Title
REF220020 - GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT 6TH CYCLE UPDATE
a. Consider approving Amendment No. 3 to Professional Services Agreement No. A-16047 with Harris and Associates, Inc., to include additional services associated with completion of the General Plan Housing Element 6th Cycle Update environmental review, and include additional services associated with completion of the Environmental Justice element and new services to concurrently amend the County’s Conservation and Open Space Element to comply with state law, adding $367,409 to the existing agreement for a new total not to exceed amount of $2,105,247 without change to the Agreement’s term; and
b. Consider authorizing the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) Director, or their designee, to execute up to three (3) future amendments to the Agreement, each extending the term by up to one year, where the total amendments do not significantly alter the scope of work, do not exceed ten percent (10% or $210,525) of the amended contract amount, and do not exceed the maximum aggregate amount of $2,315,771 subject to review by County Counsel.
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RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve Amendment No. 3 to Professional Services Agreement No. A-16047 with Harris and Associates, Inc., to include additional services associated with completion of the General Plan Housing Element 6th Cycle Update environmental review, and include additional services associated with completion of the Environmental Justice element and new services to concurrently amend the County’s Conservation and Open Space Element to comply with state law, adding $367,409 to the existing agreement for a new total not to exceed amount of $2,105,247 without change to the Agreement’s term; and
b. Authorize the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) Director, or their designee, to execute up to three (3) future amendments to the Agreement, each extending the term by up to one year, where the total amendments do not significantly alter the scope of work, do not exceed ten percent (10% or $210,525) of the amended contract amount, and do not exceed the maximum aggregate amount of $2,315,771 subject to review by County Counsel.
SUMMARY:
This Amendment No. 3 to the Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Harris and Associates, Inc. (A-16047), will expand the Scope of Work and budget previously approved and amended by the Board of Supervisors on September 27, 2022 and May 15, 2024, respectively, and further amended by the HCD Director on August 18, 2025, to: 1) amend Task 1 to add additional budget; 2) fully amend and replace Task 5 - Preparation of an Environmental Justice Element to add scope to comply with state law (SB 244) and additional budget; 3) amend Task 9 - Environmental Analysis (CEQA - Housing Element) to add scope and additional budget; 4) add a new Task 10 - Update to Conservation and Open Space Element scope and budget to comply with state law (SB 1425) and conduct this work in tandem with the updating the Safety Element and preparing an Environmental Justice Element; and 5) provide additional contingency for the remaining Agreement scope of work. See Attachment 1.
Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve an amendment to increase the PSA by $367,409 for a total not to exceed contract amount of $2,105,247, with no change to the contract term date.
DISCUSSION:
PSA and Amendment Overview
On October 5, 2022, the PSA was approved to provide professional services for updates to the County of Monterey’s (County) General Plan Housing Element and Safety Element, as well as the preparation of a new Environmental Justice (EJ) Element for a term of October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2025. On May 14, 2024, the PSA was amended to include the development of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the HEU6 and extended the term by two years to a new end date of September 30, 2027. An Amendment 2 to the PSA was approved on August 18, 2025, in response to additional effort needed for the Safety Element update and in response to comments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (CA HCD) on the HEU6. This Amendment 3 to the PSA is necessary to address continued project management and coordination and preparation of the County’s 6th Cycle Housing Element update in response to the CA HCD review of the draft HEU6, corresponding updates to the PEIR for HEU6, incorporate policies related to California Senate Bill 244 (passed in 2011) in the Environmental Justice Element, and update the County’s Conservation and Open Space Element in coordination with the Environmental Justice and Safety Element related to California Senate Bill 1425 (passed in 2022).
HEU6 and PEIR Update
The County has completed a third draft revision of the HEU6 in response to the CA HCD comment letter dated August 25, 2025. This revision addresses statutory requirements identified by CA HCD necessary to substantially comply with State Housing Element Law. The revised Housing Element third draft was made available for public review February 17, 2026 through February 24, 2026 for the required 7-day period before resubmittal to CA HCD. Review and response to public comments to the third draft revised HEU6 is underway and staff anticipates formally submitting the document to CA HCD in early March 2026.
The draft PEIR is underway, however, revisions made to the HEU6 have prompted additional analysis and updates to the PEIR, and added scope and funding in this Amendment 3 to the PSA are necessary to complete the PEIR. Staff anticipates the draft PEIR to be available for public review this spring 2026.
Staff anticipates that the final HEU6 and PEIR will come before the Planning Commission for recommendation to and before the Board of Supervisors for consideration by August 2026. To help ensure the HEU6 and PEIR continue to progress with top priority, Amendment 3 to the PSA provides contingency funds which may only be accessed with written consent of County staff and in response to unforeseeable or unanticipated circumstances that may arise.
EJ Element and Conservation and Open Space Element Update
The draft EJ Element is underway and staff anticipates release of a draft EJ Element for public review during March through April 2026. During that time staff plans to conduct a workshop at the Planning Commission in March along with boots-on-the-ground outreach in the County’s disadvantaged communities for public feedback through April.
