Title
Report regarding a resolution authorizing the City Manager or authorized designee to enter into a services agreement with Bureau Veritas Technical Assessments LLC to deliver the Americans with Disabilities Act Self Evaluation and Transition Plan in an amount not to exceed $281,127.58 (Rich Lee, Assistant City Manager)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager or authorized designee to enter into a services agreement with Bureau Veritas Technical Assessments LLC.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires local governments to ensure that city facilities, services, programs, activities, and communications are accessible to people with disabilities. A self-evaluation and transition plan is one of the primary tools that cities use to identify barriers, set priorities, assign responsibility, estimate costs, and establish a practical schedule for accessibility improvements. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) describes self-evaluation as an important way for cities to identify the facilities, programs, and services that must be modified or relocated to comply with the ADA.
The City of South San Francisco’s current ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan was last issued in May 2014. Since that time, the City’s facilities, parks, public rights-of-way, programs, services, and digital communications have continued to evolve. In addition, federal accessibility expectations have advanced, including the DOJ’s 2024 Title II rule establishing specific accessibility requirements for state and local government web content and mobile applications, and the U.S. Access Board’s final Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines, which address pedestrian access routes, curb ramps, crossings, transit stops, and related public right-of-way elements.
Updating the ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan (SETP) is therefore both a compliance measure and a service-delivery improvement. The updated SETP will allow the City to move from an outdated inventory to a current, citywide roadmap that reflects existing conditions, current standards, community input, and realistic implementation costs. The City’s Request for Proposals (RFP) called for a comprehensive evaluation of ADA accessibility compliance across City facilities, programs, services, and communications, resulting in a formal ADA Transition Plan with estimated costs for addressing identified barriers and presentation to the City Council for adoption.
The RFP also required the selected consultant to identify accessibility barriers, review City policies and procedures, recommend methods to remove or reduce barriers, conduct ADA compliance evaluations, and prepare the City’s updated ADA SETP. The final plan is expected to include findings, recommended remedial measures, cost estimates, implementation schedules, monitoring procedures, procedures for future updates, accommodation request forms, and identification of the official or officials responsible for implementation.
The RFP was issued on January 14, 2026. The RFP was downloaded 41 times and received five (5) timely responses. The firms were rated on the following criteria:
• Knowledge and understanding (30 points)
• Management approach and staffing plan (20 points)
• Qualifications of the proposer firm (20 points)
• Presentation of a concise and responsive proposal (20 points)
• Cost (10 points)
A review panel, comprised of the Assistant City Manager, Parks and Recreation Director, Director of Capital Projects, and Principal Engineer conducted scoring as shown by average for each criterion in Table 1 for the preliminary review process to identify the top firms to invite to the interview round.
Table 1 - Preliminary Review Scores
|
Firm |
Knowledge and understanding (30 points) |
Management approach and staffing plan (20 points) |
Qualifications (20 points) |
Concise and responsive proposal presentation (20 points) |
Cost (10 points) |
Total Score (Max Score: 100) |
|
ACI Consulting Architects |
17.3 |
12 |
10.8 |
13.3 |
8.3 |
61.5 |
|
Bureau Veritas Technical Assessments LLC |
26.8 |
19 |
19.3 |
16.8 |
6.5 |
88.25 |
|
Matrix Design Group, Inc. |
25.8 |
15.8 |
16.3 |
15.3 |
8.5 |
81.5 |
|
PIM CS LLC |
25.8 |
16 |
16.8 |
16.3 |
6.5 |
81.25 |
|
SZS Engineering Access, Inc |
25 |
16 |
17.5 |
13.3 |
2.5 |
74.25 |
The top three firms from the preliminary review, Bureau Veritas Technical Assessments LLC (Bureau Veritas), Matrix Design Group, Inc., and PIM CS LLC were invited to interview, which took place on April 27, 2026. As shown in Table 2, the same staff members that participated in the preliminary review served as the panel to interview the top firms and rated each firm on the same criteria as the preliminary round after the interview.
