Purpose:

The City of Heath, TX is requesting statements of qualification from professional firms interested in providing services for a rewrite of the City of Heath's Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations. The Sign Code is separate from the Zoning Ordinance; however, there are elements of the code mixed within certain districts of the zoning ordinance and should be considered a part of this effort.

Background:

The City of Heath is located to the northeast of the City of Dallas and has experienced a steady population growth of approximately 11,500 residents in an area less than sixteen square miles. With its proximity to Lake Ray Hubbard, the City of Heath is known for its low density high-end residential homes, its outdoor lifestyle which includes parks and trails, and is known as one of the premier cities in the Metroplex. The majority of the City of Heath is developed with single-family homes on large lots that generally exceed one-acre in size. The remainder consists of retail and service uses, schools, churches, parks, Government buildings and public spaces, the Rush Creek Yacht Club, and the Buffalo Creek Country Club. The City of Heath has approximately 30% undeveloped land with an opportunity to focus development of the Towne Center Overlay District as future retail.

Heath maintains a rural by design community with an intentionally low ratio of non-residential land use area to population that reflects Heath's identity as a Premier Outdoor Lifestyle Community.

The existing Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 159: Zoning) was adopted in 2005 and has had numerous amendments since its adoption. However, there has not been a comprehensive rewrite since being adopted.

The existing Subdivision Regulation (Chapter 158: Subdivision) was also adopted in 2005 and also had numerous amendments through the years. The subdivision ordinance includes the City's Tree Preservation, and Parkland Dedication and Development standards as components of this chapter that will need to be considered when rewriting the ordinance.

In June 2025, the City of Heath adopted an update to the 2018 Comprehensive Plan by revising the Plan's goals and objectives to reflect the changes that Heath has experienced and focused on land use and livability strategies in order to maintain the City's large lot rural characteristics. Implementation of the Plan's recommendations should focus on the vision, goals, and objectives of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan as part of this extensive review of the corresponding ordinances. Staff has tracked some inconsistencies between the existing ordinances and current development practices. The selected Consultant will review existing inconsistencies, newly adopted goals of the future land use plan, and best practices to gain insight on revisions needed. The Consultant and staff will then work with a broad-based steering committee to prepare the elements of what the City expects to be innovative and meaningful ordinance revisions. Use of the City's website for public participation and draft publication is important, as is the multi-media packaging of the revisions.

Scope of Work:

Key elements of the scope of work should at a minimum include, but not be limited to:

Zoning Ordinance

• Update the existing Zoning Ordinance based on eliminating inconsistencies with the existing ordinance and the Subdivision Ordinance, Comprehensive Plan, or any other documents guiding development.
• Develop more specific retail design guidelines, possibly using form-based code for strategic areas and gateways to the City, such as Towne Center Overlay District, The Reserve Development, and major transportation corridors.
• Revised residential and non-residential design and development standards.
• Finalize existing zoning map.
• Update nonconforming language and sign ordinance.

Subdivision Regulation

• Update the existing Subdivision Regulations based on eliminating inconsistencies with the existing regulations and the Zoning Ordinance, Comprehensive Plan, or any other documents guiding development.
• Assist Engineering and Public Works with the development of water and sanitary sewer requirements, as well as standards for pedestrian and trail integration, roadway construction, drainage, and stormwater management.
• Requirements for uniqueness in the layout of each neighborhood
• Providing well illustrated ideal lot and block typologies.
• Requirements for POA/HOAs.
• Traffic and drainage are sensitive issues that need to be addressed but also must be mindful of proportionality.
• Focus on integrating park and open space concepts related to residential lots through open space standards and neighborhood amenities

Other Ordinances to Revise or Create

• Parking Lot Design
• Food Trucks
• Car Washes and other High Water Land Uses
• Short Term Rentals
• Outdoor Storage
• Sign Consistency with Commercial Developments
• Outdoor Storage
• The Reserve Development
• Rural Street Standards
• Collection and Donation Bins

*Attachment A: Recommendations Matrix contains a more extensive list of zoning and subdivision updates recommended by the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update.

Public Participation

• The consultant will develop an engagement strategy to involve a technical advisory committee.
• Provide input and guidance on plan oversight, public input, civic coordination and final plan recommendations.
• The consultant will work with the community to modernize Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance while still respecting existing development and the latest comprehensive plan.

