Request for Proposals For General Plan Update Issued: Monday, December 18, 2017 Proposals Due: Tuesday, January 16, 2018, 5:00 pm PREPARED BY: 330 W. 20 th Avenue San Mateo, CA 94403 CONTACT: Planning Division: Julia Klein Tel: (650) 522-7216 Email: jklein@cityofsanmateo.org
Introduction: The is seeking a qualified consultant (or team of consultants) to assist staff with a comprehensive update of the City s General Plan. The City is also seeking assistance with preparation of related environmental review in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Section 1: Background About San Mateo The is centrally located on The Peninsula, between San Francisco on the north and San Jose on the south. The City borders the communities of Belmont, Burlingame, Foster City, and Hillsborough, as well as, the unincorporated Highlands-Baywood Park area of San Mateo County. San Mateo is a multimodal transportation city with easy access to the rest of the Bay Area via US- HWY 101, Interstates 92 and 280, and is directly connected to the East Bay via the San Mateo Bridge. The historic El Camino Real also travels north to south through the entire length of San Mateo and is located adjacent to Downtown. San Mateo is served by Caltrain, at three stations including one in Downtown, which transports commuters and visitors from San Francisco through the Peninsula to South Bay as far as Gilroy. SamTrans operates a network of buses that moves passengers to various destinations within San Mateo and provides access to surrounding communities. 2
San Mateo is home to a variety of businesses, several private and public K-12 schools, as well as, the California State Community College of San Mateo, Draper University (located in Downtown San Mateo), and California College of Early Childhood Education. The City s residential neighborhoods are complemented by a number of active commercial areas, most notably the Hillsdale Shopping Center, Bridgepoint Shopping Center, and Downtown San Mateo. In recent years, the San Francisco Bay Area is experiencing growth in jobs and population. As estimated by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in Projections 2013, a total of 20,410 new jobs are anticipated to be created in San Mateo between 2010 and 2040, and the City s population is expected to grow from 97,207 in 2010 to approximately 126,000 in 2040. With a population of 103,000 as of 2014, San Mateo is the second largest city in San Mateo County. For San Mateo, much of the anticipated growth is occurring along the transit corridor, the areas surrounding the three Caltrain stations at Hillsdale, Hayward Park, and Downtown San Mateo. Recent development activity within the corridor include: Bay Meadows Phase II master planned mixed-use Transit Oriented Development (TOD) community, Hillsdale Mall Remodel, Peninsula Station and 1990 2000 S. Delaware Street affordable housing projects, Hines Office project, Station Park Green mixed-use planned community, the three commercial & residential projects at Third Ave and El Camino Real in Downtown, and the Central Park South mixed-use office and residential project (at 9 th Ave and El Camino Real). All of these projects are located within a half mile of a Caltrain Station. The City continues to receive strong interest and applications for new commercial, office and housing development projects along the rail corridor, and more recently in the area near Downtown San Mateo. The City s present General Plan states the following: A general plan is the planning guideline for the future of a city. It contains goals and policies which regulate urban development, the protection of the natural environment, and public safety. It reflects the community's long-term vision, and provides the perspective to judge day-to-day decisions by these future goals. The general plan is used by the City Council and the Planning Commission in considering land use and planning-related decisions, and guides future funding decisions. City staff refer to the general plan on a daily basis administering and regulating land use and development activity. The plan also enables citizens and those seeking to develop property to understand San Mateo's values and objectives. All California cities and counties are required by the State of California to have a general plan. State law requires the general plan to address seven specific topics (elements): Land Use, Housing, Circulation, Open Space, Conservation, Noise and Safety. General Plan History A comprehensive update of the San Mateo General Plan, in its present format, was adopted on July 16, 1990. The previous version was adopted in the early 1970 s and was not viewed to be sufficient to meet the needs of the community nor the requirements of state law. Subsequent to this initial adoption, the following occurred: November 1991. The voters adopted an initiative which amended the General Plan. The initiative (Measure H) made several changes to the General Plan, primarily directed at 3
