Request for Qualifications for Planning Services Consultant

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
Planning & Zoning Services
Proposals Due: 4:00 PM, March 14, 2024

I. Summary
The City of Estacada (“City”) seeks the services of a planner or planning firm with considerable expertise in the State of Oregon, to provide on-going “on call” current planning services for the City of Estacada. The City’s ideal planner will have experience with a wide variety of planning activities including short and long range planning. The City of Estacada has experienced significant growth and is expected to continue growing based on the amount of buildable land remaining inside its Urban Growth Boundary. The City currently has one on-staff planner and seeks additional assistance managing the often unpredictable volume of land use applications submitted to the City.
The City anticipates retaining a planning firm to perform current planning services, likely under a contract of initially two years. The City hopes to have this firm under contract by April 2024. Note that the City may opt to contract with more than one firm.

II. Project Overview
In the past the City had an IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) with the Clackamas County Planning Department to provide assistance with planning services. These services included the following:
• Participating in and at times managing pre-application conferences for new development. This work entailed notification to relevant staff, and also review of a proposal to determine what codes and procedures are necessary for the proposal to comply with applicable standards and approval criteria.
• When assigned an application, they were expected to respond to questions from developers, architects, residents, government officials and others to planning-related questions. This included responding with information about the zoning code, and land use approval processes for proposed development. It also included in-person or virtual meetings with individuals and parties.
• Administering quasi-judicial land use requests (e.g., variances, conditional use permits, etc.). This included intake of applications, review of compliance with all necessary standards and criteria, drafting staff reports and decisions, providing notice to affected parties (applicants, property owners within prescribed distances of the affected site, and other government officials), and presenting reports to the Planning Commission and City Council in public hearings.
Currently, the County does not have the capacity to guarantee timely assistance with land use applications.
Several long-range planning initiatives have recently been undertaken by the City or are currently underway. These include:
• Housing Code Rewrite: completed in 2022. The City recently adopted modifications to Title 16 and related amendments to its Comprehensive Plan, to implement Oregon House Bill 2001, which aims to create more housing choice.
• Transportation System Plan update: completed in 2024. The City adopted modifications to Title 16 and related amendments to its Comprehensive Plan related to the transportation system.
• Airport Code Amendments: still underway. The City adopted code updates related to the Airport Zone but still needs to develop and consider amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Maps and depict the boundaries for airport related properties.
• Park land dedication code amendments: still underway. The City is evaluating the dedication of park land as a requirement for subdivision approval.

III. Preliminary Scope of Work
The City intends for the planner selected through this RFQ to provide all the planning services previously supplemented by Clackamas County and listed in Section II on an as needed basis. As described in Section II, these services include participating in/managing pre-application conferences; providing responses to queries related to planning and zoning matters on specific applications as assigned; administering quasi-judicial land use requests; staffing the Planning Commission and City Council on planning-related matters, and assisting on a variety of legislative initiatives. The City anticipates that hours will vary anywhere from zero to 25 hours a week with an estimated average of 5-10 hours per week on these typical planning services.

In addition to these services, the City may direct its contract planner to undertake other initiatives which may arise due to new challenges or opportunities. The City anticipates that the planner may track legislation, funding opportunities, and other circumstances which the City may want to address through new projects or initiatives.
Three possible examples of work above and beyond the “typical” planning and zoning work are (A) consideration of a new fee structure for land use requests; (B) consideration of whether the City ought to undertake a major re-write of its development code, to streamline and bring it into better alignment with recent city policy initiatives and strategic goals; (C) a ‘clear and objective’ code audit. Other potential long range planning initiatives that the City may direct the contract planner to undertake include an update of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and overseeing the City’s compliance with other land use requirements that the State of Oregon may impose in coming years.

