(A) The city has responsibility for, and control over, the form, scope and contents of all documents comprising environmental assessment of a project. All reports, studies, or other documents prepared by or under direction of an applicant, intended for inclusion in the environmental documents, shall be clearly identified as "Proponent's Environmental Assessment" and shall set forth in detail the assumptions, and methodologies supporting any conclusions reached, or upon which any recommendations may be based.
(B) The ERC, at its sole discretion, may decide to utilize the services of a private consulting firm to prepare or review all studies, reports, and other documents required or permitted by the guidelines, including those submitted by the proponent or any other party. In all cases, the consultant shall enter into a contract with, and is responsible directly to, the city. All contract services shall be performed to the satisfaction of the Environmental Review Committee.
(C) All costs incurred in the preparation of the environmental documents, including the costs of services performed under division (B) of this section and costs incurred by the Environmental Review Committee, including city staff time, shall be borne by the project proponent.
(Ord. 2017-009, passed 9-26-17)