Grover Beach has taken the unusual step of firing a consultant after hearing the company is five weeks behind schedule on an update of the city’s Land Use Element.

City Council members expressed frustration, even controlled anger, Monday night over the inability of land use consultant Design, Community and Environment to meet its contract schedule.

Diana Gould-Wells, the city’s planning manager, reported the delays were the result of personnel changes within DC&E and a subcontractor’s delays in providing information on traffic.

Councilman Steve Lieberman said when the contract was awarded, he noted the update is extremely important to the city in reaching the goals of its Visioning Project.

“Ten percent slippage in today’s business environment is unacceptable,” Lieberman said. “Because of changes in their staffing, we’re behind. That’s not my problem.

“I’m disgusted, to put it nicely,” he added.

Councilman Bill Nicolls agreed.

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“The fact they have had a change of personnel is absolutely no excuse to be five weeks behind.”

Mayor John Shoals was equally upset, and noted that “more slippage is probable” in the contract schedule.

“Everyone knows I work for a firm that does this (kind of work),” he said. “(This) is unconscionable to me. It leads me to the conclusion we have not been a priority.”

DC&E was hired to perform a number of tasks in updating the city’s General Plan Land Use Element.

They included preparing an update of the element, which guides development in the city in an orderly and logical manner, and delivering an administrative draft to the city this month.

But DC&E recently indicated that draft won’t be available until Aug. 25.

Even with the city staff expediting review and comments and DC&E expediting subsequent changes, a public review copy won’t be available until Oct. 6, Gould-Wells reported.

The tasks also included preparing an administrative review copy of a draft environmental impact report on the update, which also will be delayed until Aug. 25, with a public review copy delayed until Oct. 6.

Lieberman asked what the ramifications would be of canceling the contract, and City Attorney Martin Koczanowicz said the city could terminate the agreement on a five-day notice.

He said the city would pay for the work to date, although exactly what that entails would have to be determined, and would own the work, which could be given to a new consultant.

After Nicolls moved to notify DC&E the city would reassign the project to another consultant, and Shoals seconded, Lieberman noted city officials were scheduled to meet with the company’s representatives Thursday (results of that meeting were not available at press time).

He asked if the city should immediately terminate the contract or on Thursday give DC&E the chance to make up the lost time.

“We’ve been told this is the best they can do,” Koczanowicz said.

The council then voted unanimously to terminate the contract.

During the meeting, the council heard from two property owners who would like to have their land rezoned as part of the Land Use Element update.

Shoals said as the city moves forward with a new consultant, those and other property owners should be included in the process.

“Now that our time line has been blown, let’s take a breath ... and do it the right way,” Shoals said.

Mike Hodgson can be reached at 739-2221 or mhodgson@santamariatimes.com.

July 25, 2008