Staff recommends three on-call planning consultant contracts and $100,000 housing element appropriation

Kathleen Mallory, Planning and Sustainability Manager, told the Community Services, Public Safety, Housing and Development Committee that staff is recommending three professional services agreements to support current planning, long-range planning and climate- and housing-related work.

"So, we're recommending three contracts," Mallory said, noting staff received five proposals. She said two firms the city has used before, Rincon and CSG, are proposed for "a not to exceed amount of 500,000 each" with three-year terms and options for two one-year extensions, and that a third contract with Veronica Tam would be for $250,000 under the same term structure.

Mallory said the contracts would provide short-term capacity to address recruitment shortfalls, specialized technical tasks and compressed state timelines. She listed sample assignments the on-call consultants could support, including project work on Sekioka Farms and Wagon Wheel, assistance with Lockwood and fire stations two and three, ordinance and policy development, and rapid analyses required by state deadlines.

Mallory flagged preparations for the seventh-cycle housing element as a major driver of the procurement. She said Veronica Tam's firm brings specialized housing-element and regional housing needs assessment experience, including work on guidance for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

On climate work, Mallory said the city uses software for greenhouse gas reporting but needs consultant expertise for energy quantification and metric development to meet increasing reporting requirements tied to the council-approved climate action and adaptation plan.

To fund the contracts, Mallory said the Community Development Department will use permit revenue, developer deposits and the general plan maintenance fee fund (GPMF). "We have approximately 1.4 million that we have available to offset the contract needs," she said, and added that additional GPMF receipts are expected during the fiscal year.

Staff recommended that the committee recommend City Council authorize the mayor to execute the three professional services agreements (Rincon and CSG at up to $500,000 each; Veronica Tam at $250,000) and requested a FY2026-27 budget appropriation of $100,000 from the general fund balance, funded by prior GPMF receipts, to support preliminary housing-element work. The presentation concluded with Mallory stating that staff's current appropriations are sufficient to fund the agreements as proposed.

The transcript records staff recommendations to the committee but does not record a committee vote or final action; the items as described would require City Council authorization before contracts are executed.