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Home My WebLink About0598.000• .-~-'> ~.\", ":.1 I ~, , . -",~. -, .: December 6. 1990 HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Aito, Californ~a Attention: Finince and Public Wor~s Committee AMENDMENTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS Members of the Council: Report in 8rl.f This report addresses the need to establish a new process for IdmiDistering work performed by outside consultants !! preparing Env'ronmental Impact Reports or ot~er spec;al studies for private development projects. The racommendation is to have the consultant under contract to the City rather than a private developer, but ~aye 100 percent of the contract price paid by the deyeloper through deposits with the City . •• ctsround 1& the put, when it has beef) determined that a private development project wi,l require an EIR Dr ether special study (e.g .• traffic, noise. air Quality studies). Plannif)g Department staff nave provided the developer with I Scope of Work and list of acceptabl! consultants. The City directs the preparatfQn of the EIR or study and determines the adequacy and completeness. but does not enter int~ any contracts with the consultant and does "ot directly pay the consultant. The City's control has been that t~e project and accompanying environmentl1 documents will not proceed throug~ the development review process until the City is satisfied that they are adequate and complete. The developer is requfred to pa) for whatever consultant services are needed to prepare an adequate EJR or study, as well as half of the City's a~1nistTatiye review costs. The advantage of the process is the e1imination of tfme involved t~ contract preparatfon and administration. Due to recent legal cases, the City Attorney's office ~as determined t~at this process must be revised. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that all ElR" (even on private projects) must be the product of the appro·,ing public agency. It is the opl.ion of the City Attorney's Office that the only .ay to ensure that the EIR is truly the agency's ;s to have it prepared by the agency or by an independent contractor under contratt to t~e agency. The City Attorney's Office has determined tnat. for C€QA purposes, it C/1R:598:0 . :;~" :',. o o does not Matter whtther the developer pi~nt is directly ~passed throu9h~ the 1genc.r~s Iccot.mting system or is iI IIIOre formal part of the agencY's budget process. The goal Is to establish a process .hlch .. ets the leg21 reQuirements of CEQA and requires I mintmal amount of time and paper work. The time eleNe"t lS critical because of the great amount Of time already netded tD process projects. especfally tnDse which reQuire [IR's, ind the need to comply with the one-year legal time limit within wh;cb a project ~ith an EIR must be act~d upon. It can teke from ~ix to Aine months. or more, to prepare and process the Dr.ft .nd Final EIR's. Tne creatton of a simplified contract administrative process would meet with the intent of the State's ·Permit Streamlfniog Act,-~ich reQuires elimination of unreasonable delays in tke de~elopment review process. A survey of seven c1t1es as to how thay admfnister preparation of [rR~s and other special study contracts has s~own tnat 5il of the seven p~ the consultant directly, but ~one requires C1ty Councilor separat! Co~nc~l committee approval of the contract. T~i$ is accomp1ished by establishf~g ·trust-accounts in which depGsits from developers are placed on deposit until they are disbursed with staff approval It specific stages of the study process. Steps Needed to Create New Proce •• Preparation of the majority of [JR'. likely to be required in the City would cost more t~an S20,000. Current City procedur!s for consultant contracts Iny01ving lOre than 520,000 require that the finance and Public Works C~1ttee review the purpose of the contract and make I determir.ation whether they W1sh to be f~volved in consultant selection. I~ addition, the c;ty Council MUst approve any consultant contract OYer S2S~OOO. However. these procedures were designed for .. nitorlng (ity General fund and Utility capital projects . Tne creation of a process for deali~g with consultant contracts for prlvate deye'opm~nt is warranted where the Cit) will direct consultant ser~ices and control t~e disbursement of funds from private developer deposits for studies or £IR's required as part of the devel~pment review ~rocess. S~ch a proc!