Title
Report regarding a resolution approving a Third Amendment to the Raimi + Associates Consultant Services Agreement to expand the scope of work to include a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of the City’s energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions for all city municipal buildings and increasing the contract in an amount not to exceed $20,000. (Christina Fernandez, Chief Sustainability Officer)
label
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve the resolution approving the Third Amendment to the Raimi + Associates Consultant Services Agreement expanding the scope of work to include a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of the City’s energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions for all city municipal buildings and increasing the contract in an amount not to exceed $20,000.
Body
BACKGROUND
A General Plan is the local government’s long-term blueprint for the community’s vision of future growth. Each city is required by California law to have a General Plan to guide its future land use decisions. South San Francisco’s last comprehensive General Plan update occurred in 1999, with the last significant amendment in 2015 to incorporate the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan.
Raimi + Associates were selected on March 27, 2019, as the City’s General Plan consultant team. The RFP scope included preparation of the General Plan Update, Zoning Code Update and Environmental Impact Report for an initial amount of $2,660,299.
The City is two years into a comprehensive update to the General Plan which will serve as a forward-looking document providing the blueprint for the City’s vision through the year 2040. The General Plan will address future land use, growth, all modes of transportation, housing, safety, conservation, open space and parks, noise, public health and social equity, sustainability, sea level rise and economic development.
The City Council selected a Preferred Land Use Scenario in November 2020. Following this, staff initiated work on the policy elements of the General Plan, the Zoning Ordinance update, CEQA review process, and the topic of this meeting, the Climate Action Plan update.
In September 2021, City staff and the consultant team provided an update on the Climate Action Plan update process and an overview and discussion on the following:
• Overview, Purpose and Objectives of Climate Action Plan
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) - Current Inventory and Forecast of Future Emissions
• GHG Emission Reduction Targets
• GHG Measures + Reduction Analysis
• Questions for Discussion
On July 31, 2020, the City amended the agreement with Raimi + Associates to include additional work relating to the Commission on Racial and Social Equity in an amount not to exceed $149,844 paid out of the project contingency funds. On February 24, 2021, City Council directed staff to explore various options relating to Single Family uses for the General Plan Update and to accomplish this, a Second Amendment in the amount of $629,762 and an additional $150,000 in contingency funds were approved by Council. A third amendment is proposed to expand the scope of work to include a benchmarking analysis of the City’s energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions of municipal buildings for an amount not to exceed $20,000. These funds were appropriated in the City Manager’s budget for sustainability initiatives.
DISCUSSION
Data driven decisions remove implicit bias and builds trust within our agency and our community. To provide the best data, benchmarking our current usage and emissions is imperative. Current efforts for a comprehensive inventory of our energy and water usage have been piecemeal and dependent on various agencies.
As a part of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), the City has obtained a GHG emissions inventory and a forecast of future emissions. In addition, Raimi + Associates have analyzed and provided GHG emission reduction targets, and a GHG measures and reductions analysis.
However, to get more granular data on the emissions specific to city buildings, a more in-depth analysis is necessary. An inventory of our energy and water usage sets the baseline for tracking and measuring progress as we implement measures to meet the state mandate of carbon neutrality by 2045.
Raimi + Associates’ scope of work will be amended to include a comprehensive benchmarking study consisting of:
A. Energy, Water, and GHG Data Requests and Collection
B. Data Analysis and GHG Inventory
C. Summary Report
D. Climate Action Plan Integration
The information received from this comprehensive report will serve two purposes: it will help guide decisions related to future climate action goals and it allows for more transparency as the City tracks our Climate Action Planning goals with a planned website. The benchmarking analysis will be integrated into existing Climate Action Plan efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT
A comprehensive benchmarking study is estimated to cost approximately $20,000. These funds have been appropriated in the City Manager’s office budget.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
A comprehensive benchmarking analysis of the City’s energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions meets the City’s strategic goals of building, maintaining, and planning for a sustainable city.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the City Council approve the resolution approving the Third Amendment to the Raimi + Associates Consultant Services Agreement expanding the scope of work to include a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of the City’s energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions for all city municipal buildings and increasing the contract in an amount not to exceed $20,000.