BACKGROUND & SCOPE OF WORK
PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (Authority) is soliciting proposals from qualified Bidders with expertise in commercial landscape maintenance to provide ongoing landscape maintenance and perform ad hoc repairs and upgrades to the landscape at the Authority's headquarters location for a five-year term.
BACKGROUND
The Authority is an independent special district created on February 1, 1993, by an act of the Legislature and is governed by a seven-member elected board of directors. The Authority serves a large portion of Santa Clara County by protecting sensitive lands, preserving natural communities, and managing open space. The Authority has preserved over 30,000 acres, which include three preserves with over 30 miles of trail. Activities on the preserves include hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and nature study.
The Authority's headquarters is located at 33 Las Colinas Lane, San Jose CA 95119. The Authority's intention is to plant and maintain native and drought tolerant plantings in the landscape. The Authority also prioritizes water conservation in the headquarters landscape through proactive maintenance of the irrigation system.
A mandatory site visit will be held on October 28, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Interested bidders must attend the site visit to inform their proposal. The site is located at 33 las Colinas Lane, San Jose CA 95119. Please RSVP to Ivy Rylander at irylander@openspaceauthority.org by October 26, 2026 by 5:00 p.m.
OBJECTIVES
The objective for the services awarded through this RFP is to maintain the exterior landscape elements of the Authority's headquarters location at 33 Las Colinas Lane, San Jose CA through ongoing maintenance and ad hoc repair and replacement services.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Authority is seeking proposals from experienced landscape maintenance firms to maintain the exterior landscape elements of the Authority's headquarters location at 33 Las Colinas Lane, San Jose, CA. The scope of work is divided into two categories: first is the ongoing Maintenance Program Base Package and second is Ad Hoc Repair and Replacement Services.
Project tasks include but are not limited to:
A. Landscape Maintenance Program Base Package - This work is to be completed for a standard rate on a bi-weekly basis for a five-year term.
a. Lawn Area & Planting Beds: Contractor will complete mowing of turf on agreed upon schedule. Scheduled cuts missed due to inclement weather will be made up as soon as possible. Treatment of turf areas for damaging insect or disease and weed control will be the responsibility of the contractor. Contractor will neatly edge and trim around all plant beds, curbs, and trees to maintain a clean, well-groomed appearance. Open ground in planting beds will be treated by manual or chemical means to control weed growth. All debris from this work will be hauled away by vendor.
b. Hardscape: All walks, asphalt, and other hardscape will be blown after maintenance is performed to maintain a clear, well-groomed appearance. Front above ground planters will be weeded on a regular basis. All debris from the work will be hauled away by vendor.
c. Irrigation: Existing irrigation system shall be checked as needed to ensure working order and conform to the Authority's water management goals. Preventative maintenance will be done as needed to ensure that all zones are checked for operation and repairs are recommended for approval. Minor nozzle adjustments and timer adjustments will be performed with no additional charges.
d. Tree & Shrub Maintenance: Pruning of trees and shrubs will be completed semi- annually. All debris from this work will be hauled away by vendor.
e. Fertilization & Chemical Treatments: Shrubs and groundcover will be fertilized with a recommended analysis semi-annually. When fertilizer is applied to any ground, all sidewalks, roads, and curbs will be swept clean of granular fertilizer after applications to minimize staining. Contractor will maintain a log of all chemical applications on property and will have MSDS sheets available for each product used.
f. Subcontractors: The Landscape Maintenance Program Base Package is to be completed by vendor directly, no sub-contracting will occur for this work.
B. Ad Hoc Repair and Replacement Services - Projects that may come up and will require separate estimating and approval before beginning.
a. Irrigations Repair and Upgrades: Repairs for all items such as head replacement, broken lines, pumps, or timers will be performed upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly. Upgrades or changes to irrigation method will be performed as a standalone project upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly.
b. Tree & Shrub Maintenance: Pruning projects above and beyond recurring needs will be performed upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly. All debris from these projects will be hauled away by vendor.
c. Planting Services: If new plantings are needed that work will be performed upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly.
d. Replanting of Lawn: If lawn area requires reseeding, or sodding, that work will be performed upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly.
e. Weed Block & Mulch: Installation and replacement of weed block and mulch will be completed upon the Authority's approval and billed accordingly.
