REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, Director
Planning and Development Department
PHIL SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: CORRINA NUNEZ, Project Manager
Housing and Community Development Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a $250,000 Consultant Services Agreement with SWCA Environmental Consultants for
2022-2024 environmental consulting services for the Housing and Community Development Division,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded projects, programs, and activities.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends City Council approve a $250,000 Environmental Consultant Services Agreement with SWCA Environmental Consultants for 2022-2024 environmental consulting services for the Housing and Community Development Division, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded projects, programs, and activities.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City is required to complete an environmental review for all federally funded projects. As additional funding has been received by HUD and other federal agencies, the number of environmental assessments required has continued to increase. In order to ensure the timely completion of environmental assessments, the Housing and Community Development Division released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for environmental services on May 24, 2022 for an amount not-to-exceed $250,000. The division received five responses and is recommending SWCA be awarded the environmental services contract Exhibit “A” - Environmental Consultant Services Agreement.
BACKGROUND
The Housing and Community Development Division routinely uses environmental assessment consultants to perform on-demand services for the division’s HUD funded projects, programs, and activities. These projects, programs, and activities may be funded with one or more of the following: Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus Program (CDBG-CV), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), HOME-American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP), Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG), Emergency Solution Grant-Coronavirus Program (ESG-CV), and of recent, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental review is mandatory for all federally funded projects, programs, and activities. In addition, a Phase I environmental assessment and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review are also required for many of the Housing and Community Development Division’s affordable housing development projects. Although the cost for a Phase I, NEPA, and CEQA environmental assessment remains relatively the same from the previous year, the number of requests for environmental assessments continue to increase as additional federal funding becomes available to the Housing and Community Development Division and is in direct proportion to the number of affordable housing projects, programs, and other activities being proposed and reviewed by staff for possible implementation. Since the Housing and Community Development Division utilizes, in part, CDBG, HOME, HOME-ARP, or other public funds for affordable housing development and other projects, programs, and activities, all proposed projects whether ultimately funded or not, will require some level of environment review.
Therefore, on May 24, 2022, the Housing and Community Development Division released an RFP for environmental services. The division received five responses, one of which was received after the deadline and, therefore, was removed from consideration. Staff with environmental review experience reviewed the remaining four proposals and assessed them for experience, technical expertise, and cost reasonableness and recommends SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA).
The Housing and Community Development Division is proposing to award one contract to SWCA for on-demand environmental assessment services for the period 2022-2024. In anticipation of a higher volume of projects, programs, and activities, the contract amount for 2022-2024 is above that contract limit outlined in Administrative Order 6-19: Contracts for Consultant Services and Administrative Order 3-1: Citywide Purchasing Policy. Therefore, the Housing and Community Development Division is requesting Council approve a two-year contact for environmental consultant services for an amount not to exceed $250,000. The Housing and Community Development Division will utilize CDBG and other federal program administration funds to fund the Environmental Consultant Services Agreement with SWCA.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
On June 30, 2022, the Housing and Community Development Division completed a NEPA for the environmental consultant services contract which was determined under 24 CFR Part 58.34: Environmental and Other Studies, to be an exempt activity.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not used based on conditions of federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Community Development Block Grant, and other federal grant, funds for the proposed Environmental Consultant Services Agreement are available in the Planning and Development Department’s FY 2022 Budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A - Environmental Consultant Services Agreement