TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David Chantarangsu, AICP, Development Services Director
PREPARED BY: Carl Stiehl, City Planner
SUBJECT: title
Approve the Second Amendment to the Agreement with RICK to Undertake Revisions to the City’s General Plan
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ABSTRACT
The City of Murrieta is advancing its multi-phase General Plan Update in coordination with its consultant, RICK, with funding structured across two phases to accommodate prior budgetary constraints. With initial tasks underway and early public engagement completed, staff recommends full funding of the remaining scope and a one-year contract extension to ensure completion of required CEQA analysis and newly added tasks. The project is anticipated to reach the hearing phase and substantial completion later in the year.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Approve the Second Amendment to the Agreement with RICK to prepare revisions to the General Plan with an amended Scope of Services to include additional tasks and increase the Agreement amount by $184,669, for a total not-to-exceed amount to $988,073;
Amend the Fiscal Year 2025/26 Operating Budget to establish an appropriation of $169,112 using General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance as detailed in the fiscal impact statement; and
Find that the proposed action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 for the reasons specified in this report.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On July 2, 2024, the City Council approved an Agreement with RICK in the amount of $412,961 to undertake revisions to the city’s General Plan (Vote: 5-0).
On March 4, 2025, the City Council approved the first amendment to an Agreement with RICK in the amount of $390,443, to fund environmental tasks and revisions necessary to update the General Plan for a total contract amount of $803,404 (Vote: 5-0).
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
The City Council’s goal of planning, programming and creating infrastructure development is associated with this Tier 1 project.
DISCUSSION
The City is in progress on a General Plan Update, working with a consultant team led by RICK. The City Council approved an agreement with RICK on July 2, 2024, to prepare the project, which include updates to multiple elements to align with new State laws, and the general incorporation of the Murrieta Hills Specific Plan Amendment throughout. The project was budgeted in two phases at the request of the city to the consultant team due to the city’s budget situation in early 2024. The first phase includes tasks 1-3 of the Scope of Services, and the second phase includes tasks 4-6. Tasks 1 through 3 encompassed project management, preparation of the draft and final General Plan, and public outreach; Tasks 4 through 6 encompassed additional project management, the project CEQA document, and an update to the City’s Climate Action Plan.
The project's total cost of $803,404 for Tasks 1-6 had to be distributed across various budgets rather than affecting the City's entire budget all at once. The first phase of the project’s $412,961 budget was approved and funded by the City to cover Tasks 1-3, with the initial agreement with RICK. Staff began work on the project with the consultant team in August 2024. The first amendment to the Agreement in 2025 funded Tasks 4-6. Additional tasks are being added under the Second Amendment, specifically Tasks 7 and 8, and the second phase of the General Plan Cleanup will now include Tasks 4 through 8. Therefore, staff recommends fully funding the remaining $184,669 of the project, which covers the remainder of the tasks from the added Scope of Work. The additional tasks are associated with traffic modeling stemming from certain road changes being evaluated in the Circulation Element, updating the City’s Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) metrics to General Plan intersections. The cost of this work is $98,635 and is further described in Attachment No. 2. The requested additional work to develop the Keyhole Overlay Zone standards is $86,034 and is described in Attachment No. 3.
Progress has been made on the project, and the first public input phase occurred in April 2025. Funding the second phase of the project is essential now, as staff and the consultant team need to proceed with Tasks 4-8 in this phase to complete the necessary work related to CEQA and the Keyhole Overlay Zone. The current Agreement expires this year. To complete the newly added tasks and bring the project to hearing, additional time is necessary. Staff proposes an additional one-year contract extension, with a new expiration date of July 2, 2027. Therefore, the proposal is to fully fund the second phase of the project, covering the remaining tasks identified in the updated Scope of Work, and allow for additional time to complete the project.
Regarding the next steps of the project, staff expect workshops with both the Planning Commission and City Council in the coming months. The project is scheduled for completion late this fall, with hearings before the Planning Commission for a recommendation and before the City Council for approval anticipated later in the year. Most of the work is anticipated to be completed before the end of the year, well before the current planned end date of the Agreement in 2027.
CEQA AND REGULATORY OVERVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed Second Amendment increases the contract amount by $184,669, bringing the total not-to-exceed contract amount to $988,073. To fully fund this agreement, staff recommends an amendment to the FY 2025/26 Operating Budget to establish an additional appropriation of $169,112 using General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance. If approved, the additional appropriation will be established in the General Ledger Account 1104400-60480.
ATTACHMENTS
ATT 1 - Second Amendment to the Agreement with RICK