RFP 700-2027-PLANNING-03 Clayton Comphehensive Plan.pdf

Town of Clayton, North Carolina

Request for Proposals (RFP #700-2027-PLANNING-03)

Clayton Growth Plan:

A New Comprehensive Plan for

Clayton, North Carolina

Date Issued:

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Due Date:

Friday, October 2, 2026

Issuing Department:

Planning

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:

Email: planning@townofclaytonnc.org Subject: “RFP #700-2027-PLANNING-03: Questions”

Attn: Conrad Olmedo, Planning Director mailto:planning@townofclaytonnc.org

CLAYTON GROWTH PLAN | RFP

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION

A. OPENING LETTER

B. RFP BACKGROUND

C. CLAYTON’S PLANNING EFFORTS

D. CLAYTON’S GEOGRAPHY & DEMOGRAPHICS

E. IMPORTANT DATES

F. PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

G. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

H. RIGHTS TO SUBMITTED MATERIAL

2 RFP SUBMITTALS

A. RFP SUBMITTAL COMPONENTS

B. EVALUATION PROCESS

3 PROJECT SCOPE

A. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

B. PROJECT COMPLETION AND SUBMITTAL

C. MEDIA AND FILE FORMATS

D. GENERAL CONSULTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

E. ATTACHMENT LINKS

4 EXECUTION OF PROPOSAL

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

1 INTRODUCTION

A. OPENING LETTER

Notice: Request for Proposals (RFP) Project: Clayton Growth Plan: A New Comprehensive Plan for Clayton, North Carolina

Thank you for taking the time to review this Request for Proposals (RFP). The Town of Clayton, North Carolina, is seeking qualified consultant teams to create a new comprehensive plan.

Like many rapidly growing communities, Clayton has experienced change and development pressures that make a new comprehensive plan both timely and necessary.

As Planning Director, I recognize this effort will involve competing interests. Some will advocate for preserving what works today, while others will push for continued growth and new opportunities. The consultant team’s central challenge will be to help the Town and its community to strike a thoughtful balance that protects Clayton’s character and values while planning responsibly for continued growth and economic vitality. Overall, this new plan will articulate how all of Clayton’s residents, both existing and future, will benefit from growth.

Each day at Town Hall, I’m reminded of an image that captures these competing interests well: Clayton Patchwork (see image) a mural created by Ms. Dorothy Dembroski in 2009 painted on the second floor of Town Hall. Much like planning itself, the mural’s many distinct pieces come together as one cohesive whole. As planners, we work with many “patches” of our community: neighborhoods, businesses, infrastructure, residents, elected officials, and partners. Our task is to weave these elements into a shared vision, or a patchwork, of our respective communities. Consider Clayton Patchwork as this project’s “north star”.

With this RFP, we encourage proposing teams to move beyond a standard planning approach. The profession continues to advance new frameworks that reshape how communities think about land use, fiscal sustainability, mobility, and quality of life. As such, we invite proposals with ideas that are innovative, creative, and tested through implementation. This will energize our selection committee and give us an understanding of your thoughts on Clayton’s long-term success. It will also demonstrate your firm’s creative problem-solving skills. This new plan will guide the Clayton of tomorrow and serve as a practical tool for residents, elected officials, staff, and the development community. To keep this plan off the shelf, consider aspects of how to have an online interactive plan.

Lastly, we want this plan to be a product your firm is proud of, one that is a highlight in your portfolio of successful projects. So, together, let’s show how a once-small Southern-tobacco farming town can be one of the best-planned-for communities in the capital region, southeast, and country.

Sincerely, Conrad Olmedo, AICP, CZO, MPA, MURP | Planning Director

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

Clayton Patchwork, 2009 Dorothy Dembroski

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

B. RFP BACKGROUND

The Town of Clayton, NC is seeking proposals for a new Comprehensive Plan. This new plan will need to set the stage for the Clayton of tomorrow, one that accounts for land use challenges of a fast-growing town in a metropolitan area. The new plan will need to direct Clayton’s development and growth trajectories in greenfield development, fiscally vibrant land uses, community enhancements, sensitivity to the environment, proactively support infill opportunities, and resiliency to acute weather events.

Responders to this RFP should be familiar with work of cutting-edge planning theory and practice. Examples include but not limited to work done by Urban3 (economics of land use), SOM (20-minute suburb), Strong Towns (growth Ponzi scheme), the Congress for New Urbanism (mixed land uses), HDR (transit/corridor orientated development), and have in mind submitting for national recognition to the American Planning Association (Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan).

