SunnyvaleRTC

July 20, 2004

SUBJECT: Award of Contract for Preparation of the 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan (F0408-02)

Every five years, the City must submit a Consolidated Plan (CP) for approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City’s current Consolidated Plan terminates on June 30, 2005; and the new plan is due to HUD by May 15, 2005. Approval is requested for the award of a contract to Cotton/Bridges/Associates of Sacramento to prepare the City's 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan for the Community Development Department Housing Division.

BACKGROUND

The Consolidated Plan is a required comprehensive planning document of a local government. The Consolidated Plan is designed to be a collaborative process whereby the City establishes a unified vision for community development actions. The Consolidated Plan must identify Sunnyvale's housing and community development needs, set priorities, and describe how HUD resources will be used for activities designed to meet needs. The Consolidated Plan encourages the City to shape the various housing and community development programs into effective, coordinated neighborhood and community development strategies and creates an opportunity for strategic planning and citizen participation to take place in a comprehensive context.

In addition to meeting the federal requirements and deadline for a Consolidated Plan, the process will include encouraging meaningful public participation in the Consolidated Plan process, especially by low- and moderate-income people and a broad consultation process with public and private agencies providing assisted housing, health services and social services. The Consolidated Plan is the City’s opportunity to provide a direct link between community goals and objectives and priority needs and should provide clear direction for future one-year Action Plans. Development of the plan will use the most current existing data to help determine housing, homeless, special population, community development, and human development needs.

EXISTING POLICY

The Consolidated Plan describes the City’s housing needs and market conditions. It is a Five-Year Strategy establishing priorities and identifying resources anticipated to be available to address the City’s priority needs. The Consolidated corresponds with the City’s Housing and Community Revitalization Sub-Element which contains a number of goals and policies related to affordable housing in the community.

Goal A: Foster the expansion of housing supply to provide greater opportunities for current and future residents within limits imposed by environmental, social, fiscal, and land use constraints.

Goal B: Move toward a local balance of jobs and housing.

Goal C: Ensure a high quality living and working environment.

Goal D: Maintain diversity in tenure, type, size, and location of housing to permit a range of individual choices for all current residents and those expected to become city residents.

Goal E: Maintain and increase housing units affordable to households of all income levels and ages.

Goal F: Improve Housing conditions for people with special needs.

Goal G: Provide equal opportunity for housing for all people regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, marital status, disability, gender, sexual orientation or age.

Goal H: Continue to maintain a working relationship with residential developers, lenders, real estate agents, brokers, and others in the private sector to help implement housing policies.

Goal I: Ensure compatibility of federal, State, regional, and countywide housing programs with local policies and needs.

DISCUSSION

On April 30, 2004, staff issued a Request for Proposals for a consultant to develop a Consolidated Plan for the City for Fiscal Years 2005-2010. Four qualified firms responded to the request, as follows:

Proposer Project Budget

D. R. Elrod and Associates of Santa Rosa, California $56,500

BBC Research & Consulting of Denver, Colorado $64,350

Cotton/Bridges/Associates of Sacramento $68,375

Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc., of Oakland $69,764

Proposals were evaluated by a panel of community development and housing experts from the Cities of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara and the County of Santa Clara. Although cost was important, proposals were evaluated, based on factors in addition to cost, including proposer's qualifications and experience, organizational structure and quality of work plan. Following this evaluation, the City's evaluation team unanimously selected Cotton/Bridges/Associates as the firm whose proposal offered the best value to the City. Of the four proposers, Cotton/Bridges/Associates has the most extensive experience and familiarity preparing Consolidated Plans for the larger California cities. In addition, they have their own in-house team and are regionally located. Staff, therefore, recommends that Council award a contract to Cotton/Bridges/Associates.

FISCAL IMPACT

Total cost to the City will be $68,375. The funding for this contract has been included in the FY 2004/2005 Adopted Budget for the Housing and Human Services Program and Project 824100 - Consolidated Plan Update which are funded by the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Grant.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that Council award a contract, in substantially the same form as the attached draft and in an amount not to exceed $68,375, to Cotton/Bridges/Associates to prepare the City's 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan.

Prepared by:

Elaine Wesely
Purchasing Officer

Reviewed by:

Mary J. Bradley
Director, Finance

Reviewed by:

Annabel Yurutucu
Housing Officer

Reviewed by:

Robert Paternoster
Director, Community Development

Approved by:

Amy Chan
City Manager

Attachments

Draft Consultant Services Agreement (pdf format)