C. Personnel/Other Requirements
a. Contractor will provide all labor, transportation, and supervision necessary to perform the work described in this RFP.
b. All field personnel will be equipped with all necessary supplies, tools, parts, and equipment, and trained to perform work in a safe manner.
c. Personnel will be licensed for all applicable maintenance functions, including any pesticide or herbicide applications, as required by law.
d. Any damage caused by Contractor personnel shall be repaired promptly at no cost to the Authority.
e. Subcontractors are only permitted for Ad Hoc Maintenance projects that may come up. If Subcontractors are used, they must comply with all Public Works requirements in the State of California, including registration with the Department of Industrial Relations.
SUBMISSION, REVIEW & SPECIAL CONDITIONS
REQUIRED INFORMATION
1. A fee proposal stating the monthly cost for the Landscape Maintenance Program Base Package. Additional fee schedule that details hourly rates for qualified staff to perform the tasks described in the Ad Hoc Repair and Replacement Services.
a. All fees proposed should include any anticipated or planned cost of living adjustments over the five-year term.
2. A detailed description of Bidder's experience in commercial landscape maintenance, repair, and upgrades.
3. A list of at least three (3) clients (include names of contact persons, telephone numbers, brief description of the work performed) for whom the Bidder has performed services similar to those required by this RFP.
4. Review sample contract and provide a statement that indicates agreement to its terms including the insurance requirements. (See Attachment A.)
5. Proposal must include proof of registration with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code sections 1771.1(a)]. No contractor or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project (awarded on or after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5. This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations.
PREPARATION OF RESPONSES
All responses to the items in the REQUIRED INFORMATION section must be answered fully and must be able to be substantiated by the Bidder.
KEY DATES
Event Tentative Date
Request For Proposals Issuance Fri 10/9/2026
Mandatory Site Visit Wed 10/28/2026 at 11:00 a.m.
Last Day to Submit Questions Wed 11/4/2026 at 5:00 p.m.
Final Addenda Issued Friday 11/6/2026 by 5:00 p.m.
Proposals Due Friday 11/13/2026
Bid Opening Friday 11/13/2026 at 3pm via Zoom
Award Bid 12/10/2026
* Dates subject to change
SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES
Proposals must be delivered by email (with attachments, if any) to the following email address: proposals@openspaceauthority.org, with the following language in the subject line of the email "Attention: RFP-2026-12 re: Headquarters Landscape Maintenance"
The Authority cautions Bidders to assure actual delivery of emailed responses directly to the address noted above by the established deadline. File attachments recommended to be under 10MB; emails with attachments greater than 20MB may not be successfully delivered. A response received by the Authority after the established deadline will not be considered. Proposals will be received only at the email address identified above. All proposals must be received by email only by the Authority prior to 3:00 p.m. November 13, 2026.
A. Email ONLY. Mail and facsimile responses will not be considered. Proposals will NOT be accepted via fax, mail, or by courier. Late responses will not be considered. Bidders shall have sole responsibility for delivery of responses on time and to the proper email address.
B. Response Format: To facilitate the analysis of responses to this Request for Proposals, Bidders are required to prepare their responses in accordance with the instructions outlined in this section. Bidders whose responses deviate from these instructions may be considered non-responsive and may be disqualified at the discretion of the Authority. Responses should be prepared as simply as possible and provide a straightforward, concise description of the Bidder's capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this Request for Proposals. Emphasis should be concentrated on accuracy, completeness, and clarity of content. All parts, pages, figures and tables should be numbered and clearly labeled. No page limit, however, responses should be comprehensive, succinct and direct. Font size should be no less than 11 points. The responses should be organized into the following major sections:
1. PROPOSED FEE SCHEDULE The Bidder must include pricing for all proposed services and include a breakdown of costs (by hourly, by monthly, by task, by deliverable, etc.).
2. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED SERVICES Proposal must address each of the tasks requested in the scope of work described above, and any additional tasks that may be necessary to accomplish the stated goals. The response should provide descriptions for how the Bidder intends to complete the work The Authority prefers consolidated and comprehensive services for the entire scope of services.
3. DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE The Bidder must provide a description of experience, including detailed descriptions of Bidder's experience in commercial landscape maintenance and repair. Please do not include information on projects that are not similar in scope and character to the scope of work described in this RFP.
4. CLIENT REFERENCES Firms should provide a list of at least three (3) clients (include names of contact persons, telephone numbers, brief description of the work performed) for whom the firm has performed services similar to those required by this RFP.
5. STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT WITH TERMS OF CONTRACT The Bidder must provide a statement that indicates agreement to the terms of the contract including an agreement to meet the insurance requirements.
6. DIR REGISTRATION Proposal must include proof of registration with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code section 1771.1(a)].
7. PREVAILING WAGES As required by law, the Contractor shall pay all workers California prevailing wages for each trade or classification on the job during the term of this project. These rates include employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation, travel time, subsistence pay and apprenticeship or training. (Prevailing wage information is available from the California Department of Industrial Relations.)
C. No Deviation: Any deviation from the requirements listed below may result in the response being considered non-responsive, thus eliminating a Bidder from further consideration.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The Authority will award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The lowest bid shall be the lowest price listed for the Landscape Maintenance Program Base Package.
A. Responsive Bid The Authority will award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder submitting a responsive bid. A responsive bid is one that conforms to the material terms of the bid package.
B. Responsible Bidder The Authority establishes bidder responsibility pursuant to the Public Contract Code. Public Contract Code § 1103 defines "responsible bidder" as "a bidder who has demonstrated the attribute of trustworthiness, as well as quality, fitness, capacity, and experience to satisfactorily perform the public works contract."
ADDENDA
Authority will post any addenda on Authority's website. Bidders shall be responsible for ensuring that all addenda are included in their responses.
REJECTION OF RESPONSES
The Authority may reject any proposal if:
1. The Bidder fails to respond to the RFP Required Information, or otherwise comply with the format and submission required set forth in this RFP, or
2. The Bidder misstates or conceals any material fact in the response.
The Authority may reject all nonconforming, non-responsive or conditional proposals, and may waive any minor informalities or irregularities in any proposal and at the Authority's sole discretion. The Authority may reject all bids.
BIDDER QUESTIONS
Any questions about this RFP shall be submitted in writing to proposals@openspaceauthority.org on or before 5:00 p.m. on 11/4/2026. Agency will post written responses to questions and email answers to Bidders no later than 5:00 p.m. on 11/6/2026. Responses may be posted incrementally as received.
PUBLIC RECORDS LAW
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 and following), public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the Authority and every person has a right to inspect any public record or request copies of public records. All submitted responses are public records and are subject to public disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act.
ACCEPTANCE
Submission of any response indicates acceptance of the conditions contained in this Request for Proposals.
RESPONSE COSTS
Those submitting responses do so entirely at their own expense. The Authority will not be responsible for reimbursement to any individual or firm for any costs incurred in preparing or submitting responses, providing additional information when requested by the Authority, or for participating in any selection interviews or meetings.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
No person shall be excluded from participation in, denied any benefits or otherwise discriminated against in connection with the award and performance of any contract on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age (over 40), military and veteran status of any person, or any other non-merit factor unrelated to job duties and protected by law.
List of Attachments
Attachment A - Contract Template
(Full Contract Template and additional attachments are included in the original RFP.)
