DATE: September 3, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Development Services Department
TITLE: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH DUDEK INC. FOR THE EL CORAZON HABITAT RESTORATION PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council approve a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with DUDEK Inc., in the amount of $28,912, for environmental and ecological consulting services to create the El Corazon Habitat Restoration Plan (HRP); and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The City's El Corazon property, located in central Oceanside, is comprised of multiple parcels totaling over 400 acres of combined undeveloped and developed land. It is the site of the current SoCal Sports Complex, the City's William A. Wagner Aquatic Center, El Corazon Senior Center, Frontwave Arena, residential developments, and the future location of El Corazon Park Site 1.
Development of the site has been guided by the El Corazon Specific Plan ("Specific Plan") and accompanying Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) adopted by City Council in 2009 (Resolution Nos. 09-R0333-1 and 09-R0332-1, respectively), with subsequent amendments in 2016 and 2019. In addition to developable land uses identified by the Specific Plan, a Habitat District of approximately 170 acres was envisioned along the western portion of the property to conserve and enhance the existing open space. Of these 170 acres, the EIR required the restoration of a minimum of 20 acres of native coastal sage scrub within the Habitat District to support the site's biological significance as a wildlife corridor for threatened species. In 2023, the City completed a minor habitat restoration project in the northern segment of El Corazon to comply with a settlement agreement with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board; however, the Habitat District goals for the site remain largely unfulfilled.
The creation of a comprehensive HRP for El...
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