Affordable Housing Program Legal Counsel 2025 RFP.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL

SERVICES

Affordable Housing Program Legal Counsel

ISSUE DATE: July 9, 2025

CLOSING DATE: July 24, 2025

Financial Services Department

949 East 2nd Avenue

Durango, CO 81301

(970) 375-4994 www.DurangoCO.gov http://www.durangoco.gov/

REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

The City of Durango, Colorado, by and through its Purchasing Administrator, is accepting proposals from qualified firms for Affordable Housing Program Legal Counsel, in accordance with the terms, conditions, and specifications contained in these documents.

Bidders wishing to participate should ensure they have all addenda prior to submission of bid.

Failure to acknowledge receipt of any addenda applicable to this project could result in the rejection of your bid.

This request for information and any subsequent addenda will be posted to the Rocky Mountain E- Purchasing System website (www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado) then click on Vendor Login or Vendor Registration if you have not already registered. Firms are encouraged to register with RMEPS for all City bid opportunities.

Questions: All questions must be submitted via Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System website:

(www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado).

Question Deadline: July 17, 2025 (Local Time): 3:00 p.m. (MDT) Questions received after the deadline may not be accepted.

Responses to Questions: July 21, 2025 (Local Time): 3:00 p.m. (MDT)

Submittal Instructions: Submittal requirements are outlined in Section III of this RFP.

Project Title: Affordable Housing Program Legal Services

Bid Due Date and Time: July 24, 2025 (Local Time): 3:00 p.m. (MDT)

Deliver Proposals via: Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing Systems, www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado.

It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to see that the proposal is received before the submission deadline. Late proposals will not be considered.

All proposals submitted shall be binding upon the respondent if accepted by the City within sixty (60) calendar days of the submission date. Negligence upon the part of the respondent in preparing the proposal confers no right of withdrawal after the time fixed for the submission of proposal.

This project is being bid in accordance with the City of Durango Purchasing Policy.

Bob Grogan, Jr.

Purchasing Manager

Advertised: July 9 & July 11, 2025.

949 E. 2nd Avenue, Durango, CO 81301 http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado http://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado

I. INVITATION AND BACKGROUND

A. General Information and Scope of Work

The City of Durango is in search of outside legal counsel to assist with the improvement of Local Planning and Capacity for Affordable Housing. The scope of services may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Help develop policy and processes to expedite the development review process for affordable housing

• Review amendments to zoning codes, ordinances, and permit review processes

• Help develop incentive and offset programs

• Help identify appropriate funding sources for affordable housing programs and review long-term financial plans

The project duration is expected to be approximately 26 months. Final project duration will be determined during the contracting process. Payments to the selected consultant beyond December 31, 2025, will be subject to available appropriations by the Durango City Council via the standard annual budgeting process. The City is in possession of a fully executed Local Planning and Capacity Grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to pay for this work through October 31, 2027.

The selected counsel will be expected to frequently interface with staff (in-person meetings and/or conference calls) concerning the approach and task throughout the project to ensure that the City’s desired objectives are met and that the City’s concerns are addressed.

The City may add specific deliverable documents to counsel's scope based on mutual agreement to facilitate the overall scope of services described above, in response to City needs identified during the course of the project.

B. City and Housing Background

Durango is a growing city of approximately 19,000 people in southwest Colorado. Like many Colorado resort and gateway communities, Durango has identified a shortage of affordable and attainable housing as job growth and in-migration have outpaced housing production. The City has adopted the following goal in its 2024 Strategic Plan: “Cultivate innovative housing solutions and partnerships to advance the development of a variety of housing options to support a multigenerational and mixed-income community by narrowing the gap between income levels and housing affordability.”

