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Home My WebLink About0238.092, I .~ I ~ staiJel*Ol t_ C _' __ 1=o,1992 l HD~QRABLE CITV COUNCIL PaTo Alt~, C~ltfornia WORK PROGRAM FOR UPDATING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: SUMMARY Qf PLANNING COMMISSIQN RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISCUS~Sul~ON,--___ Members Df the Coun~il: ~t in Brief ihis report sYlTfnarizes, for the City (cunci1/Pl.Hlniflg Comission May 4-~ 1992 study session, tne Planning Commissior.;s disc~ssian on the draft work program for updating the Comprehensive PTan. This report also provides additional comment on the draft work program in areas where the Planning Commission expressed particular interest. These subject areas include: I} composition and function of Comprehenslve Plan Advisory Committee; 2) expected time span for the Plan/s preparation; 3) use of consultant resources; and 4) estimated costs for re~lsing the Comprehensive Plan above and beyond those i~entified in the draft work program. 5ackarpund' On April 22, 1'992, the Planning COrm'll sSion reli;ell:led the draft "~ork Program for Updating the City of Palo Alto tvmprenensive Plan,-This work program is the reco~ndation of staff. It ~as pr~pared as i joint effort, staff working witn the assistance of th~ consulting team of Moore Consulting, Jeffery Baird & Associates, and Hoore, !acofano and Goltsman. At the conc1usion of this meetir.g, Chairman Bern Beecham summarized the principal areas of Planning Comm~ssion interest in the draft ~ork Pro9flm. They Ire discusse~ anrl (ommented on in the fc11cw;~g ~aragraphs. ~ile this report discusses the consultant-related costs for revising the Plan, further informati~n on internal costs for the Comprehensive PTan's revision will be provided to the City Council prior to June IS, 2992, when Council is expected to take action on tnis work program. Comprehensjye Plan Advi.s,(I'e'"Y .Committee (CPAC) The Plannin9 CommiSSion made the fol1owin9 recommendations regarding the Comprehensive Plan Ad'visory Committee (CPAC) thdt was s~ggested in the draft Work Program: CMR:~ Z~e-:~z. ~"'.' ... ' ..... . - ,-.- ....,.- _ J. ;:;~ "ttl , L --------~.~~------------ " . .--~. 1. That the (PAC. as it is d~scribed in t~e draft Work Program, is important; 2. That this a.dvisory conrnittee should represent a broad cOflstHuency; a;nd 3. That the ad¥1sory committee shouid include participation from both the City Council and P1anr.ing CommissiQn. (The ?ian~ing Commission also suggested thdt details on the specific siz€ a~d representation of the committee cou1d be worked out later.} Planning Commission discussion on the CPAC, prior to the appro¥ed ~t~on. focused' on the function of the tOlTlTlitte~ and its representation, including ~he.ttvar tl'\e ef1t'ire Pla.nning Corrtt\~ssion should serve. an the corrmittee a.nd the appropriate size of the Committee. A moti~n to include the entire Commission on the CPAC failed {2-S-0-C, Marsh, Carras~o, Be~c~am. Gl.z1er, Schmidt against; see the Planning Commission minutes of the Aprll 22, 1992 meeting thdt are included in this packet). Tnt'! work ,program suggested that the CPAC consist of a.pproximately IS persons, including two or three City Countil and two or three Planning CommiSSion members. The remaining CPAC membership ~as recommended tc include a balanced group of citizens who li¥e or work in the community and represent a spectrum of di¥erse commun1ty interests and val~~s. This committee would serve during Phases I1 and III of the PTar. proces.s. Pro'tided the prop('sed scheduTe for the Plan revision were followed, this advisnrj committee wo~ld serv~ between April 1993 and September 1994, when Phase III would be completed. Staff concurs wiU~ the-Planning Corrmission regarding the importance of having an advisory committee that r€presents a broad constituency. Staff also has concern t~at the CPAC needs t~ be sized efficientiy, Dr the tosts of the worK program will escalate. The projected budget is based on approximately a 1S r~mber Committee. Staff fy~ther supports the suggestiDn made by consu1ta"t Anne l400re at the April 22. 1992 Planning COlTlTlission meeting, that the City (c·uncil defer its decision on the cOlTIT!ittee's size and r€presentatior. until Phase] is completed. At that tim€, the Plann'rng CQmissicn and City Council will ~a. .... e re ... iewed: I} the results of a citizen sur'oley on poter1tia1 Comprehensive Plan issues; 2) a report on national. regional and local trends; and 3) an audit evaluating the status ~f existing Compre~ersive Plan goals and pol ides. Review of these items is intended to result in the Council providing detai1ed directlon regarding which issues are to receive particular attention in the Plan update. As a. result. it would appear that the City Council would b~ in a better position to determine the size and composition of the (PAC while holding the