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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-03-2012 c4 consultant status l and use circulationcouncil we 1/3/12 - �/3/1z_ j Ac cn OA nEpoP-t - - -- -- hem Numlxr C I T Y O F SAN LUIS O B 1 S P 0 FROM: Derek Johnson, Community Development Director Prepared By: Kim Murry, Long Range Planning Division t4, SUBJECT: STATUS UPDATE REGARDING CONSULTANT SELECTION FOR LAND USE AND CIRCULATION ELEMENTS UPDATE RECOMMENDATION Receive and file the status report. DISCUSSION Background Update of the Land Use and Circulation Element was identified as an "Other Important Council Objective" in the 2011 -2013 Financial Plan. While Council had identified the desirability of updating the General Plan over the last several budget cycles, it wasn't until the Strategic Growth Council awarded a grant that the effort was financially feasible. Council authorized staff to advertise the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the General Plan update to solicit bids for the project on September 20, 2011. The RFP mirrored the approved work scope from the Strategic Growth Council grant and was expanded to include a description of several focus areas (such as the possibility for a hospitality zone Downtown and the Neighborhood Definition project). As part of that action, Council concurrently authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with the successful consultant team, provided the cost was within the budgeted amount of $1,180,000. Process Availability of the RFP was advertised through several channels. In addition to the typical advertisement in the Tribune and posting on the City's web site, staff provided email notification of RFP availability to over twenty consultants who had previously expressed interest along with email notification to a consultant network group that distributes information to a wide group of participants. A pre -bid conference was held on October 5, 2011 to respond to questions and clarify expectations. Approximately 20 firms attended the pre -bid conference and information from the conference was posted on the City's web site and emailed to attendees and interested consulting firms. Six proposals were received by the October 28`h deadline. The following is a summary of the team proposals and associated costs. LEAD FIRM PMC $1,036,218.00 Matrix Design Group $1,177,444.00 Lisa Wise Consulting $1,179,586.00 Dyett and Bhatia $1,180,000.00 The Planning Center /DC &E $1,180,064.00 Ho le- Ireland $1,213,116.00 C44 Land Use and Circulation Elements — Consultant Selection Page 2 An internal cross - departmental team screened the proposals to determine which teams to invite to a subsequent interview. After careful consideration of the written proposals, a cross departmental team determined that four firms would be invited for interviews. These teams were 1) Dyett & Bhatia, 2) Lisa Wise Consulting, 3) Matrix Design Group and 4)The Planning Center /DC &E. The interview team included staff from Administration (both Economic Development and Natural Resources), Community Development, Finance and IT, Public Works, Utilities, SLOCOG, and a Planning Commissioner. At the interview, each team was afforded an opportunity to highlight the proposed project approach and team qualifications, and respond to questions. The intent of the questions was to look into team dynamics and measure community fit. Each team was eventually rated on the following: a. Understanding of the work required by the City. b. Responsiveness, quality and clarity of the proposal. C. Demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for successfully performing the work required by the City. d. Recent team experience in successfully performing similar services. C. Proposed approach in completing the work. f. Background and experience of the specific individuals to be assigned to this project. g. Effective use of grant and City General funds. Each team was requested to provide references that included five current and five recently completed projects. At the conclusion of the interviews, the City interview team discussed the technical, public outreach and project management aspects of each team. Staff contacted references for each team and gauged the consultants' performance; ability to manage sub - consultants; project management skills; and to discuss both community and agency satisfaction with the team's performance. Recommendation Based upon the interview team recommendation and response to references, staff is recommending the City Manager sign a contract with Matrix Design Group. This consultant firm is based in Sacramento and is paired with Mintier- Hamish for the planning and circulation policy development work and two local firms - Oliveira and Sage - for the environmental review portion of the project. This consultant team recognizes the importance of City residents to the update process and has proposed a very robust public engagement strategy (Attachment 1). Staff is working with the consultant team to finalize contract language and project scope details and will have a final contract for City Manager signature at the time of the Council meeting. FISCAL IMPACT The City was successful in receiving $880,000 in grant funding from the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant for updating the Land Use and Circulation Elements. Council approved an additional $300,000 for environmental review (the grant cannot be used for this portion of the project) and $67,500 for Public Works staff assistance due to workload constraints. The recommended consultant team proposal falls within the $1,180,000 available from the grant and General funds available for the work. No additional General Fund impacts are anticipated. C4-2 Land Use and Circulation Elements — Consultant Selection ALTERNATIVES 3 1. The Council could decide not to pursue the grant monies. This is not recommended as grant opportunities for planning activities are rare and obtaining these grant funds would assist the City in meeting a Council objective to update the Land Use and Circulation Elements. 