The following is an excerpt from the RFP, which can be found here:

www.rockymountainbidsystem.com

*Once registered, consultants will find the RFP under the "Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System" region, "City and County of Denver General Services Purchasing BID Opportunities".

The RFP title is: Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI) Near Northwest — Professional Consultant

Solicitation number: 29262Q

DESCRIPTION

The City is soliciting a proposal for the selection of a consultant team to assist with the development of a new plan under the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI) for the Near Northwest planning area.

NPI Near Northwest includes the statistical neighborhoods of Jefferson Park, Highland, Sunnyside, and Chaffee Park. It includes a variety of housing types, historic resources, commercial corridors, local shopping destinations, and industrial areas in the northeastern portion of the planning area. Some portions of the area have seen significant change in both demographics and real estate trends, and displacement and loss of historic character continue to be a concern for both residents and small businesses. The planning area has close proximity to downtown, but it contends with the barriers of I-25, I-70, and the major arterials of Federal Boulevard, 38th Avenue, and Speer Boulevard that are identified on the City's High Injury Network.

Issues and opportunities in the NPI Near Northwest planning area include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Housing affordability and diversity of housing options
• Urban design, neighborhood context, and preservation of historic resources
• Pedestrian and bike safety and access to high capacity transit
• Preservation of existing and promotion of new small businesses
• Examination of industrial areas to support employment uses and address any conflicts with adjacent uses
• Placemaking and the desire to foster community gathering places and destination areas
• Connectivity across barriers of I-25 and I-70
• Issues affecting the youth population, including walkability/bikeability, safe routes to schools, and access to open space and recreation centers
• Access to parks, healthcare, education, jobs, and multimodal transportation services

Project Timeline

All NPI plans will adhere to a standard 18 to 24-month planning process as detailed in section B.3 of this RFP. Consultant resources from this RFP will support NPI planning activities to be initiated in Q2 2021 for the Near Northwest planning area.

Budget and Resources

The project budget is $335,000. At this time the project does not have additional financial resources beyond those identified here and cannot go over budget. Proposals should describe how the consultant will coordinate with City staff to keep the project on time and within budget.

Respondents should note that the NPI planning process leaves flexibility for additional topics to be added to the plan scope by the public, or as warranted by data analysis (referred to in the project scope as "focus topics"; see section B.3). Incorporation of these topics does not constitute a scope increase, and proposals should describe how the Consultant Team will hold resources in reserve to address focus topics as they arise.

City staff will make a significant contribution to achieving the project scope of work. Consultants will work as an extension of staff, focusing on tasks related to their expertise. Specific City resources for this project include:

• Neighborhood Planning Supervisor — Coordinates the Neighborhood Planning Initiative as a whole and serves as principal-in-charge for this project
• Senior City Planner — Project Manager and point of contact for the plan
• Senior City Planner — Project support
• Associate City Planner — Project support
• GIS Administrator — Assists with GIS and graphics as a supplement to similar expertise on the consultant team.
• Communications Staff — Assists with website, promotional materials, emails, and engagement strategy
• City Interdepartmental Team — City staff from other departments (Public Health and the Environment (DPHE), Economic Development (DEDO), Housing Stability (HOST), Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), Parks and Recreation (DPR), Community Planning and Development (CPD) Planning Services — Landmark Preservation, Urban Design, and others) who can provide targeted assistance and support on plan topics that overlap with their work programs.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Consultant Qualifications

It is desirable, but not required, for the consultant team to have key staff located in the Denver metropolitan area with experience working with Denver agencies and neighborhoods. Consultant qualifications are categorized into two tiers, as described below:

• Tier 1 — These qualifications are related to "always topics" (topics that will appear in every NPI plan — see B.3 Understanding the Area for additional details). Expertise in these areas should therefore have a strong presence on the Consultant Team. Unless otherwise stated, consultant expertise should be at the planning/policy/conceptual level, not the engineering or detailed technical level.
  • Built Environment
    • Land use and neighborhood character/context
    • Transportation and streetscape (pedestrian, bike, transit and vehicle)
    • Utilities and infrastructure planning (storm water, green infrastructure, etc.)
    • Parks, trails and open space
    • Urban design
    • Historic and Cultural Preservation
  • Policy and Regulation
    • Economic development
    • Housing affordability, displacement, and gentrification
    • Health, sustainability, and resiliency (as they relate to the built environment--not a Health Impact Assessment)
    • Placemaking and retrofit strategies for underutilized or distressed areas
  • Skills
    • Graphic design, mapping, and quantitative/spatial analysis
    • Document layout, formatting, and design
    • Planning process best practices and strategies
    • Innovative public engagement and outreach,
    • Meeting facilitation and mediation/resolution
    • Interpretation and translation services in location-relevant languages

• Tier 2 — These qualifications represent specialized expertise that may or may not be needed, depending on the focus topics that are selected by the community. Based on their knowledge and understanding of the planning area, proposals should identify any Tier 2 expertise that they believe should be represented on the project team. In some cases, (such as zoning and historic preservation), City staff have significant expertise and may only need consultant support if unique circumstances arise. The consultant team is not required to have Tier 2 expertise on the team but should demonstrate access and ability to obtain the additional expertise, via a reserve budget or other means, as needed and with associated cost estimates.
  • Built Environment (examples)
    • Parking
    • Brownfield reuse and remediation
    • Schools/institutions
    • Beautification, brand identity, signage and wayfinding
  • Policy and Regulation (examples)
    • Zoning and development regulations
    • Accessory Structures/Accessory Dwelling Units
    • Social issues
    • Safety and crime
    • Arts and culture
    • Food systems
    • Special districts

SCOPE OF WORK

To view the Scope of Work, refer to the RFP on Rocky Mountain BidNet (information is below).

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS:

Submission of proposals for this solicitation may only be done electronically through BidNet®. Proposals must be submitted at www.rockymountainbidsystem.com, no later than the date and time indicated in the proposal.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN E-PURCHASING (BidNet®):

The City is collaborating with Rocky Mountain E-purchasing System (BidNet®) in the advertisement and facilitation of Formal Bids and RFPs administered by the City's General Services Purchasing Division.

It is a requirement of this Request for Proposals (RFP) that interested parties familiarize themselves and register with BidNet®; proposer/ contractors who do not register may be considered non-responsive.

Registration with BidNet® is available at NO CHARGE and allows proposers access to view governmental bids posted on BidNet®; they offer an additional notification service option with an associated fee. It is the responsibility of the proposer/ contractor to evaluate and select the service option of their choice.

The City is not responsible for the actions, or lack thereof, on the part of the proposer with regards to their interaction with BidNet®, or any other third-party bid notification service in relation to this RFP.

More information is available at: www.rockymountainbidsystem.com or by calling 1-800-835-4603.