Executive Summary

The City of Pleasanton is seeking professional consultant services for the preparation of the Housing Element of the General Plan for the Housing Element Planning Period between January 31, 2023 – January 31, 2031 (6th RHNA Cycle). The City is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to firms or individuals to assist in preparation of an update to the Housing Element as mandated by State law to achieve certification by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) no later than January, 2023. The City is requesting proposals from qualified consultants with experience developing clear, concise, and legally defensible Housing Elements that comply with all statutory requirements.

Background

Regional Housing Needs Determination and Allocation

On June 9, 2020, HCD issued the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND) to ABAG/MTC. The RHND reflects the total allocation of projected housing need for the 2022-2030 period, for the entire nine-county Bay Area region. The allocation is approximately 2.35 times more units than were included in the prior cycle. Based on the increase in the regional RHND, as well as new state legislation that requires a more detailed analysis of prospective housing sites, the City anticipates that preparation of the update to the Housing Element for the 6th RHNA cycle will be more challenging than the last.

Scope of Project: Overview and Key Considerations

The update to the Housing Element will include a robust community-wide conversation about housing policy, the density of suitable housing sites (including study of potentially zoning sites at densities above the "default densities" established by the state), and the geographic distribution of the sites throughout the City. New State legislation should be thoroughly evaluated when considering potential site inventory selection criteria including strategies on how to achieve no net loss when reviewing projects in the future.

Finally, ABAG/MTC has recently indicated that a number of additional resources will be made available to local jurisdictions for the 6th Cycle updates through the Regional Early Assistance Program (REAP) program, including technical assistance, a "data package" to support the required demographic and other analysis for the housing element, and opportunities for interjurisdictional collaboration and information sharing.

Public Participation and Community Process

The City Planning Commission is expected to be the primary body providing feedback and direction on the Housing Element throughout the process, but the City Council will need to be informed and engaged at key decision points to ensure the process is on track and in alignment with its policy goals and expectations.

The consultant's primary role will be to support staff in aspects such as formulating meeting and public outreach materials and strategizing and providing professional guidance through the overall public process, as opposed to being the public face of the process.

Please note that all or a portion of the project and community outreach may need to be done virtually to comply with COVID-19 limitations and that the consultant should address these possibilities and provide ideas on how to achieve meaningful public input under these circumstance.

Environmental Review Documents

The City expects to engage a separate CEQA consultant to prepare, post, and file all the appropriate environmental documents for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including an Environmental Impact Report.

Key Tasks

The selected consultant is expected to provide the following services/perform the following key tasks.

Task 1. Project Initiation

The consultant is expected to participate in a project startup and kick-off meeting with staff to establish and understand the City's objectives, refine detail on initial project tasks, and to identify project goals. This task would also include introductory public meetings with the Planning Commission and City Council, to "set the stage" for the upcoming process.

Task 2. Sites Inventory, Evaluation and Selection/Policy Direction

The objective of this task is to review and provide analysis of vacant and underutilized sites that could be used to accommodate the next RHNA allocation. Staff expects this phase of the project to include a well-structured process to solicit interest from property owners who may be interested in having their sites considered in the inventory. At the front end of the process, staff and the consultant will work with the community, Planning Commission and City Council to identify criteria to be used to select and rank specific sites for inclusion in the Housing Element.

Task 3. Prepare Public Review Draft Housing Element

This task includes preparation of a draft plan based on the outcomes of the prior task. The draft plan preparation will include public outreach including public meetings and check-ins with the Commissions and City Council. This task will include several subtasks including:

• Finalizing the housing site inventory, and recommended sites for rezoning.
• Compile all background sections of the Housing Element.

The consultant scope should reflect the availability of REAP grant program and data package resources as appropriate to minimize cost and avoid duplication of effort, and be sufficiently flexible to add or delete scope elements that may be addressed in the REAP program.

Task 4. Prepare Final Housing Element and EIR Review, Adoption and Certification

Following receipt of all comments and feedback, the final version of the document will be prepared for consideration by the City Council and submitted to HCD for certification.

Project Timeframe

The City has identified a target of 22-24 months for completion of the project, including adoption of the Housing Element and EIR. The City would like to have preliminary site selection criteria within 6-8 months and a preliminary list of draft housing inventory sites within 12-15 months of project initiation. Project initiation is expected in January 2021.

Project Deliverables

1. Public Outreach Program. Prepare project outreach materials as they relate to the comprehensive outreach plan. This may include, among other materials, posters, workbooks, handouts, surveys, and web materials.
2. Meeting Attendance. Attend up to fifteen (15) virtual or in-person meetings/public hearings as determined with staff. This is an initial estimate which may be adjusted.
3. Progress Reports. Provide progress reports and memos at various project stages to staff, as necessary to communicate updates and/or technical information. Progress reports should be provided to staff electronically.
4. Schedule. Develop a milestone schedule for the preparation of the tasks outlined in the Project Scope and the public participation program. The schedule shall include review/edits by staff prior to public review, community outreach, and review by the Planning Commission and City Council.
5. Housing Element. Prepare the Housing Element in accordance with Key Tasks 1 – 4 above. The Housing Element should be presented in administrative draft, redline draft, screencheck, and final version for review. Each draft should be provided to staff electronically, and the final version should be provided:
   1. electronically; and
   2. an option of printed form.

