The Village is a municipality located within the Florida Keys with a population of approximately 7,212 and 115 full-time employees. As a Florida municipality, the Village must operate within the guidelines of Florida Statutes relating to public records, public meetings, and Sunshine laws. The Village undergoes an annual financial audit pursuant to Florida Statutes. Additionally, the Village must follow the guidelines of its purchasing ordinance when purchasing capital, supplies and services.

The Village is located within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern. Pursuant to Chapter 380, Section 380.0552 of the Florida Statutes, the "Florida Keys Area Protection Act" was adopted by the Florida legislature to establish a land use management system that protects the natural environment of the Florida Keys, that promotes orderly and balanced growth and that ensures that the population of the Florida Keys can be safely evacuated in the event of a hurricane or other emergency. Comprehensive plans and land development regulations and administration of such plans and regulations must be at a service level considered adequate to protect the Florida Keys Area, must fulfill the legislative intent of the Act, and must be consistent with and further the principles guiding development.

The Village consists of four barrier islands extending 18 miles with a total land area of nearly 4,000 acres. The Village boundaries extend from Mile Marker (MM) 90.9 to MM 72.7 along the U.S. Highway 1 corridor. Due to the low-lying topography, highly permeable soil conditions, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay and the rural character of most of the road network flooding presents one of the most dangerous and costliest natural disaster events that threaten human lives and property.

US Highway 1 is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). State Road 4A or "Old Highway" has traditionally been used as a residential or community roadway. The Village is responsible for maintaining the residential roadways.

Each island of the Village is characterized by different activities, land use and density. The following provides a general description of the general activities and land use on each island.

Plantation Key - Retail commercial, marine industrial, single family residential, multi-family residential, Coast Guard, FDOT Weigh Station, government, park and recreation areas.

Windley Key - Mobile homes, high density multi-family residential, hotels, motels, state geological site.

Upper Matecumbe - Retail commercial, marine commercial, single family residential, multi-family residential, industrial, hotels, motels, professional office.

Lower Matecumbe - Mostly single family residential, hotels, motels, commercial fishing, parks and recreation areas (public beaches).

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The objective of the Comprehensive Plan update is to provide the residential and business community of Islamorada, the Village Council, the Local Planning Agency, other advisory boards, and Village staff with a modernized, concise and engaging tool to guide the Village's decision making and development over the next 20 years. At the same time, the Village is very interested in a complete update of the Plan's format to include an integration of organization and tools designed to encourage effective implementation, scheduled reviews, and frequent consultation as the roadmap for alignment of future Village initiatives and projects.

The finished document should be:

1. comprehensive, internally consistent, and legally defensible;
2. organized and written to promote ease of use such that a citizen can easily navigate through it and understand what it says;
3. written in simplified, straight-forward policy language that provides clear rationale upon which implementing code and map amendments may be based;
4. and free of conflicting and duplicative policy language from existing Land Development Regulations.

The selected firm shall be responsible for providing expertise, personnel, equipment, supervision, and other services necessary to update the Village Comprehensive Plan and create a guiding document that reflects the community's unique natural character and provides a clear process, together with specified objectives and policies, of how the Village can build upon its strengths while becoming more economically resilient. The current adopted Comprehensive Plan can be found here: https://islamorada.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=plan

Specifically, by performing the following Project tasks:

