To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Rich Stabler, Senior Environmental Specialist (707) 565-8352
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Award of Contract to Assist in the Development of a Habitat Conservation Plan/ Natural Communities Conservation Plan for Sonoma County
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a resolution authorizing the Director of Permit Sonoma to execute a contract for consulting services to ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc. for Fiscal Years (FY) 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, in the amount of $816,753.75 in a form approved by County Counsel, to assist the County in completing phase 1-2 of the Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan development process.
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Executive Summary:
At the prior direction of the Board of Supervisors (Board), Permit Sonoma has obtained federal funding to hire a consultant to assist in the preparation of a Habitat Conservation Plan /Natural Communities Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP). An HCP/NCCP for Sonoma County will create a mechanism for ensuring compliance with State and federal endangered species laws and provide a County-wide mitigation process which will enable the County to assume local mitigation authority for a more transparent, efficient, and predictable permitting processes within Sonoma County. After a competitive procurement process, Permit Sonoma recommends contracting with ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc., a consulting firm very highly experienced in advancing such planning efforts.
On July 12, 2022, the Board accepted a grant project from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and administered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which will assist in funding Phase 1-2 of the HCP/NCCP planning process. The consultant will assist the County with 1) the logistics of managing a community/stakeholder engagement and science advisory panel over the project term; 2) preparation of multiple required HCP/NCCP technical reports which will form the scientific and policy foundation for future phases, and 3) overall project management tasks. Subsequent HCP/NCCP project phases involve preparation of administrative and public drafts, state and federal permit documents, completion of environmental review documents (CEQA, NEPA) and preparation of a final HCP/NCCP.
Staff recommends awarding a contract to ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc. in the amount of $816,753.75.
Discussion:
On June 25, 2019, the Board adopted a resolution to approve the FY 2019-2020 budget that allocated to Permit Sonoma $300,000 to fund preliminary steps toward the development of an HCP/NCCP. This work resulted in the completion of Technical Report - Sonoma County Habitat Conservation Plan: Preliminary Strategic Planning (Preliminary Report) which provided an overview of the overall HCP/NCCP process and discussed and provided initial analyses of the four main determinations that would be addressed during the initial phases of HCP/NCCP development: the geographic scope of a plan, the permittees who can use the plan, the activities regulated by the plan, and the species covered by the plan. Of this $300,000, as of this date, a balance of $250,503.75 remains. As described below, the Board allocated $188,750 of this balance towards the required 25% match leaving a balance of $61,753.75.
The Preliminary Report suggested: 1) that there may be advantages to a pursuing a County-wide plan (perhaps only excluding the coastal zone and San Francisco Bay salt marshes); 2) that in addition to the County itself, other potential permittees could include cities and special districts; 3) regulated activities could include most County development permit types (use, grading, building, zoning, etc.) as well as County public projects; and 4) that a list of 15-25 covered species could be justified (rather than just the four federally listed species in the Santa Rosa Plains critical habitat area).
In February 2021, Permit Sonoma and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) jointly applied for a federal financial assistance through the Section 6 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) to fund the first phases of an HCP/NCCP development process for Sonoma County and on October 31, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) awarded a grant entitled Non-Traditional Section 6 (FY2021) Sonoma County Regional Habitat Conservation Plan (Attachment 1). Subsequently, CDFW notified the County that it would award a subgrant to the County in the amount of $755,000.00 of which the County’s share is $188,750 (25%). This grant funds the initial planning and preparation of a HCP/NCCP including Phase 1, which will implement a Community/Stakeholder Engagement and Science Advisory Panel and prepare multiple required technical reports and plans, which form the scientific and policy foundation for subsequent HCP/NCCP phases. In order to complete subsequent phases of HCP/NCCP development, Permit Sonoma will need to successfully complete its current grant and seek additional Section 6 funding. It should be noted that once USFWS and CDFW begin funding an HCP/NCCP process, they typically continue funding for subsequent phases contingent obtaining necessary legislative budget appropriations.
In accordance with the current grant requirements, on March 30, 2023, the County released a Request for Proposals to solicit proposals from qualified consultants to assist the County in its preparation of an HCP/NCCP. The proposal submission deadline was May 3, 2023. The County received a total of two proposals and evaluated them based on the following criteria:1) ability to provide services; 2) experience; qualifications and expertise; 3) quality of prior work; 4) cost; 5) history of providing similar services; 6) willingness to accept County’s contract terms; and 7) addressing NCCP requirements in addition to HCP requirements.
Based on this evaluation, staff is recommending that ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc. be awarded the contract to implement Phase 1-2 of the HCP/NCCP project.
Strategic Plan:
There are no specific Strategic Plan goals or objectives that relate to this project.
Prior Board Actions:
June 14, 2019: FY 2019-20 Budget Hearings, Adopted Resolution 19-0268 Permit Sonoma was allocated $300,000.00 for this project.
July 12, 2022: Adopted Resolution 2022-0440 authorizing the Director of Permit Sonoma to execute a grant agreement in the amount of $755,000.00 with CDFW and allocating $188,750.00 from the remaining $250,503.75 of the original $300,000.00 set aside to meet the local cost share of this grant.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$816,753.75 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
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$816,753.75 |
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Funding Sources |
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|
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General Fund/WA GF |
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$250,503.75 |
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State/Federal |
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$566,250.00 |
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Fees/Other |
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|
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
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$816,753.75 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The total contract cost is $816,753.75 and is funded by a combination of a CDFW subgrant ($566,754) and County General Fund previously approved by the Board during FY 2019-20 budget hearings. Resolution 19-0268 approved $300,000 to Permit Sonoma for the California Tiger Salamander (CTS) regulatory permitting and mitigation effort from Fed, State, Regional, and Local Governments to better achieve conservation goals while streamlining permitting processes. Of the $300,000, $188,750 will be used for the County’s 25% local match and $61,754 will fund the balance of the contract cost. A budget adjustment will be included in the FY2023-24 Q1 Consolidated Budget Adjustments to transfer the funding approved during FY 2019-20 Budget Hearings.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Not applicable |
NA |
0 |
0 |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Existing staff from the Permit Sonoma’s Natural Resources Division will implement this project, manage the grant, and oversee the contractor, with assistance from the Comprehensive Planning Division. There will be no negative impact on existing staff.
Attachments:
Att 1 Board of Supervisors Resolution
Att 2 Technical report - Sonoma County Habitat Conservation Plan: Preliminary Strategic Planning
Att 3 Proposal from ICF Jones & Stokes, Inc.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A