IV. Tentative Project Schedule
• Date RFQ Issued: February 21, 2024
• Deadline for Requests for Clarification on this RFQ: February 29, 2024
• City Issues Response to Requests for Clarification on its website: March 7, 2024
• RFQ Submissions Due: March 14, 2024 by 4:00 p.m.
• RFQ Evaluations by City Staff/Possible Short List of Interviewees: Week of March 18, 2024
• Potential Interviews, if City elects to conduct interviews*: Week of March 25, 2024
• Complete Scope and Fee Negotiations: March 28 - April 2, 2024
• Award Contract: City Council Meeting April 8, 2024
*The City is unlikely to conduct interviews for this RFQ, but reserves the right to do so.

V. Response Requirements
Respondents to this RFQ shall provide adequate information demonstrating that they are qualified and capable of effectively accomplishing the project. Submittals shall observe the following requirements:
• Include a cover letter, not to exceed two pages in length, stating interest, contact information for the team, and a statement that the proposal will be valid for six months after submittal.
• Include a narrative not to exceed five pages in length, that describes:
o An understanding of the City’s planning needs;
o Description of firm’s/individual’s experience in land use planning, with a particular focus on work in smaller communities in Oregon, providing the services identified in this RFQ;
o Team members’ roles and hourly rates (including any known reimbursables); and
o Availability – i.e., when can the firm begin this work, and how many hours per week will the affected individuals be able to devote to Estacada on an ongoing basis; how would the firm provide planning services when the lead individual is unavailable (e.g., out of country travel).
• The City encourages resumes and examples of recent relevant experience, including client contact information. These materials are not subject to any page limit.

VI. Selection Process & Evaluation Criteria
The City intends to appoint an Evaluation Committee to evaluate responses to this RFQ. The Evaluation Committee will perform an initial review of the responses to this RFQ using the criteria stated herein. Depending on the number of responses and their relative responsiveness to the selection criteria, the Committee may conduct interviews of a “short list” of firms/teams, and then recommend one of those firms/teams for contract negotiations to perform the work. In the event that these negotiations are not successful, the Committee may opt to negotiate with the second-ranked firm/team, or instead may opt to issue a new RFQ.
See the attached RFQ for proposal criteria.

VII. Submittal of Responses & Other Information
Please deliver digital copies in PDF format to:
Melanie Wagner, City Manager
City of Estacada
475 SE Main St
Estacada, OR 97023
info@cityofestacada.org
(503) 630-8275
The RFQ submittal must be received no later than 4:00 P.M. on March 14, 2024. Please mark subject: “Estacada Planning Services.” Any submittals received after this specified time will not be considered.
Physical submittals will not be considered.
Please address any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the project directly to Melanie Wagner (information above).
The City will enter into a contract with the selected firm/s.

In evaluating the proposals and selecting a firm/team, the City reserves the right in its sole discretion to the following:
• To cancel this RFQ in whole or in part at any time, or otherwise reject any and all submissions for reasons deemed by the City that such an action would be in the City’s best interest;
• To enter into contracts with more than one firm;
• To conduct interviews of a short list of respondents to this RFQ, or elect to not conduct interviews;
• To elicit further information from any and all respondents as part of the evaluation process;
• To contact former clients of firms for reference checks;
• To reject any and all proposals not in compliance with all prescribed public procurement procedures and requirements;
• To reject any or all proposals, without cause;
• To opt to not award a contract for requested services;
• To waive any irregularities or informalities in any proposal;
• To accept the response that the City deems most beneficial to the public; and
• To negotiate with any applicant to further amend or refine the proposal.

Special Requirements

Clarifying Questions and Responses

Question: How many Planning Commission and City Council meetings does the City expect the Consultant Planner to attend each month?

Response: Estacada's Planning Commission usually meets once per month, but sometimes skips months, or meets twice in a month. City Council usually meets twice per month, though there aren't always land use or long-range planning items on the agenda. Planning staff is required to attend about half of the Council meetings, so about one per month. There are also occasional workshops involving one or more boards, where Planning staff attends to present information and answer questions.