1. Conduct a full review of the current comprehensive plan and Land Development Regulations including data and analysis and policy review.
2. Update data and analysis especially in the areas of demographics and land use, annexation patterns, transportation, public services/facilities, housing, environmental conditions, and levels of service related to utilities, recreation facilities, etc.
3. Produce updated and new data and analysis primarily in graphic and tabular formats (spreadsheets, geographic information system (GIS) products, Adobe Suite and other identified formats) that can be easily updated by future Village staff, and, that can be easily exported to public information outlets.
4. Recommend and draft ordinance changes necessary to implement plan policy updates.
5. Conduct citizen forums/hearings, open houses, charrettes, focus groups, other avenues of public input and citizen surveys to acquire information. Information gathered may include, but not limited to, current development patterns, future development patterns including what citizens believe is necessary development for the future.
6. Review and incorporate our existing plans into the comprehensive plan where applicable.
7. Work with Village staff, the Local Planning Agency, Village Council, and various interested parties in the Village to develop the comprehensive plan.
8. Attend the citizen forums/hearings, open houses, charrettes, focus groups, other avenues of public input, work sessions and public meetings with the Local Planning Agency and Village Council.
9. Provide written documents and supporting maps and graphics for the plan based upon the information gathered from the public forums listed in #5 above.
10. Create realistic comprehensive plan that will be a user friendly and can be implemented.
11. Create a comprehensive plan compliant with the Florida State Statutes.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be eligible for selection consideration, interested proposers must submit proposals in the manner directed on the first page of this RFP document.

Proposals must contain the following information:

1. Cover Letter: Provide a cover letter introducing the Consultant and proposal summarizing in a brief and concise manner the Consultant's understanding of the work to be performed, the commitment to perform the work, a statement explaining why the Consultant believes itself to be qualified to perform the engagement, and a statement that the proposal remains in effect for one ninety (90) days. An authorized agent of the Consultant must sign the Cover Letter indicating the agent's title or authority.
2. Company Overview: Provide an overview of the company detailing the total number and expertise of professional staff that would be assigned to the Project, describing staff credentials, and identifying office locations and staff assigned to those offices throughout the Florida Keys or the nearest locations to the Florida Keys.
3. Project Management Experience/Project Examples:
   • Detail the qualifications and experience of the Consultant and services offered and key personnel within the organization.
   • Provide examples of similar projects completed.
4. Project Approach: Provide a detailed description of the methodology to be used and how tasks will be organized to complete the Project.
5. Consultant References: Provide at least three (3) clients for whom the Consultant has completed similar projects within the last five (5) years. The references should include the name, address, telephone number and email address of a contact person for each reference cited and link to completed, published comprehensive plan.
6. Cost Proposal: Provide a complete proposed fee schedule or not-to-exceed cost to complete the Scope of Services. The cost proposal must include a statement that the proposal remains in effect for ninety (90) days.
7. Timeline: A proposed timeline to include the Consultant's best estimate of the number of calendar days to complete the Project should be included in the proposal package.
8. State and Local Authorization to Transact Business: Submit proof of authorization to transact and conduct business in the State of Florida. The successful proposer must be fully licensed and certified in the State of Florida at the time of submittal for the type of services to be rendered.
9. Appendix A: Submit the completed and signed Appendix A acknowledging receipt of Addenda and Affidavit Attesting to Noncoercive Conduct for Labor or Services.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

Interested proposers must submit sealed proposal packages by certified mail or in person to:

Islamorada, Village of Islands
Attn: Village Clerk
86800 Overseas Highway
Islamorada, Florida 33036

To be eligible for selection consideration, a submittal package must contain all documentation detailed in Section VII of this document. Proposers must submit one (1) original printed package and three (3) printed copies, and one (1) electronic copy provided by email attachment or cloud storage link. The printed documents shall be enclosed in a sealed envelope and be plainly marked on the upper left-hand corner with the name and address of the Consultant and bear the following title: Islamorada, Village of Islands "Comprehensive Plan Update (RFP 24-10)."

The electronic copy should be identical to the original printed package in natively converted PDF format and include "RFP 24-10" in the document title. Submit the electronic document or link to the cloud storage site via email to clerk@islamorada.fl.us within 24-hours after 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 11, 2024.

It is the sole responsibility of proposing consultants to ensure that their submittal is received in a timely manner. Any proposal package submitted past the deadline and/or submitted to other locations or offices shall be deemed non-responsive and will be rejected. At the sole discretion of the Village, an exception to the submittal deadline may be made for emergency conditions affecting Islamorada.

The issuance of this RFP does not obligate the Council to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred in preparation of proposals responding to this RFP.

View RFP 24-10 on the Village website at Bid Postings • COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE (islamorada.fl.us)