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BACKGROUND State Planning and Zoning law requires each city and county government to regularly update its General Plan Housing Element to address its share of the regional housing need (RHNA). The due date for Bay Area cities to submit their Housing Elements to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for the 2007 -2014 planning period (fourth Housing Element revision) was June 30, 2009. Due to the complexities of the Urban Habitat litigation, the City has not submitted its Housing Element. With the approval of the Settlement Agreement, the City is now ready to move forward with this project. The Settlement Agreement stipulates several deadlines for completion of the Pleasanton Housing Element, including: • Release to the public of a draft Housing Element site inventory by February 20, 2011 • Submittal of a draft updated Housing Element to the California Department of Housing Community Development (HCD) by August 16, 2011 • Completion of all rezoning and General Plan Amendments necessary to accommodate the City's RHNA prior to or concurrent with Housing Element adoption • Adoption of the updated Housing Element within 90 days of receiving comments from HCD Although City planning and housing staff will be involved in and directing all aspects of Housing Element preparation and public participation, because of the large amount of work stemming from the Settlement Agreement and the strict deadlines imposed by the agreement, staff believes consultant assistance is needed to ensure timely completion of the Housing Element project. CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS The City issued a Request for Proposal to planning consultants on July 20, 2010, and received seven responses by the August 6, 2010, deadline. Staff interviewed three highly qualified consultants and followed up with calls to references. Baird + Driskell Community Planning has extensive experience preparing Housing Elements for this round of revisions. Examples of recent Housing Elements include: City of Foster City, City of Martinez, Town of San Anselmo, Town of Moraga, City of Millbrae, City of Goleta, City of Morgan Hill, and the Town of Tiburon. The firm has worked closely with HCD staff, and Jeffrey Baird, Principal, has taught classes through UC Davis Extension with Cathy Creswell, Deputy Direction of HCD on Housing Element preparation. The draft Professional Services Agreement with Baird + Driskell is Attachment 1. PROPOSAL Baird + Driskell's proposed work scope and budget is included as Attachment 2. The scope of work outlines a public participation process which includes eight public meetings. Staff expects to work with Baird + Driskell to refine the scope of work and budget to reflect the City Council's direction regarding public participation and oversight Page 2 of 5