Firms should demonstrate expertise in zoning reform, public outreach, and producing graphic-rich code documents. Proposals must describe team structure, relevant experience, approach to public involvement, schedule, and fee.

All submittals will be accepted until 4:30 pm on Friday, October 10, 2025. Submittals after this time will not be considered. Acceptance of Proposal Contents The contents of the RFP will be included as part of the contractual obligations if a contract ensues. All information in the proposal is subject to disclosure under the provisions of Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13 - Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

Section 2: Preliminary Timeline, Goals, Scope of Services

Preliminary Project Schedule The City reserves the right to modify the timeline if necessary.

• Final RFP Posted and Available for Viewing September 3, 2025
• Questions Due September 19, 2025
• Proposals Due October 10, 2025
• Interview Selection Notice October 17, 2025
• Interviews October 27-29, 2025
• City Council for Approval November 3, 2025
• Award Notice November 4, 2025
• Project Kick-Off January 2026
• Anticipated Project Completion June 2026

Scope of Services

Scope of Services Under the direction of City staff and with guidance from the Planning Commission and City Council, the selected consultant will lead a comprehensive, six-month rewrite of Willmar's zoning code. The product will be a single Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that merges land use, zoning, subdivision, and development regulations into one modern code to replace the existing 1994 ordinance. This framework is intended to guide responses; proposers should build on it with a detailed, efficient work plan that meets the project objectives. The final Scope of Services will be refined in collaboration with the selected consultant and City staff before contract execution. Key Tasks (to be expanded upon in your proposal):

1. Project Initiation (Weeks 1–2)
   1. Kickoff meeting with City staff, Planning Commission, and City Council
   2. Confirm timeline, milestones, and communication protocols
2. Existing Conditions & Policy Review (Weeks 3–6)
   1. Audit current zoning code and related ordinances
   2. Incorporate recent plans and studies (e.g., 2025 Future Land Use Map, housing analyses)
3. Public Engagement & Stakeholder Outreach (Weeks 7–12)
   1. Deploy a targeted outreach strategy: workshops, online surveys, stakeholder interviews
   2. Synthesize community feedback into clear priorities
4. Drafting the UDO (Weeks 13–18)
   1. Develop annotated outline and graphic-rich draft code sections
   2. Align with Minnesota State statutes, city goals, and best practices
5. Review, Revision & Adoption Support (Weeks 19–24)
   1. Facilitate joint work sessions and public hearings with Planning Commission and City Council
   2. Integrate feedback and finalize ordinance text 
   3. Deliver training materials and implementation guidance for City staff

Proposals must demonstrate a clear, phased approach, six-month schedule, and methods for iterative collaboration. All deliverables should reflect Willmar's existing planning documents and regional policy frameworks.

Project Management

1. Consultant leads all project management activities, including scheduling, staffing, budgeting, and resource allocation.
2. City staff support tasks such as data gathering, analysis, and drafting to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
3. Consultant and City staff jointly develop procedures for sharing project updates, soliciting public feedback, and coordinating with Planning Commission and City Council members.

Current Code Diagnosis

1. Consultants and City staff collaborate to audit the existing zoning ordinance, identifying inconsistencies, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

Comprehensive Plan & Document Review

1. Consultant reviews the WITH Willmar Comprehensive Plan and other pertinent studies or policies.
2. Key goals, recommendations, and implementation strategies related to land use are extracted to guide code development.

Zoning District Evaluation

1. Consultants and City staff identify unique or context-sensitive areas, particularly in industrial zones, that may require tailored regulations.

Draft Ordinance & Presentations

1. The consultant prepares draft code sections, complete with illustrative graphics for presentation purposes.
2. Drafts are reviewed by City staff, then presented to the Planning Commission, City Council, and any other relevant committees.
3. Intermediate deliverables and updates are communicated to all stakeholders throughout the process.

Code Integration & Accessibility

1. Consultant works with City staff to finalize an interactive, userfriendly Unified Development Ordinance.
2. The new code should be easily navigable by professional staff, developers, property owners, and the public.

Primary Deliverables

The project is expected to yield the following core deliverables. During final scope negotiations, the City and consultant may agree on additional interim deliverables. Consultants are also encouraged to offer any other output that leverages their professional expertise.

1. A unified, innovative, and illustrative Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that merges land use, zoning, subdivision, and development regulations into a single, user-friendly code. This UDO should streamline reviews and applications for City staff, property owners, businesses, developers, and contractors, and comply with all applicable Minnesota rules and statutes.
2. Formal presentations of draft and final deliverables to City staff, the Planning Commission, the City Council, and other designated committees.
3. Any supplemental or interim deliverables are identified during the detailed scope-of-work development process.

Section 4: Consultant Selection

Proposals will first be reviewed by City staff for completeness. City staff will then evaluate, and rank all completed, submitted proposals. Only proposals that have been properly completed and meet the minimum content requirements will be considered in the evaluation and ranking process. At the conclusion of the review, evaluation and ranking process City staff will recommend the most qualified consultant to the Planning Commission. The final decision will be based on including but not limited to the review and selection criteria mentioned below. The Planning Commission will review the recommendations made by staff and invite the top candidates to conduct a presentation to the same commission. Presentations are expected to occur between October 20 and October 24th of 2025. Notification of the selected consultant finalists will be made as soon as possible, but the consultant's team should be prepared to convene in Willmar for these interviews. The City Council will approve the final contract with the selected consultant. The City Council reserves the right to reject all proposals. Review and Selection Criteria Proposals will be evaluated based on the following review and selection criteria.