reducing maximum heights and densities for residential and most non-residential uses, while establishing the City s providing affordable housing. April 1997. As part of the ongoing effort to maintain a current General Plan, an update of the Plan was adopted in 1997. The update focused on several issues: revision of goals and policies established in 1990 that had been implemented or were outdated; incorporation of current demographics, economics, housing, and traffic conditions; and the update of land use and population projections extended to the year 2010, five years beyond the original projections of the 1990 Plan. November 2004. The voters adopted an extension of Measure H, which was placed on the ballot as Measure P. This extension included updates, clarifications and changes. In addition, there were significant provisions of Measure H which were maintained. October 2010. The most recent update of the General Plan was adopted. This update followed the format of the previous revisions to the Plan focusing on: the incorporation of new demographic information, economic projections, housing, and traffic conditions; incorporation of new goals and policies pertaining to climate change and sustainability; and revisions to existing goals and policies contained in the various elements of the General Plan. The horizon year of the General Plan was extended to the year 2030. In addition to these General Plan updates, a number of other long range planning documents have been developed, such as the Downtown Plan, Rail Corridor Plan, Climate Action Plan, Sustainable Streets Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan. January 2015. The Housing Element was certified by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development. April 2015. The City adopted a citywide Climate Action Plan to serve as the city s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. June 2017. The City adopted a citywide Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) which allows the City to define the measures to be undertaken to reduce risks associated with natural and manmade hazards. Status of Other Related San Mateo Efforts and Documents A number of long-range planning related issues are presently under consideration: Downtown Plan. The update of the Downtown Plan is now underway. City staff and the consultant team led by the firm of Perkins and Will developed draft alternative scenarios which were presented at the August public workshop, further outreach continues through the end of 2017 to underrepresented groups (e.g. Downtown ground floor businesses) and is expected to be brought back to Council at the beginning of 2018. It is anticipated that Downtown Plan consultant team will develop a preferred alternative, and update the Downtown Design Guidelines and Downtown Historic District Guidelines as part of the process. Circulation. Planning and Public Works staff have been working on a number of traffic related efforts: o Update to the City s traffic model and Traffic Mitigation Report. This update includes updated traffic counts and new projections to the year 2040 based on 4
Projections 2013 (Plan Bay Area); the present traffic model is based on Projections 2005. o Reviewing recent traffic studies prepared for individual development projects which indicate that existing traffic conditions vary from conditions previously identified. o Formal approval of the City s Sustainable Streets Plan was accepted but not formally adopted and incorporated in the City s General Plan. This effort will also integrate the City s existing Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan. o Implementation of SB 743 mandates the use of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a method of measuring traffic impacts for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) purposes, as opposed to level of service (LOS), the traditional method used to evaluate traffic impacts. While the State of California Office of Planning and Research has yet to issue guidelines to implement this requirement, the General Plan update will be expected to implement the guidelines when they become available. Sunsetting of Measure P. This Measure establishes maximum density and height and is due to sunset at the end of 2020. As part of the Downtown Plan community outreach, the sunsetting of Measure P was introduced and potential changes to maximum heights, densities and building intensities was discussed. However, the Downtown Plan project area is only a portion of the city whereas Measure P applies citywide. Rail Corridor Plan. This includes a review of the City s Rail Corridor Plan, evaluating its effectiveness in Transit Oriented Development goals, including the provision of housing and employment, trip reduction and pedestrian/bicycle accessibility opportunities in addition to examination of revised development standards for remaining parcels post grade separations and station relocation. Central Park Master Plan update. The current Plan is over 30 years old and no longer addresses the changing recreation facilities needs of the community. The City s Parks and Recreation Department is currently in the process of updating the Plan, and is anticipated to present the draft Master Plan and associated environmental document to the Parks and Recreation Commission in February 2018, followed by review by the City Council. Clean Water Program. In partnership with adjacent cities, the San Mateo City Council adopted a long-range infrastructure and financing plan in 2016 for the upgrade and improvement of the waste water treatment plant, associated system-wide pipe and pump upgrade/replacement, as well as, planning for sea-level rise. Development Related Codes. The City s development related codes are located in various titles of the San Mateo Municipal Code including Title 27 Zoning. Over the years the Zoning Code has received numerous amendments and updates, including updates to address changes in state laws. However, the amendments have often been piecemeal, resulting in a code that is at times confusing and cumbersome. The Code is in need of a comprehensive rewrite. 5
