The City’s development review activity has steadily increased resulting in the need for qualified consultants to provide review and inspection services, including but not limited to Building Inspection.  The demand for development services for complex construction projects on an “as-needed” basis is necessary to enable the City to respond quickly, and achieve acceptable turnaround time frames. 

In 2017, staff conducted a comprehensive and competitive RFP process to create a list of qualified consultants that can offer review and inspection services in Building, Planning, Code Enforcement, Engineering, and Fire.  Five (5) proposals were received, evaluated, and ranked.

Below are the proposals in ranking order:

1. Interwest Consulting Group, Inc., Huntington Beach, CA
2. Bureau Veritas North America, Inc., Costa Mesa, CA
3. CSG Consutants, Inc., Orange, CA
4. Scott Fazekas & Associates, Inc., Irvine, CA
5. Willdan Engineering, Inc., Anaheim, CA

The City selected the top two (2) ranking consultant firms for award, to provide services for the Department in Building, Code Enforcement, and Fire Inspection. 

In 2018, due to changes in staffing in the Planning Division, related to the early retirement incentive, a transfer of one (1) position to the Real Property Agent position, budget reduction of one (1) part-time position, and two (2) short-term family leave requests, the impact brought a significant void in the Division thereby constraining staff’s ability to meet the needs of the public. 

The Planning Division is responsible for the processing of the high-profile Economic Development projects concurrently with performing the day-to-day duties of the public counter, ongoing plan checks, reviewing daily business licenses inquiries, reviewing environmental documents, attending development committee meetings, participating in meetings with developers and business owners, and processing entitlements in a timely manner. 

Furthermore, the Planning case load has increased substantially with the processing of 450+ Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) applications, managing 42 projects in preliminary review, and reviewing 475 plan checks, which equates to an average of 79 per month this calendar year.  In 2018, the public counter activity has intensified whereby the average customers served at the Planning counter is 47 daily and 896 monthly.

To effectively assist in the current and future demands of the Department, and providing good customer service, a third consultant firm, CSG Consultants, Inc., was awarded based on their qualified RFP ranking, and readily available Planning Contractual Services. 

In November 2018, a new contract for CSG Consultants, Inc., was issued in the amount of $50,000.00 to provide the necessary contractual planning staff to meet the demand for increased services.  The attached amendment ensures sufficient funding to cover an additional five (5) months of professional contract planning services.

The funds are included in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 and Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget for the Department.  No additional funds are required.

It is recommended that the City Council:

•  Approve the attached amendment to the agreement with CSG Consultants, Inc., to add $50,000 to the existing contract to cover increased services required for Planning contractual services.

By:  Alana Cheng, Senior Administrative Analyst