Documents shall be provided in both Microsoft Word format and searchable PDF format.

Submittal Requirements

Interested consultants should submit a proposal that address the following:

1. Project Description. A brief description of your understanding of the overall project.
2. Approach to Project. Describe the manner and methods you will use to manage and facilitate the work. This should include how each of the separate tasks will be approached, the individual primarily responsible for each task, and the expected number of hours allocated to each task.
3. Scope of Work. Provide a scope of work that responds to the scope identified above.
4. Consultant Description of Qualifications. For the overall professional services team, provide:
   1. Firm qualifications and résumé(s) of participating individual(s); and
   2. A description of your experience completing Housing Elements for mid-size jurisdictions, and particularly any experience working on Housing Elements in the 6th Cycle with current legislative requirements.
5. Cost. Provide a cost proposal indicating budget by task, for completion of the proposed scope of work. A minimum of fifteen (15) public meetings should be included in the budget; per meeting costs for additional meetings should be called out as an optional task.

The cost estimate should clearly indicate the basis and assumptions made for estimated costs. Provide estimates for both virtual and in-person meeting options. Include hourly rates each staff person assigned to various task, total hours to be assigned, and resultant total costs per task. Clearly indicate the subtotaled cost for each task to be performed by your firm, and total cost for your work effort. Include the specific percentage for any overhead/administrative charge, and clearly identify any direct costs.

The cost proposal must be clear and realistic regarding what can be achieved within the stated cost. A contingency of 15 percent is also recommended to be included.

1. Schedule. Provide a detailed schedule/timeline indicating timeframes for draft documents and reports, review by City staff, and final documents prior to release to the public. The schedule proposed should be realistic and provide adequate time for completion of each task.
2. Conflict of Interest. Identify any recent, present, or proposed work undertaken by the consultant, any subcontractor or subsidiary, or any other type of business or other relationship that could represent a potential, real, or perceived conflict of interest with respect to this project. A conflict of interest could potentially, for example, include current work under contract to a landowner or developer within the Pleasanton sphere of influence.
3. References. Please provide a list of at least three references for recent projects of similar scope completed by your firm.
4. Professional Services Contract and Insurance Requirements. Please see the City's website for the City's standard contract, including insurance requirements.
5. Business License. The City requires a City of Pleasanton Business License of the selected consultant before the contract is awarded.
6. Submittal Deadline. Submit electronically in a searchable PDF format as a single document (optimized and compressed), to the City of Pleasanton, City Clerk's Office, at pleasantoncityclerk@cityofpleasantonca.gov no later than Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. It is your sole responsibility to see that your proposal is received before the submission deadline. Please note, RFPs should be limited to 25 pages maximum (excluding cover letter, résumés, table of contents, and tabbed dividers).

Selection Criteria

The consultant will be selected based on criteria including, but not limited to:

• Understanding of the required scope of services demonstrated through consultant's Approach to Project and Scope of Work
• Consultant's expertise and ability demonstrated in completion of similar assignments
• Qualifications and relevant experience of the consultant
• The specific personnel to be assigned by the consultant to this project, and their experience and abilities
• The quality, amount and type of service proposed
• Costs associated with the consultant's proposal

As a result of this solicitation, the City intends to award a contract to the responsive bidder whose response conforms to the solicitation and whose bid presents the greatest value to the City, all evaluation criteria considered. The City may award a contract of higher qualitative competence over the lowest priced response.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all responses that materially differ from any terms contained in this solicitation, to waive informalities and minor irregularities in responses received, and to provide an opportunity for bidders to correct minor and immaterial errors contained in their submissions. The decision as to what constitutes a minor irregularity shall be made solely at the discretion of the City.

The City has the right to decline to award this contract or any part thereof for any reason.

The following is a tentative schedule for award of the contract:

COMPLETE MILESTONE BY:

Issue RFP: Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Proposals Due: Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Virtual Interviews: January 2021

Selection: January 2021

City Council Approval: Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Staff Contact Information

Thank you for your interest in this project. Please call or e-mail Jennifer Hagen, Associate Planner at (925) 931-5607 / jhagen@cityofpleasantonca.gov if you have questions or comments.

Complete RFP

https://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/business/bids.asp

Reference Documents

1. 2005-2025 General Plan:
2. Housing Element of the General Plan, Adopted January 6, 2015
3. 2015-2023 Housing Element Background Report
4. City Council Agenda Report, dated September 15, 2020