HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2505-4690CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
15.Approval of Seven (7) On-Call Consulting Contracts to Provide Planning Application
Processing and Supplemental Staffing for the Planning and Development Services
Department over a Five-Year Term, as needed: 1) Arnold Mammarella, Architecture +
Consulting, 2) CTC Media Group INC., 3) Good City Company 4) Metropolitan Planning
Group, 5) Michael Baker International Inc., 6) Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., 7) Urban
Planning Partners Inc. in the Amount not to exceed $2,000,000 ; CEQA Status: Not a
Project. Public Comment, At Places Memo
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: June 17, 2025
Report #:2505-4690
TITLE
Approval of Seven (7) On-Call Consulting Contracts to Provide Planning Application Processing
and Supplemental Staffing for the Planning and Development Services Department over a Five-
Year Term, as needed: 1) Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting, 2) CTC Media Group
INC., 3) Good City Company 4) Metropolitan Planning Group, 5) Michael Baker International
Inc., 6) Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., 7) Urban Planning Partners Inc. in the Amount not to
exceed $2,000,000 ; CEQA Status: Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their
designee to execute Contract No. C25193458K – C25193458Q (Attachments A-G) for consulting
services in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 through June 2030. The firms will provide on-
call staffing support associated with general planning services. The use of the contracts must be
consistent with the funding available in the adopted budget(s). The contracts are:
1. C25193458K - Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting
2. C25193458L - CTC Media Group INC
3. C25193458M - Good City Company
4. C25193458N - Metropolitan Planning Group
5. C25193458O - Michael Baker International Inc.
6. C25193458P - Stantec
7. C25193458Q - Urban Planning Partners Inc.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Planning and Development Services Department utilizes planning consultant firms to
augment staffing levels in development review and application processing. These firms offer
planners capable of processing development applications, drafting notices and decision letters,
supporting the City’s Single-Family Individual Review (IR) program, and conducting entitlement
reviews. They also offer expert support in community development functions such as
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administration and wireless facility siting analysis,
including Radio Frequency (RF) engineering expertise. Through a competitive request for
proposal (RFP) process, seven firms have been selected to provide services for these general
planning functions. Staff recommends the approval of seven contracts and a shared not to
exceed amount of $2,000,000 over a five-year term. The use of these contracts will be subject
to available funding within the annually adopted budget.
BACKGROUND
Solicitation Process
City staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on December 27, 2024, for the provision of
planning on-call services.
* For standardization purposes, the hourly billing rates for principals are listed.
The proposals were evaluated, and 32 proposals were determined to be responsive to the
criteria identified in the RFP. An evaluation committee consisting of PDS managers convened to
evaluate the proposals that met the RFP criteria. Seven firms were selected as planning staffing
on-call support.
ANALYSIS
Process for Selecting On-Call Consultant
deliverables and budget of each task order, approving invoices to ensure that the billed hours
match the hours actually worked as well as acceptance of work progress and products. This
internal process will allow the Department to be effective in managing concurrent initiatives
while leveraging the capabilities and technical expertise of on call consultants.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
ATTACHMENTS
APPROVED BY:
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2
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Attachment A
Links to Contracts
In order to reduce paper consumption, the contract documents are available online at the below links.
•C25193458K Arnold Mammarella Architecture Consulting
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/new-folder/c25193458k-
arnold-mammarella-architecture-consulting.pdf
•C25193458L CTC Media Group Inc
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458l-ctc-media-group-inc.pdf
•C25193458M Good City Company
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458m-good-city-company.pdf
•C25193458N Metropolitan Planning Group
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458n-metropolitan-planning-group.pdf
•C25193458O Michael Baker International Inc
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458o-michael-baker-international-inc.pdf
•C25193458P Stantec Consulting Services Inc
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458p-stantec-consulting-services-inc.pdf
•C25193458Q Urban Planning Partners Inc
http://paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-clerk/staff-report-links/staff-report-2505-
4690/c25193458q-urban-planning-partners-inc.pdf
Item No. 15. Page 1 of 2
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City Council
At Places Memo
From: Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director
Meeting Date: June 17, 2025
Item Number: 15
Report #:2506-4872
TITLE
Approval of Seven (7) On-Call Consulting Contracts to Provide Planning Application Processing
and Supplemental Staffing for the Planning and Development Services Department over a Five-
Year Term, as needed: 1) Arnold Mammarella, Architecture + Consulting, 2) CTC Media Group
INC., 3) Good City Company 4) Metropolitan Planning Group, 5) Michael Baker International
Inc., 6) Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., 7) Urban Planning Partners Inc. in the Amount not to
exceed $2,000,000 ; CEQA Status: Not a Project.