C. CLAYTON’S PLANNING EFFORTS

With rapid population growth (333% since 2000), the Town faces opportunities and challenges in balancing growth with environmental stewardship, housing affordability, and preservation of green space. Residents, businesses, and stakeholders have voiced strong support for updating long-range planning tools to ensure that Clayton’s small-town charm is preserved while Clayton prepares for the demands of an increasingly urbanized future.

This is demonstrated by the significant amount of plans adopted by the Town Council in the last two years. Among them is the Town Council’s approved Clayton Strategic Plan (2024).

The Strategic Plan sets the stage for Town staff’s daily administrative functionality as well as guiding the Town’s future investments. Principles from the Strategic Plan include a vibrant downtown, creating desirable amenities and spaces, building sustainable infrastructure investment, diversifying economic development, building a multi-modal transportation network, having vibrant community engagement, and supporting public safety services.

These principles should be reflected upon in the development of the new comprehensive plan.

Other plans include Town Council’s recently approved first Comprehensive Transportation Plan (2024), Parks & Recreation Master Plan (2024), Downtown Clayton Plan (2024), and Gateway 42 Small Area Plan (2024). The Town also collaborates with the Capital Area Metropolitan Transportation Organization (CAMPO) for Capital Improvement Projects and regional transit plans. Also, the Town Council continues to support land use regulation text amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance, most recently on June 15, 2026.

https://www.urbanthree.com/services/revenue-modeling/ https://www.som.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/20230223_20minSuburbs-1677186785.pdf https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020-5-14-americas-growth-ponzi-scheme-md2020 https://www.cnu.org/ https://www.cnu.org/ https://www.hdrinc.com/markets/urban-community-development https://www.planning.org/awards/recipients/

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

D. CLAYTON’S GEOGRAPHY & DEMOGRAPHICS

Clayton’s planning area includes Town corporate limits of 10,985 acres and an extraterritorial jurisdiction of 19,067 acres, for a total of 30,052 acres (approximately 46.9 square miles). This plan will need to consider further increases in size through voluntary annexations that are the result of real estate developments and the expansion of Town utility and public safety services.

As mentioned, Clayton is experiencing significant growth. The Town has increased from

26,314 residents in 2020 to an estimated 32,633 residents in 2025. Clayton is also located

Johnston County, which is one of the fastest growing Counties in North Carolina, growing by almost 100,000 people since 2010. Currently, Johnston County has a 2025 population estimate of 256,448 residents and is projected to be an estimated 418,008 residents by 2060

(U.S. Census QuickFacts and N.C. Office of State Budget and Management).

Request for Proposals Due Date

Clayton Growth Plan October 2, 2026

E. IMPORTANT DATES

RFP submittal deadlines and project initiation will be according to the following schedule:

F. PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the Scope of Work, Parties may submit any questions to clarify in order to submit the best RFP possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Proposers shall submit any such questions by September 11, 2026 (no exceptions). The Town will not entertain any further questions after the due date; send questions to:

Email: planning@townofclaytonnc.org Subject: RFP #700-2027-PLANNING-03: Questions Attention: Conrad Olmedo, Planning Director

RFP Process Date

RFP posted to NC eVP website 8/25/2026

Proposers Written Questions Due 9/11/2026

Town Responses (addendum) to Proposers questions posted on NC eVP

9/18/2026

Proposal Submission Deadline 10/2/2026

Selection Committee review of Submittals 10/5/2026 – 10/16/2026

Virtual interviews conducted with selected consultants, if necessary

10/19/2026 – 10/30/2026

Highest ranked firm notified 11/6/2026

Contract finalized / non-selected firms notified 11/20/2026

Project Management Date

Project Start 11/30/2026

Project status reporting and update meeting 12/10/2026 subsequent 1st Thursday of each month

Project billing and compensation processing 12/31/2026 subsequent last workday of each month

Project End Date 12/31/2028

2:00 pm EST

4:00 PM

Questions received prior to the submission deadline of September 11, 2026 will be answered by the Town and posted in the form of an addenda to the North Carolina eVP website and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction, or advice provided orally or informally by any Town personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Proposers shall rely only on written material contained in an Addendum to this RFP.

It is the Proposer's responsibility to ensure that all addendum(s) have been reviewed signed and returned with the RFP. Failure to sign and include the addendum(s) with your RFP will result in your response being rejected.

G. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Proposals must be submitted via email in a .PDF format to:

Email: planning@townofclaytonnc.org Subject: RFP #700-2027-PLANNING-03: Submittal Attention: Conrad Olmedo, Planning Director

Proposals emailed after the due date will be rejected. The proposals shall not be more than 30 pages. The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for any reason and to waive any informality it deems in its best interest. Proposers must respond to the entire Request for Proposals (RFP). Any proposals received by the Town that are incomplete in their responses will be rejected. NOTE: Include All Tasks in your proposal.

H. RIGHTS TO SUBMITTED MATERIAL

All proposals, responses, inquiries, or correspondence relating to or in reference to this RFP, and all reports, charts, and other documentation submitted by Proposers (other than materials submitted as and qualifying as trade secrets under North Carolina law) shall become the property of the Town when received and the entire proposal shall be subject to the public records laws of the State of North Carolina except where a proper trade secrets exception has been made by the Proposer in accordance with the procedures allowed by North Carolina law.

The Town reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the Proposer of the conditions contained in this RFP.

2 RFP SUBMITTALS

Responses must follow the format outlined herein as provided in the RFP Submittal Components. The Town may reject as non-responsive at its sole discretion any proposal or any part thereof that is incomplete, inadequate in its response, or diverts in any substantive way from the required format. Responses should refer to the Project Scope when responding.

A. RFP SUBMITTAL COMPONENTS

The following are the required components necessary to submit a complete RFP submittal.

Each component is given a maximum number of points for a grand total of 100 points.

1: COVER LETTER/LETTER OF INTENT (2 points)

A letter, signed by an individual authorized to bind the firm, indicating the firm’s interest in the project and its ability to meet the requirements set forth in this RFP. The letter should briefly summarize the firm’s understanding of the project, confirm the availability of key personnel, and express commitment to the proposed timeline. Lastly, the letter should explain how and why your firm is well-suited for this project.

2: CORPORATE BACKGROUND (3 points)

Provide a general overview of the firm, that includes:

• Legal name, address, and primary contact information

• Year established and type of business entity

• Office location responsible for project delivery

• Description of the firm’s primary services

• Relevant certifications and professional affiliations

3: RELEVANT EXPERIENCE (15 points)

Describe the firm’s experience with land use planning, particularly with municipalities facing rapid growth and development in a metropolitan area:

• Summary of at least three (3) similar comprehensive land use plans completed within the last seven (7) years with the name of the entity, a contact person’s name, title, phone number, and email address

• Description of services performed and project outcomes

4: PROJECT UNDERSTANDING AND APPROACH (35 points)

Provide a narrative that demonstrates the proposer’s understanding of the project, its deliverables, and the Town’s land use planning needs. Discuss key issues, challenges, and opportunities that the project may present. Describe the proposed approach to completing the scope of services, refer to the Project Scope:

• Methodology and project phases

• Tools, techniques, and deliverables

• Justification for the approach to the plan

5: TIMELINE AND WORKPLAN (30 points)

Provide a timeline and workplan for completion of the project, refer to Project Scope:

• Milestones of deliverables

• Estimated start and completion dates for tasks and phases

• Duration of each project task and phase

6: TEAM ORGANIZATION AND RESUMES (5 points)

Identify all key personnel assigned to the project, align with Project Scope:

• Organization chart indicating roles and responsibilities

• Resumes for each key team member

• Relevant experience, certifications, and project experience

7: COST PROPOSAL (10 points)

Submit a detailed cost proposal for completing Project Scope:

• Breakdown of costs by task, deliverable, and meeting participation

• Hourly rates and estimated hours for each team member

• Anticipated travel or reimbursable expenses for in-person attendance

• Total not-to-exceed amount for the entire project

EVALUATION CRITERIA 100 Points Total

B. EVALUATION PROCESS

The Town of Clayton will conduct a comprehensive, fair, and impartial evaluation of all proposals submitted in response to this RFP. The purpose of the evaluation process is to identify the proposal that best meets the needs of the Town and demonstrates the ability to deliver a successful new comprehensive plan within the project scope, budget, and timeline.

1. Evaluation Committee An Evaluation Committee composed of representatives from the Town’s staff will review and evaluate all proposals. The committee may also include subject matter experts, appointed officials, and elected officials as deemed necessary.

2. Initial Review

All proposals will be initially reviewed by the Procurement Division to ensure compliance with the mandatory submission requirements, including format, deadlines, and inclusion of all required documents. Proposals that do not meet these basic requirements may be deemed non-responsive and excluded from further consideration.

3. Evaluation Criteria

Responsive proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria and points in Section 2 above. There will be a maximum of 100 points.

