Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP)
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Agenda Item #4.A DATE: February 1, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager FROM: Christina Paul, Principal Policy Planner SUBJECT: Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Raimi + Associates for the General Plan and Housing Element Update RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Raimi + Associates for the General Plan and Housing Element Update, consistent with the draft scope of work and as unanimous recommended of the Selection Committee. BACKGROUND On October 19, 2020, the City Council reviewed the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the General Plan and Housing Element Update project. After incorporating input the final RFP (Attachment 2) was published on November 5, 2020, posted on the American Planning Association website and Planetizen website, as well as directly emailed to planning firms and subconsultants working on planning projects in the Bay Area region. On November 20, 2020 staff hosted a virtual information session for consultants interested in the City’s RFP, which attracted over 30 consultants from a variety of disciplines. On December 7, 2020, the City Council appointed Councilmembers, Kevin McDonnell and Dave King to the Selection Committee, which was tasked with reviewing proposals, interviewing qualified consultants, and ultimately providing input to inform the selection of a consultant team to undertake the General Plan and Housing Element Update. The full selection committee included: • Dave King, City Councilmember • Kevin McDonnell, City Councilmember • Peggy Flynn, City Manager • Heather Hines, Planning Manager • Christina Paul, General Plan Update Project Manager • Gina Benedetti-Petnic, Deputy Director of Public Works and Utilities • Ingrid Alverde, Director of Economic Development and Open Government Page 1 • Olivia Ervin, Principal Environmental Planner • Ada Chan, ABAG/MTC The 40-day posting of the RFP concluded on December 14, 2020 and the City received proposals from Dyett and Bhatia, Mintier Harnish, and Raimi + Associates. The Selection Committee reviewed the three proposals and met on December 18, 2020, to discuss and evaluate the written proposals. The Selection Committee chose to invite all three responding consultants to participate in interviews which were subsequently held on January 11 and 12, 2021. Each interview was approximately 90 minutes, including a presentation by the consultant team and topic-based questions from the Selection Committee. Topics covered as part of the Q&A included community engagement, land use, project management, implementation, historic preservation, schedule and timeline, transportation, housing, homelessness, climate change, CEQA, environmental considerations, flooding, sea-level rise, and economic development. DISCUSSION Selection Committee Recommendation Following the final interview, the Selection Committee discussed the consultant teams, taking into consideration their technical expertise on the many topic areas covered in a General Plan, compatibility with the Petaluma community and specific General Plan project demands, familiarity with Petaluma, professional experience, the composition of team members, community outreach approach, ability to innovate, ability to collaborate with staff, responsiveness to questions, responsiveness to the RFP, and overall enthusiasm for the project. The Selection Committee noted that all three of the consultant teams were well qualified for the project and each brought different strengths forward in the proposals and interviews. After discussion, the nine selection committee members unanimously ranked the Raimi + Associates team as the top choice to partner with the City for the General Plan and Housing Element Update project. The Selection Committee’s recommendation is based on the following factors: • Strong technical expertise on the Raimi + Associates team in response to Petaluma specific RFP, including climate action planning, community engagement, California housing policy, economics and retail planning, transportation, sea level rise and resiliency, land use planning • Dedication to public equity and sustainability • Cutting-edge work on public health in the urban planning context • Demonstration of familiarity and research on current local issues in Petaluma, including modeling of theoretical land use scenarios and the location of at-risk communities • Use of dynamic online land use scenario-development tools • Collaborative and efficient team dynamic demonstrated during the interview Page 2 • Robust community engagement proposal focusing on engaging community members using a wide range of tools, empowering community members to serve as ambassadors, and ensuring a transparent planning process • Willingness to work within the City’s proposed timeline and capacity to be flexible to evaluate and possible adapt the timeline if needed during the process • Strong expertise in California Housing policy and existing ties to the State’s Housing and Community Development department • Familiarity with Petaluma, Bay Area jurisdictions, local and regional issues of interest • Approach to developing a General Plan implementation program that integrates General Plan implementation with City organizational planning • Ability to understand and communicate the relationship between the General Plan and City fiscal sustainability • Scope of work that presents a clear and concise roadmap on the Update process within a two-year timeframe. Consultant Team The Raimi team includes a suite of subconsultants to augment Raimi + Associates in specific areas and in response to the City’s robust RFP. The team is made up of the following consultants: Raimi + Associates will serve as the prime consultant and planning and design lead for the project. Raimi brings expertise in comprehensive planning with a focus on community engagement, high-quality urban design, sustainability, climate change, and health. Raimi will also be responsible for preparing a stand-alone climate action and adaptation plan (CAAP). Given the strong community interest in the Climate Emergency Resolution and the desire to eliminate emissions as quickly as possible, the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan will strike a balance between being a technical document that is used on a day-to-day basis by City staff and elected and appointed officials to guide decision-making, and a visionary document used by the general public to understand the long-term vision and direction of a community. Rincon Consultants will be responsible for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the safety element (including wildfire preparedness and resilience) and other technical Elements of the General Plan, including the Open Space, Noise, and Conservation Elements. Rincon has worked extensively with Raimi + Associates on General Plans and Specific Plans throughout California and played a similar role on many projects. Fehr & Peers will lead the team’s effort on mobility and multi-modal transportation planning. In addition, Fehr & Peers will be responsible for developing and running the traffic model for the project. Raimi + Associates and Fehr & Peers are frequent teaming partners on similar projects throughout the State. Page 3 Strategic Economics will assist with policy preparation related to economic development as well as feasibility and fiscal impact analysis. Strategic Economics’ role will be to ensure the plan responds to the unique market conditions of Petaluma and supports long term fiscal sustainability. Veronica Tam and Associates will prepare the Housing Element and assist with housing policy. VTA is one of the leading housing policy experts in the State and has prepared dozens of housing elements in the region. The firm is currently preparing over two dozen Housing Elements in Southern California for the 6th cycle and thus brings significant exercise on how cities can implement new legislation. Sherwood Design Engineers will assist with infrastructure and sea level rise analysis for the Petaluma General Plan Update and EIR. This work will be complemented by the work of West Yost consultants, who will contract separately with the City to provide floodplain and sea level rise modeling. Plan to Place is a North Bay community engagement firm and will assist Raimi in leading the extensive community engagement effort. Raimi and Plan to Place are currently working together on multiple projects including the South San Francisco General Plan and the Diridon Station Area Improvement Plan community engagement process. The Cultural Planning Group will bring their expertise in arts and cultural planning to help align and leverage the City’s cultural policies with its civic priorities and economic and community development goals. They will be responsible for preparing an Arts and Culture Element for the General Plan. Page and Turnbull brings extensive expertise in historic preservation and will be responsible for preparing the City’s preservation focused goals and policies as part of the General Plan Update. Greenfelder Real Estate Strategy will support the economic development analysis by performing retail resilience assessments and strategic recommendations. More specifically, they will help to define “the future of retail” in Petaluma. Contracting Process Raimi + Associates’ proposal included a scope of work and detailed budget consistent with the City’s RFP (Attachment 3). The recommended action before the City Council