That the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with MIG Planning and Environmental Services for preparation of an Initial Study and associated environmental documents in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for a proposed 155-unit apartment project at 461 South Harbor Boulevard in the amount of $94,985, which includes a 10% contingency.

In July 2022, the Community and Economic Development Department (Department) received applications from Legacy Partners/Collier Residential, LLC to develop a 155-unit apartment project at 461 South Harbor Boulevard. The 5.91-acre property is located north of the railroad tracks, between Harbor Boulevard and Cypress Street, and designated by the City's General Plan for multifamily residential land use.

Pursuant to State law, the City, as the Lead Agency, must review the proposed project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  In order to provide this review, and consistent with the Department's CEQA policy (Attachment 3), staff released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on September 19, 2022, to a list of qualified environmental consultants to determine interest in review of the proposed project and preparation of an Initial Study, along with any necessary supporting documentation. 

In response to the RFP, the Department received proposals from the three (3) consulting firms shown in the table below.  The Department also received a response from Blodgett Baylosis Environmental Planning, with a proposed fee of $14,061; however, it was staff determined that this proposal included an overly generalized approach when compared to the other proposals received and was excluded from further consideration.
 

Consultant	Proposed Fee
MIG Consulting	$94,985
PGN	$81,090
Placeworks	$118,514

 
Staff evaluated each firm's ability to prepare an Initial Study that would sufficiently address the environmental effects of the proposed project in compliance with CEQA.  These impact areas include: aesthetics, agricultural resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology/soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation, tribal/cultural resources, utilities and service systems, wildfire and mandatory findings of significance.  Staff also considered the relative experience of each firm as well as their demonstrated ability to provide appropriate technical studies.

After review, staff determined that MIG Consulting (MIG) presented the best overall proposal.  MIG is a full-service environmental consulting firm that serves the Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire region.  MIG offers professional services from their own in-house staffing rather than through subcontracting work to other companies.  The MIG proposal appears to meet the needs of the project within the timeline specified by the City's anticipated schedule for the project. As a courtesy, staff also provided the consultant proposals to the project applicant for review.  The applicant concurred with staff's recommendation, expressing a preference for the consultant to utilize in-house staff as a means to better keep the project on schedule.

Staff anticipates that the Initial Study will result in a Negative Declaration or a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND); therefore, staff requested that proposals anticipate preparation of a MND.  However, the analysis could lead to the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) if the project is determined to result in environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated.  In the event an EIR becomes necessary, staff will request an amendment to the subject agreement with the applicant to cover the necessary additional expenses.  MIG anticipates that the preparation of the documents in support of an MND will take three to four months, after which the project will be scheduled for Planning Commission for review and consideration upon completion of the required environmental documents.

The full cost of the fee proposed by MIG will be reimbursed by the applicant. The City will also collect environmental review fees from the applicant to cover City staff time to manage and review the consultant's work. This fee amounts to 25 percent of the overall contract price ($23,746.25). The environmental review fee and the consultant fee will be collected from the applicant prior to preparation of the environmental document and placed in a deposit trust account.

The proposed project achieves the following elements of the La Habra General Plan:

In addition, the proposed project achieves the following element of the FY2022-23 City of La Habra Goals and Objectives:

Goal 2: Management of Public Revenues and Fiscal Assets