Irvine Municipal Code Ch. 2 Procedures

A. Public works projects less than the statutory threshold dollar amount may be performed by the employees of the City by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.

B. Public works projects less than the statutory threshold dollar amount may be let to contract by informal bidding procedures as set forth below.

C. Public works projects of more than the statutory threshold dollar amount shall, except as otherwise provided in this Municipal Code, be let to contract by formal bidding procedures as set forth below.

D. For purposes of Subsections A., B., and C. above, each "statutory threshold dollar amount" refers to specific dollar amounts set forth in the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq.), as may be amended from time to time.

E. Notwithstanding Subsections A through D, design-build public works projects may be awarded pursuant to Section 6-10-215 below.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-201; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 03-04, § 1, 1-28-03; Ord. No. 19-04, § 4(Exh. A), 3-26-19; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23; Ord. No. 25-07, § 4, 4-8-25)

It shall be unlawful to split or separate into smaller work orders or projects any project for the purpose of evading the provisions of this division requiring work to be done by contract after competitive bidding.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-202; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86)

A. Formal bid procedures. Public works projects which are subject to the formal bidding procedures pursuant to Section 6-10-201 C. above shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the following procedures:

1. The notice inviting bids shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 6-10-205.

2. All bids shall be presented under sealed cover.

3. Formal bidding may require bidder's security. Bidder's security shall be in an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the amount bid and shall be in one of the following forms:

a. Cashier's check made payable to the City.

b. A certified check made payable to the City.

c. A bidder's bond executed by an admitted surety insurer which meets the rating requirements established by the Assistant City Manager, made payable to the City.

4. A bid for which bidders security is required shall not be considered unless one of the forms of bidder's security is enclosed with it. If the successful bidder fails to execute the contract, the amount of the bidder's security shall be forfeited to the City as set forth below.

5. The City Council may on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the legislative body awards the contract to the second lowest responsible bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder security shall be applied by the City to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid and the surplus of any shall be returned to the lowest bidder if a check is used or to the surety on the bidder's bond if a bond is used.

6. The City may require prequalification of bidders as set forth in Section 6-10-214.

B. Informal bidding procedures. Public works projects which are subject to the informal bidding procedures pursuant to Section 6-10-201 B. above shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq.), as may be amended from time to time, including the following procedures:

1. The City shall maintain a list of qualified contractors, identified according to categories of work. The development and maintenance criteria of the contractors list shall be determined by the California Uniform Cost Accounting Commission.

2. All contractors on the list for the category of work being bid and/or all construction trade journals selected for the County of Orange by the California Uniform Cost Accounting Commission shall be mailed, faxed, or emailed a notice inviting informal bids unless the product or service delivery is proprietary.

3. All mailing of notices to contractors and/or construction trade journals shall be completed not less than 10 calendar days before bids are due.

4. The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms, how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids.

5. The authority to award informal bids for public works projects is delegated to the City Manager or the Director of Public Works and Transportation or the Director of Project Delivery and Sustainability.

6. If all bids received are in excess of the threshold amount set forth in California Public Contract Code § 22034, as may be amended from time to time, the City Council may, by passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at award amount set forth in California Public Contract Code § 22034, as may be amended from time to time, or less, to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines the cost estimate of the City was reasonable.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-203; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 03-04, § 2, 1-28-03; Ord. No. 19-04, § 4(Exh. A), 3-26-19; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)

In cases of great emergency including, but not limited to, states of emergency defined in Government Code § 8558, when repair or replacements are necessary to permit the continued conduct of the operation or services of the City or to avoid danger to life or property, the City Council, by majority vote, may proceed at once to replace or repair any public facility without adopting plans, specifications, strain sheets, or working details, or giving notice for bids to let contracts. The work may be done by day labor under the direction of the City Council, by contractor, or by a combination of the two. In case of an emergency, if notice for bids to let contracts will not be given, the public agency shall comply with Chapter 2.5 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the California Public Contract Code, as may be amended from time to time.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-204; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23; Ord. No. 24-20, § 2(Exh. A), 11-26-24)

