REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR PLANNING SERVICES

Notice is hereby given that the Jefferson County, Alabama, Department Development Services (DDS) is seeking expressions of interest from consulting firms, with experience and qualifications to provide general planning services for a limited period of time.

A summary of Jefferson County is as follows:

Jefferson County is the central county of the Birmingham-Hoover MSA which consists of seven (7) counties and has a population of 1,140,300. Jefferson County has 38 municipalizes within its boundary. The Jefferson County population is approximately 658,000 with an unincorporated area population of 93,000. The County covers over 1,100 square miles and is situated at the southern end of the Appalachian ridge. The Birmingham region's history as the "Pittsburgh of the South" has left the region with a significant industrial and mining legacy that, in the mid to late 20th century was the scene of significant steps in the national Civil Rights movement. From a glittering and reviving central city to wealthy and sprawling suburbs to rural pockets of rural Appalachian poverty the region has significant assets and issues to be addressed. The County implemented a Land Use Plan in the 1990s and began a Comprehensive Plan process, with partial adoption in 2008.

Unincorporated Jefferson County is largely suburban and rural, with most of the remains of the area's mining legacy. The County has sought to capitalize on its significant transportation and locational assets to pursue economic development as it is at the intersection of 3 main interstate highways and is near a number of major auto manufacturing facilities (Mercedes, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota), as well as being centrally located in the Southeast region near Atlanta, Huntsville, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Mobile, as well as the not too distant New Orleans. In addition, the region is home to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a significant medical and research institution, as well as Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College and Miles College.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The consultant(s) shall function as an extension of Jefferson County DDS staff resources by providing qualified technical and professional personnel to perform duties and responsibilities assigned under the terms of the agreement. Jefferson County also seeks these professional planning services to plan, organize, and direct comprehensive planning activities and strategies for the County, including but not limited to demographics, environmental, conservation, housing, infrastructure, and resilient planning activities. Overall management of division-related long-range planning matters, prepare reports, update the County's Comprehensive Plan and data and analysis related to typical comprehensive planning.

The major component of the temporary professional planning services involves providing assistance to DDS staff on a work assignment basis in a variety of technical, graphical, planning, and product review activities, such as case management for public hearings, which was handled by the Principle Planner.

The Principle Planner also was charged with updating and transitioning the existing, County Land Use Plan and Comprehensive Plan, which was watershed and land based, into an updated "best planning practices" Comprehensive Plan (Plan) to include elements not only on land use, but economic development, infrastructure, housing, conservation/open space, mobility, and quality of life. The existing Plan was written in 2008, with minor updates in 2011, thus it is overdue for updating with current data, best planning practices, and reflect changed market trends. The updated comprehensive plan should include (but are not limited to) site analysis and assessment, making recommendations, using a comprehensive and inclusive public process during preparation, working with County staff to prepare a plan and implementation strategy, identifying projects costs and funding sources, utilizing information provided through the community, and identify specific public projects with costs for improvements. It would be beneficial for the Comprehensive Plan to reflect the long-range development plans and infrastructure needs of the various departments or outside agencies, such as Roads and Transportation, Environmental Services, and the Birmingham Water Board. The updated Plan would establish a vision for the future of the County and provide a roadmap how to achieve that vision over 15 to 20 years. While Jefferson County is currently predominately rural, development is expected to continue. It would be beneficial if the updated Plan addressed the future build-out of the County. A long‑term planning goal is to create walkable urban cores that benefit the County and residents economically while promoting sustainability and equity. The final deliverables expected for the updated Plan would include a GIS map of proposed improvements; a Future Land Use map, an implementation strategy; analysis and description of needs, issues, and opportunities; summary and documentation of citizen outreach meetings and inputs; narrative, vision, and goals.

DDS shall request consultant services on an as-needed basis as they pertain to public hearing case management and a period not to exceed one year to update and expand the Comprehensive Plan to be a county-wide analysis with goals, objectives, and policies. There is no guarantee that any or all the services described in the agreement will be assigned during the term of this agreement. Jefferson County, at its option, may elect to have any of the services set forth herein performed by other consultants or DDS staff.

Specification for Work:

All plans, studies, reports, and documents shall be prepared to meet state and federal requirements, as applicable. Work products shall be accurate, legible, articulate, complete, and furnished in media acceptable to the DDS. Electronic files shall be delivered in formats compatible with the DDS's computer systems and software.

RESPONSE FORMAT

To be considered for evaluation, your response must contain the following elements:

Submittals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Experience and knowledge relating to general planning, resolution/ordinance writing, zoning regulation updates, subdivision regulation updates, long‑range/comprehensive planning, and public hearing case management (30)
2. Quality of work on similar or related projects previously undertaken (20)
3. Qualifications and experience of staff and sub-consultant staff (20)
4. Evaluation of any previous work completed for Jefferson County (10)
5. Proximity to the geographic location of Jefferson County (5)
6. Projected workload that will potentially run concurrent with these projects that could affect the firm's ability to adequately staff these projects (15)

The selection of professional consultant(s) shall be based on qualification information exhibited in both written and graphic form. Interviews may be required. Consultants interested shall submit an electronic copy of its expression of interest and qualifications in a sealed package addressed to:

Derek C.S. Burr, AICP
Department of Development Services
Room A-200 Courthouse
716 Richard Arrington, Jr. Blvd. N.
Birmingham, AL 35203

Please make sure the project name is clearly visible on the outside of the package, Electronic proposal shall be submitted on USB drive in one of the following formats: Adobe Acrobat (pdf), Microsoft Word (docs) or Microsoft Excel (xlsx). Submit the requested documentation by close of business on October 12, 2019.