PLEASE VISIT https://www.fatetx.gov/Bids.aspx FOR A FULL COPY OF THE RFQ, WHICH INCLUDES RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE RFQ PROCESS.

INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE

The City of Fate, Texas is requesting proposals for qualified planning consultants to prepare an update to our Unified Development Ordinance ("UDO"; Article 36 of the City's Code of Ordinances). The UDO addresses topics related to general provisions, review authority & procedures, applications & permits, subdivisions, zoning district & use regulations, site development & design standards, environmental protection, signs, and compliance & enforcement.

The City of Fate desires to update its UDO to produce development regulations that address contemporary development and zoning practices; are easily understood by administrators, the public, and the development community; and support the goals and policies of the recently adopted (October 11, 2021) Fate Comprehensive Plan and other related long-range planning policy documents.

Fate's focus is to establish clear, responsible development regulations with appropriate design criteria that will provide opportunities for innovative and creative approaches to development while supporting an economically viable and sustainable community.

Areas of key concern to be incorporated into the UDO include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Aligning with new Comprehensive Plan character areas and goals; this may include creation of new zoning districts and/or removal of existing districts
• Encouraging/permitting mixed housing in subset of residential zones
• Updating regulations to conform with all current state and federal laws
• Reducing incidence of SUPs and PDs where possible
• Clarifying procedures and project definitions
• Improving development review efficiency by assigning administrative-level review to the highest degree possible
• Expanding general definitions
• Making the UDO generally clearer and more concise
• Incorporating fiscal analysis into the code
• Removing or amending outdated or inappropriate standards

The City of Fate will receive sealed responses for a Unified Development Ordinance Update from consultants interested and qualified to perform the services specified in this Request for Qualifications. It is the intent of the City of Fate to select a single consultant to accomplish all the services outlined in this Request for Qualifications.

The City of Fate will receive sealed responses for a Unified Development Code Update to provide for a contract commencing within thirty (30) days after the date of the award by the City of Fate and continuing for a period sufficient to complete the original scope of work, though the City places high value on completing the work in an efficient manner and prefers completion of a document within six to nine months of contract.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

About Fate

A fast-growing municipality situated at the center Rockwall County, Texas, approximately 28 miles northeast of Dallas, Fate's population in 2000 was 497. At the end of 2010 the City's population passed 6,500 and Fate is now estimated to have a population of nearly 20,000 and consists of approximately 7,100 households. Fate is located just east of the city of Rockwall and west of the city of Royse City. It is home to a large inventory of established and developing single-family neighborhoods, a rapidly growing downtown, and a wide variety of commercial interests.

The City most recently rewrote its Unified Development Ordinance in 2017, following its previous Comprehensive Plan adoption in 2015. The newly adopted Comprehensive Plan establishes new plan area designations, goals and strategies, and high-level concepts that need to be translated into action through this UDO Update. A summary of goals for this work is provided in the next section of this RFQ.

The Fate Comprehensive Plan and related long-range plans may be accessed via the following link: https://www.fatetx.gov/155/Maps-Plans-Reports.

Project Goals

The current UDO may be accessed via the following link: https://www.fatetx.gov/289/Unified-Development-Ordinance. The current overall UDO structure and many of the elements within will not be heavily revised as part of this project. Thus, this project is being considered more of a "refresh" rather than an intensive and comprehensive rewrite of our code.

Beyond the new guidelines, goals, and strategies contained in the 2021 Comprehensive Plan and the areas of key concerns listed above, City Council, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and city staff have identified several more specific goals for this UDO Update. These include, but are not limited to:

• Create/revise downtown design standards
• Update approved/unapproved plant list and references in the code
• Create floodplain overlay district and related development standards (*updates to existing)
• Revise nonconforming uses chapter
• Update block length standards and required pedestrian connectivity between projects
• Provide illustrative emergency access design standards (e.g., hammerhead turnaround detail)
• Revise home occupation standards using current best practices
• Incorporate anti-monotony standards for residential districts
• Introduce lighting/photometrics standards
• Create a clearer permitting process description and identify if/then pathways
• Clarify and update mixed-use design standards
• Revise the use table in Article IV
• Revise landscaping standards
• Updating sign code to be district-specific
• Revising parking schedule to meet modern best practices
• Preparing a crosswalk of comp plan designations and current/new zoning designations
• Increase opportunities for increased productivity within developed areas and as part of new developments

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Overview

The scope of the UDO Update will affect areas located within the incorporated limits of the City of Fate. Certain provisions will apply in the extraterritorial jurisdiction to the extent permitted in the State of Texas or by landowner agreement.