Notice inviting formal bids shall be as set forth in the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq.), as may be amended from time to time.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-205; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)

The procedures for (a) the rejection of bids, (b) the reevaluation process after the rejection of bids, (c) the consideration of options if no bids are received, and (d) the acceptance of a bid when two or more bids are the same amount and the lowest shall be as set forth in the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq.), as may be amended from time to time.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-206; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 23-14, adopted July 11, 2023, repealed § 6-10-208, which pertained to approval of plans and specifications and derived from § VI.O-207 of the 1976 Code; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 03-24, § 1, 7-8-03.

Any person may examine the plans and specifications approved by the City for any project.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-208; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86)

The City Council of the City of Irvine may delegate its authority to enter into specific contracts.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-210; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86)

Bidders may be afforded relief from their bids under the circumstances set forth in Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the California Public Contract Code, as may be amended from time to time.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-211; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)

A. The provisions of this section shall apply whenever the City requires prequalification of bidders pursuant to Section 6-10-203 A.

B. The City shall require bidders to meet the criteria set forth in this section in order to be placed upon a bidder's list to bid on certain public works projects. Such criteria shall be established for each construction trade so as to ensure that only bidders meeting certain minimum standards may bid on specified public works projects.

C. The Director of Public Works and Transportation or the Director of Project Delivery and Sustainability or his or her designee shall implement a contractor prequalification procedure for prospective bidders, which procedure shall be based upon a uniform system of prequalification scoring using objective criteria and standardized forms that are based upon, and consistent with, the model prequalification forms developed by the State of California Department of Industrial Relations and California Public Contract Code § 20101. The prequalification procedures, questionnaires, and objective evaluation criteria shall be modified and tailored by the Director of Public Works or the Director of Project Delivery and Sustainability as needed to reflect the unique characteristics of individual City projects.

D. The Director of Public Works and Transportation or the Director of Project Delivery and Sustainability or his or her designee shall implement an administrative hearing process, as required by law, to be made available to prospective bidders seeking to challenge their prequalification scores. For each prequalification review hearing, the presiding hearing officer shall be chosen at random from the following staff positions:

1. Director of Public Works and Transportation;

2. Director of Project Delivery and Sustainability;

3. Deputy Director, Public Works;

4. Deputy Director, Project Delivery and Sustainability;

5. Manager of Engineering;

6. City Engineer;

7. Project Development Administrator; or

8. Public Services Manager.

The assignment of one of these staff persons to a prequalification review hearing shall be made randomly and shall in no way be dependent or conditional upon the person's history as an acting hearing officer or the outcomes of prior hearings. Under no circumstances shall the prospects of future employment or the compensation of a hearing officer be based in any way upon the outcome of his or her hearing decisions.

(Code 1976, § VI.O-212; Ord. No. 86-7, § 1, 4-8-86; Ord. No. 08-10, § 2, 8-12-08; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)

Design-build projects may be procured pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22160 et seq., as described in Subsection A. Progressive design-build projects may be procured pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 21185 et seq., as described in Subsection B. This Section 6-10-215 is intended to reflect the respective design-build and progressive design-build procurement processes in Public Contract Code Section 22160 et seq. and Public Contract Code Section 22185 et seq. to the extent this section is inconsistent with such provisions, the applicable Public Contract Code provisions shall prevail.

A. Procurement of design-build projects.

1. Scope of eligible projects. This subsection authorizes the award of design-build contracts in excess of $1,000,000.00 for: (a) the construction of a building or buildings and improvements directly related to the construction of a building or building, county sanitation wastewater treatment facilities, and park and recreational facilities, and (b) projects that are necessary in order to comply with construction-related accessibility standards, as defined in Section 65946 of the Government Code. This subsection does not authorize the award of design-build contracts for the construction of other infrastructure, including, but not limited to, streets and highways, public rail transit, or water resources facilities and infrastructure, except where expressly authorized by the California Department of Transportation pursuant to Subdivision (h) of Public Contract Code Section 22161. This subsection does not authorize design-build-operate projects, but design-build projects may include operations during a short-term training or transition period.