The City has developed various tools and programs in service of this goal, including, but not limited to:

• Fair Share inclusionary zoning ordinance – requires certain developments to include income-restricted units or to pay a fee-in-lieu;

• Waiver or offset of certain development and infrastructure fees for affordable and attainable development

• Density bonuses and parking reductions for certain affordable developments

• ADU rebate program for newly constructed units that are leased to the local workforce

• Partnerships with developers and landowners, including leveraging city-owned land toward new developments that meet affordability goals

• Partnerships with local entities, including a Regional Housing Alliance, local nonprofits, and an Urban Renewal Authority

The City anticipates needing revisions and additions to the programs above, as well as possible new programs, incentives, or code amendments, during the duration of the program to meet the City’s goals.

II. PROPOSED SCHEDULE

PROPOSED SCHEDULE

Project’s 1st Publication July 9, 2025.

Project’s 2nd Publication July 11, 2025.

Contractor Questions Due July 17, 2025, 3:00 p.m. (Local Time)

Final Addendum Issued by Purchasing July 21, 2025, 3:00 p.m. (Local Time)

Proposals Due July 24, 2025, 3:00 p.m. (Local Time)

Virtual Interviews if necessary Week of August 1, 2025.

Notice of Award Estimated week of August 4, 2025.

Notice to Proceed Estimated week of August 14, 2025.

III. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

A. General

1. Submit Bids electronically via www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado prior to the deadline.

Please submit all your required documents in a single PDF file in the bidder’s company name. Late proposals will not be accepted.

2. All Bids must be a maximum of 30 pages in a minimum 12-point font. All pages with words count towards the page limit.

3. Retain one copy for your records.

4. Successful Contractor must have or obtain a current City Business License upon award of the contract.

5. Successful Contractor must complete a W-9 form (Taxpayer Identification No.) upon award.

6. The City of Durango is exempt from all local, state, and federal taxes.

7. The City of Durango reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive any informalities or minor irregularities in proposals, and to accept the proposal deemed, in the opinion of the City, to be in the best interest of the City.

8. Direct contact with city elected officials or city staff, other than the Purchasing Manager, during the proposal process may render the proposal as non-compliant. At the Purchasing Manager’s discretion, no further consideration may be given the proposal.

RFPS responses must be completed and prepared in a form that provides an insightful, straightforward, and concise overview of the capabilities of your company. Elaborate proposals beyond what is asked in this RFPS are not necessary or desired. Additional facts and information other than those listed below may be included if they help to highlight your firm’s qualifications and experience.

All materials submitted in response to this RFPS shall become the property of the City of Durango and shall be considered a part of the public record of the city, except for any proprietary financial information that should be clearly marked as confidential.

The City reserves the right to negotiate any and all elements of any proposal. The successful bidder must provide all equipment and personnel necessary to perform the required services. This RFPS includes a project description, scope of work, submission requirements, selection process and criteria, insurance requirements, and Sample Standard Form of Agreement between the City and Consultant for Consultant Services Agreement. The Sample Agreement is for reference only and is non-negotiable. Any bid that fails to conform to the essential requirements of the Request for Proposals will be rejected:

a. Any bid that does not conform to the applicable specifications shall be rejected unless the invitation authorizes the submission of alternate bids and the items or services offered as alternates meet the requirements specified in the RFPS.

b. Bid shall be rejected when the bidder imposes conditions that would modify requirements of the invitation or limit the bidder's liability to the Owner, since allowing the bidder to impose such conditions would be prejudicial to other bidders.

For example, bids shall be rejected in which the bidder:

1. Protects against future changes in conditions, such as increased costs, of total possible costs to the Owner cannot be determined

2. Fails to state a price and indicates that price shall be “price in effect at time of delivery”.

3. Takes exception to the RFPS terms and conditions.

4. Inserts the bidder’s terms and conditions.

Prospective firms are encouraged to carefully read this RFPS in its entirety.

