HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/28/2004 - STAFF REPORTS (9) DATE: July 28, 2004
TO: City Council
FROM: Director of Procurement and Contracting and Director of Strategic Planning
AUTHORIZE STAFF TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT FOR PREPARATION OF THE PALM
SPRINGS GENERAL PLAN UPDATE.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize staff to negotiate a contract with The Planning
Center, of Costa Mesa, CA, the highest-ranked offeror, for preparation of the Palm Springs
General Plan Update.
SUMMARY
All cities in California are required to adopt a General Plan, which includes goals and policies
that chart the future of the City. The last major update to the General Plan was adopted in
1993. On March 19, 2003, the City Council approved a six-phase program to update the
General Plan. As part of Phase 2 of this program the City issued a Request for Qualifications
(RFQ) to hire a consultant to prepare the General Plan Update.
Evaluation of the proposals received has been completed and staff is requesting authorization
to negotiate a contract with the highest-ranked firm, The Planning Center. The resultant
contract will be brought back to City Council for consideration for award.
BACKGROUND
All cities in California are required to adopt a General Plan, which includes goals and policies
that chart the future of the City. The last major update to the General Plan was adopted in
1993. State law requires each General Plan address 7 mandatory elements including: Land
Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Safety, and Noise. Other optional
elements may be included in the General Plan as needed.
On March 19, 2003, the City Council approved a six-phase program to update the General Plan.
Phase 1 is complete with the development of a GIS system and the establishment of the
General Plan Steering Committee as an advisory body. The Committee has been meeting
since June 30, 2003 and has been getting familiarized with the General Plan, developed draft
Vision and Value statements, developed draft Guiding Principles, and has started reviewing
existing General Plan policies.
As part of Phase 2, a Request for Qualifications for Preparation of the Palm Springs General
Plan Update was issued on February 2, 2004. Submittals were received from 6 firms: URS
Corporation, EIP Associates, The Planning Center, Terra Nova Planning & Research, The Keith
Companies, and Sapphos Environmental. Upon completing the initial review of the written
submittals, the General Plan Update Consultant Selection Committee, consisting of 12
members, chose to interview the following four firms:
• URS Corporation
• EIP Associates
• The Planning Center
• Terra Nova Planning & Research
Three firms were interviewed on July 9, 2004 while one firm was interviewed on July 16, 2004.
The Committee conducted a second interview of the three highest ranked firms, URS
Corporation, EIP Associates and The Planning Center, on July 23, 2004.
At the conclusion of the July 23, 2004 interviews, The Planning Center was chosen as the top-
ranked firm.
It is expected that there will be a high degree of public participation in the update process. The
RFQ emphasized public outreach as an important component of the update and also
encouraged innovative methods of organizing the General Plan elements.
It is anticipated that the update will take approximately 1%2 to 2 years to complete.
Director Otrategic Planning
Director of Procurement & Contracting
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Minute Order
2. Statement of Commitment from The Planning Center
THE
� l PLANNING
U0 CENTER
Governmental Services
Planning & Urban Design
Environnmaal Studies
Landscape Architecture
July 23, 2004 1580 Metro Drive
Costa Mesa,CA 92626
Mr. Doug Evans, Director of Strategic Planning Phone:714.966.9220
Mr. Harold Good, Director of Procurement Fax.714.9669221
City of Palm Springs
3200 E. Tahquitz Way Email.,costamesa@planningcenter.com
Palm Springs, CA 92263
Subject: Statement of Commitment for the Palm Springs General Plan Update
Dear Doug and Harold:
From time to time, we come across a project that has the genuine commitment and
sincere interest of City leadership, staff and the community. Like Palm Springs,
these projects most often turn out to be the most rewarding and most successful.
We are very excited about the opportunity to work with you, your staff and the
Steering Committee and are committed to providing you with an award winning
General Plan.
As mentioned in our Statement of Qualifications, Dick Ramella will serve as the
Project Manager for the consultant team and will devote 25 percent of his time for
the project. Dick is a Desert homeowner and has been a part-time resident for many
years. As such, Dick cares about the future growth and success of this region and is
eager to lend his experience to helping further shape this already outstanding
community. In addition, we commit to you the various planning, design, and
environmental experts and in-house legal counsel identified in our qualifications
materials.
Once again, we thank you for this tremendous opportunity and look forward to
assisting you in this monumental effort.
Sincerely,
THE PLANNING CENTER
Dwayne e rs Randy Jackso
Chief Exe utive Officer President
tan Judd
Director-in- h ge
N1 All GOVERNiAIEtNTAI AGen r,i Pla,APalm SPnn6s) 07d301 SLDLeMenL of 6on1milmenl do
MINUTE ORDER NO.
AUTHORIZING STAFF TO NEGOTIATE A
CONTRACT WITH THE PLANNING CENTER FOR
PREPARATION OF THE PALM SPRINGS
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this Minute Order, authorizing staff to negotiate a contract with The
Planning Center for preparation of the Palm Springs General Plan Update, was adopted by the
City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, in a meeting thereof held on the 28th of July,
2004.
PATRICIA A. SANDERS
City Clerk