2. Award of eligible projects. Eligible design-build projects may be awarded to either the lowest bid or best value as selected by the City. Eligible design-build projects shall be awarded based on a conflict-of-interest policy regarding the ability of a person or entity that performs services for the City relating to the solicitation of a design-build project, to submit a proposal as a design-build entity, or to join a design-build team.

3. Procurement method. The following procedure applies to design-build projects procured pursuant to this subsection:

a. The City shall prepare a set of documents setting forth the scope and estimated price of the project, which may include, but need not be limited to the size, type, and desired design character of the project, performance specifications covering the quality of materials, equipment, workmanship, preliminary plans or building layouts, or any other information deemed necessary by the Director of Public Works or designee.

b. The City shall issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) in order to prequalify or short-list the design-build entities whose proposals shall be evaluated for final selection. The RFQ shall include the following:

i. The basic scope and needs of the design-build project;

ii. The expected cost range;

iii. The methodology that will be used to evaluate proposals;

iv. Significant factors that the City reasonably expects to consider in evaluating qualifications, including technical design and construction expertise, acceptable safety record, and all other nonprice-related factors;

v. The procedure for final selection of the design-build entity;

vi. The City's standard template request for statements of qualifications prepared by the City in consultation with the construction industry, the building trades and surety industry, and other local agencies interested in using the design-build process under this subsection. The standard template shall require, at a minimum, all information required by Paragraph (3) of Subdivision (b) of Public Contract Code Section 22164, and shall be certified under penalty of perjury by the design-build entity and its general partners or joint venture members;

vii. Unless exempted due to an existing project labor agreement pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Subdivision (c) of Public Contract Code Section 22164, an enforceable commitment executed by the design-build entity to the City that the design-build entity and its subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work on the project or contract that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades, in accordance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of the Public Contract Code;

viii. Any required subcontractors to be included in the responding design-build entity's statement of qualifications, which subcontractors shall be entitled to the protections of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of the Public Contract Code;

ix. Any information deemed necessary by the City in order to adequately describe its needs or to inform interested parties of the contracting opportunity; and

x. Any other information deemed necessary by the City for the design-build project.

c. The City shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) that invites the prequalified or short-listed entities to submit competitive sealed proposals in the manner indicated in the RFP. The RFP shall include:

i. Identification of the basic scope and needs of the design-build project;

ii. The estimated cost of the project;

iii. The methodology that will be used by the City to evaluate proposals, which shall include the price (or stipulated sum if specified), technical design and construction expertise, and life cycle costs over 15 or more years;

iv. Whether the contract will be awarded on the basis of low bid or best value;

v. Significant factors that the City reasonably expects to consider in evaluating proposals, including, but not limited to, cost or price and all nonprice-related factors;

vi. The relative importance or the weight assigned to each of the factors identified in the request for proposals;

vii. Any information deemed necessary by the City in order to adequately describe its needs or to inform interested parties of the contracting opportunity; and

viii. Any other information deemed necessary by the City for the design-build project.

d. Low bid awards. For those projects utilizing low bid as the final selection method, the competitive bidding process shall result in lump-sum bids by the prequalified or short-listed design-build entities, and awards shall be made to the design-build entity that is the lowest responsible bidder.

e. Best value awards. The selection process for best value awards shall be as follows:

i. Competitive proposals shall be evaluated only by the criteria in the RFP.

ii. The City may reserve the right in the RFP, to request proposal revisions and hold discussions and negotiations with responsive proposers. RFPs including this reservation shall include a procedure to be observed by the parties to ensure discussions and negotiations are conducted in good faith.

iii. When evaluations are complete, the responsive proposers shall be ranked based on a determination of value, provided that no more than three proposers are required to be ranked.

iv. The award of the contract shall be made to the responsible design-build entity whose proposal is determined by the City to have offered the best value to the public.

v. The City shall publicly announce its award, identifying the design-build entity to which the award is made, along with a statement regarding the basis of the award.

f. Subcontractors. Following the award of a design-build project pursuant to this Subsection, the design-build entity shall comply with Public Contract Code Section 22166 as the same may be amended from time to time for all construction subcontracts with a value exceeding one-half of one percent of the contract price allocable to construction work.

g. Sunset date. The provisions of this Subsection A. shall sunset and shall be automatically repealed on the date provided in Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, which is January 1, 2031, unless amended by successor legislation.