Table 2 - Evaluation Panel Scores
|
Firm |
Knowledge and understanding (30 points) |
Management approach and staffing plan (20 points) |
Qualifications (20 points) |
Concise and responsive proposal presentation (20 points) |
Cost (10 points) |
Total Score (Max Score: 100) |
|
Bureau Veritas Technical Assessments LLC |
29.25 |
18.75 |
19.5 |
18.5 |
8 |
94 |
|
Matrix Design Group, Inc. |
25.25 |
16.25 |
16.75 |
15.25 |
7.5 |
81 |
|
PIM CS LLC |
26.25 |
17 |
16.75 |
16.5 |
7 |
83.5 |
Following the City’s procurement process, staff conducted scope negotiations with Bureau Veritas to account for park and facility assessments that were previously completed as a part of the existing ADA SETP. Bureau Veritas submitted a revised scope and fee in response to the scope negotiations. Bureau Veritas’ proposals are included as Attachments 1 and 2, respectively. The revised proposal notes that the City’s prior public right-of-way data is not usable for the updated plan and that older 2014 facility and park data should not be relied upon as the basis for a 2026/2027 transition plan without substantial verification. Bureau Veritas proposed to incorporate existing barrier data where appropriate, while recognizing that some barriers may have been removed and new barriers may now exist. The revised lump-sum fee is $281,127.58, which is a reduction of $77,590.31 compared to Bureau Veritas’ original proposal that provided for a fee of $358,717.89.
Bureau Veritas’ proposed approach aligns with the City’s need for a practical, implementation-focused plan. The scope includes assessment of public building facilities, parks and related sites, public rights-of-way, programs and policies, public outreach, and website accessibility review. In its proposal, Bureau Veritas identifies the City’s requested inventory as including 48 public building facilities, 104 parks, medians, and parking lots, approximately 577,840 linear feet of sidewalks, and 113 traffic signals.
The proposed work will result in more than a list of deficiencies. Bureau Veritas will document barriers, provide photographs and location information, identify applicable code references, recommend corrective actions, assign priorities, and provide order-of-magnitude cost estimates. This information will allow the City to integrate accessibility improvements into capital planning, maintenance programs, grant opportunities, and future budget decisions. Bureau Veritas also proposes to provide data in formats that can be used by City staff, including reports, spreadsheets, GIS-compatible public right-of-way data, and a database tool for tracking barrier removal over time.
The update is especially important because ADA compliance is not limited to physical access. A modern transition plan must also address whether residents, visitors, employees, and program participants can meaningfully access City services, public meetings, recreation programs, emergency procedures, forms, communications, and online information. Bureau Veritas’ proposal includes program and policy review, public outreach, and website accessibility review, which will help ensure the plan reflects how people interact with City services.
Bureau Veritas brings substantial experience with ADA assessments and transition plans for California public agencies. Its proposal states that the firm has 22 Certified Access Specialist (CASp) professionals and has performed ADA-related work for numerous local and regional public agencies, including Mountain View, Tracy, Alameda, Napa, West Covina, Rancho Cucamonga, and other California jurisdictions. Bureau Veritas also provided comparable project examples, including ADA transition plan work involving facilities, parks, public rights-of-way, policies, programs, practices, cost estimates, and implementation planning.
Awarding this contract will allow the City to replace its 2014 plan with a current, defensible, and actionable roadmap for improving accessibility over time. The updated plan will support the City’s ongoing commitment to equitable access, help prioritize limited public resources, reduce uncertainty in future capital planning, and provide the City Council and community with a transparent framework for addressing accessibility barriers in a phased and fiscally responsible manner.
The ADA SETP is a component of the City’s Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability Plan and upon completion, will inform the City Council and the South San Francisco community what the City’s needs are with respect to ADA compliance.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of the contract with Bureau Veritas is $281,127.58. As a member of PLAN JPA, the City has $59,428 in available risk mitigation grant funds that can be used to offset the cost of the contract. While the City Manager’s Office fiscal year 2026-27 operating budget can absorb the remaining $221,699.58 in cost, staff will evaluate year-to-date trends at mid-year to determine if additional budget appropriations are necessary.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES ACTION PLAN
The ADA SETP is a component of the Key Strategy of Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability Plan, within the Major Focus Area of Modern and Sustainable Organization of the 2026 City Council Priorities Action Plan.
CONCLUSION
Adoption of the accompanying resolution authorizes the City Manager or authorized designee to enter into contract with Bureau Veritas to allow the City to update its ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan with a current, comprehensive, and actionable roadmap for improving accessibility across City facilities, parks, public rights-of-way, programs, services, and communications. This work will support the City’s commitment to equitable access, strengthen compliance with ADA requirements, and provide a practical framework for prioritizing improvements in a fiscally responsible manner over time.
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
26-2002 Resolution
Attachments
1. Bureau Veritas original proposal
2. Bureau Veritas revised proposal