OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY

The City of Wichita is the largest city in Kansas with a population of approximately 397,000 and is the seat of Sedgwick County. As of August 2020, the city's total land area was approximately 165.58 square miles. Major highways, including the Kansas Turnpike (I-35), Interstate 135 and U.S. 54 (Kellogg Avenue) link the City with a large trade area that encompasses a population of more than 1.1 million people within a 100 mile radius. The City of Wichita employs approximately 3,100 employees providing a full range of municipal services, including police and fire protection, parks and recreation programs, libraries, public housing, municipal transportation, airports, water and sewer utilities, general administration, and other services. Information regarding the City of Wichita can be found at https://www.wichita.gov.

The legislative body of the City consists of a six member City Council, elected by district, and a full time Mayor elected from the City-at-large. The Council members and the Mayor serve four-year terms overlapping. The Council and Mayor establish general policies, which are executed by the City Manager. The City of Wichita, Kansas (City), acting as the purchasing agent for the Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department, is soliciting proposals from qualified companies to provide professional services and work to develop and undertake planning processes; compile and write; review and produce the following;

1. amendments to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code related to parking; and
2. amendments to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Comprehensive Plan related to parking.

II. PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competence and capacity of firms seeking to provide services specified herein for the City of Wichita, in conformity with the requirements of this Request for Proposal. The proposal should demonstrate the qualifications of the firm and the staff to undertake this project. It should also specify the proposed approach that best meets the Request for Proposal requirements. The proposer must address each of the service specifications under the Scope of Services.

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

This consultant will deliver the following products to the City.

• Weekly status reports to the Planning Department, with progress tied to project deliverables
• A report on the state of the practice and best practices for zoning parking requirements
• Final versions of the comprehensive plan and Unified Zoning Code amendments that are recommended by the Steering Committee for presentation to the governing bodies
• One (1) PDF format copy of the final documents
• One (1) Microsoft Word format (or equivalent) copy of the final documents and related work products
• One (1) copy of all ESRI ArcGIS geodata (or equivalent) of any GIS data created during the planning process and relevant to the final products
• One (1) copy of all related materials developed as part of the planning process (including the overlay) (i.e. flyers, website content, postcards, surveys, etc.)

This initiative will identify and confirm community priorities; identify ways to better align the Unified Zoning Code parking elements to the community priorities; research state of the practice and best practices; develop draft amendments to the Unified Zoning Code; and undertake the community review and adoption process for the amendments. The City of Wichita is a leading-edge organization serving a dynamic and inclusive community.

In preparation for the development of this Plan, staff have identified the following questions related to parking and zoning in Wichita and Sedgwick County.

• How do the Unified Zoning Code parking requirements help or hinder achieving community goals?
• How do the Unified Zoning Code parking requirements help or hinder implementing adopted community plans?
• If zoning should require off-street parking, then are the processes in the Unified Zoning Code adequate for considering sharing of parking, on-street parking, bicycling, walking, transit and other potential transportation / parking solutions to ensure access?
• What are the best methods that can be used to collect community feedback, input, and participation on this civic discussion about parking and community goals?
• How do other communities address parking and specifically parking requirements?
• What are best practices for zoning and parking?
• Should parking solutions in different geographic areas of the community be different or unique from other areas?
• What does success mean for Wichita and Sedgwick County, and how should it be measured?
• What stakeholders needed to be engaged and how should they be engaged in the process?
• What else should the community be discussing for the future?

Background

• On September 25, 2009, the current version of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code was adopted. The Unified Zoning Code includes minimum parking requirements.
• In 2015 and 2016, the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County adopted the Wichita-Sedgwick County Community Investments Plan. The plan's guiding principles to help set relative priorities at the broadest and highest levels for future public decisions includes "make strategic, value-added investment decisions" and "support an innovative, vibrant and diverse economy".
• In 2019, the City adopted the Places for People Plan as the Urban Infill Strategy for Wichita. The Places for People Plan recommends promoting development in the Established Central Area that is contextual to its surroundings.
• Since at least 2015, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department has seen a consistent pattern of applications for zoning actions (zone changes and variances) to reduce and/or eliminate the government mandated parking requirements. The City of Wichita is a leading-edge organization serving a dynamic and inclusive community.
• On March 21, 2023, the Wichita City Council endorsed the City of Wichita Parking and Multi-Modal Plan. The plan provides guidance for City programs, policies, and projects related to parking. The plan also establishes a framework for managing the City's on and off-street parking resources.
• In 2022 and 2023, affordable housing, economic opportunity, job creation, and access to social services (especially mental health services) have been priority issues.

All of these issues are directly impacted by the Unified Zoning Code requirement for parking. Timeframe There is not a definite deadline for the work products identified in the Scope of Services section to be completed. However, the proposal should include schedules and durations, which will be considered when proposals are evaluated. Planning Process Committees The Planning Department expects that the planning process will be guided by a citizen steering committee and will be assisted by a technical advisory committee.

The Planning Department is open to discussions with the selected consultant team regarding the composition and formation of these committees. Following the selection of a preferred consultant, the Plan Project Manager will review the project objective, scope of work, and schedule with the consultant. Such discussion(s) will also address project coordination and responsibilities of the project team. This activity provides for the development of an organizational framework for the project so that the results are responsive and accountable to all stakeholders.

City Provided Information

The Planning Department will make the following information available to the consultant, at their request.

• parcel boundaries
• transportation features
• bikeways
• sidewalks (partial inventory)
• roadways
• transit routes and stops
• demographics
• existing land use
• zoning

Much of the aforementioned data layers will be made available to the consultant in digital format using the City/County GIS system, Microsoft Excel files, or Microsoft Access databases. The consulting firm selected is expected, on their own efforts, to obtain any other needed information.

City Provided Services

The City can provide the following services during the planning process.

• Email distribution system – The City has a system which allows people to register with the City of Wichita and receive email updates on the planning process, Council meetings, and other City events.
• Project webpage – The City can create and host a project webpage.