SR-10-27-2015-3L
City Council
Report
City Council Regular Meeting: October 27, 2015
Agenda Item: 3.L
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Planning and Community Development, Strategic
Planning (PCD)
Subject: Contract with Dudek to Provide Professional Services to Update the City’s
Local Coastal Plan
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP#48 to Dudek, a California–based company, to assist in updating the
City’s Local Coastal Plan;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional service
agreement with Dudek, in an amount not to exceed $124,000 (including a $12,000
contingency) for three years;
3. Authorize the Director of Planning & Community Development to issue any necessary
changes to complete additional work within contract authority.
Executive Summary
The City’s current Local Coastal Land Use Plan, which defines policies for coastal
access and development that protect the City’s Coastal Zone, was adopted in 1992. An
Implementation Plan (Coastal Zoning Ordinance), required to complete the Local
Coastal Plan, was never certified by the State’s Coastal Commission. To achieve
certification and become consistent with the City’s current land use policies, the Local
Coastal Plan must be updated to reflect the 2010 Land Use and Circulation Plan
(LUCE), Civic Center Specific Plan and the Downtown Specific Plan, including a
targeted action plan to increase beach access for alternative travel modes. Updates to
reflect current understanding of the impacts of changing climate conditions and potential
sea level rise are also needed. Once completed, the LCP will be presented to the City
Council for adoption and then to the California Coastal Commission for certification,
which will transfer coastal permitting authority over to the City.
The consultant’s role on the project team is to provide expertise in coastal
environmental analysis, guide the project to address and respond to the policies of the
California Coastal Commission, and draft regulatory controls in an Implementation Plan
to reflect new City policies as they pertain to the Coasta l Zone. Dudek was selected
through a competitive Request for Proposals process. Dudek demonstrated the most
comprehensive understanding of the project goals and tasks and the team as
assembled has the necessary experience to advise City staff, work with Coastal
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Commission staff and comply with its regulations to produce an LCP that is consistent
with City policy and can be certified. The proposed contract is funded through a Local
Coastal Program Planning Grant that the California Coastal Commission awarded to the
City in November 2014.
The contract, including a $12,000 contingency, is for a total of $124,000. Dudek, along
with its sub-consultants, Revell Engineering, Lisa Wise Consulting, and the Law Office
of Alan Seltzer, will work with City staff on the project through completion. The draft
plan will be presented to the City Council for adoption and then to the California Coastal
Commission for certification.
Background
On June 24, 2014 Council approved a resolution authorizing staff to submit a grant
application to the California Coastal Commission to fund development of a Local
Coastal Plan update. The City was awarded a Local Coastal Program Planning Grant
in the amount of $225,000 on November 12, 2014. The grant includes funding for a
limited term assistant planner, who was hired in September, and for consultant services.
The City’s Local Coastal Plan has never been certified, although the Council’s adopted
Land Use Plan (1992) has served as the policy guideline for coastal development for
the past 23 years. As a result of State and local policy developments, changes in the
coastal zone over the past 23 years, multi-modal transportation improvements and
concerns about climate change impacts and sea level rise, the update and adoption of
this policy document has become a priority for both the City and the California Coastal
Commission.
To complete this project in the most efficient manner, the grant scope of work was
crafted to create a team composed of consultants and City staff. The California Coastal
Commission has designated a staff liaison to ensure that the Santa Monica team is
guided to avoid any conflicts during the certification process. The Office of Sustainability
and the Environment (OSE) is working with USC Sea Grant on a study, a lso funded by
the California Coastal Commission, to develop scenarios related to anticipated sea level
rise. OSE, Planning staff, and the consultants will work in close communication to utilize
the results of the sea level rise study to develop policies fo r the Local Coastal Plan
update.
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Discussion
Consultant Selection
On August 28, 2015, the City published a Notice Inviting Bids for a consultant to provide
assistance in the development of the City’s Local Coastal Land Use Plan as required by
the Strategic and Transportation Planning Division of the Planning & Community
Development Department responsible for the Local Coastal Plan project in accordance
with the City’s scope of work. The bid was posted on the City’s on-line bidding site, and
notices were emailed to a list of 13 known consultant firms that provide such services
and advertised in the Santa Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and
Municipal Code provisions. 948 vendors were notified of the RFP posting and 78
vendors downloaded the RFP. On September 18, 2015, four firms, all based in
Southern California, submitted proposals: AMEC, RR&M, Dudek and MR&E.
The selection committee was composed of three staff members from the Strategic and
Transportation Planning Division and two staff members from the Office of Sustainability
and the Environment Division. Bids were evaluated based on the criteria in SMMC
2.24.072, including price/value, previous experience, capacity and skill, ability to deliver
and provide future maintenance or service, and compliance with City scope of work.
Based on these criteria, Dudek is recommended as the preferred bidder for the Local
Coastal Plan project in accordance with City scope of work.
Dudek’s team includes highly-experienced professionals who have developed coastal
plans, coastal policy documents and complex projects that were certified by the Coastal
Commission involving significant coordination between jurisdictions and cooperation
with the Commission. The team also includes a sub-consultant (Revell) that is directly
involved with the USC Sea Grant study on sea level rise along the Santa Monica and
adjacent coastline. An additional $20,000 scope ($18,000 plus $2,000 contingency) has
been included in the recommended contract scope in order to add the specialized
services of Alan Seltzer for coastal code development and consistency with the City’s
specific legal context. Mr. Seltzer was included in another bidder’s team and Dudek
added his scope at staff’s request. Funding for the additional scope is available in
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professional services accounts of the Office of Sustainability & the Environment and
Strategic & Transportation Planning. The agreement, totaling $124,000, includes a
$12,000 contingency to be used for unforeseen expenses as the project develops .
Contract Scope
Based on Dudek’s proposal, the scope of work to be included in the contract will include
the following tasks:
Data Gathering, research and analysis of key issue areas;
Guidance and participation in the community outreach process;
Policy Proposal Development including analysis of emerging sea-level rise data;
Development of an Implementation Plan, to include policies, strategies, and coastal
zoning;
The expertise of the team will ensure that the project is closely monitored to understand
and resolve any potential conflicts with the Coastal Act and that the project adheres to
recent guidelines that have been issued by the California Coastal Commission.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The agreement to be awarded to Dudek is for an amount not to exceed $124,000.
Funds in the amount of $111,000 are included in the FY 2015-16 budget in the Planning
& Community Development Department and the City Manager’s Office. The agreement
will be charged to the following accounts:
20267.570350 – Local Coastal Program Grant $104,000
01267.555061 – Prof. Services – LUCE Monitoring $ 3,500
01226.555060.99435-W – Professional Services $ $3,500
TOTAL $111,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Elizabeth Bar-El AICP, Senior Planner
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Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Council Report, June 24, 2014
Reference:
Agreement No. 10212
(CCS)
&
Agreement No. 10028
(CCS)