Active SLED Opportunity · CALIFORNIA · ENGINEERING

    City of Vista Climate Action Plan Update

    Issued by Engineering
    cityRFPEngineeringSol. 247510
    Open · 7d remaining
    DAYS TO CLOSE
    7
    due Apr 30, 2026
    PUBLISHED
    Mar 25, 2026
    Posting date
    JURISDICTION
    Engineering
    city
    NAICS CODE
    541620
    AI-classified industry

    AI Summary

    The City of Vista seeks consulting teams to update its Climate Action Plan, focusing on greenhouse gas reduction targets, community engagement, and integration with the Citys General Plan 2050. This grant-funded project requires timely completion by June 2029.

    Opportunity details

    Solicitation No.
    247510
    Type / RFx
    RFP
    Status
    open
    Level
    city
    Published Date
    March 25, 2026
    Due Date
    April 30, 2026
    NAICS Code
    541620AI guide
    Jurisdiction
    Engineering
    Agency
    Engineering

    Description

    The City of Vista is requesting proposals from qualified consulting teams to provide professional services for the preparation of a Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update.

    The CAP Update project will create a forward-thinking roadmap for climate action in Vista that aligns with local priorities and broader environmental mandates, and will prepare Vista for future climate challenges.  This plan aims to achieve Vista’s goals for a safe, connected, and environmentally sustainable future by engaging with the community, building upon current and projected local, regional, and state climate action work and legislation, and developing modern, specific, and quantifiable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, measures, and goals.

    The CAP Update project will chart a progressive path forward for Vista to achieve its climate action objectives by developing a new GHG inventory, producing detailed near- and long-term GHG emissions forecasts, and linking its strategies to the City’s General Plan 2050.  The measures developed in the CAP Update project will incorporate stakeholder and community engagement, a cost-benefit analysis to assess implementation feasibility, and considerations for GHG reduction potential, available funding, and equity.

    Consulting firms should be informed that this is a grant-funded project and time is of the essence.  As part of the grant award, the grant funding is set to expire by June 2029. 

    Background

    Please review the attached RFP Document for the full background and project details.

    Project Details

    • Department: City Manager
    • Department Head: John Conley (City Manager)

    Important Dates

    • Questions Due: 2026-04-07T21:00:00.000Z
    • Answers Posted By: 2026-04-15T21:00:00.000Z

    Addenda

    • Addendum #1 (released 2026-04-08T14:07:12.814Z) —

      Addendum 1 - Revising the language in the Vendor Questionnaire in Opengov regarding Fee Proposal.

    Evaluation Criteria

    • Project Understanding (30 pts)

      Demonstrated understanding of the project requirements, degree of creativity and innovation demonstrated with respect to the project approach and scope of work, and reasonableness of the schedule for the work, and how the time and funding have been allocated to specific tasks

    • Responsiveness to Client’s Needs (20 pts)

      Familiarity with city, state, and federal requirements and procedures; the required grant timeline; and thoroughness and completeness of proposal in response to RFP.

    • Firm’s Experience with Similar Projects (20 pts)

      Technical experience of the project team in performing work of a closely related nature, experience working with public agencies, and a record of completing work on schedule and within budget.

    • Staff and Project Experience (15 pts)

      Qualifications of project team staff members, key personnel’s level of involvement in performing related work, logic of project organization, and adequacy of labor commitment.

    • Quality of Work Product (15 pts)

      Demonstrated technical ability based on relevance and quality of sample work product(s).

    Submission Requirements

    • Proposal (required)

      Please upload your complete proposal here

    • Fee Proposal

      Please upload your complete Fee Proposal here.

    • Sample Work Products

      Please upload sample work products here (if not included in the complete proposal).

    • Bid Bond (required)

      Upload your Bid Bond Here

    • W-9 (required)

      Please upload your W-9 Here.

    • Pricing Table (required)

      Will you be requesting they respond to a Pricing table you build in ProcureNow? Or will you attach a spreadsheet they upload? Or will you ask them to include a pricing sheet that they can format how the bidder sees fit?

    • Bid Bond (required)

      Will the bidder be required to upload a Bid Bond?

