That the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement for professional services for the review and preparation of environmental documents for the proposed Westridge Hills residential development project pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

On January 29, 2024, the City's Director of Community and Economic Development deemed complete an application from Lennar Homes (“Applicant”) for a Vesting Tentative Tract Map (the “Proposed Project”) on approximately 151 acres generally located at 1400 South La Habra Hills Drive (“Project Site”). The Proposed Project includes the development of 534 dwelling units, consisting of 110 apartment units that would be restricted to low-income households; and, 286 single-family homes, 78 town homes and 60 duplex residences, that would not be income restricted. The Proposed Project also includes a centrally-located private community center for use only by the development's residents, habitat enhancement and conservation areas, and open space areas.    

On February 21, 2024, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified professional environmental consultants to perform a review of the Proposed Project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This review will determine whether a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and/or an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared for the Proposed Project. Staff released the RFP through PlanetBids, an eProcurement software company used by the Community and Economic Development Department to procure consultants to augment department staffing. The RFP is provided as Attachment 2 to this staff report. 

According to the Bid Summary prepared by PlanetBids (Attachment 3), a total of 69 vendors registered with PlanetBids were notified of the RFP, three prospective bidders were identified, and one proposal was received by the RFP deadline of March 11, 2024. Staff reviewed this proposal (Attachment 4), from Infrastructure Engineers, a Bowman company, and deemed that the proposal adequately provided the scope of services requested by the RFP.

The subject proposal provides a billing structure and a timeline for both the preparation of an MND and an EIR. If, through the preparation of the Initial Study, it is determined that implementation of the Proposed Project would result in significant impacts on the physical environment that cannot be mitigated, an EIR will be prepared; if all impacts can be mitigated to a level of less than significant impact, an MND will be prepared. The cost to prepare the MND is anticipated to be $81,388 and is estimated to take nine months. The cost to prepare the EIR is anticipated to be $185,134 and is estimated to take 18 months. Pursuant to the City's fee resolution, the Applicant will be required to provide the City with a deposit of funds to cover the costs of the contract, plus an additional 25% to cover staff management and oversight of the consultant, prior to the consultant commencing work on the environmental review of the Proposed Project. 
  Once the MND and/or EIR are prepared, both will be subject to public review, for a minimum period of 20 and 45 days respectively. Both the MND and the EIR, as well as the Vesting Tentative Tract Map, are subject to approval by the Planning Commission at a public hearing. The City Council will only review the MND/EIR and the Vesting Tentative Tract Map, if an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision is made within 10 days of said decision.

As the City does not have existing staff in-house to provide the requested services, and the services will be paid for by the Applicant, staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Infrastructure Engineers to prepare the necessary CEQA review and documentation.

The professional services agreement is for a not to exceed amount of $266,522. Pursuant to the City's fee resolution, the Applicant will be required to provide the City with a deposit of funds to cover the costs of the contract, plus an additional 25% to cover staff management and oversight of the consultant. These funds must be deposited by the Applicant prior to the consultant commencing work on the environmental review of the Proposed Project. The fee required to process the Vesting Tentative Tract Map is $6,532. The Applicant currently has on deposit $45,000 towards the processing of the Proposed Project.

General Plan Relevance:
LU 1.3 Subsequent Environmental Review
LU 2.1 Places to Live
LU 3.1 Sustainable Development Pattern
LU 7.2 New Residential Development

City Council Goals & Objectives:
Goal 5, Objective Q: Facilitate the development of high-quality housing, at a variety of income levels, to help meet projected demand, as set forth in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).