Section 2: Scope of Work Rather than take the items above as independently, it is intended that they be incorporated under the umbrella of a comprehensive update of the City s General Plan. This provides the City an opportunity to look at the big picture and establish goals and policies that will guide review of anticipated development applications. The principal items involved in this General Plan update would be the Land Use Element and Circulation Elements. These two elements must be consistent. The Traffic Mitigation Report provides technical background for the Circulation Element and is necessary to justify a revised impact fee. The Land Use Element needs to be amended to be consistent as well and would involve use of household and employment numbers from Projections 2013 (Plan Bay Area) out to the year 2040. The need for housing continues to be a theme expressed by both the public and decision makers. Preliminary work has been completed by Hexagon Transportation Consultants (sub-consultant EPS for land use projections) based on Projections 2013 (Plan Bay Area). This analysis indicates that challenges with traffic delays and current intersection levels of service (LOS) are primarily due to existing conditions, rather than change in land use projections. As noted above, the General Plan update will need to consider standards and metrics for the use of VMT (per SB743) through a multimodal circulation approach with the incorporation of the Sustainable Streets Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan, and City Council interest in achieving Vision Zero. The impact of existing and projected traffic volumes continue to be an issue raised by the public and decision makers. Given the pending sunsetting of Measure P in November 2020, there will undoubtedly also be discussions about building height, residential density and intensity (floor area ratio) limits within the. The Scope of Work is expected to include propose update language to Measure P. (Refer to related documents.) While updating the General Plan, other elements, such as the Noise Element (largely dependent upon traffic), Safety Element (incorporation of the City s recent Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and 6
explore feasibility of developing pre-disaster recovery plan), and Conservation and Open Space Element (consistency with San Mateo Parks and Recreation Facilities Strategic Plan) and other sections will also be touched upon to ensure internal consistency and as required by State laws. (Refer to related documents for other Elements, Climate Action Plan, Traffic Model, etc.) The Scope of Work shall also include preparation of an Environmental Impact Report. The Environmental Impact Report will assess both the General Plan update as well as the Downtown Plan. This will require coordination with the Downtown Plan update city & consultant team as work on the preferred alternative progresses. Following the completion of the General Plan update, it will be necessary to begin the implementation program which includes Zoning Code Consistency Review that would entail review of existing codes as well as identifying a list of specific changes both in text and graphics that are necessary to align the code with the updated General Plan, as well as, a comprehensive rewrite of the Zoning Code. The Zoning Code update will be a first-step implementation closely following completion of the General Plan update. While the General Plan will provide the guidance and policy direction for updating the zoning and development standards, there should be an iterative approach where land use and urban form considerations are taken together. The Zoning Code update may include but not be limited to including: A. An organization and format that is easy to read and understand, and is consistent in terms of processes and requirements; B. Simplified use classifications; C. Graphics that illustrate regulations and make the Code easy to use; D. Urban design standards (text and graphics) as deemed necessary; E. Provisions that will help the City achieve high-quality infill projects that are compatible with the context of existing development in the area; F. Performance standards such as noise and lighting standards; G. Contemporary terms and definitions. The timing of the comprehensive rewrite shall be included in the proposal; but may be designated as a separate phase following the completion of the General Plan update for project budget purposes. Target date for completion of the General Plan update is March 2020. Should the City Council wish to place a measure on the November 2020 ballot, prior to Measure P expiration, the Council must have taken action and delivered notice to the County election s department eighteight (88) days prior to the election. For the 2020 election that would be Friday, August 7, 2020. The last Council meeting to take action would be the Monday, July 20, 2020. The City is targeting March 2020 to have 3 months to draft and review any potential ballot language. A joint Planning Commission/City Council Study Session was held on October 30, 2017 to outline the upcoming General Plan update. Material from that meeting, including video, can be 7
