REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
July 20, 2017
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, AICP, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
THROUGH: DANIEL ZACK, AICP, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BY: SOPHIA PAGOULATOS, Planning Manager
Development and Resource Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant:
1. ***RESOLUTION - 5th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2017-165 appropriating $175,000 for the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant (Requires 5 affirmative votes).
2. Approve a consultant services agreement with Wallace, Roberts and Todd, LLC., in the amount of $134,915, and a contingency of $10,085, to prepare the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy (Council District 3).
3. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to sign the agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno.
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends City Council:.
1. Adopt the Fifth Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2017-165 appropriating $175,000 for the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant;
2. Approve a consultant services agreement with Wallace, Roberts and Todd, LLC., in the amount of $134,915, and a contingency of $10,085, to prepare the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy; and
3. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to sign the agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Development and Resource Management seeks City Council approval of the re-appropriation of a $175,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for the Elm Avenue Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant and a professional consultant services agreement Wallace, Roberts and Todd, LLC., to prepare the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy.
BACKGROUND
On December 18, 2014, the City Council adopted the Fresno General Plan. Policy UF-1-e Unique Neighborhoods, calls for the promotion and protection of unique neighborhoods and mixed use areas throughout Fresno that respect and support various ethnic, cultural, and historic enclaves; provide a range of housing options, including furthering affordable housing opportunities; and convey a unique character and lifestyle attractive to Fresnans. Furthermore, this policy calls for supporting such areas through more specific planning processes that directly engage community members in creative and innovative design efforts. In addition, the Noise and Safety Element of the General Plan contains policies calling for the identification of potential brownfield sites and collaboration with responsible parties and government agencies to remediate them. The adoption of the General Plan therefore set the stage for the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy.
On a more local level the plan was envisioned in order to complement ongoing planning efforts in the Southwest Fresno, specifically in the Edison Neighborhood of the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan, the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan area and the Highway 41 + North Complete Streets Plan area. The Elm Avenue Corridor was targeted because of its prominence as a potential neighborhood corridor and its relative abundance of brownfield sites that could be catalyst sites for future development. The plan will focus on implementation of the vision set forth in the Edison Neighborhood of the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan and the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan, since the corridor overlaps both plan areas. The timing is optimal, now that the vision for this area has been clarified in recent planning processes.
The Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy requires unique skills and evaluations which will be used for this project. Current staff lacks some areas of expertise needed to prepare the plan, for example the economic, engineering, brownfields assessment and development feasibility areas of specialization. Staff will continue to learn from this consultant to reduce future reliance on consultants. Because brownfields exist in several different locations within the City of Fresno, it is the goal of staff to be able to do additional brownfields planning work in other areas of the city as part of the infill and revitalization process.
The City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on April 14, 2017. The goal expressed in the RFP was to develop an area-wide brownfields re-use plan and implementation strategy by working with the community and gathering the appropriate technical data to revitalize the corridor. Development of the plan will include community outreach and brownfields education for residents and property owners, an existing conditions study, including identification of additional brownfields sites, development of brownfields reuse scenarios, and a vision for corridor identity and potential. A $10,085 contingency is included for assessment of additional brownfield sites along the corridor. Currently, three sites are included in the project scope, but there are several more potential sites along the corridor.
On May 27, 2017, the City received three proposals, as follows: Wallace, Roberts and Todd, LLC., (WRT); Placeworks, Inc.; and SOAR Environmental Consulting, Inc. After review and evaluation of qualifications, both WRT and Placeworks were determined to be qualified and invited for interviews. At the conclusion of the interview process, WRT was determined to be the best group to prepare the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy. The firm was selected based upon the technical merits of their proposal and interviews, which emphasized broad brownfields planning and implementation experience of the consultant team. WRT is a national, award winning practice of planners and urban designers who bring expertise in public outreach, urban design, and brownfields reuse and planning. Their team includes HR&A for market analysis, Center for Creative land Recycling (CCLR) for brownfields planning and reuse expertise, Urban Diversity Design for a local liaison and urban design, and Precision Civil Engineering for infrastructure assessment.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Approval of the consultant service agreement amendment is not a “project” within the meaning of California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines § 15378 because the organizational and administrative activities as identified in the consultant agreement will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied, consistent with conditions of the Federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
No impact on the General Fund, as the funds were granted to the City of Fresno from the Environmental Protection Agency with no local match required. Funding for the Elm Avenue Area-Wide Brownfields Plan and Implementation Strategy was appropriated in the FY2016 Budget and is proposed to be carried over to the current fiscal year.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Project Area Map
Attachment B - Scope of Work
Attachment C - Draft Schedule
Attachment D - Fee Spreadsheet
Attachment E - Consulting Services Agreement
Attachment F - Resolution