4. Interviews and Presentations (If Applicable)

Short-listed firms may be invited to participate in interviews and/or provide presentations to the Evaluation Committee. This step allows the Town to ask clarifying questions, validate proposal contents, and further assess the consultants’ knowledge, approach, and communication skills.

5. Best and Final Offer (BAFO)

If deemed necessary, the Town may request a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) from one or more respondents. This may include updated pricing, clarification of services, or modified scopes based on discussion outcomes.

6. Final Selection

The Evaluation Committee will make a final recommendation to the Town’s Executive Team based on the total evaluation score, considering the best value to the Town, not necessarily the lowest cost. The selected proposer will be invited to enter into contract negotiations.

7. Town Council Approval (If Applicable)

Depending on the contract value and the Town’s protocol, final award and contract execution may require approval by the Clayton Town Council.

8. Right to Reject Proposals The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received, and to accept any proposal deemed to be in the best interest of the Town.

3 PROJECT SCOPE

A. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The following tasks are the initial concept of the Project Scope for the new plan. RFP proposal should refer to this Project Scope in responding to the RFP Submittal Components.

TASK 1 – SCHEDULE

Develop a project schedule and timeline that identifies milestones, check-in meetings, deadlines, and deliverables required for the plan’s completion. This schedule should include initiation of the project, internal and external reviews of drafts, public engagement timelines, and Planning Board recommendation and Town Council adoption.

Deliverable: A schedule for the project’s completion from start to finish.

TASK 2 – EXISTING CONDITIONS

Evaluate the existing conditions of the Town of Clayton’s current demographic characteristics and economic development trends, but not limited to, impacts of remote work, online shopping, etc. This should include the most recent data sets available, including U.S. Census, economic studies, aerial imagery, etc.

Deliverable: A summary of existing conditions of Clayton that provide the background for the plan.

TASK 3 – PLAN BRANDING

Create a branding of the plan with consideration of the initial concept to have the art mural “Clayton Patchwork” serve as a starting point. Consider how the plan’s branding will be prevalent throughout the entire project, public engagement materials, and final version.

Deliverable: A branding guideline for the plan, including formatting, font, color palette, etc.

and a conceptual layout for how all materials will be branded.

TASK 4 – PRIOR TOWN AND PARTNER PLANS

Review existing Town and partner planning documents to establish a shared vision and framework for the new plan. The new plan should be ensuring that future plans and initiatives are in alignment with adopted goals and priorities:

• Town of Clayton Strategic Plan (2024)

• Town of Clayton 2045 Comprehensive Growth Plan (2021)

• Town of Clayton Unified Development Ordinance (2026)

• Clayton on the Move, Comprehensive Transportation Plan (2025)

• Clayton Downtown Plan (2024)

• Clayton Parks and Recreation Master Plan (2024) https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/4912/Strategic-Plan?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/293/Clayton-Comprehensive-2045-Growth-Plan-PDF?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/7134/Clayton-UDO---Approved-61526---v5-Final?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/6191/Comprehensive-Transportation-Plan?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/5128/Town-of-Clayton-Downtown-Plan?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/5327/Parks-and-Recreation-Master-Plan?bidId=

• Economic Development Strategic Plan (2025)

• Gateway 42 Small Area Plan (2024)

Partner plans:

• Johnston County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (under development)

• CAMPO Southeast Area Study (2022, 2017)

• CAMPO 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan

• CAMPO 2055 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (under development)

• CAMPO Bus Rapid Transit Study (under development)

• Comprehensive Plans of Johnston County, Town of Archer Lodge, Town of Wilsons

Mills, Wake County, City of Raleigh, and Town of Garner.

Helpful Links:

• Town UDO: https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/746/Unified-Development-Ordinance

• Town Plans: https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/291/Strategic-and-Master-Plans

• CAMPO: https://www.campo-nc.us/

Deliverable: A summary of how existing plans can be incorporated into the plan and a visual illustration showing how the plan aligns with existing plans.

TASK 5 – ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Provide a workflow of public surveys, consideration of a combined technical and steering committee, public and community events, and Town Board presentations. The workflow should include a minimum number of expected occurrences, for example:

• Three (3) community workshops in different areas of Clayton

• One (1) planning workshop

• One (1) open house event

• Six (6) technical/steering committee meetings

• One (1) key opening event with a panel of experts

• One (1) closing/celebration of the plan event

• Two (2) public surveys

• Two (2) Townwide property owner mailed notifications

It is expected that the consultant group will attend and participate in community engagement events to help build familiarity with the Town’s culture and community.