numbers to a manageable 1ev~1. Time Span Several Planning Commission members expressed concern o¥er the projected t~o~ and-three-quarter-year time frame th~t would be required fer cnmpleting a revlsed Comprehensive Plan. Gi¥en the experience that other cit'~s ha'ole had in reVising their general plans, staff believ~s t~is time frame is Quit~ CMR:23B:92 p:'C:""\C:Mp:-~ L 4/30/92 Page 2 r - realistic, if the work program is strictly maintained and staff r!sourc~s are not diverted fro~ the task. Stiff previo~s11 not~d that several cities whicn intt1ated general p'a~ revisions without realistic sc~edu1es and r~source allocations ultimately experienced substantial delays 1~ (ompl~ting their plans. So~ were sent bac~ to the "drawing board~ due to insufficient torrtllunity p.articipatlQn, nbuy-in N and ca-ccrTlTlitm€!'lt~ costing them much more in the long run (see 01R:116:92:"f Januarjl' 23, 1992). The If'ay tc achieve significant time sa .. dngs wou1d be to curtail cHizen participl'tion opportunities (i.e. the work.shops). Staff belie',tes that the rf.!.ks involved ;1'1 sh-ortcutting the cOlTl7lunity partitlpation porttons of th.e process are not worth the tfme sa~ings. Staff w;s~es to reaffirm what it stated in an ear-lier report to th'2 Planning Cormtission on April 10 , 1992, that if a Comprehensive Plan revisic,n is ta be completed on schedule, a commitmEnt has to be made fer a useable wo~k program, slJffjcierlt ('f$o!.Jrces, and a realistic schedule. Furthermore, an add1tl0nal c~mmitment has to be made not to divert allocated resources !o othff projects during the Comprehensive Plan revisi~n process~ in order to stay on b~dget and time-lines. Use of Consultants Several members of the Pla~ning Commlssion is~ed why so many areas of the Comprehensive Plan or tasks in the ?lan re~ision process will require the ~se of consult~!'1ts. 1:"'1 particular, they ~lJestioned tn! role of ttle lead consultant. RespGnding to those inquiries, stoff noted that staff would have the primary responsibility for Plan preparati~n. Nonetheless, Since t~e City do~s not ~ave in-house expertise in a varlety of technical areas, outside professional e~pertise would be required fer these sections. In addition, speCial expertise would be raqu~red for such functions as conducting a community surv~Yt preparing informational newsletters, and facilitating ~ublic vorkshops. The need for a lead consultant to manage tne subconsultants and coordinate with City staff is standard (;perating procadure for the City. For exampla, the Public Works Oepartm2rt, when contracting for co~struction work, ~;res a Prime Contractor who then subcontracts for the vartous trade speciaTizations (j.e, foundations, steel framing, etc ... ). This method of contract administration is ~fficient. practicil, and costs less than hiring 50meon~ inter~ally to perform the contract administration and coordi~ation for the duration of thp. project. For the Comprehensive Plan update, it is important to not have City staff ~ealing with the paperwork and substantial coordination time involved with hav';,ng eight or more consultant contrac.ts. At the sam~ time, it is very ilT:portant to emp~liSize that the work prG~ucts undertaken by the consultants will be closely coordinated with staff, ar'ld all consultant work. must be acceptable to staff prior to public review, discussion, and deciSion making. Ali content recOrrmt!ndations on the Plan .. ill be staff recomm€ndatfons. C~R:238: 92 :J: \OfR \C~M..p r7" L 4/30/92 Page 3 , ~ .. "-' . I I ! - The attached table briefly ~escribes which functions in the Plan revision would be assumed by staff, ~y i consultant, or by a combination of both, in oro!r to clarifi t~e respectivt roles of each resource. The ''I'\-hous.e costs of c;lJ?PQrting the C9mprel\e~si'ie Pian effQY't CiH', be currer-,tl:; described 1'" qua1itative tenr.s and will be fortvarded in a re~uest for approval of a biJdget amendment ord inanee opee they i'll\l! been spec; fi ed and approved through the Finance Oepartment and the CHy Manager's office. In order of magr.itude~ they are substantfally l~ss then the c~~t of the consultants. if we exclude the staff positions current1y budgeted for. In-House Stiff It is projected that 3~ of E~ist1ng departmental resources will be alloca.ted to the Comprehensi'f! Ph" eff~rt) i.l\d a.n add!tioflal cor,tra.ct planner and 1/2 additional support staff position will be required. Key staff from other departm2nts \ll!i11 be needed to complete work on speciflc sections of the Pla~ as part of the Technical Advisory Group function. Computer Needs The contract ~la.nner will req~ire a personal computer work station which is nDt currently in the di~ision budget. Additinnally, while the Planning Di~isior. has budgeted for a Geographic Information System work station (hardware) in the 1992-94 budget, supplement.l purch.ses will be n@eded to brin9 the systeM up to full