Comprehensive Land Use Plan
City of Gahanna
Gahanna, OH
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN
FOR THE CITY OF GAHANNA
ISSUED: APRIL 7, 2017
PROPOSALS DUE: MAY 5, 2017
Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 PM by:
Michael Blackford, Deputy Director of Planning and Development
City of Gahanna
200 South Hamilton Road
Gahanna, OH 43230
Michael.Blackford@gahanna.gov
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to provide guidelines for the submission of proposals to assist the City of Gahanna (City) in updating and consolidating the City's various land use and area plans into one Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Plan).
The City seeks proposals from qualified firms (Consultant) with considerable experience in community design, architectural analysis, land use, city planning, economic analysis, citizen participation and other relevant areas to prepare the Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City currently has 8 Land Use or Area Plans that provide guidelines to promote development. The City's existing plans are shown below:
- Land Use Plan (2002)
- West Gahanna Development Study (1997)
- Heartland Concept Plan (1999)
- Olde Gahanna Vision Plan (2009)
- North Triangle (1997)
- South Triangle (1996)
- Hamilton Road (2013)
- Olde Gahanna Design Guidelines (2002)
These plans can be found at http://www.gahanna.gov/departments/development/default.aspx.
In 2016, the City recently established the GoForward Gahanna Strategic Plan that identified several key initiatives that are to occur over a five year timeframe. This plan can be found at www.GoForwardGahanna.org.
The GoForward Gahanna Strategic Plan recommended two specific initiatives:
1) Update and consolidate the City's existing land use plans.
2) Establish architectural guidelines and standards that support, maintain and promote the character of the City.
These specific initiatives were identified due to the following reasons:
- Some portions of the City's existing land use plans don't reflect current development trends, community desires, or promote high quality development in the future.
- There are several occurrences within the City's existing land use plans that create overlapping and competing visions, goals, priorities and standards for properties.
- There is a perception that the City lacks a cohesive architectural style and that detracts from the character of the community.
The process to establish the Plan will be critical to its success and must ensure that the final document reflects the desired vision of the community as determined by citizens, land owners, appointed and elected officials, and other stakeholders. Extensive community participation is anticipated in order to establish the Plan.
PROJECT SCOPE
- The Consultant shall identify a public process that includes meetings, workshops and similar events with community stakeholders. Proposals should provide suggestions for outreach opportunities, meeting concepts and information gathering techniques. It is the City's desire that the process be as inclusive as possible while staying on schedule.
- Review existing architectural standards of the built environment and engage stakeholders in order to establish desired architectural guidelines and standards of the community.
- Develop a new future land use map. It is anticipated that multiple development scenarios will be evaluated in regards to land use, transportation, and economic impact to determine desired growth of the community.
- Themes of the Plan may include but not be limited to the following:
- Existing conditions of the built environment
- Community character – architecture, design, public spaces, etc.
- Future land use
- Infrastructure –utilities, roads, pedestrian connectivity, public transit
- Housing – trends, needs, future demand
- Schools – impact analysis
- Economic impact – impact of growth scenarios
- Implementation – priorities, tools, etc.
- Existing plan – relevant themes, goals, etc. from existing plans to be carried forward to new plan.
- The Plan should be designed in a way that allows for it to be used to update the City's zoning ordinance in order to ensure that the goals of the Plan are accomplished. The update to the City's zoning ordinance is not part of this RFP.
The scope of the project is subject to change based solely upon the determination of the City.
SUBMISSION CRITERIA
For evaluation purposes, each proposal submission should include at least the following items in the order listed below with tabs or dividers between each section. If the proposal does not respond to a specific requirement, the City may eliminate that prospective Consultant from consideration. Proposal length should not exceed 70 pages. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals.
TRANSMITTAL/COVER LETTER
The cover letter must be signed by a representative authorized to legally bind the Consultant and include:
- Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a contact person with authority to answer questions regarding the proposal.
- Identification of the firm as a corporation or other legal entity
FIRM EXPERIENCE
Outline your firm's experience and other credentials that illustrate qualifications to undertake this project. Provide at least three examples of a Comprehensive Land Use Plan that your firm has completed within the last three years.
PROJECT TEAM COMPOSITION
Provide a description of the team that will be assigned to the project including resumes for all team members. Identify the capacity in which team members will be used, and identify the Project Manager for on-going contact. Only include descriptions and resumes for individuals who will have continuous or substantial involvement in the project. Any work intended to be subcontracted must be disclosed, including the name of the subcontractor and specific tasks that will be subcontracted.
REFERENCES
Provide a minimum of three references for services comparable to this project. Include the reference's name, address, project owner's representative, title, telephone number, the time period when the services were rendered and description of services rendered.
APPROACH TO THE PROJECT
Provide a detailed description to your firm's approach to achieve the Scope of Work. Scope of Work elements may be expanded to provide further detail or modified to reflect specific or proprietary procedures unique to your firm.
TIMELINE
Provide an outline of the timeline and major milestones for the Scope of Work.
COST & COMPENSATION
Provide a detailed outline of project costs for completing the Scope of Work. This should list the phase of the work, the tasks associated with each phase and the estimated material and labor hours and costs to accomplish each task with a "not to exceed" figure.
NUMBER OF PROPOSALS
Please submit 6 copies of the proposal and one flash drive with the presentation in PDF form.
Please submit to the attention of:
Michael Blackford
Deputy Director of Planning and Development
200 S. Hamilton Road
Gahanna, OH 43230
Please Note: All materials submitted regarding this RFP are public property and are subject to Ohio Public Records Laws. The City of Gahanna reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, and the submission of a proposal is not a guarantee of a contract award.
SELECTION PROCESS
The City of Gahanna will hire a Consultant based upon a thorough review of the merits of the proposals received. Consultants will be evaluated based upon their ability to achieve overall project excellence, ability to meet the City's timetable, and objectives. Additional information may be requested from selected Consultants considered to be the best qualified.
After evaluating the proposals, the City will identify the most responsive submissions and then select the top Consultants for a follow up interview. Based upon the results of the interview, the City will select a Consultant. Upon selection, the Consultant will be contacted to finalize the contract, fee structure and project timeframe. This contract will require City Council authorization in order to begin.
TIMING
The City will adhere to the following schedule, which should result in a selection of Consultant by June 19. If deemed necessary by the City, this schedule may be amended and the Consultants participating in the RFP process will be notified.
- Issue RFP April 7, 2017
- Deadline for submission of questions regarding this RFP: April 21, 2017
- Publish answers to submitted questions: April 28, 2017
- RFP submission deadline: May 5th
- Notify finalists by 5p.m. EST on May 26, 2017
- Finalist interviews/presentations to be held the week of June 12, 2017
- Notify consultant of selection: the week of June 19, 2017
- Estimated plan adoption: July 2018
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Questions Regarding this RFP
Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing via email to michael.blackford@gahanna.gov. All questions must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. EST on April 21, 2017.
Applicable Laws Shall Apply
The contract awarded shall be governed in all respect by the laws of the State of Ohio, and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of the State of Ohio. The Consultant awarded the contract shall comply with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.
Late Submissions
Any proposal received after the deadline will not be accepted or considered.
Withdrawal of Proposal
Respondents may withdraw all or any portion of a proposal at any time during and after the review and award process, up to the ratification of an agreement between the City of Gahanna and the designated firm.
Withdrawal of Request for Proposal
The City of Gahanna retains at all times the right to cancel or withdraw this RFP, to refuse to accept a proposal from any respondent and to modify or amend any portion of this RFP. Notification will be provided to all consultants involved in RFP process.