2. The Council could direct staff to negotiate with a different consultant team. This is not recommended as the grant timeline is aggressive and the recommendation from staff reflects a full evaluation of team strengths and fit for the community. ATTACHMENT Excerpt from Consultant proposal: Public Engagement Strategy Consultant Team's full proposal is available as a Council Reading file. G: \CD- PLAN \1KMURRY\City Council Reports \Genetul Plan Update \ConsultantSelectionUpdate.doex C4 -3 Land Use and Circulation Elements - Consultant Selection ATTACHMENT have developed a comprehensive evaluation check list to assist staff in their review. The General Plan evaluation process will provide insights on the existing General Plan clarity; linkages to other plans; progress in achieving desired outcomes; and whether goals, objectives, policies, and programs should be carried forward, modified, or removed. The Consultants will provide clear advice to City staff on determining what can be influenced or regulated by the General Plan; what is subject to the legal authority of the City; and what is appropriate to address through the General Plan. TASK 1.C.1 GENERAL PLAN TASK FORCE MEETING (MH/ MDG) The Consultants and City staff will meet with the General Plan Task Force (GPTF) to introduce the General Plan Team. The Consultants will present an overview of the process and deliverables, the schedule, the GPTF's role and responsibilities, and how the community will be engaged. The Consultants will also facilitate discussion to gather input from the GPTF concerning the most pressing issues they would like to see addressed by the Update. TASK 1.C.2 CITY COUNCIL /PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT STUDY SESSION (MH/ MDG) The Consultants and City staff will facilitate a joint study session with the City Council and Planning Commission. We also recommend inviting members from the City's advisory bodies (e.g., Mass Transportation Commission, Bicycle Advisory Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission) and the GPTF to attend the study session and learn about the Update. This study session will give the City Council and Planning Commission and others in attendance an opportunity to meet the Consultants. At the Study Session the Consultants will present an overview of the process and deliverables, the schedule, the GPTF's role and responsibilities, and how the community will be engaged. The Consultants will also facilitate a discussion with the Council and Commissioners to gather input on their objectives and desires for the Update. Page 3 -6 TASK i.D /1.E 615 DATABASE AND PROJECT BASE MAPS (MDG /MH) The Consultants will work with City staff to define and format information for a Geographic Information Systems (G15) database covering the Planning Area. If the City is lacking certain information, the Consultants will work with City staff, the County, and other agencies and organizations to gather available data for the Planning Area. The Consultants will work with City staff to define an appropriate set of data, formats, and metadata standards that will be used to support the Update. The Consultants will define and format maps for reports and display presentation, including establishing a uniform legend and title block for use on all maps prepared as part of the planning documents. During and at the conclusion of the Update, the Consultants will provide the City with the GIS maps and associated files developed during the Update process. All CIS data and mapping prepared for the Update will be developed consistent with City protocols and data formats to ensure easy integration into the City's data system. TASK 1.F.1 ORGANIZE THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM (FL) The Consultants will work with City staff to organize the community outreach program that will be used to engage and involve the public and stakeholders in the Update process. The Consultants will also use the outreach program to inform individuals about different ways the Update can help improve their overall quality of life. The strategies and products that we believe respond to the City's expectations for a robust and successful community engagement program are included after the following list: • General Plan Update Brand • General Plan Update Website • Driving Traffic to the Website • Website Interaction and Feedback- MindMixer • General Plan Update Social Media Sites ■ E- blasts ■ Newsletters ■ Community Workshops ■ Pre - Workshop Publicity ■ Translation Services San Luis Obispo General Plan Update Matrix I Mintier Harnish A 1- m, Land Use and Circulation Elements - Consultant Selection ATTACHMENT _ GENERAL PLAN UPDATE BRANDING The Consultants will develop an overall brand for the General Plan 20 Update. This will be carried through Lall materials, the project website, and -40 presentations in an effort to build enthusiasm about the Update and ensure that this effort is distinct in the minds of the public and stakeholders. The City will be given several options to choose from and will be have final approval of the overall theme. GENERAL PLAN UPDATE WEBSITE The Consultants will create and host a General Plan Update website, www.SLO204o.cam. (The Consultants have already secured the domain name for this site as well as www.51-0203o.com). The site will link directly to the City's website and will include all of the following information: • Project information and overview and purpose of the General Plan Elements and PEIR • Listing of all meetings ■ All presentations and materials produced for public meetings and workshops • Fact sheets regarding the different phases of Update process • Ali drafts and materials produced for the Elements and the EIR • Library with all relevant documents • Links to the Update's social media sites The Consultants will conduct regular updates of the information on the website (e.g., meeting /workshop dates and locations ). The Consultants will provide all draft and final documents in Adobe PDF format in conjunction with an HTML page designed to provide access to the referenced PDF documents. The Consultants will provide training to the City's information technology staff to enable a smooth transition to maintain upkeep of the Update website once the General Plan has been adopted. DRIVE TRAFFIC TO THE WEBSITE Creating the website is easy - getting people to visit and engage there is more challenging. Our team has a unique approach that has proven to be successful in other communities including the City of Chico and Napa County. We use a proprietary list of high propensity Matrix I Mintier Harnish voter emails to drive traffic to the site. We already have over 5,700 individual addresses for San Luis Obispo residents who have "opted in" to get information about their local community and government. We will use this list over the course of the Update effort and build upon it. Anyone who wishes to "opt out" will be removed from the list. The email database will be merged with the City's stakeholder lists and expanded during the course of the outreach effort. Over the course of the project this list will be used to: • Promote upcoming meetings and community input opportunities • Announce new documents and reports • Provide information regarding the Update process and deliverables • Conduct topic - specific surveys • Encourage participation in MindMixer How mindn*er Works U I11 ew RJ O 40 9 G Comma Sao$ Q LET THE IDEAS BEGIN! 4 OPEN slisftwtoN 3 it W= "M1111 on 99999 aCLW.n r, y 21 r$1 % San Luis Obispo General Plan Update WEBSITE INTERACTION AND FEEDBACK - MINDMIXER MindMixer is a state- of -the- art interactive "Town Hall" that allows users to weigh in on a variety of topics of interest as part of the General Plan Update. We propose to use this in two stages; the first during the initial phases of outreach to gauge opinions on various topics including land use, parks, circulation, neighborhood preservation and proposed alternatives and identify community issues, opportunities, and expectations for the future. Page 3 -7 C4 -5 Land Use and Circulation Elements — Consultant Selection ATTACHMENT We will use it a second time during the Alternatives phase to gather input and preferences on the community's preferred future and features of the City they would like to see preserved, enhanced, or changed. Yg1Ylk IX.LYASMDA6YDUAlDFAS The MindMixer interactive A :�k t A webpage will be part of a y ,0 the project website produced by the Consultants. SE It 11k Al:Z-a 4;1116t 10A" GENERAL PLAN UPDATE SOCIAL MEDIA Today's successful outreach programs must include a social media component. Our team has a proven track record in i8lt i'L4 managing social media campaigns that deliver constructive results and 4trtenescec minimize opportunities for "hijacking" blogs. The trick is !►,^�, + to keep it relevant, brief and simple — encourage participation by allowing people to comment on topics that are important to them, discourage antagonistic and/or inflammatory discourse. Our team will promote meetings, issues and opportunities for engagement via a variety of social media channels including: • Facebook • Google+ IN Foursquare ■ Twitter E- BLASTS The Consultants will design a unique a -Blast (i.e., email) template for the Update. Using the template, the Consultants will Issue regular e- Blasts updates to keep residents and stakeholders current on the process, maintain interest in draft documents, and create a greater support -base. E- Blasts will be used to provide updates on new content on the website and social networking sites, solicit feedback on draft documents, and encourage participation in the process. NEWSLETTERS The Consultants will prepare a series of newsletters that coincide with the Community Workshops. The Page 3 -8 Newsletters will summarize milestone documents and generate excitement and interest in the process and upcoming workshops and meetings. Some newsletters may also provide community members with an opportunity to provide feedback