BACKGROUND
Staff would like to provide additional information regarding the planning on-call consultant
contracts for Council consideration. The use of on call professional services offers a flexible
solution to the highly variable demand for processing planning applications. Approval of these
contracts will ensure continuity of services and allow the City to efficiently adjust staffing levels
based on fluctuating workload, current staffing levels, economic conditions, and required
technical expertise. Through the use of professional consultants, the Planning and Development
Services Department balances the organization’s financial health and operational flexibility to
avoid overstaffing for variable application volume and specialized technical needs. Currently,
the use of these contracts serves two main purposes for the Current Planning program:
Supplemental Staffing
In FY2026, the Current Planning program includes funding for seven planner positions and
approximately $200K for consultant planners for application processing. As of this report, the
team has a vacancy rate of 43%, with 3 out of the 7 positions vacant. While the Department is
actively recruiting, consultant planners are critical to maintaining timely application processing
to meet state mandated deadlines for housing and other applications and provide full-time
counter services. Examples of projects that are supported by consultant planners include Major
Architectural reviews, Stanford Shopping Center and Town and Country applications, Individual
Review (IR) applications, building permitting processing support, and counter services. When
vacancies occur, the Department may request salary savings and use additional contract
capacity to augment staffing levels for continuity of business.
Item No. 15. Page 2 of 2
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Technical Expertise/Lack of In-House Experts
Rather than staffing for specialized planning expertise, the City relies on outside technical
experts – such as architects and Radio Frequency analysis engineering – to provide these
services because it is cost effective and scalable. The FY2026 Current Planning program budget
also includes approximately $200K for technical services, with the majority dedicated to staff
support and consultation provided by Arnold Mammarella for individual review application
processing. Staff plan to use CTC and Stantec to provide wireless expertise for radio frequency
analysis to analyze wireless communication facilities applications.
st, both staff and applicants will be
significantly impacted, resulting in application processing delays and further strain on in-house
staffing capacity. Additional impacts include:
•Individual review applications will not be processed as the City lacks an in-house
architect to evaluate for consistency with IR guidelines and provide guidance to
applicants on design modifications to meet the IR guidelines.
•Planning will need to reduce counter services to meet with applicants.
•Timelines from request to completion of final inspections will increase.
•Timely completion of building permit review, particularly for single family homes and
retail uses.
Overall Consultant Management
APPROVED BY:
From:Annette Glanckopf
To:Council, City
Subject:item 15 on agenda
Date:Tuesday, June 17, 2025 11:29:48 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
I would like to echo Becky Sander's comments on this item.
Annette
"I was disappointed to see on tonight's consent calendar item #15- $2 million for on-
call consultants. In this era of tight budgeting and budget cuts, "on-call consultants"
should be one of the first things to go. Plus many members of the public and the
press have expressed dismay at the amount this city spends on consultant's already.
Having such an important topic on consent seems a bit tone deaf to me. The City
does not appear to be listening to the residents or the press. Please pull this item."
From:Rebecca Sanders
To:Council, City
Subject:Fwd: Please Pull Item 15
Date:Tuesday, June 17, 2025 9:14:04 AM
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i
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rebecca Sanders <rebsanders@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Subject: Please Pull Item 15
To: City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>
Dear Mayor Lauing and City Council Members:
I was disappointed to see on tonight's consent calendar item #15- $2 million for on-call
consultants. In this era of tight budgeting and budget cuts, "on-call consultants" should be one
of the first things to go. Plus many members of the public and the press have expressed
dismay at the amount this city spends on consultant's already. Having such an important topic
on consent seems a bit tone deaf to me. The City does not appear to be listening to the
residents or the press. Please pull this item.
Thank you.
Becky Sanders
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This is a personal email address.
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From:Rebecca Sanders
To:Council, City
Subject:Please Pull Item 15
Date:Tuesday, June 17, 2025 9:09:02 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.
i
Dear Mayor Lauing and City Council Members:
I was disappointed to see on tonight's consent calendar item #15- $2 million for on-call
consultants. In this era of tight budgeting and budget cuts, "on-call consultants" should be one
of the first things to go. Plus many members of the public and the press have expressed
dismay at the amount this city spends on consultant's already. Having such an important topic
on consent seems a bit tone deaf to me. The City does not appear to be listening to the
residents or the press. Please pull this item.
Thank you.
Becky Sanders
This message needs your attention
This is a personal email address.
Mark Safe Report Powered by Mimecast