    • Evaluation Criteria (required)

      Do you want to define an Evaluation Criteria upfront?

    Questions & Answers

    Q (No subject): Can the City clarify whether the Work Plan (including project understanding and methodology) is required to be included within the 10-page proposal limit?

    A: Yes, the Work Plan is included in the 10-page proposal limit; however, if the Work Plan cannot be condensed to the page limit, more detail can be provided in an exhibit. Please refer to the Requirements section starting on page 6 of the RFP for details.


    Q (No subject): The SOQ requests resumes for key prime and subconsultant personnel; can the City confirm whether these resumes are included within the 10-page limit, or if additional resumes may be provided in an appendix?

    A: Resumes can be provided in an exhibit. Please refer to the Requirements section starting on page 6 of the RFP for details.


    Q (No subject): Does the City intend for consultants to provide a detailed narrative of the full scope of work (including responses to all Appendix A tasks) within the 10-page limit, or should a more summarized approach be provided with additional detail in appendices or later negotiation?

    A: Proposals should include as much detail as possible in the 10-page limit, but if the narrative cannot be condensed to the page limit, more detail can be provided in an exhibit. Please refer to the Requirements section starting on page 6 of the RFP for details.


    Q (No subject): Can the City clarify the level of detail required for demonstrating financial responsibility? Specifically, is a brief narrative sufficient, or are supporting financial documents expected as part of the proposal submission?

    A: For the proposal, a brief narrative is sufficient for demonstrating financial responsibility.


    Q (No subject): Can the City clarify expectations for the vulnerability assessment and adaptation components of the CAP Update? Should the consultant prepare a new, comprehensive vulnerability assessment (e.g., including analysis of at-risk populations, infrastructure, and climate hazards), or build upon and summarize existing City documents and prior analyses?

    A: The consultant should be prepared to analyze and build upon existing City documents, but conduct new vulnerability assessments and adaptation components where necessary.


    Q (No subject): Can the City clarify whether providing links to completed project reports is sufficient to meet the sample work product requirement, or if full bid packages (including RFP, plans, specifications, and estimates) are required?

    A: Links to completed project reports are sufficient to meet the sample work product requirement, but the City recommends including an exhibit with sample work products/projects in case the links do not work. RFP, plans, specifications, and estimates are not required for sample work products.


    Q (No subject): The RFP indicates that the Fee Schedule should be submitted as a separate electronic file via the OpenGov Procurement portal; however, the portal also includes an option to upload the Fee Proposal “if not included in the complete proposal.” Can the City please confirm whether the Fee Proposal is required to be submitted as a separate file, and whether it should be excluded from the main proposal document?

    A: The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate file and excluded from the main proposal document. The language for the Vendor Questionnaire was adjusted in Addendum 1.


    Q (CEQA and the CAP Update): Does the City want the CAP Update to be a CEQA Qualified CAP allowing development projects to tier from the CAP when evaluating GHG emissions in CEQA? This will require the CAP Update to go through its own CEQA review process. Does the City want the CEQA process included in this scope of work?

    A: The City will not be developing a qualified CAP under CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.5. The Environmental analysis for the CAP Update is discussed in Task 6, Appendix A.


    Q (No subject): Will you accept unit or milestone billing instead of time and materials for this project? We’re happy to proceed with T&M, but if helpful for your budgeting or grant management, we can also structure this as milestone‑based or unit‑based billing. We’ve found some clients prefer this predictability.

    A: To be determined based on ease of reporting for the grant-funded project.


    Q (No subject): Can resumes be included as an appendix?

    A: Yes.


    Q (No subject): Does the city have internal resources for Spanish translations?

    A: The translation services work is expected to be completed by the consultants.


    Q (No subject): For the 10-page limit are double-sided pages counted as one page or is each side counted as a page? Are 11x17 pages counted as 1-page?

    A: Double-sided pages are counted as two pages, and an 11x17 page is counted as one page.


    Key dates

    1. March 25, 2026Published
    2. April 30, 2026Responses Due

    AI classification tags

    Frequently asked questions

    SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.

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