The City of Mesa, Arizona. seeks proposals from qualified professionals to assist in the review and evaluation of its Historic Preservation Zoning Ordinance and revision of architectural design guidelines for properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the local Mesa Register historic districts and landmarked properties. The goal of the project is to; (1) review and recommend adjustments to the City’s zoning ordinance with well though best practices for historic preservation ordinances from Cities across the Country; (2) create a user-friendly design guidelines document, in keeping with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, that can be easily interpreted and understood by City staff, policy makers, and the public alike. The document should be highly customized to the City of Mesa, and include substantial content covering the design and architecture present in each specific historic district.

The consultant will be expected to recommend likely revisions to the existing Historic Preservation sections of the Mesa Zoning Ordinance with best practices from similar-sized cities across the Country.

1. The text of the current historic preservation ordinance will be thoroughly examined, and the consultant will consult with City of Mesa staff to understand the efficacy of the current ordinance.
2. The consultant will conduct outreach to the community and necessary stakeholders regarding the efficacy of the current historic preservation ordinance and solicit their suggestions for improvements.
3. The consultant will work with City staff to explore possible revisions to the Mesa Historic Preservation Zoning Ordinance, and will collaborate with staff to draft these revisions.
4. The consultant is expected to participate in Historic Preservation Board, Planning and Zoning Board, and City Council meetings as necessary to make presentations and answer questions. This has the potential to include attendance at several meetings for each different board or Council.
5. The consultant will ultimately present the revised zoning ordinance to the Mesa City Council for adoption.

The consultant will be expected to revise the existing architectural design guidelines found in Historic Homes of Mesa: An Architectural and Preservation Guide and compose customized architectural design guidelines specific to each of Mesa’s historic districts. The revised architectural design guidelines manual

• The consultant is required to work closely with the City Planning Division in the development of the guidelines. The City staff will provide guidance and information as necessary. The following planning documents and historical surveys are among those that will be made available to the consultant.
• In conjunction with a grant from the State of Arizona Historic Preservation Office, the allocated budget for the project herein is $50,000.00.
• The consultant shall submit estimated costs and a proposed fee statement, including a spreadsheet indicating the basis for the costs for each component of the scope of services. Provide the dollar value of the work of the consultant and all sub-consultants, including the percentage of work to be completed by a sub-consultant. Provide hourly rate schedules by personnel, reimbursable expenses, and the proposed number of hours budgeted for each member of the consultant firm or team.
• Proposed fees will be used as an indication of the level of services to be provided. The City of Mesa will not select professional services on a low-bid basis, although the cost of work will be considered in the selection process. The City reserves the right to negotiate final fees and scope of services with the selected consultant.
• Submission Requirements -The response to this Request for Proposals should follow the suggested content outline below. The submittal document should be of sufficient detail to effectively present the consultants’ proposal and responses to the items requested; there is no specified length, however, proposals will not be judged by the volume of material and therefore should be as concise as possible without sacrificing clarity.
• Completion of this project without local staff will be highly challenging, costly to the consultant, and is not recommended. It is the intent of the City of Mesa to hire one agency to complete Phase I and Phase II of the project. However, if qualified applicants are not available, Mesa may hire two separate consultants for each Phase. Teaming is encouraged.
• The submission should include the following information, in the following order: Cover letter, tailored specifically to address this project, that briefly introduces the consultant

DATE AND TASK

APRIL 15, 2020: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ISSUED

MAY 7, 2020: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RESPONSES DUE TO CITY STAFF

MAY 07-MAY 15, 2020: VIRTUAL APPLICANT INTERVIEWS AND SELECTION

MAY 16, 2020: PROJECT TEAM KICK OFF VIRTUAL MEETING WITH CONSULTANT AND CITY STAFF

MAY 1, 2020: IDENTIFY CHALLENGES AND WEAKNESSES IN HP ORDINANCE

JUNE 02, 2020: INTRODUCE CONSULTANT TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD

JUNE–JULY 2020: STAKEHOLDER/PUBLIC OUTREACH AND CONVERSATIONS

JULY 13, 2020: PRESENT PROPOSED OUTLINES FOR ZONING ORDINANCE AND DESIGN GUIDELINES TO CITY STAFF

AUGUST 4, 2020: DISCUSS OUTREACH RESULTS AND DELIVERABLE OUTLINES WITH HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD

AUGUST 12, 2020: DISCUSS OUTREACH RESULTS AND DELIVERABLE OUTLINES WITH PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD

AUGUST 24, 2020: 75% ZONING ORDINANCE DRAFT DUE TO CITY STAFF PRELIMINARY DESIGN GUIDELINES DRAFT DUE TO CITY STAFF

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020: PRESENT DRAFT ZONING ORDINANCE TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020: PRESENT DRAFT ZONING ORDINANCE TO PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020: 100% ZONING ORDINANCE DRAFT DUE TO CITY STAFF DESIGN GUIDELINES PROGRESS DRAFT DUE TO CITY STAFF

OCTOBER 2020: PRESENT FINAL ZONING ORDINANCE TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD, PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD, AND MESA CITY COUNCIL

NOVEMBER 2020: 100% DESIGN GUIDELINES DRAFT DUE TO CITY STAFF

DECEMBER 2020: FINALIZE DESIGN GUIDELINES

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021: PRESENT DESIGN GUIDELINES TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD AND PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD FOR RECOMMENDATION

FEBRUARY 2021: PRESENT DESIGN GUIDELINES TO MESA CITY COUNCIL

Submittal Instructions

Completed responses to this request for proposals must be submitted and timestamped by 6 p.m. on May 07, 2020 (MT).

Please email submissions to: arianna.urban@mesaaz.gov

Arianna Urban, M.S.
HP Historic Preservation Coordinator
City of Mesa Historic Preservation Office

Please do not send hard copies in the US Mail; only electronic submittals will be accepted, in .pdf format.