Additional scope is being added with this Amendment 3 to partially address California Senate Bill 244 (2011) as part of the EJ Element. The State of California passed SB 244 in 2011 to require that jurisdictions update the land use element of its general plan on or before the next adoption of its housing element. This law requires the County to identify disadvantaged communities within the unincorporated county and provide an analysis of water, wastewater, stormwater drainage, and structural fire protection needs or deficiencies for each of the identified communities in the land use element of the General Plan. The land use element must also include an analysis of potential funding mechanisms that could make the extension of services and facilities to identified communities financially feasible. Although these updates are required in the County’s Land Use Element of the General Plan, the Environmental Justice Element includes an analysis of disadvantaged communities and general description of public services and infrastructure needs; therefore, the County would like to ensure the Environmental Justice Element is compliant with and encourages implementation of SB 244.
Amendment 3 to the PSA adds new scope to update the County’s Conservation and Open Space Element, in coordination with the EJ and Safety Elements, to partially address California Senate Bill 1425 (2022). The State of California passed SB 1425 in 2022 to require that jurisdictions update their open space element (i.e., Conservation and Open Space Element) by January 1, 2026. The law requires the County to include plans and an action program that address specified issues, including climate resilience and other co-benefits of open space, correlated with the safety element. The California Government Code was updated (Section 65565.5) requiring the County to address the following:
1. Access to open space for all residents in a manner that considers social, economic, and racial equity, correlated with the environmental justice element or environmental justice policies in the general plan, as applicable.
2. Climate resilience and other co-benefits of open space, correlated with the safety element.
3. Rewilding opportunities, correlated with the land use element.
Staff will incorporate future SB 244 and SB 1425 compliant updates to the Land Use Element as a future task on HCD’s Long Range Planning Work Program.
The California Department of Justice Attorney General’s Bureau of Environmental Justice routinely reaches out to cities and counties when they have questions about the status of local government’s general plan in relation to the statutory provisions that relate to environmental justice. The Bureau staff reached out to the County in December 2025, to discuss General Plan status for matters within its purview and share technical resources with the County. Staff met multiple times with Bureau staff to discuss the County’s implementation of various state environmental justice law within its General Plan, and will continue to coordinate with the Bureau staff as appropriate on these General Plan amendments.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Actions herein are not a “project” as defined in Public Resources Code sections 21065 and 21068. The actions would not have a substantial, or potentially substantial, adverse change in the environment
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT/COMMITTEE ACTIONS:
The Offices of the County Counsel and Auditor-Controller have reviewed and approved the amendment to the PSA as to form and legality, and fiscal provisions, respectively.
FINANCING:
The costs incurred on this project through February 28, 2026, total $1,475,037.41 (of which a total of $424,416 was reimbursed with funding from Regional Early Action Planning or “REAP” grant funds) with a remaining contracted amount of $262,800.59 (total not to exceed $1,737,838). With this Amendment 3, the total contract amount will increase by $367,409 for a new total of $2,105,247, leaving a new amended balance of $607,098.09. Anticipated expenditures in this Fiscal Year 2025-26 are $443,550.37, of which $373,787 is funded from Measure AA augmentation included in the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget for HCD Unit 8543, Appropriation Unit HCD002. The remaining $69,763.37 is funded using salary savings from the current fiscal year. Anticipated expenditures for next Fiscal Year 2026-27 are estimated at $300,000, and HCD submitted an augmentation request for this amount as part of the Department’s Requested Budget for FY 2026-27.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS:
Providing additional scope of work and budget toward efforts to update the County’s General Plan Elements (Housing Element; Safety Element; Conversation and Open Space Element) and prepare a new Environmental Justice Element, supports the Board of Supervisors Strategic Plan Goal for Well-Being and Quality of Life to create safe and healthy communities where all can thrive (Key Objectives: Housing; Services), by: 1) providing the plan, policies and programs to affirmatively further fair housing, protect existing affordable units, and accelerate housing production in unincorporate Monterey County; 2) including policies that improve the health and quality of life for Monterey County residents, especially those community members who experience a greater burden of health risks and have inadequate means to rehabilitate from disasters exacerbated by the effects of climate change through the Safety and EJ elements; and 3) adding policies addressing equitable access to open space and climate resilience and other co-benefits of open space through updates to the COS correlated with the EJ and Safety Elements.
_X__Well-Being and Quality of Life
____ Sustainable Infrastructure for the Present and Future
____ Safe and Resilient Communities
____ Diverse and Thriving Economy
Link to the Strategic Plan:
<https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showdocument?id=139569>
Prepared by: Melanie Beretti, AICP, Chief of Planning, 831-755-5285
Approved by: Craig Spencer, Director of Housing and Community Development
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment 1 - Amendment No. 3 to PSA with Harris and Associates, Inc. with Exhibit A-3
Attachment 2 - PSA with Harris and Associates, Inc.
Attachment 3 - Amendment No. 1 to PSA with Harris and Associates, Inc.
Attachment 4 - Board Order Agreement No. A-16047
Attachment 5 - Amendment No. 2 to PSA with Harris and Associates, Inc.
Attachment 6 - Board Order Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. A-16047