RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY – M. CHAMBLESS, INTERIM RMA DIRECTOR 

Approve EMC Planning Group EIR Contract Amendment No. 3. for Ridgemark Master Plan PLN170008 to add services by the contractor and its subcontractors to provide updated analysis related to project changes, including 38 affordable housing units, a changed intersection, and clarification to the project’s commercial component.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 790

The applicant has an executed reimbursement agreement with the County to cover the costs incurred for the preparation of the EIR. EMC Planning Group is under contract with the County to prepare the EIR. An EIR Notice of Preparation was circulated for public review and a public scoping meeting was held last year.  Changes to the project description warranted a second Notice of Preparation, published in September for additional public agency comments and general public comments.  These project changes involved the addition of 38 below-market-rate housing units, an additional intersection allowing access to the Promontory project to Ridgemark’s south, and clarification to proposed commercial uses.  The administrative draft EIR (ADEIR) was under preparation following the first notice, and further preparation informed by the second notice will take the project changes and additional comment into account.

The current contract amendment would address the additional analysis by EMC and its subcontractors in response to the project changes.  The subconsultants are Hexagon Transportation Consultants, which will revise analysis of vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and level of service (LoS), and WJV Noise Consultants, performing additional acoustical analysis.  EMC will incorporate these analyses in the EIR in addition to revising and augmenting its own EIR preparation to reflect the changes.

The current and prior contract amendment requests are part of the process to develop an adequate analysis to describe and disclose the potential environmental effects of the project.  The prior amendment addressed additional analysis needs revealed by detailed project study, and the present amendment requests similarly addressed needs resulting from the project’s current changed status.  This amendment would add $72,829.50 to the contract cost, with $412,309.50 as the resulting total contract cost.  The County’s contract is funded by a reimbursement agreement between the County and the developer.

This agenda item contains a letter from the EIR consultant requesting the contact amendment.  Planning staff believes that expresses the purpose of the request.  The Notice of Preparation that was published and circulated in September announces the preparation of the EIR and further explains the current status of project design.  The contract amendment is necessary for the consultant to complete the EIR including addressing recent project changes that fell outside the prior contract amendments.  Among the changes are a lot-layout redesign responding to geological concerns and preparing an affordable-housing component compliant with the County Code chapter on that topic.  The EIR is a necessary component of project review that would disclose to the public any environmental effects of the project.  All of this staff and consultant activity is subject to a reimbursement agreement that places responsibility on the applicant to fund the contract.

• Original Contract:  $292,435.00 (executed April 16, 2019)
• Amendment #1:  $0.00 (Contract Term Extension on June 2, 2020)
•  Amendment #2:  $47,045.00 (executed February 9, 2021)