Title
Report regarding a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the professional services agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. to increase the contract authority by $50,120 for additional expenses and community outreach associated with the anti-displacement roadmap for an amount not to exceed $437,720 (Tony Rozzi, AICP, Deputy Economic and Community Development Director)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the professional services agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. to increase the contract authority by $50,120 for additional expenses and community outreach associated with the anti-displacement roadmap for an amount not to exceed $437,720.
Body
BACKGROUND
Anti-Displacement Effort
The City of South San Francisco adopted a comprehensive update to the General Plan in 2022 and received State certification for its 2023-2031 Housing Element in 2023. As stated in the General Plan, the City’s housing priorities include new housing production while preserving affordable housing and protecting vulnerable residents from housing instability and displacement. However, displacement does not only affect residential tenants. Displacement pressures have also impacted commercial tenants. As South San Francisco’s commercial areas continue to transform through rapid growth and changing development patterns, the General Plan prioritizes support for vulnerable commercial tenants, particularly in the Downtown area, which serves as the heart of the community and serves as a place for both small, local businesses and national chains.
During the outreach and community engagement phases of developing the 2040 General Plan and 2023-2031 Housing Element, displacement pressures were a top concern for both residential and commercial residents. Echoing this theme, in February 2023, City Council held its annual retreat to discuss the City’s priorities. At the retreat, Council directed staff to prepare an Anti-Displacement Roadmap, synthesizing in one document all of the City’s existing policies and programs to address commercial and residential displacement, gathering richer data on which to base decision making, conducting extensive community and stakeholder outreach, and preparing policy recommendations to strengthen the City’s anti-displacement strategies.
Consultant Contracting and Actions to Date
In January 2024, the national firm HR&A Advisors, Inc. was selected after a Request for Proposals and interview process and awarded a contract to prepare an anti-displacement roadmap in an amount not to exceed $387,600 ($337,075 base budget and $50,525 contingency), including gathering and analyzing data, conducting extensive community engagement, and providing policy recommendations for City Council consideration.
Since approval of the contract, HR&A and staff have completed recruitment of the Anti-Displacement Community Advisory Committee (CAC), conducted five CAC meetings, a pop-up event at the Lunar New Year Night Market, and prepared for two upcoming pop-up feedback events on May 15th (Martin Elementary School) and May 16th (Senior Health Fair at the Library and Parks and Recreation building).
In May 2024, HR&A executed the First Amendment to the contract to allow them access to sensitive financial information to assist with their commercial displacement analysis.
DISCUSSION
HR&A staff and their sub-consultant, Kearns & West lead the community engagement and outreach portion of the work. Engagement with our CAC has been outstanding - attendance is nearly perfect, the lived experience feedback has been insightful, and some CAC members joined the last pop-up event at the Lunar Night Market.
During the initial contracting process, staff identified a calculation error that omitted a $15,000 line item for HR&A (Commercial program and policy audit) and requested that a Kearns & West principal lead the effort given their excellent communication. Additional City staff requests increased the contract amount up to the total base contract with contingency and a $32,120 additional cost. Given that these additional costs have been planned for with the approved budget request from FY 2024-25, there is no additional budget-related request being made. The scope of staff’s request for City Council approval is only for additional contracting authority.
FISCAL IMPACT
The project is fully funded and there is no additional budget request. To recap funding, however:
• The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Operating Budget included $200,000 in appropriations in Fund 270, the General Plan Maintenance Reserve, to initiate the Anti-Displacement Roadmap work.
• The FY 2024-25 Operating Budget used Fund 823, Commercial Linkage Fees, to complete funding for the project’s original $387,600 budget AND identified project costs that increased or were miscalculated for a total of $419,720.
• The remaining requested budget authority of $18,000 for a total of $437,720 will be funded through existing allocated monies.
• There is no additional funding request and no fiscal impact to the City’s General Fund from adopting the recommended resolution.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
This contract assists in supporting the City’s effort to prevent commercial and residential displacement.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Second Amendment to the professional services agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. to increase the contract authority by $50,120 for additional expenses and community outreach associated with the anti-displacement roadmap for an amount not to exceed $437,720; there is no associated budgetary request.