Plan Review Services

The City of Santa Monica's Community Development Department is seeking qualified consulting professionals to provide building and safety plan check services through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The procurement targets consulting firms capable of performing comprehensive online plan reviews for architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing projects using ProjectDox software. The City anticipates approximately 3,000 plan checks annually, focusing on large commercial and residential developments that require compliance with California Building Standards Code and local municipal codes. Consultants must hold current licenses from the California State Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Geologists, or the California State Architects Board. The RFP evaluation will assess proposals across five key criteria: experience/technical competence (25 points), project team qualifications (25 points), project approach (20 points), cost (20 points), and quality control (10 points). The RFP was released on June 24, 2025, with questions due by July 7, 2025, and proposal responses required by August 4, 2025 at 3:00 pm, covering a potential three-year contract period.

The RFP does not explicitly indicate specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. The compensation structure will be based on hourly rates for personnel, with separate rates for standard and expedited plan checks, and will include fringe benefits, indirect costs, and profit. While no incumbent vendors are mentioned, the City will collect preliminary plan check fees from applicants at intake and reserves the right to select the most qualified proposer, which may not necessarily be the lowest-cost bid. Proposers must adhere to comprehensive insurance requirements detailed in the PSA Insurance Template, including commercial general liability, automobile liability, workers' compensation, and professional liability insurance with coverage limits ranging from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000. The contract will be entirely remote, with plan reviews conducted online, and does not involve on-site construction work or land surveying. Although a specific budget range is not explicitly stated, the contract appears designed to support the City's ongoing building and safety plan review needs with a flexible, performance-based approach.