viewed here: https://cosm.legistar.com/meetingdetail.aspx?id=566184&guid=297ea433-6a70-4c98-aa45-44fceef43f87&options=info&search At the October study session, both the Planning Commission and City Council provided direction on community outreach, particularly to the underrepresented groups. As San Mateo demographics (i.e. age, education, income, ethnicity, etc.) have changed over the last few decades, traditional planning outreach efforts (i.e. workshops and meetings) need to be supplemented by other methods. An innovative, inclusive and well developed community outreach and engagement strategy will be expected as part of a successful proposal. 8
Section 3: Proposal Format and Content Proposals should be specific and concise, and should conform to the following outline to enable the City to provide consistent review of all proposals: 1. Title Page. a. Include the RFP subject, firm name, local address, telephone number, email address, contact name(s) and date. 2. Overview/Executive Summary a. This section should clearly convey the consultant s understanding of the nature of the project and the approach to be taken. This section should include but not be limited to the following: i. Purpose and organization of the study effort; ii. Summary of the proposed approach, including how the approach will develop a vision to be integrated within all aspects of the General Plan update; iii. A description of the consultant or team s experience in recent General Plan updates within the last three years in California, highlighting any within San Mateo County and the Bay Area with similar demographics and population size as San Mateo. 3. Detailed Work Plan a. This section should include the following: i. Project management team: describe the project management team, and identify the Project Manager (lead) and the day-to-day contact (back-up), and members of the project team. Provide the qualifications of team members and discuss their related work experience. To help maintain consistency among concurrent studies & efforts, the City reserves the right to swap out subconsultants. ii. Task descriptions: a full description of the steps to be followed in carrying out the work. This work description should be broken down into a sufficient level of detail (i.e. tasks, subtasks, etc.) to show a clear understanding of the work and the proposed approach; 9
iii. Public Outreach and Engagement Strategy: describe the community outreach and engagement strategy, and provide examples of successful engagement to citizens who have not engaged in public discourse on community planning efforts; minority or ethnic businesses and residents, and youth. Highlight team experiences with traditional outreach methods as well as use of technology. iv. Task Deliverables/Work Products: a description of the format, content and level of detail which can be expected in each deliverable; v. Decision-Making Flowchart: this shall show a recommended decision-making structure, which could include the City Council, Planning Commission, City staff, outside agencies, and the community; vi. Schedule: a schedule should accompany the work description showing the expected sequence of tasks and subtasks, with important milestones noted; vii. Consultant Team Personnel Hours: a breakdown of the anticipated personnel hours for the various General Plan tasks, including subconsultants, and also including mark-up factors which could apply. viii. City Support: provide a list and description of support that is needed from the City including items such as public noticing, project website management, photocopying, meeting logistics and coordination, etc. 4. Management Program a. This section should describe the consultant s management approach to the proposal. The expected distribution of the work among the firm s employees should be indicated. The management program should also describe: i. Organization: how the work assignments are expected to be structured; ii. Staffing: the names of key personnel, including supervisors and key technical support staff. Staffing assignments should be specific enough to demonstrate understanding of the skills required and the commitment of appropriate resources. Please also attach the resumes of the identified project team as an attachment, but please summarize the pertinent qualifications of each supervisor and key technical staff member in this section. To ensure project momentum and project consistency, the City is interested in ensuring key individuals remain through the entirety of the project; therefore, please indicate these individuals. These individuals would not be swapped out without prior City consent. iii. Management Approach: Please describe the role of the prime and subconsultants and any specific features of the management approach that require explanation. If subconsultants are being considered, please list their specific responsibilities and describe how they will be supervised. 10