B. Procurement of progressive design-build projects.

1. Scope of eligible projects. This subsection authorizes the award of up to 10 progressive design-build projects in excess of $5,000,000.00 for each project.

2. Award of eligible projects. Eligible design-build projects awarded pursuant to this subsection shall be awarded based on a conflict of interest policy developed by the City regarding the ability of a person or entity that performs services for the City relating to the solicitation of a progressive design-build project, to submit a proposal as a progressive design-build entity, or to join a design-build team.

3. Procurement method. The following procedure applies to design-build projects procured pursuant to this subsection:

a. The City shall issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) in order to select a design-build entity to execute the project. The RFQ shall include the following:

i. The size, type, and desired design of the project;

ii. The expected cost range;

iii. The methodology that will be used to evaluate the design-build entity's qualifications, including the relative importance or the weight assigned to each of the factors identified in the RFQ;

iv. Significant factors that the City reasonably expects to consider in evaluating qualifications, including technical design and construction expertise, acceptable safety record, and all other non-price-related factors;

v. The procedure for final selection of the design-build entity;

vi. The City's standard request for statements of qualifications prepared by the City in consultation with the construction industry, the building trades and surety industry, and other local agencies interested in using the design-build process under this subsection. The standard template shall require, at a minimum, all information required by Paragraph (4) of Subdivision (1) of Public Contract Code Section 22185.3 and shall be certified under penalty of perjury by the design-build entity and its general partners or joint venture members;

vii. Unless exempted due to an existing project labor agreement pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Subdivision (b) of Public Contract Code Section 22185.3, an enforceable commitment executed by the design-build entity to the City that the design-build entity and its subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work on the project or contract that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades, in accordance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of the Public Contract Code;

viii. Any required subcontractors to be included in the responding design-build entity's statement of qualifications, which subcontractors shall be entitled to the protections of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of the Public Contract Code;

ix. Any information deemed necessary by the City in order to adequately describe its needs or to inform interested parties of the contracting opportunity; and

x. Any other information deemed necessary by the City for the progressive design-build project.

b. At the close of the solicitation period, the City shall review the submissions. The City may evaluate submissions based solely upon the information provided in each design-build entity's statement of qualifications. The City may also interview some or all of the design-build entities to further evaluate their qualifications for the progressive design-build project.

c. Upon issuance of a contract award, the City shall publicly announce its award, identifying the design-build entity to which the award is made, along with a statement regarding the basis of the award.

4. Determination of maximum price, remaining project work.

a. After selecting a design-build entity based upon qualifications, the City may enter into a contract and direct the design-build entity to begin design and preconstruction activities sufficient to establish a guaranteed maximum price for the project. Upon agreement of the guaranteed maximum price for the project, the City, at its sole and absolute discretion, may amend its contract with the design-build entity to contract for the remaining design, preconstruction, and construction activities sufficient to complete and close out the project, consistent with the guaranteed maximum price.

b. In the event that there are unforeseen site conditions, the City may amend its contract with the design-build entity accordingly and consistent with the guaranteed maximum price, to enable the entity to complete the remaining design, preconstruction, and construction activities sufficient to complete and close out the project.

c. If the cost for completing all remaining design, preconstruction, and construction activities sufficient to complete and close out the project exceeds the guaranteed maximum price, the costs exceeding the guaranteed maximum price shall be the responsibility of the design-build entity. If the cost for these activities is less than the guaranteed maximum price, the design-build entity shall not be entitled to the difference between the cost and the guaranteed maximum price unless there is a prior written agreement concerning the sharing of these funds. The costs subject to the requirements in this Paragraph 4 shall include the design-build entity's direct costs, general conditions, overhead, and fees.