operation 1n time fQf the Comprehensive Plan effort. These include the costs of a software li(ense~ triinins, and a portion of the maintenance costs to be shared with P\,lb1ic Works ii!'ld Utilities. The costs of di9iUzing the numelP"ous maps identified in the Work Program is ~pelled cut and included in the estjmate of consultant expenses. Howe~er~ achieving i system which ~1ll be self-sufficient and; ndependent of ttle ccn.s.ultants would be tne goal of the Pl~nnin9 Division s~ thlt staff can maintain~ update and build on tne mapping program after the Compreher.sci-/e Plan is adopted. General Line Item B~get Increases The Plarlning Oi'flsionTs general overhead costs for such budget Tine items as advertising ;nc publishing~ mailing, meeting room renta1, supplies and l'JIaterials, etc., are expected to increase by 30% O!ler tne term of the Comprehensive ?Ta~ update. ~ClrY and ~_~mc.lusion In su;mary, much or the Planning COlTlTlission discussion Of! the draft Work Pragra!t'l. for updat'(ng Palo Alto's Comprel1ens1¥e Plan fc,cl!sed an k.ey dec,sion areas concerning ho. the City sho:.i1d proce'5!d on a Pldn revision. They included content, resource allocation (i.e., areas of staff or consultant resp~nsibilitY)9 time frame and costs. The intent of this report is to provide additional information, particularly in identifying and clarifying CMR:238:92 4/30/92 ~.9. , • t f '--.-'.;, .. , <.. : , "- i " ; .. ! " .~ " i I - ~, are is ~f re~ponsib11lty bet.~en staff and consultants. T~is report aise provided some prellminary information en estimated costs regarding th~ Plan revision protess. A detailed descripti~n cf costs ~tl1 be submttted to th~ City Council prtor to Ju~e 15, J99Z~ when the ~ouncil is expect~d to act on the work prGgram and funding for the Plan revision. RespmfUlll suct •. d, ~q, AssIstant ~ni .g Offi cia1 GEORGE Zl ERMAN; cc; Pl i:nn ing Corrmi ssior. Ardrftectural Re\{ie'" Board Compre~ensive Plan Update Mailing list CMR:23S:9Z jl:\C";"CP'wkpr',JII L ;&?l'ld f .Jd~ ~ KENNETH R. SCHRflBER /'" Director of Planning and (crrrnunity Environ'Wnt 4/30/92 Page 5 L I PALO ALTO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE ALLOCATION OF STAFF AND CONSULTANT RESOURCES ClTY STAFF Lead Department -Plann~ng -Manage project and budget~ direct consultants, cQord~nate tc~?~ter and ~rs ma?ping. coordincte Tech~ical Advisor~ Group (TAG), coordinate Comprehensive Plan Ad"isory C-onrnitte€ (CPAC)f collect data, prepare issues, bac'k.ground a;,d policy directioll reports and associated staff reports. prepare Draft Comprt!herlsive P1an text and coordinate graphics, prepare bac(ground sections of Draft EIR, staff workshops and publfc hearings, office and date management, report production; mi~utes. public notice and mailings. Sypport Departments -Serve on TAG, provide data and prepare an~ review draft te~t for background reports, Draft Comprehensive Plan and background sections of EIR. Section City Department ConsultAnt Services Governance Phnning Land US. Planninq Housing Plannino [mplovn>ent ?1ann i "ll. Econo1'l'1i c/F i SCi 1 Finance Economic consultant to evaluate Resourc.es City' s shar~ of regional economic activ1ty, develop cost/revenue analysis data and evaluate economic/land use relatiDnship3 Transportation and Transportaiti en Transportation Engineer to Tel!comrnunitations collect n~w traffic counts and ass~st and train staff in running eAisting traffic model Urban Design Planning Design conEu1tant to prepare genera ~rban design standards and gll d~l;nes for City, Work on E1 Cam no Real Area Plan ParKs, Sch~cls and Socia.l and Recreativn COlTlTlun; ty Sen'ices libraries, Arts and Soc i a 1 and Cultural facilities Community Ser~ices and Services L ~~~-------------.---. Sedj •• City Department ConsuKant Senkes Social Services Sod al and Consultant to assist ; n Community Se~v;cfs documenting existing social i . ! Fa-mil, service goa1s, pol ic; es. and Sel"vi ce-s/Chl1dcare pro~nms SeniQr Services Homeless Services 1 I Accessibil ity Heal V, Care ~SDace Plannina I Energy IJtil itie':; ! Water Utilities Flooding and Public Works . Drainaae Water Qualih Publ ic Works Wastewat~r and Publ ic Works and Reclamation Util itiu so~~~ Waste and P:Jbl i c Works Rec clinD Air Quality Pl ar,ni ng Air Qual ty consultant to run air qual air ~ual ty mod~15 ar.d prepare tv orojections and data Noise Po/ice Acoustical consultant tD make noise measurements, noise contour maps and pr~¥ide data to Lmdate Nvise El ement Seismic Safety I~spect;on Services Engineering Geologist to map areas of seismic risk. .nd updste Seismic sect i em Police Services Pc 1 ice Fire Pretectlen Fire Paramedic Services Fire Huardous/Tcxi c t:n .... ironrtlenhl Hazardous Materials consul tant Materials Protect ion and Fire to document exist lng/potential hazardous waste and ground water contaminatil)n sites and assist in development of Hazardous Materials sect; on -