REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Travis Hopkins, City Manager
VIA: Jennifer Villasenor, Director of Community Development
PREPARED BY: Celeste Coggins, Senior Management Analyst
Subject:
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Approve and authorize execution of 3-year Professional Services Contracts in the amount of $700,000 for On-Call Environmental California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Services with LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA), Environmental Science Associates (ESA), Environmental Planning Development Solutions (EPD), and Michael Baker International, Inc. (MBI)
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Statement of Issue:
The Community Development Department requires on-call environmental consulting services for as-needed support in preparing documents for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Financial Impact:
An appropriation to the general fund will be required when projects requiring CEQA review are confirmed through a task order. Each project will require a matching reimbursement agreement with a project applicant to fund the project at no cost to the City. Occasionally, some City-led projects may use these contracts for CEQA related work. For example, park development requiring CEQA documents may use these contracts; however, funding for the contracts in this situation would be paid out of the Parkland Development fund as collected through development impact fees.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
A) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute $700,000 “Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and LSA Associates, Inc. for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services”; and,
B) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute $700,000 Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Environmental Science Associates, for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services”; and,
C) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute $700,000 “Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Environmental Planning Development Solutions (EPD), for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services”; and,
D) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute $700,000 “Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Michael Baker International, Inc., for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services”.
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not authorize the contracts and direct staff accordingly. Staff will not be able to utilize consultant services for these documents and direct staff to facilitate a different process for document preparation under CEQA.
Analysis:
On January 15, 2026, the City advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Consulting Services. Proposals were requested and submitted in compliance with Chapter 3.03 of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code. Twenty-three proposals were received. In accordance with qualifications-based selected procurement, per the Federal “Brooks Act”, State SB 419, and the City of Huntington Beach Municipal Code Section 3.03 “Professional Services”, the Community Development Department established a review board. Proposals were then evaluated and ranked by the review board. The top four firms were selected according to overall ranking.
CEQA review is required for all discretionary projects proposed by applicants. For many planning applications, a project would be exempt from environmental review pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines. Some projects, however, require preparation of an environmental document such as a negative declaration or environmental impact report to comply with CEQA. These documents require technical studies on specific topics such as geology, hydrology, noise and air quality, which require expert analysis from qualified professionals in the respective field of study. Therefore, the Community Development Department contracts with professional consultants to assist in the preparation of CEQA documents.
Preparation of a CEQA document usually adds a significant amount of time to the overall processing of a project. When an applicant submits a project, it takes about two months to start CEQA document preparation in order to obtain proposals and execute a contract with a consultant. This can add two months to an already lengthy process. The four contracts recommended for approval are for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services. By utilizing on-call CEQA services, the Community Development Department will be able to streamline the CEQA process for applicants and eliminate approximately two months of processing time from a project. The consultants selected will complete assignments as directed by staff through a proposal and confirmed by a task order. Each proposal will be prepared according to the needs for environmental reports for that particular project. The documents required by the California Environment Quality Act will be prepared by the consultant. Each task order issued will be matched with a reimbursement agreement with a project applicant that covers all expenses for the preparation of such documents by the assigned consultant. The financial impact of these activities is net neutral due to the required reimbursement agreement.
Preparation of a CEQA document can vary significantly. The cost to prepare a CEQA document can range from $50,000 to $500,000 depending on the type and scope of project submitted. Therefore, these consultants were selected to meet the projected workload over the next three years with a contract limit of $700,000. The proposed contract amounts are a not-to-exceed amount for a three-year term with no guarantee of work.
Environmental Status:
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment do not constitute a project.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
For details, visit www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan.
Attachment(s):
1. RCA Contract Agreement Summary
2. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and LSA Associates, Inc., for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services.
3. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Environmental Science Associates, for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services.
4. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Environmental Planning Development Solutions, for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services
5. Professional Services Contract between the City of Huntington Beach and Michael Baker International, Inc., for On-Call Environmental (CEQA) Services
6. PowerPoint Presentation