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Planning and Building Department, Planning Division, Commercial Cannabis Unit, recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign Amendment II to competitively bid Agreement 4600 with Helix Environmental Planning Inc. for as-needed assistance with Commercial Cannabis current planning activities, including project management and analysis, permit entitlement, and California Environmental Quality Act compliance services, replacing Article XX, Conflict of Interest in its entirety, and, extending the term of the Agreement by three (3) years for a revised expiration date of December 9, 2028, with no changes in the agreement amount of $400,000 or the scope of work.
FUNDING: Applicant/Developer Funded.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On July 17, 2018, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors placed five (5) ballot measures on the ballot for the November 2018 election, which enabled voters to decide whether to allow different aspects of Commercial Cannabis and its taxation. The ballot measures named Measure N (taxation, permitting and enforcement of commercial cannabis), Measure P (commercial outdoor and mixed-light cultivation of cannabis for medicinal use), Measure Q (commercial outdoor and mixed-light cultivation of cannabis for recreational adult use), Measure R (retail sale, commercial distribution, and commercial indoor cultivation of cannabis for medicinal use), and Measure S (retail sale, commercial distribution, and commercial indoor cultivation of cannabis for recreational adult use) were passed by the voters. In response to the approved measures, County staff began studying various Commercial Cannabis permitting processes and found that many jurisdictions with efficient and effective permitting programs used a project management services firm.
In June of 2019, the Chief Administrative Office, Procurement and Contracts Division, issued Request for Proposals (RFP) for Commercial Cannabis Consulting Services. In accordance with the County’s Procurement Policy C-17, Section 7.9, Request for Proposal, proposals received by the advertised deadline were reviewed to make sure all the minimum, mandatory and administrative requirements of the RFP were met. There were five (5) qualified responses and representatives from the Planning and Building Department, Agriculture, Weights & Measures Department, and the Chief Administrative Office evaluated the responses and selected Helix Environmental Planning Inc. (Helix) as the most qualified proposer.
On December 10, 2019 (Legistar file 19-1549), the Board approved Agreement 4600 with Helix for On-call Land Use Planning Services to assist the Planning and Building Department (Department) with land use planning activities, including project management and analysis, permit entitlement, and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance services for Commercial Cannabis projects, with a not-to-exceed amount of $200,000, and a term of three (3) years.
On December 6, 2022 (Legistar file 22-1759), the Board approved Amendment I to Agreement 4600 with Helix Environmental Planning to continue assisting the Department with land use planning activities, including project management and analysis, permit entitlement, and CEQA compliance for Commercial Cannabis projects by increasing the compensation amount by $200,000 for a not-to-exceed amount of $400,000, adding a revised fee schedule, and extending the term of the Agreement by three (3) years for a revised expiration date of December 9, 2025, with not changes to the scope of work.
Based on the ongoing need for consultant services to review prospective Commercial Cannabis projects, staff are recommending that the Board consider and approve a second amendment to this Agreement. This proposed amendment extends the term of the Agreement by three (3) additional years for a revised expiration date of December 9, 2028, with no changes in the agreement amount of $400,000 or the scope of work. This Amendment will allow for the continuation of on-call project management services for Commercial Cannabis projects that require specific technical skills and have sensitive timeframes and schedules.
In addition to the changes noted above, other minor administrative changes to various articles were determined necessary and made throughout the Agreement. These changes included: updating the Notice to Parties Article to update the County’s notice recipients; updating the Contract Administrator Article to update the County’s Contract Administrator; replacing the article for Conflict of Interest in its entirety to address recent changes in state law and revised standard County contract language. Additionally, Exhibit C, California Levine Act Statement, has been incorporated into the Conflict of Interest Article to address Government Code section 84308 (SB 1439, the Levine Act), regarding campaign contributions by the contractor, if any, to any officer of the County.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board may choose not to approve this proposed Amendment; however, this would require that existing staff absorb the additional work needed to complete the processing of projects currently in progress. Existing planning staff are currently fully-tasked and an increased staff workload would result in delays to current and future projects.
In addition, current Planning staff do not have the environmental and technical expertise in processing these Commercial Cannabis applications. Helix’s experience in processing a broad range of development applications helps to ensure that the public, staff, the Board, and other stakeholders have the information necessary to evaluate and make decisions regarding the projects.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See Discussion/Background above.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel and Risk Management have approved the proposed Amendment.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no change to Net County Cost associated with this item. Funding for these services has been included in the Department’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, and funding for these services beyond Fiscal Year 2025-26 will be included in subsequent budgets accordingly.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) The Clerk of the Board will obtain the Chair’s signature on two (2) original copies of Amendment 2; and
2) The Clerk of the Board will forward one (1) fully-executed original of Amendment 2 to the Chief Administration Office, Procurement and Contracts Division, for further processing.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Aaron Mount, Planning Manager
Planning and Building Department