B. Single Proposer Responsibility Single proposer responsibility is required under this RFPS. Each proposer responding to this RFPS must bid all professional services, special services, equipment, materials and supplies to fulfill the terms of this RFPS and, if awarded the contract, must be the sole contracting party with City of Durango, responsible for all aspects of the project. The requirement for single-point responsibility does not prohibit subcontracts or joint ventures, provided that the single successful proposer assumes the following responsibilities:

1. Serves as the sole contractor with City of Durango.

2. Assumes full responsibility for the performance of all its subcontractors, joint ventures, and other agents.

3. Provides the sole point of contact for all activities through a single individual designated as project manager.

4. Submits copies of all contracts and other agreements proposed to document such arrangement.

C. Content of Proposal

The proposal shall be organized using the following format:

1. Table of Contents

2. References and Experience: List those projects your Project Team has completed within the past five (5) years, or those that are ongoing, that are similar to those requested by this RFPS. Special attention should be given to projects that your team has completed for the City of Durango or other governmental entities. With each reference, include the name, address, persons to contact, telephone number, a description of the project completed, and the time required to complete the project.

3. Project Organization: List key personnel who will be assigned to the project. List the person’s name, title, project assignments, years of experience, licenses, and any other qualifications relevant to the City’s project. List the names, addresses, telephone numbers, credentials, and roles of all team members. Provide the same information for all sub-consultant personnel. Include which sub-consultants of the team of worked together on previous projects.

4. Work Plan and Narrative Approach: Describe your firm’s work plan for the project based upon the scope of services defined in this RFPS. Include a proposed timeline that includes each item within the Scope of Work and a statement identifying how elements of the Scope of Work were prioritized. Provide a discussion of your team’s volume of previous awards, current and anticipated workload. Identify how the City may add or re-prioritize tasks in the work plan based on mutual agreement.

5. Identify any services that will not be included in the contract and are expected to be provided by the City of Durango.

Include a statement that the firm maintains the insurance required in this RFPS.

D. Further Notice to Proposers This RFPS does not commit the City of Durango to negotiate a contract, nor does it obligate the City to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals or in the submission of a contract.

IV. AWARD CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCESS

A. General A Selection Committee composed of City personnel and, at the City’s sole discretion, City consultants or partner entities, will review all qualified proposals. All respondents must initially represent themselves solely by their written submittal. The Selection Committee reserves the right to contact any or all of the Proposers during the review process for clarification and/or understanding. Additionally, Proposer(s) may be asked to sit for a committee interview (anticipated to be a virtual interview). Questions and interviews are at the sole discretion and option of the committee and may not be afforded to any or all Proposer(s). Any interviews will be at the sole expense of the respondents. The quantity and quality of responses will dictate this process.

The City will consider the following in determining the most responsive, responsible, and reasonable Proposal:

1. Strength and capability of the project team.

2. The experience of the project team, working together, in providing similar services.

3. Key personnel who will be assigned to the project, and their experience with similar projects.

4. Narrative and project approach including goals, controls, concepts, and critical issues.

5. Ability to provide ongoing, consistent service to the City for the duration of the project period; and.

6. Overall responsiveness to the RFPS.

Direct contact with city elected officials or city staff, other than the Purchasing Manager, during the proposal process may render the proposal non-compliant. If such an infraction is determined, at the Purchasing Manager’s discretion, no further consideration may be given the proposal.

B. Numeric Evaluation Criteria

The Selection Committee will review and rate each proposal based on the following numeric criteria:

Criteria Possible Points Narrative and Project Approach 0- 20 Firms Experience and References 0- 20 Qualifications of Key Personnel 0- 20 Project Schedule and Ongoing Service 0- 20 Overall Responsiveness to the RFPS 0- 20

C. Final Selection

The City of Durango will select a firm based upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee.

V. INSURANCE

A. The Successful Contractor shall not commence work under this Agreement until it has obtained all insurance required by the contract documents and such insurance has been approved by the City. The Contractor shall not allow any subcontractor to commence work on this project until all similar insurance required of the subcontractor has been obtained and approved. For the duration of this Agreement, the Contractor must maintain the insurance coverage required in this section.

