Adopt Resolution 2023-024 authorizing the City Administrator to execute a Professional Services Agreement with EMC Planning Group Inc., for a not-to-exceed fee of $239,145.00, to update the General Plan Housing and Safety Elements.

The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea last updated the Housing Element of its General Plan in 2015. The Housing Element is required under State law to be updated every eight (8) years in a manner consistent with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The 6th cycle (RHNA 6) planning period is 2023 to 2031, and the City’s RHNA is 349 housing units. The updated Housing Element will include policies, programs, incentives, and objectives to achieve the City’s housing goals. The Housing Element Update will require adoption by the City Council prior to December 2023 to secure certification by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (State HCD).

The Safety Element of the General Plan was adopted in 2009. Recent State legislation requires that safety elements be reviewed and updated as necessary alongside the Housing Element 2023 – 2031 update. State law requires the Safety Element to address risks associated with disasters and other hazards identified by the community, including but not limited to flooding, wildfires, emergency evacuation, and climate change. The Safety Element must identify hazards and hazard abatement provisions and risk reduction strategies. The Safety Element will be updated concurrently with the Housing Element.

Consultant Selection Process
On December 9, 2022, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) soliciting proposals from qualified professionals to update the General Plan Housing Element and Safety Element. The RFP was advertised in the Carmel Pine Cone, posted on the City’s website and directly sent to multiple qualified firms. As part of the RFP scope, the prospective consultant was asked to facilitate community engagement; present recommendations and gather feedback from elected officials and community members; prepare the updates for adoption; and coordinate with the State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) to ensure certification of the Housing Element.

EMC Planning Group, Inc. and 4Leaf, Inc. submitted proposals to the City by the January 3, 2023 deadline. City staff held meetings with representatives of both firms to review the scope of the project and discuss the consultants’ qualifications. A Selection Committee consisting of Community Planning and Building Director, Brandon Swanson, Principal Planner, Marnie R. Waffle, AICP, and Associate Planner, Katherine Wallace, found both firms qualified to complete the Housing and Safety Elements update. EMC Planning Group, Inc. (EMC) was ultimately selected because of their extensive local knowledge, their experience with other RHNA 6 Housing Element updates, and because the EMC proposal includes a project timeline for the City to meet the State’s December 2023 Housing Element certification deadline.

EMC is located in Monterey, California and has provided land use, planning, and environmental consulting services to public agencies throughout California for 44 years. The firm has prepared housing elements for jurisdictions throughout the State, including several recently completed and certified elements, as well as on-going preparation of 6th Cycle Housing Element updates with the Town of Los Gatos and the Cities of Larkspur, Monte Sereno, Belvedere, and Sand City. EMC has a history of partnering with the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Past projects include but are not limited to the City’s Local Coastal Plan and Mitigated Declaration (2000 – 2003) and the Coastal Engineering and Adaptation Planning project (2022, on-going). EMC is well qualified to assist staff with this Project.

As a result, staff is recommending EMC as the firm to contract with the City for this project. EMC will perform a majority of the technical work for the project, as well as policy guidance and project management. City Staff will support EMC throughout the calendar year as the project moves to completion. The Council is being asked to review and approve the Professional Services Agreement (Agreement) with EMC. The Agreement excludes an optional task related to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance. The type of CEQA document required and the extent of related work is yet to be determined as this analysis depends greatly on the approach taken in the General Plan update. As the project progresses and CEQA requirements become better defined, EMC is qualified and prepared to complete a full CEQA environmental review responsive to the project. Work on any CEQA tasks will not be authorized to begin until a contract amendment is accepted by the City Council.


Project Scope of Work
The work is proposed to be completed throughout the 2023 calendar year. Staff will work with the consultant team to develop the Housing Element and Safety Element updates and obtain certification from the State HCD. Key tasks are outlined below:

Task 1 – Project Management and Coordination
Task 2 – Community Outreach and Engagement
Task 3 – General Plan Housing Element Update
Task 4 – General Plan Safety Element Update
Task 6 – Public Hearings, Final Adoption, and Certification
Task 7 – General Plan Amendment

Additional task details and associated deliverables can be found in Attachment 3 (EMC Housing and Safety Elements Update Proposal). Staff would return to the Council to authorize an Amendment to this Agreement before any work would begin on tasks related to CEQA compliance.

Schedule
EMC Planning Group proposes to commence work on the Housing Element update immediately upon execution of a contract and would work to complete the scope of services by December 31, 2023, which is the statutory deadline for completing the update. The Safety Element update will progress concurrently with the Housing Element update. The table below connects milestones with goal dates through the process of providing deliverables.

Consultant fees for the project are $239,145.00. The cost will be fully paid with grant funding provided by SB2, LEAP, and REAP. In 2019 and 2020 the City received three grant awards totaling $290,000 to assist with the cost of updating the Housing Element: SB2 ($160,000), LEAP ($65,000), and REAP ($65,000).

Work on any CEQA tasks will not be authorized to begin until a contract amendment is approved by the City Council.