This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Banning, California. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

The City anticipates that projects will involve mostly private development applications ranging from large-scale residential developments to industrial business parks. The City seeks firms capable of preparing Initial Studies, Negative Declarations, Mitigated Negative Declarations, Draft and Final Environmental Impact Reports (including responses to comment letters, Findings of Fact, Statement of Overriding Consideration, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Programs, Technical Studies), and Addendum of a previously adopted EIR, in accordance with CEQA requirements, as well as peer review services of these documents as needed. In addition, the City may require mitigation monitoring services to verify compliance with adopted mitigation measures for approved projects. Firms must have thorough knowledge of current CEQA and NEPA regulations for projects involving distribution of Federal Funds or requiring approval/authorization/coordination by/with a Federal Agency. All impacts including multi-species habitat, air quality, traffic, water quality, noise, greenhouse gas emissions, archeology and regional impacts must be thoroughly assessed and quantified and innovative, creative mitigation proposed. Full consideration of sustainability principles relevant to California and the Banning Pass Area shall be employed. Firms shall be expected to assist with noticing and filings. Firms may be required to attend Scoping Meetings, Workshops, Planning Commission, and City Council meetings to answer questions and defend their work. The preparation of sound, defensible environmental assessments is the goal, but also critical is the timely completion thereof. The City is looking to find firms that have full technical capabilities to handle the most complex cases, and other firms capable of analyzing less complex projects. The City exclusively reserves the right to select and assign a successful firm from the RFP process (or firms if desired) for each project as it determines is in the best interest of the City and the specific project. As the projects remain unapproved at this time and will vary in size and scope, there is no guarantee of work nor is there any implied or promised rotation method for project assignments. 4.2. SCOPE OF SERVICES The SCOPE OF SERVICES and principal responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following (all services may or may not be necessary on each project): All responsibilities of Lead Agency including: Preliminary Review; Preparation of Initial Studies, Environmental Impact Reports, and other CEQA/NEPA-related documents and notices/filings; Provide thorough analyses, sound reasoning and careful judgment when determining whether a project causes significant environmental effects; Establishing thresholds of Significance; and Making Mandatory Findings of Significance. Following decision to prepare a Negative Declaration (ND),Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), or Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI): Prepare Notice of Intent (NOI) and ND/MND and submit to City for review/approval; Circulate NOI to all parties as required by CEQA; Prepare ND/MND and submit to City for review; Review and respond to comments received during the comment period, if deemed necessary; Be available to present at Planning Commission and City Council meetings, if necessary; and Prepare and file Notice of Determination. Following determination that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)and/or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required: The EIR/EIS shall meet all the requirements set forth in the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code 21000 et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, section 15000 et seq.). and NEPA Guidelines. Identified impacts shall be designated as significant, insignificant, etc. pursuant to the criteria of CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines, and any thresholds or criteria used by the County, City, and NEPA. Indirect or secondary impacts of the project shall also be discussed and mitigation measures recommended. Mitigation measures should be described in detail and should be specific to the project. Two types of mitigation measures should be recommended: measures addressing impacts related to the primary impacts; and measures addressing impacts related to the secondary impacts associated with the proposed project. Mitigation Measures must be reasonable, enforceable, identify party responsible for implementation, and set a timeline or milestone for completion. The alternatives analysis, while mostly a qualified effort, shall make all efforts to use or cite existing applicable detailed information to make for as meaningful a comparison as possible to the proposed project. It will be the responsibility of the successful firm(s) or consultant(s) to determine the necessary staffing level required to perform the scope of services. The City will NOT provide dedicated workspace or office space, city staff or city resources, printing or copying services, or clerical assistance in the performance of this agreement. The City reserves the right to perform any portion of the scope of work with City personnel and/or by other Consultants. A comprehensive mitigation monitoring and reporting program, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 2108.6, shall be developed for applicable mitigation measures. The monitoring program shall incorporate both monitoring by the City and reporting by the developer, with subsequent report verification by on-site inspection, if necessary. The consultant shall be available for a "kick off" meeting and to meet with one or more of the City staff when given advance notice. The consultant shall anticipate attending two (2) scoping meetings (one before EIR work begins and one during Public Review period), and two (2) public hearings. The consultant shall be prepared to respond to questions, make presentations and/or participate in an advisory capacity during these meetings/hearings. The format for all text documents, tables, charges, and illustrations shall be 8 1/2" x 11" vertical. If oversize inclusions are necessary, they will be 11" x 17". Document covers for all related documents shall be coordinated so they appear as a "set". As much of the technical information as possible shall be placed in the appendices. Duplication of information of the EIR shall be avoided as much as possible. All hard copy administrative drafts, drafts, and final documents shall be two-sided, black ink, on white or light recycled stock paper. Electronic versions of the prepared documents should also be included in deliverables. Question Submission Deadline:March 18, 2025, 11:59pm