City Council
MEETING DATE: 12/13/2017
TITLE:
Title
Professional Services Agreement with Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc., for the Update of the General Plan and EIR, Active Transportation and NEV Plan and Expanded Intersection Analysis
End
FROM:
Pat Milos, Community Development Director
John Corella, P.E. - City Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council authorize a Professional Services Agreement with Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc. for the update of the Cathedral City General Plan and associated Environmental Impact Report (EIR) at a cost of $365,000; and development of an Active Transportation and NEV Plan at a cost of $46,800; and completion of an expanded intersection analysis at a cost of $10,000; and authorize the City Manager to sign the Agreement.
Body
BACKGROUND:
GENERAL PLAN:
The City adopted our current General Plan on July 31, 2002. Although the entire document was reviewed and amended in 2009 and there have been several Amendments and Updates to the plan since its inception nearly 15 years ago it is the City Staff's determination that a comprehensive update of the entire plan is in order.
During the City Council's Strategic Planning Session held on January 28, 2017, Council discussed the importance and timeliness of updating the General Plan and directed Staff to adopt it as a goal for 2017.
During the biennial budgeting process for fiscal year 2017/18 and 2018/19 the General Plan Update was assigned as a Capital Improvement Program Project with total expected funding of $450,000 over a three-year period including Fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The biennial budget was adopted by the City Council on May 5, 2017.
On September 14, 2017 Staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Professional Planning Services for a General Plan Update and an associated EIR. The RFP was publicly noticed in the Desert Sun newspaper, circulated among the local American Planning Association periodicals and e-mailed directly to 18 local planning consultant firms as well as placed on the City web-site.
Proposals in response to the RFP were accepted at City Hall on October 16, 2017. The City received a total of 2 responses. The respondents were Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc., Palm Desert, California and Rincon Consultants, Inc., Redlands, California. Both proposals were reviewed by staff, both were deemed as responsive, thus both proposing firms were interviewed. After interviews with each firm, staff determined that the firm that best understood the project specific needs of the City as related to the scope was Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc.
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND NEIGHBORHOOD ELECTRIC VEHICLES (NEV) PLAN:
During the City Council Study Session held on May 11, 2016, the City Council discussed the need for a review of the City of Cathedrals Golf Cart/NEV ordinances and their relation to the CV Link. The discussion centered around reviewing the City's current ordinances and conducting an engineering study to identify future alternative routes to the CV Link, identifying and regulating alternate forms of transportation and establishing designated routes throughout the City for NEV's and non-motorized modes of transportation, e.g. bicycles, walking, jogging etc. Following the discussion, City Staff was given direction to proceed with a request for proposals to provide consulting services for the engineering study of a multi-modal route system.
During the City Council Study Session held on July 13, 2016 the City Council was given an update of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments' (CVAG) results of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) and Transportation Project Prioritization Study (TPPS). It was the consensus at that time to consider the (ATP) and (TPPS) in the development of an engineering study for a multi-modal route system.
Also at the City Council Study Session held on August 10, 2016, the City Council discussed the Perez Road Corridor and what possibilities may be available to make the corridor more pedestrian oriented, including: parking, speed limits, pedestrian crossings, potential medians and road diets. Again, Staff was given direction to proceed with a request for proposals to provide consulting services for the engineering study.
DISCUSSION:
During Staff's follow-up scoping meeting with Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc. (Terra Nova), the Staff asked Terra Nova to address items regarding the project scope and budget, including adding additional community workshops bringing the total to six workshops and two joint study sessions with the City Council and the Planning Commission. Also discussed, was the City’s need for an Active Transportation and NEV Plan and its relationship to the Circulation element of the General Plan. The City has a strong interest in facilitating multi-modes of travel and active transportation. The NEV component will include designs to optimize golf cart and other low-speed electric vehicles (LSEV) wherever possible using Terra Nova's Transportation Subconsultant, John Kain - Principal of Urban Crossroads, Inc.
Staff instructed Terra Nova to give the City an additional proposal to prepare a free-standing Active Transportation and NEV Plan based upon expanding and detailing the CVAG ATP and the CVAG NEV Plan, with emphasis on the importance of the City’s Plan as consistent and logical extensions of the baseline documents. The City’s combined Active Transportation and NEV Plan would reflect and be consistent with the CVAG regional plans, but will be entirely focused on the City, its needs, and its opportunities and constraints.
In addition, Terra Nova will provide GIS-based mapping of the study areas and planned improvements. The implementation of the General Plan will also support City-specific, component-based design guidelines. These will cover all pedestrian ways, bikeway/lanes/paths, signage and wayfinding and land use compatibility.
In the General Plan, the Active Transportation and NEV Plan will be summarized, and appropriate graphics included in the Circulation Element and Community Design Element or equivalent.
Staff also asked Terra Nova to expand the full level Intersection Analysis portion of the Traffic Analysis by 10 intersections for a total of 30 intersections. These added intersections are important to the long-term functionality of the Circulation Element of the Updated General Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$365,000 for the General Plan Update budgeted in the Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
$46,800 for the Active Transportation and NEV Plan budgeted in the Capital Improvement Program as part of the General Plan Update for fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
$10,000 for the expanded intersection analysis budgeted in the Capital Improvement Program as part of the General Plan Update for fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc.'s Table of Contents for the Proposal to Prepare the General Plan and EIR.
2. Terra Nova Planning and Research, Inc.'s Project Budget.
3. Contract for professional services between the City of Cathedral City and Terra Nova Planning & Research, Inc.