Public Involvement

The City and selected consultant will recruit an advisory committee for drafting the UDO updates. The advisory committee shall consist of developers, at-large community members, and members of the Planning & Zoning Commission. An administrative working group will also be established comprised of certain staff from various city departments. The consultant team is expected to hold public meetings and workshops with the administrative working group, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and the advisory committee at defined benchmarks in the process. At a minimum, the following engagement activities shall be included in the scope:

• Initial meeting with administrative working group to review the project schedule, schedule future meetings, and facilitate data acquisition
• Kick-off workshop with advisory committee and Planning & Zoning Commission
• One public workshop to discuss project goals and specific updates
• Check-in/draft review with the advisory committee
• In-progress presentations to the City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission
• Pre-hearing review of final draft comments with steering committee
• Check-ins with the administrative working group at regular intervals

Evaluation of Existing UDO

The City has entered into a contract with the Incremental Development Alliance (https://www.incrementaldevelopment.org/) to conduct a code audit and "stress test" on a certain subset of our zoning districts and our Design & Development Standards (Article V of the UDO). The zoning districts to be evaluated are R-4, NC, RMU-T, RMU-N, OTC, and OTT districts. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the functionality of our code and its accessibility for small developers and those pursuing non-standard development projects and creative infill development. This work will be performed during December 2021 and January 2022 and will result in a technical memo that will contain recommendations for code revisions to address areas of weakness or opportunities for improvement. These recommendations will be a part of the consideration of the UDO updates as a whole to be performed by the consultant selected through this RFQ process.

The consultant team is expected to review adopted plans and third-party code audit of the UDO and conduct any further evaluation it deems necessary. This may include meeting with public & private stakeholders to obtain input. The consultant team is expected to demonstrate clear understanding of the existing UDO and necessary actions to achieve the vision established in adopted plans and as outlined in this RFQ.

Draft Development

The consultant team is expected to prepare and submit a written UDO Update draft that clearly defines the City of Fate's expectations regarding appearance, design, quality & intensity of development, implementing the policies of the adopted Fate Comprehensive Plan and associated long-range plans. The consultant team shall ensure compliance with all applicable State of Texas statutes. The UDO is expected to rely heavily on graphics to communicate and support regulations. With the draft, the consultant team shall recommend the best method for managing and maintaining codification and updates to the UDO. The final UDO shall be presented in a manner suitable for both print, electronic, and online publication.

Final Document Adoption

The consultant team is expected to carry the UDO from inception through document adoption by City Council. The adoption process will include public hearings before both the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council. The consultant team will provide one (1) original and eight (8) hard copies of both the draft and final version of the UDO. They will also provide both versions (draft and final) in electronic format acceptable to the City (i.e., .docx), and web-ready electronic format acceptable to the City. The consultant will create all maps in a City-approved geographical information systems application (i.e., ArcGIS). Maps and supporting documentation will be maintainable using current City software programs. All final map files will be presented in either Arc GIS shape file or City-approved file on a City-approved form of submission.

RESPONSE TO THE RFQ

PLEASE VISIT https://www.fatetx.gov/Bids.aspx FOR A FULL COPY OF THE RFQ, WHICH INCLUDES RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE RFQ PROCESS.

Addenda & Questions

All questions regarding this response and any regarding the meaning or intent of the RFQ are to be directed to the following contact(s). Interpretations or clarification considered necessary by the City in response to such questions will be issued by Addenda and posted either online or otherwise delivered to all parties recorded by the City as having received the RFQ. Questions received after the deadline for submitting questions will not be answered. Only questions answered by formal written Addenda will be binding. Requests for information may be in writing or sent via email. No oral and other interpretations or clarification will be considered official or binding.

Please submit written requests for information to:

Ryan Wells
Director of Planning & Development Services
1900 CD Boren Pkwy
Fate, TX 75087
rwells@fatetx.gov

SUBMISSION OF RESPONSE & DEADLINE

Proponents shall submit five (5) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy (thumb drive or equivalent) of their response

No later than 4:00 p.m. CST Thursday, January 13, 2022

PLEASE VISIT https://www.fatetx.gov/Bids.aspx FOR A FULL COPY OF THE RFQ, WHICH INCLUDES RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE RFQ PROCESS.

Schedule of Important Dates

The tentative schedule for this Request for Qualifications is as follows:

Release RFQ to Consultants: Friday, December 10, 2021

Deadline for Questions and Inquiries: No later than 4:00 p.m. CST, Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Final date for City Responses and Addenda: Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Response Submission Deadline: No later than 4:00 p.m. CST, Thursday, January 13, 2022

Council Review of Contract: Monday, February 7, 2022 (subject to change)

PLEASE VISIT https://www.fatetx.gov/Bids.aspx FOR A FULL COPY OF THE RFQ, WHICH INCLUDES RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE RFQ PROCESS.