Graphics/Illustrations/Format

• The consultant will provide illustrations, tables, cross references and other appropriate graphics that clearly describe and show the meaning of terms, definitions, and architectural details, etc.
• The consultant will prepare drafts of changes to the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance for review by staff and the technical advisory committee, including graphics, culminating in a final version to be presented to and acted upon by the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council.
• Proposed changes to the city code must be written in user-friendly language and formats and should avoid vague language that may be difficult to enforce. The proposed code should be easily understood by administrators, the public, and the development community.
• The ordinance should be developed in accordance with City of Heath policies and State of Texas Laws while also maintaining the unique characteristics of the City of Heath.

Meetings

• Attend meetings of the City of Heath; City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, and other boards, committees, and groups as agreed upon between the City of Heath and the consultant.

Deliverables:

Final version of the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations in the following formats:

• Four hard copies in three-ring binders
• On a flash drive in an editable format
• PowerPoint slides and other graphics used in all meetings and presentations

Time Schedule:

Commencement of the process should be started as soon as possible with a preferred completion date of six to eight months following execution of a contract.

Selection Process:

City of Heath Staff will analyze and evaluate the Statements of Qualifications. Candidates will be ranked based on information provided in the Statements of Qualifications and the evaluation criteria found in this RFQ. Based on this ranking, Staff will select the appropriate number of top ranked respondents for further consideration. It may be necessary to interview several top respondents. The highest-ranked firm, representing the most highly qualified provider of the services needed based on demonstrated competence and qualifications, will be asked to submit a fee proposal and scope of work to begin contract negotiations. In the event that Staff fails to reach a final contract with that firm, Staff will continue negotiations with the next most highly qualified firm and will continue with one of the other firms until the selected vendor is awarded the contract. By submitting its Qualifications in response to this RFQ, respondent accepts the evaluation process and accepts that determination of the "most qualified" firm may require subjective judgments by City of Heath Staff.

The City of Heath reserves the right to reject any and all submittals and to re-solicit new qualification submittals should the need arise.

Requirements for Statements of Qualifications:

Respondents shall submit a Statement of Qualifications addressing each of the criteria below.

1. Qualifications and Experience of the Responding Firm
   • Experience, reputation, and demonstrated competence on projects of similar scope and complexity.
   • Experience with municipal clients.
   • Availability to respond to the needs of the City of Heath in a timely manner.Proposed Project Staff
2. Proposed Project Staff: Provide a statement that summarizes the proposed key personnel who would be directly assigned to primary areas, roles and responsibilities, the qualifications and related experience of each member, and designate the location and employment of each team member (e.g. company employee, sub-consultant employee, contract employee, etc.). If sub- consultants are included to assemble a project team, their qualifications and experience of proposed key personnel should be described with respect to the relevant category or subcategory of work.One person shall be designated as the primary contact for the City of Heath throughout the contract term. The Respondent agrees that the primary contact assigned shall remain available for the entirety of the term as long as that individual is employed by the Respondent or unless the City of Heath agrees to a change in the key personnel.
3. Schedule and Budget: This section should provide enough detail to confirm the firm's ability to reasonably meet project schedule milestones. The response should include a proposed schedule for this project, the team's track record of meeting deadlines and working within a budget. and the team's systems and processes for ensuring quality and timely performance on similar projects.
4. References: The responding firm shall provide no fewer than four references who can be contacted regarding the firm's performance on similar projects. References should include:

• Name, title, phone number, and email.
• A brief description of the project including project scope, budget, client goals, and date of project.
• Specific services provided by the Consultant.

PROJECT SCORING MATRIX

Responses will be evaluated and ranked based on the following matrix.

Requirement (max points) - (Points)

• Qualifications/Experience (45)
• Project Staff (25)
• Schedule (20)
• References (10)

TOTAL SCORE

Additional Submittal Requirements

• Name and address of business entity submitting the response.
• Name and location of major offices and other facilities that relate to the Respondent's performance under the terms of the submission.
• Name, business addresses, business telephone numbers and email addresses of the proposed principal contact person regarding all contractual matters relating to the RFǪ.
• Statement regarding any prior business with the City of Heath listing the project(s).
• Statement relating to existing facilities owned or business operations that present a potential conflict of interest with this project and the City of Heath.
• Length of time in business.

Due Date and Contact Information

Responses are to be uploaded into the City of Heath procurement portal located at www.heathtx.com no later than 3:00 p.m. by Friday, January 30, 2026 and addressed to David Gonzales, AICP, Director of Community Development.

Questions should be emailed to David Gonzales, AICP at: dgonzales@heathtx.com no later than January 19, 2026. Answers to questions will be posted on the City's website.