the Air Quality Management District. Background On April 7 2009, following a competitive process, Council authorized the execution of a contract in the amount of $203,791 with Artecho Architecture and Landscape Architecture to develop the Urban Forest Master Plan and Forest Management System. 1 On May 12, 2009, Council approved the establishment of an Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force to advise staff on the development of a long-range urban forest master plan, review specific urban forest issues, and serve in an advisory capacity to City Gouncil on the master plan. On September 22, 2009, Council appointed seven members to the. Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force: Judy Abdo, Tom Cleys, Peter Jensen, Susan McCarthy, Grace Phillips, Linda Piera-Avila and Doris Sosin Discussion Since its first meeting on October 25, 2009, the Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force has held 14 meetings including three broadly noticed community workshops and aCity- wide bus tour of the urban forest. With consultant and staff support, the Task Force has invested significant time in educating themselves in modern urban forestry practices, the history of Santa Monica's urban forest and its current needs. The work done to date by the Task Force, consultant and City staff has elevated community interest in the urban forest and established long range goals for the Urban Forest Master Plan. The Task Force and members of the community have requested that the original timeline of nine months for development of the master plan be extended by 12 months to enable them to work closely with the consultant in developing a plan that is reflective of broad community input and is a valuable implementation tool for the long term. The original contract with Artecho Architecture + Landscape Architecture in the amount of $203,701 was approved by Council prior to the Task Force appointments. Pursuant to the original scope of work, Artecho has completed the tree inventory which serves as the basis for areal-time electronic forest management system that includes the GIS locations of all trees, size of tree and canopy width, overall health of each tree, and estimated lifespan. Guiding principles of the plan have been established and suggested street tree themes have been presented to the community. An overall outline of the plan has been presented and approved by the Task Force. However, the original scope of 2 work and corresponding fee did not anticipate the level of involvement of the Task Force or the intense community interest in the plan. The proposed contract modification will extend the timeline for preparation of the master plan by an additional 12 months in order to enable the consultant to work with the Task Force to incorporate detailed street segment designs to address the design complexity of planting multiple species on individual street segments as requested by the community; additional graphic design work to provide detailed information on tree growth space, canopy coverage, parkway and median sizes in user-friendly diagrams not covered in the initial contract amount; and revisions to the master plan after staff presentations to Environmental Task Force, Recreation and Parks Commission, Landmarks Commission, Planning Commission, and astaff/consultant presentation to the City Council. Additionally, the City has recently received a grant from the Air Quality Management District in the amount of $198,280 to fund the purchase and planting of 1,000 native trees throughout the City. As part of the master plan, Artecho Architecture + Landscape Architecture will create a growth tracking system for these trees to enable staff to monitor their growth separate from the rest of the forest for reporting purposes to the US Forest Service pursuant to the grant conditions. The web based forest management system allows staff to access all inventory information, planting and trimming history, publish maps and schedules and generate forest work orders. Residents will be able to access the inventory to determine the species of trees by address, overall health of the tree, estimated lifespan, estimated water requirements and size of tree. Staff will publish trim and removal/replacement schedules on the Public Landscape website for residents to view. Task Force Action At its regular meeting on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, the Urban Forest Master Plan Task Force voted unanimously to recommend support for the proposed contract modification to complete the City of Santa Monica's Urban Forest Master Plan. 3 Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Funds for the proposed modification to the Artecho Architecture and Landscape Architecture contract in the amount of $100,839 are available in the FY10111 Public Landscape and Community Forest division accounts referenced below: Amount Funding Source Description $45,000 01576.522130 Utilities- Water $55,839 01576.555010 40073-W Contractual Services Prepared by: Randy Little, Public Landscape Manager Approved: Forwarded to Council: a LSE-C~¢~. .4!-tom, _ %~~Pr , n Name Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services ~~ ~~ Rod Gould City Manager 4 Reference Amended Contract No. 9064 (CCS).