5. Cost Proposal a. In your response, please provide a full description of the expected expenditure of funds for the proposed work. The cost breakdown should include, but is not limited to, the following: i. Task Budget: a breakdown of expenses by task and key personnel, to insure a full understanding of resources committed to this work. The task budget should also address the scope of work as described in this document and include any possible optional tasks; ii. Billing Rate Breakdown: Please provide a breakdown of billing rates (direct labor, overhead, fee, etc.). iii. Community Outreach: Provide a project budget, separating out the costs for the community outreach component as a specific category; 6. References and Questions a. List of References: provide a minimum of three and no more than five references for key and lead individuals on the Consultant Team, including the subconsultants. b. Sample Contract: A sample Professional Services Contract is provided for reference. If there are questions, please email them. If there are proposed changes, please submit them with your Proposal. c. Other Questions: Should you have any questions during the preparation of your proposal, please contact Julia Klein, Principal Planner, jklein@cityofsanmateo.org. Batch responses will be posted online. If you wish to receive email notification when response are posted, please let us know when you send in your questions. 11
SECTION 4: Consultant Selection Criteria and Process Responding firms will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 1. Quality of proposal; 2. Related and recent General Plan update experience in San Mateo County and the Bay Area; 3. Expertise and experience of the project team assigned to the project, and the in-house expertise, or the ability to work with subconsultants with expertise in areas as outlined in the scope of work; 4. Demonstrated experience with public participation and outreach and development of innovative strategies to encourage participation by traditionally underrepresented segments of the population; 5. Ability to work cooperatively with and be responsive to public agencies, Planning Commissioners, General Plan Subcommittee members, City Councilmembers, and City staff, as well as, ability to lead community discussions in contentious environments; 6. Demonstrated ability to stay on schedule and within a General Plan budget. 7. Availability and staffing to complete the project within the specified timeline; 8. Management approach to the project; 9. Proposed changes to the sample Professional Services Contract; and 10. Review of references. The top three to four proposals will be invited to an interview. The interview will help to clarify each proposal and the approach and qualifications for the project. Based upon the interview and evaluation of the proposals, the top-ranked consultant will be recommended to the City Council. Evaluation of RFP responses will be based upon the following: 1. Consultant Experience: 2. Success in developing similar plans and urban planning policies 3. Quality of representative projects 4. Qualifications of project team and key project managers 5. References 6. Quality of the response to this RFP including a demonstrated understanding of the attached 12
scope of work and an understanding of the, the issues facing the City, and challenges associated with planning for future growth in an urbanized setting. 7. Breadth of experience and innovation in community outreach and engagement strategy General Provisions and Conditions The City reserves the right to: 1. Reject any and all responses. 2. Negotiate with more than one consultant. 3. Waive minor irregularities in a response. 4. Cancel, revise, or extend this solicitation. 5. Request additional information on any response beyond that required by this RFP. 6. Modify the selection process set forth in this RFP upon written notification to all respondents who have not been rejected at the time of modification. 7. Request substitution of sub-consultants. Section 5: Submission Process Please submit ten (10) copies in 3-hole binders and one (1) digital PDF copy on a USB of your full proposal at your earliest convenience, but no later than Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. to: - CDD Attn: Julia Klein 330 West 20th Avenue San Mateo, CA 94403 The review committee will conduct interviews during the week of January 29, 2018 with the intent of providing a single recommendation for the review and approval of the City Council at a public hearing in March 2018. If there are team members who are not available for the interviews, please mention this in your proposal. 13
Section 6: Related Documents (Note: documents listed below are posted online on the General Plan RFP webpage located at: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/whatshappening) General Plan 2030 including all Elements, Appendix, and Maps (Zoning, Land Use, Building Height, Historic, Building Intensity), Measure P, Climate Action Plan, etc. General Plan 2030 o Building Height limitations are included in Appendix L - Measure P o Climate Action Plan Other Concurrent or Recent City Efforts: o Downtown Plan Update o Central Park Master Plan Update o San Mateo Parks and Recreation Facilities Strategic Plan o Downtown Parking Management Plan o Clean Water Program o Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Public Realm Plans: o Pedestrian Master Plan o Bicycle Master Plan o Sustainable Streets Plan Notable Development Related Resources: o Zoning Code o Planning Reference Library o Active Projects in the City (aka What s Happening) Sample Professional Services Contract including insurance requirements City Council Study Session on General Plan update (10/30/2017) Should you have any questions during the preparation of your proposal, please contact Julia Klein, Principal Planner, at (650) 522-7216 or email jklein@cityofsanmateo.org. Thank you! 14