B. The Successful Contractor shall procure and maintain, at its own cost, the following policy or policies of insurance. The Contractor shall not be relieved of any liability, claims, demands, or other obligations assumed pursuant to the contract documents by reason of its failure to procure or maintain insurance or by reason of its failure to procure or maintain insurance in sufficient amounts, durations, or types.

C. Successful Contractor shall procure and maintain and shall cause each Subcontractor of the Contractor to procure and maintain (or shall insure the activity of Contractor’s Subcontractors in Contractor’s own policy with respect to), the minimum insurance coverages listed below.

Such coverages shall be procured and maintained with forms and insurers acceptable to the City. All coverages shall be continuously maintained from the date of commencement of the Work. In the case of any claims-made policy, the necessary retroactive dates and extended reporting periods shall be procured to maintain such continuous coverage.

1. Worker’s Compensation insurance to cover obligations imposed by the Workers’ Compensation Act of Colorado and any other applicable laws for any employee engaged in the performance of Work under this contract, and Employers’ Liability insurance with minimum limits of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) each accident, One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) – policy limit, and One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) disease

– each employee.

2. Comprehensive General Liability insurance with minimum single limits of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) each occurrence and Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) aggregate.

The policy shall be applicable to all premises and operations. The policy shall include coverage for bodily injury, broad form property damage (including completed operations), personal injury (including coverage for contractual and employee acts), blanket contractual, independent contractors, products, and completed operations.

The policy shall include coverage for explosion, collapse, and underground hazards. The policy shall contain a severability of interest’s provision.

3. Comprehensive Automobile Liability insurance with minimum combined single limits for bodily injury and property damage of not less than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000) each occurrence and One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) aggregate with respect to each of Contractor’s owned, hired and/or non-owned vehicles assigned to or used in performance of the services. The policy shall contain a severability of interest’s provision.

D. The policies required above, except for the Workers’ Compensation insurance and Employer’s Liability insurance, shall be endorsed to include the City, and its officers and employees, as additional insured. Every policy required above shall be primary insurance, and any insurance carried by the City, its officers or its employees, shall be excess and not contributory insurance to that provided by Contractor.

E. The additional insured endorsement for the Comprehensive General Liability insurance required above shall not contain any exclusion for bodily injury or property damage arising from completed operations. The Contractor shall be solely responsible for any deductible losses under each of the policies required above.

F. Certificates of insurance shall be completed by the Contractor’s insurance agent as evidence that policies providing the required coverages, conditions, and minimum limits are in full force and effect, and copies of such certificates shall be forwarded to the City prior to start of Work.

Each certificate shall identify the Project and shall provide that the coverages afforded under the policies shall not be cancelled, terminated or materially changed until at least 30 days prior written notice has been given to the City. If the words “endeavor to” appear in the portion of the certificate addressing cancellation, those words shall be stricken from the certificate by the agent(s) completing the certificate. The City reserves the right to request and receive a certified copy of any policy and any endorsement thereto.

G. Failure on the part of the Contractor to procure or maintain policies providing the required coverages, conditions, and minimum limits shall constitute a material breach of contract upon which the City may immediately terminate the contract, or at its discretion may procure or renew any such policy or any extended reporting period thereto and may pay any and all premiums in connection therewith, and all monies so paid by the City shall be repaid by the Contractor to the City upon demand, or the City may offset the cost of the premiums against any monies due to Contractor from the Owner.

VI. ATTACHMENTS

2018 Durango Housing Plan

2024 Durango Strategic Plan

2025 La Plata County Regional Housing Alliance Needs Assessment

Sample Consultants Agreement https://www.durangoco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9032/Durango-Housing-Plan?bidId= https://www.durangoco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33084/2024-Durango-Strategic-Plan https://laplatahousing.colorado.gov/sites/laplatahousing/files/documents/La%20Plata%20County%20Housing%20Needs%20Assessment.pdf