d. If the City and the design-build entity do not reach agreement on a guaranteed maximum price, or the City otherwise elects not to amend the design-build entity's contract to complete the remaining work, the City may solicit proposals to complete the project from firms that submitted statements of qualifications pursuant to the procedure set forth in Paragraph 3. The City may also, upon written determination that it is in the best interest of the City, to do so, formally solicit proposals from other design-build entities, and contract award shall be made on a best value basis.

e. The design professionals responsible for performing design services on behalf of a design-build entity that has been replaced pursuant to the procedure in this Paragraph 4 shall have sole liability for their design errors and omissions, provided the City elects to use their complete and stamped designs with subsequent design-build entities, or licensed contractors.

5. Subcontractors. For design-build contracts with a contract value of greater than or equal to $10,000,000.00, subcontracts not included in the successful design-build entity's statement of qualifications in response to the RFQ and exceeding one-half of one percent of the contract price allocable to construction work shall be awarded in compliance with Public Contract Code Section 22185.6 as the same may be amended from time to time.

6. Reporting. All design-build projects awarded pursuant to this Subsection B shall be included on the City's report to the State of California pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22185.8 as the same may be amended from time to time.

C. Design-build contract provisions. The contract with the selected design-build entity for both design-build projects and progressive design-build projects shall be in a form approved by the City, subject to the following:

a. The contract shall require payment and performance bonds on standard forms developed by the City for the project in the amount required by the City, and issued by a California admitted surety. The amount of the payment bond shall not be less than the amount of the performance bond.

b. The contract shall require the provision by the design-build entity of errors and omissions insurance coverage for the design elements of the project.

c. Retention proceeds withheld by the City shall not exceed five percent if performance and payment bonds are required. Work performed to establish the guaranteed maximum price (where applicable) shall not be subject to retention.

d. In a contract between the design-build entity and a subcontractor, and in a contract between a subcontractor and any subcontractor thereunder, the percentage of the retention proceeds withheld shall not exceed the percentage specified in the contract between the City and the design-build entity. If the design-build entity provides written notice to any subcontractor that is not a member of the design-build entity, before or at the time the bid is requested, that a bond may be required, and the subcontractor subsequently is unable or refuses to furnish a bond to the design-build entity, then the design-build entity may withhold retention proceeds in excess of the percentage specified in the contract between the City and the design-build entity from any payment made by the design-build entity to the subcontractor.

D. Sunset date. The provisions of this Subsection B. shall sunset and shall be automatically repealed on the date provided in Chapter 4.7 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, which is January 1, 2030, unless amended by successor legislation.

(Ord. No. 25-07, § 5, 4-8-25)

A. Contracts for public works projects, as defined in Section 1720 et seq., of the California Labor Code, that are undertaken or contracted for directly by the City, including, without limitation, contracts for development of the Great Park, and that are within the realm of the City's municipal affairs, shall be subject to prevailing wage law (Labor Code § 1770 et seq.), except as specified in Subsection B herein. Any notice inviting bids for such public works projects shall include notification of the provisions of this section.

B. The provisions of Subsection A. herein shall not apply to any public works project or public improvement that is privately-funded in its entirety, is privately built in its entirety, and will be dedicated to the City upon completion unless the project or improvement is considered to be of statewide concern.

C. This section shall not apply to the amendment, renewal or extension of existing maintenance contracts that were originally executed prior to July 1, 2011. Nor shall this section apply to projects that were required or authorized pursuant to development agreements or other agreements conferring vested rights that were executed prior to July 1, 2011.

(Ord. No. 98-03, § 1, 1-27-98; Ord. No. 08-11, § 1, 8-12-08; Ord. No. 11-02, § 1, 5-10-11; Ord. No. 23-14, 7-11-23)