~s would better serve t~e Interests of both the City and developer by gIving the City tighter control of necessary consultant work, while ~fnjmizfng process requirecents and time delays. It is f~rlt~ve that the Cit1 adopt a reyjsed process IS soon as possible. as I new application has been recelved for a project that reQ~ires an ErR (YMCA expansion) and the one-year time l1mit is running. The followln; steps would be needed to create such a process~ I} ApproyaJ by the Council of • change In policy to exempt selection 0IR:S98;0 envcon.cmr :;! , 12/6/90 Page 2 • ...... .. - ... /.: of spetfal co~sultt~t$ for environment~J Inal~si5 or ot~er special studies requfred for prfvate project$ and funded by private developers. from need for rev few by the rinance and Public Works tODIITIittee. "><. • ~) Amendment of Title 2 (Admlnistrottv. Code) of tne Falo Alto Municipal tode to add an exempt;~n whit~ il10ws the C;ty Manager to approve contracts which excee~ 125,000 for specfal consultant services funde~ _holly by private developers and de~~d necessary fot review of private develcpaent projects. Th9 Finance Department will e$tablis~ a Trust Fund entitTed ·Private De~eloper Oeposits-ElR's/Special Studies· to accommodate the new procedure. Planning Department staff ~11 be responsibie for eonitoring t~e iccounts in the fund, authorizing th~ setup of new 2ccounts, disbursing monies from existing accounts. closing accounts, and maintaining regular aonth1y reconciliation of account balances. I~.cts of Proposed thang •• The fiscal and staffing iMpacts of the .bDve changes .nIl be the Increased staff tiMe needed to negotiate and admiRister consultant contracts and hand1e deposits ind disburs~nt5 fro. the newly established Gtrust acc~unt5·. The changes will not have an impact on the City's Budget or General Fund. tonsistent wit}, how sLlch contracts are "anclled fn other cities sun'eyed, provisions wl11 be Included in the contracts th.t require full deposit with the City for the totai amount of t~e contract, plus a cont!ngency. prior to the City .Igning the contrlot. Provisions will llso b. Included in the contracts which will require. prior to (ity Signature and authorization to proceed with work, deposits for any necessary expansions in the scope of services for contract revisions. City review and processing of private projects will not proceed until adequate funds for required studies have been receIved. £nvironoental Asses..ent Modificitions of the Cit1's cons~ltant selection and contract administration procedures are not projects subject to the provisions of the CiliforDia Environmental Quality Act. Iacoo.ended Action Staff recommends that the Council: 1. Amend the consultant selection policy to exempt en~ironmental and other special consultant se~wices deemed necessary for review of private deyelopment projects and funded wholly b) private developers 9 from the finance and Public Works Committee selection process; and CMi!;59S:0 en~con.cer 12/6/90 Page 3 o 2. Adopt the .ttlched ordinance amending Tltl. 2 (Admln!stratIYe Code) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to allow tne City Man.ger or his designee to approve cDntri~ts txceedlng $25 1 000 for environmental and otner special consultant services dee.ed necfssary for review of private deyelopoent projects and funded wholly by pr;y,te dev.loper,. Respectf.lly su~ltted. ~c: Planning Commission kb/~d --£ 11 tLtk, .. KENNETH R. SCHREIBER , Dir.ctor of Planning and Community ~nytronment Code Repre.entatives of YMCA Expansion Project CIIR:S98:0 eftvcon.C1Ir 12/6/90 Page 4 oRDINA."JcE NOo ___ _ ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CRAnER ~. 2., (CONTRACTS AND PURCHAS ING PROCEOORES] OF THE PALO ALTO 1I1.JNICIPAL CODE, RErATING TO CONTRACTS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER STUDIES NECES SARY TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS FOR PRIVATE DEVELOP- KENT pROJ ECTS The Council of the city of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows: SECTION Procedures] of Municipal Code, as follows! 1. Chapter 2.30 (Contracts and Purchasing Title 2 [Administrative Code] of the Falo Alto 1s hereby amenQe~ to add Section 2.30.075, to read 2.30.075 Contracts for special studies relating to applic&tioDS for private development projects. The city manager is authorized to :bind the city by ... rritten contract, without adve.rtising or previous action by the City Council, and without following the provisions of Sections 2.30.130 and 2.30.150, for all services involving the preparation of environmental assessments ar~ other studies deemed neces sary by the director of planning and community envir~nment for the processing of applications for private development projects. The city manager's authority under this section shall not be limited by the amount of the expenditure authorized by each contract. This section d02S not authorize the city manager to bind the city to a contract, unless the applicant for the private development proje~t agrees to bear responsibility for the entire cost of such contract, and such contract will not require the expendi ture of city funds in any amount~ ~H-1. Adoption of this ordinance does not constitute a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"j. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall become effective upon the caamencement ot the thirty-first day after the. date of its ado?tion. INTRODUCED: PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: 1 A'l"l'EST: city Clerk APPROVED AS '1'0 FORI!: Senior Asst. City Attorney 2 APPROVED: Mayor city Manage:!' Director of Pla~ing and Community Environment · .: