The City of Calexico (City) is requesting proposals from qualified individuals or firms of consultants to provide professional cannabis planning services for the Development Services Department. The city requests written responses to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for selection of on-call cannabis planning services consultant.

The assignments include but are not limited to, general cannabis planning-related development and land use project review, site visits, propose amendments to current cannabis ordinance, provide recommendations related to current cannabis policies, review all current and existing cannabis licenses, cannabis conditional use permits, and cannabis development agreements, provide recommendations to City Manager and city staff, provide services related to cannabis questions between the public/customers either at the public counter and/or remote customer services, technical plan check for cannabis planning documents and plans, map review, conformance with Federal, State and local regulations, particularly the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and general compliance with City Cannabis Standards, Ordinances, and Regulations. The selected consultant will contract for one year with optional extensions based on workload needs.

Purpose

The city is seeking a Cannabis Planning Consultant to work on-site or off-site either at City Hall or remotely according to the Development Services Department’s staffing needs under the direction of the City Manager and the Development Services Director.

Scope of Services

In general, the successful individual or firm will provide on-call cannabis planning consulting services for all types of cannabis related projects requiring entitlement processes. Services to be provided include, but are not limited to:

a) Develop and maintain good working relationships with other city departments, agencies, jurisdictions, and the general public.

b) Analyze cannabis projects for compliance with the City’s General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, CEQA, Subdivision Map Act, Design Guidelines, applicable specific plans, and other policies and regulations.

c) Review and process cannabis applications and cannabis discretionary entitlements, such as: Cannabis Plan Checks, Cannabis Zoning Clearances, Sign Permits, Conditional Use Permits, Variances, Design Review, Tentative Maps, and General Plan and Zoning amendments.

d) Meet with developers, designers, engineers, development professionals, property owners, contractors and other stakeholders to advise, explain processes, and suggest improvements regarding potential cannabis projects, cannabis development applications, cannabis conceptual development plans and cannabis code interpretations.

e) Prepare Planning Commission and City Council staff reports, resolutions, ordinances, conditions of approval, and give oral presentations related to cannabis projects.

f) Attend public hearings and community meetings regarding cannabis planning projects and activities as necessary.

g) Review projects and provide comments within timelines specified by the Permit Streamlining Act and City policies and procedures for cannabis projects.

h) Manage multiple cannabis projects while producing high quality work, maintaining timelines, and considering budget constraints.

i) Respond to telephone, e-mail, mail, or in-person regarding cannabis property zoning and/or Cannabis General Plan land uses, cannabis application submittal requirements, cannabis entitlement processes, etc.

j) Review current city cannabis policies and procedures.

k) Provide recommendations to the City Manager and city staff regarding cannabis projects, current ordinances, existing licenses, active licenses, cannabis code enforcement policies/ procedures and cannabis entitlement processes.

l) Propose amendments to current and existing cannabis ordinances and entitlement processes as per the city municipal code.

m) Review all existing cannabis conditional use permits, cannabis development agreements, cannabis projects, and provide recommendations based on cannabis review findings of existing projects, operations, and policies.

Deadline for Submittal

All proposals shall be submitted in hard copy and USB/(PDF) to the City Clerk:

Gabriela T. Garcia
City Clerk
City of Calexico
608 Heber Avenue
Calexico, CA 92231
760-768-2102
Email: ggarcia@calexico.ca.gov

Proposals must be received no later than Friday, March 31, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Any proposals received after that date and/or time will not be accepted.

RFP_for_Cannabis_Planning_Consultant_March_2023.pdf