REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Eric G. Parra, Interim City Manager
VIA: Jennifer Villasenor, Director of Community Development
PREPARED BY: Celeste Coggins, Management Analyst
Subject:
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Approve and authorize execution of Professional Services Contracts for On-Call Plan Review Services with Scott Fazekas & Associates, Inc., CSG Consultants, Inc., and True North Compliance Services, Inc.
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Statement of Issue:
The Community Development Department requires on-call plan review services for as-needed support staff to assist with private development plan review and general support services relating to the Permit Center and Development Services.
Financial Impact:
Funding for the first-year use of these contracts is provided in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25 budget in General Fund account 10060501.69365 and through any excess encumbered funds remaining from FY 2023/24 budget. Subsequent funding will be requested as part of the annual budget submittal/approval process. No funds will be expended on these contracts unless they are approved in the City’s annual budget. No additional funding is required by the recommended actions. These contracts will be controlled with task orders.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
A) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a $1,500,000 Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Scott Fazekas & Associates for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services for a three-year term; and,
B) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a $1,500,000 Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and CSG Consultants, Inc. for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services for a three-year term; and,
C) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a $1,500,000 Professional Services Contract between the City Huntington Beach and True North Compliance Services, Inc. for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services for a three-year term.
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not authorize the contracts and direct staff accordingly. Plan review times are likely to increase and service levels will decrease until new contracts are approved. The current on-call plan review contracts expire in September 2024.
Analysis:
Applicants who desire to construct projects within the City must submit plans for review to ensure compliance with City and State Building Codes. Applicants who submit projects to the City pay fees for these services and expect consistent and reasonable turnaround times. The City currently only has two in-house, full-time plan checkers. Due to fluctuation in demand for plan review services, this staffing level may not be sufficient to respond to the volume of plan review applications in a timely manner.
Historically, when development activity exceeds the capacity of City staff to complete plan review within established turnaround times, staff’s efforts are supplemented by services provided by consulting plan check engineers. This approach is a cost-effective method of closing the gap between the demands for service and the ability of City staff to meet these demands, while maintaining high-quality customer service levels.
Development activity is expected to increase in the coming years. In anticipation of this increased demand, on April 3, 2024, the City advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQual) for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services. Proposals were requested and submitted in compliance with Chapter 3.03 of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code (HBMC), “Professional Services”. Fourteen (14) proposals were received. In accordance with the HBMC, the Community Development Department established a three-member review board to evaluate and rank these proposals.
Following the review and scoring of the proposals by the review board, the three highest scoring firms were selected. From this selection process, staff is recommending that on-call contracts be awarded to the top three (3) firms, as follows: Scott Fazekas & Associates, CSG Consultants, Inc., and True North Compliance Services, Inc.
Funding for these services is provided through plan check fees collected for project submittals to the Permit Center for plan review. The proposed on-call contracts will be used only if plan check service demand exceeds City staff resources, necessitating the need for supplemental help from any of these consultants. The proposed contract amounts are a not-to-exceed amount for a three-year term, with no guarantee of work. Funding for any and all of these contract services is only through City Council authorization in the budget approval process.
Environmental Status:
This action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Goal 3 - High Performing Organization, Strategy A - Establishing a One Stop Shop to bring development services and other frequently used services under one location to improve the customer service experience.
The requested on-call plan review contracts will ensure the City continues to achieve Streamline Surf City initiatives. Streamline Surf City is a program consisting of 26 initiatives for the purpose of improving the efficiency and customer experience of the development and permitting process. Approval of on-call contract plan review services ensures that the City will maintain established turnaround times for plan review. Providing consistent and certain plan review turnaround times is an important part of a customer’s permitting process for planning and scheduling their overall construction project. Additionally, the on-call plan review contracts will be necessary for implementing expedited plan review, another Streamline Surf City initiative. The City Council adopted an expedited plan review fee as part of the FY24-25 budget. Once expedited plan review is implemented, it is likely that the City’s on-call plan reviewers will be needed to ensure the City has capacity for the projects that want to utilize this service.
For details, visit www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan <http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan>.
Attachment(s):
1. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Scott Fazekas & Associates, Inc., for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services.
2. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and CSG Consultants, Inc. for On-Call Building Division Plan Review Services.
3. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and True North Compliance Services, Inc.
4. Professional Service Award Analysis
5. PowerPoint Presentation