Project Work Approach, Deliverables, and Organization (30pts)

• Firm grasp of the project scope and objectives
• Quality and organization of response to proposed work program and proposed deliverables
• Quality of creative approach to the deliverables and public outreach

Completeness of proposed deliverables Communications ( 25 p t s )

• Organization and completeness of the response
• Writing skills, as shown through the submission and any other submitted work examples

Related Experience, References, and Work Examples (20pts)

• Confirmation that consultant has performed similar work in the recent past and quality and applicability of submitted work examples
• Description and demonstrated ability (proven track record), of the firm as a whole and individual team members, in successfully completing similar projects, and producing quality deliverables, on time and within a budget
• Experience and demonstrated ability of consultant in the community /public planning process and in preparing municipal codes that regulate development and redevelopment in other communities
• Ability of the consultant to conduct productive meetings and demonstrated experience in doing so
• Ability of the consultant to work with staff, stakeholders, and elected officials and demonstrated direct experience in doing so and in synthesizing and incorporating comments.
• Direct and demonstrated experience of consultant assigned to the project in working with the public and in building community consensus to support innovative regulator structures
• Experience in identifying, evaluating, codifying, and explaining the essential qualities of community design and character
• Demonstrated quality of strong graphic skills
• Quality of submitted work examples
• Past performance of consultant on similar projects

Current workload and availability of consultant team members Schedule (10pts)

• Proposed consultant project schedule and the staffing plan that will facilitate completion of the Plan in a timely manner
• Number of visits / meetings planned

Cost (15pts)

• Demonstration of successful budget performance and previous experience in meeting project budgets
• Description of the approach to budgeting
• Presentation of the consultant best offer; “not to exceed” cost

Section 5: Contract Terms and Conditions

Contract Award

Upon the conclusions of the presentations and selection of the final consultant,the City will negotiate a contract and enter into an agreement with the consultant. The selection of the proposal shall not imply acceptance by the City of all terms of the proposal, which may be subject to further negotiations prior to approval by the City Council before the City may be legally bound thereby. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated at a reasonable time the City, in its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations with the highest ranked consultant and begin contract negotiations with the next highest ranked consultant. It is expected that the contract will provide compensation for actual work completed on a not to exceed basis with the following conditions.

• If, for any reason, the Consultant cannot commence the services in their Proposal within 45 days of the award, the City reserves the right to contract with another qualified firm.
• If, for any reason, the Consultant is unable to fulfill the obligations under the contract in a timely and proper manner, the City reserves the right to terminate the contract by written notice. In this event, the firm shall be entitled to just and equitable compensation for any satisfactory work completed to that point at the discretion of the Planning and Development Director.
• The Consultant shall not assign or transfer any interest in the contract without prior written consent from the City.
• The Consultant contract shall be governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota
• Project summaries shall be submitted with each invoice during the project. Each summary shall detail the amount billed to date, work items that need to be completed, the estimated costs to complete these tasks and the projected timeline for the completion of the project. Invoices submitted to the City shall include a detailed breakdown of times, personnel, mileage, etc. chargeable for that period.
• The City shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by the consultant prior to the signing of a contract including, but not limited to, preparation of materials, attendance at interviews, or final contract negotiations.
• The proposal must be signed in ink by an official from the consultant organization or team, that is authorized to bind the consultant to its provisions. These provisions will be included as part of the eventual contract. The proposal must include a statement as to the period during which the Proposal remains valid. This period must be at least 90 days from the date of the submittal.
• The City reserves the right to reject all proposals or accept what is, in its judgement, the Proposal which is in the City's best interest. The City further reserves the right, in the best interests of the City, to waive any technical defects or irregularities in any / all proposals submitted.
• The City reserves the right to request any additional information from the consultant to assure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, the requirements of this RFP.
• Deletion of specific components of the plan, such as individual project meetings, will be at the discretion of the City. Payment or reimbursement shall be made based on actual hours worked on the various tasks required for the project plus necessary subcontractor work (as applicable) and outof- pocket expenses. Billing more than 'not to exceed' amount will not be compensated unless a contract extension has been approved in advance by the City Council.
• The City shall retain ownership of all documents, plans, maps, reports and data prepared under this proposal. In addition to being provided with digital documents throughout the project, the consultant shall supply the City of Willmar with a full, accurate and complete digital file (pdf and InDesign/Illustrator) upon project completion along with several hard copies of the plan.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED PRIOR TO 4:30 P.M. (CST) ON OCTOBER 10, 2025. LATE SUBMITTALS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

References:

City of Willmar Zoning Ordinance, 1994

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/cityofwillmar/1994%20Zoning%20Ordinance%20for%201994%20with%20updates%20as%20of%202023-11-27.pdf

City of Willmar Comprehensive Plan, WITH Willmar, 2025

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/cityofwillmar/June%2012%202025%20Willmar_Com pPlan_06_11_25_WithAppendices.pdf