on a given Phase topic (e.g., newsletter survey). In order to maximize public input while conserving the City's fiscal resources, each newsletter will be prepared and published at key points in the process and used to promote various options for participation. Our budget includes design, layout, content, z -color printing, mail list, and postage. COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS se _ We have identified specific tasks for _= community workshops at key n the Y oint points P P Update process. For all workshops, the Consultants will prepare agendas, educational/ exercise materials, refreshments and public input summaries. Following each workshop, we will prepare a workshop summary for distribution and posting on the General Plan Update website. PRE - WORKSHOP PUBLICITY The Consultants will conduct Axa pre - workshop publicity efforts to provide an x� overview of the overall Q planning process, notify the community of key milestones in the General Plan Update, W, promote upcoming } workshops and drive traffic to the website to encourage active participation by the public. The following efforts will be repeated in the six to eight weeks leading up to each community workshop: Media Relations — Distribution of news releases promoting General Plan process, milestones, and workshops and editorial boards to educate journalists about the planning process. We need accurate coverage that sets realistic expectations for what the Update does and does NOT do. our media list includes but is not limited to: San Luis Obispo General Plan Update Matrix I Mintier Harnish C4 -6 Land Use and Circulation Elements - Consultant Selection ATTACHMENT • Television /Cable (KSBY, KCOY, KEYT, Charter) • Radio (KVEC, KYNS, KSLY, KCBX etc.) • Local television and radio talk shows • Newspapers /Magazines (Tribune, New Times, Journal Plus, Mustang) • Online (Topix, SLOUnk) • Spanish Language (KPMR -TV Univision, KLUN Radio, KLMM Radio) • E Blasts to Email Database (5,700 +) • Posters Promoting Meetings • Newsletters • Fact Sheets • Partnerships with Local Schools • Development of These first programs encoura in outh graders made g g y participation and their own projects "downtown" • Outreach to Cal master plan and PolyjCuesta College came up with all • Promotion at SLO the land uses Thursday Night Farmer's they thought they Markets (2 weeks) would need as o Our staff will attend adults! the market and provide information about the General Plan Element Update, opportunities for one-on -one intercept interviews and promotion of upcoming meetings and engagement opportunities. • Presentations at community organizations, including, but not limited to: : o San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce • San Luis Obispo Downtown Association • Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and other service clubs • Parent Teacher Associations • Mission San Luis Obispo • San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club • San Luis Obispo Newcomers Club • America Association of University Women San Luis Obispo • Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens • Economic Vitality Corporation • Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast o Latino Outreach Council Public Service Announcements • We will produce PSAs encouraging participation via workshops or the web. • PAS will be shown on prior to every movie on all ii screens at the Freemont and Downtown Centre Cinemas. The fifteen second spots will yield 40,000 monthly impressions, go% of which are estimated to be San Luis Obispo residents according to the theaters' owner. • We will provide digital copies of the PSAs to local broadcast, radio and cable channels and try to secure free placement. We have been successful in this effort in previous outreach campaigns. TRANSLATION SERVICES The Consultants will provide translation services for the project. Two types of translation services can be provided: verbal translation and translation of written materials. We will work with City staff to confirm languages that need translation. We will work with City staff to identify which documents and materials will be translated during the process. Translating written materials can be costly. We have found that it is more effective to translate outreach and summary materials rather than full documents. For verbal translation services, we have found that individuals are more comfortable participating in the planning process when a local community group or organization is involved. We will also work with City staff to identify community groups or organizations that can assist with translation efforts. We have successfully teamed with local groupslorganizations to engage non - English speakers and make them a part of the process. We have also found that this approach can save costs. TASK 1.G NEWSLETTER #x: GENERAL PLAN UPDATE OVERVIEW (FL /MDG) The Consultants, with City staff input and review, will prepare a newsletter that describes what a general plan is, how and why it is being updated, the project schedule, and how the public can participate. The newsletter will be used as an educational tool and to promote Community Workshop #t and the overall project. The newsletter will also include a list of key questions and considerations for community members Matrix I Mintler Harnish San Luis Obispo General Plan Update Page 3-9 C4 -7