Presentations to the Town Council and Town Boards should be expected to be in-person.

In addition, it is expected that bilingual materials in Spanish be provided both in print and online materials. Town Boards include the Planning Board, Parks and Recreation Board, Downtown Development Advisory Board, and Town Council. Joint meetings of Town Boards are also possibility.

https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/7077/2025-Town-of-Clayton-Economic-Development-Strategic-Plan-PDF https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/4676/20240308_Gateway-42_Final-Deliverable?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/746/Unified-Development-Ordinance https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/291/Strategic-and-Master-Plans https://www.campo-nc.us/

The public engagement effort is expected to be managed and implemented by the consultant team with Town staff. It should be expected that most public engagement be digital yet accessible and address equity and historically underrepresented populations.

Deliverable: A public engagement plan that includes a schedule, process, and strategies to ensure vibrant and diverse community input.

TASK 6 – PLAN CREATION

The consultant should expect to be the author of the plan. As such, while a typical plan has a vision, chapters, goals, recommendations, a map, and implementation steps, there is still room for creativity. Especially when substantiated with feedback from public engagement, the steering committee, staff, and Town leadership. In addition, while the consultant may have created plans for other communities, it is expected that the plan contains original content specific to Clayton. Ultimately, the plan can be fun, creative, and innovative while fulfilling the practical functional needs of establishing future growth for Clayton.

Below is an outline of the plan in concept with key points to consider to serve as a starting point.

Outline of the Plan:

• Vision Statement o This vision of the plan should be simple but concise.

• Chapters o These may be traditional as in “Transportation, Housing, Land Use, etc.”

or may reflect modification based on the plan creation process.

o New Land Use Designations should be expected to be created. These will need to align with current UDO zoning districts and provide guidance for rezoning requests, in particular when determining consistency or inconsistency with the plan.

• Goals, Policies, Objectives, Strategies, and Recommendations o These should provide a plan structure resulting from the creation process.

• Future Land Use Map(s) o Should include the new Land Use Designations for each parcel within the plan geographic scope.

o Utilize mapping techniques to identify nodes, corridors, highest and best use scenarios, and other elements.

• Chapters that align with the vision o Chapters that focus on public safety chapter, housing, weather events, resiliency, economic development, highest and best uses, and more.

o Maps for each chapter can convey geographic themes that then inform the

Future Land Use Map.

• Implementation Matrix o Development of a matrix that aligns with each chapter and provides action, work distribution, generalized costs, timeframe, and more.

o Identification of metrics and performance indicators that will assist in the annual reporting of fulfilling the plan’s vision.

A Well-Mapped Plan Another important aspect is that this plan will feature heavy use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to create high-quality maps. It is expected that at minimum the Future Land Use Map be delivered at the parcel level of resolution. Other maps that supplement the overall process may be requested and provided as determined by the consultant and staff. Maps should be expected to enhance plan chapters and illustrate plan themes and data. The instrumental map for the plan will be a new Future Land Use Map that unifies the entire plan into one visual cohesive vision for Clayton.

Below is a list of example maps to be considered for the plan.

Example of Maps:

• Future Land Use Map o This is a critical product of the plan and shall inform existing and future zoning designations.

o Consideration of NCGS Downzoning is necessary with any reclassification of land uses that may misalign with existing zoning districts.

• Neighborhood Framework Map o These maps can geographically articulate Clayton neighborhoods and communities and how they inform the plan.

• Intersection and Corridor Development Priority Maps o These maps should help provide options for Transit-Oriented

Development and/or Corridor-Oriented Development.

• Small Area Focus Maps o These maps should identify gateways and unique places that prioritize infill and economic development.

• Annexation/Utility Service Area Map o It is critical for the Town to understand its extent for future service provision and consideration of voluntary annexations.

• Planning Area Expansion Map o This map should assist in the consideration of voluntary annexation of property beyond the planning area, ultimately determining the extent of the Future Land Use Map.

• Supplemental Maps as Needed:

o Historic Map o Public Art Map o Downtown Map o Transportation Map o Parks and Recreation Map o Public Safety Map

Drafting the Plan The plan should be expected to include a minimum of three plan draft stages 1) staff, 2) public review, and 3) adoption. Plan drafts are expected to have a high degree of quality control that are free from grammatical and typographical errors. The draft writing process will be in depth and require a substantial amount of time to prepare. The plan will need to be vetted by staff, a steering committee, Town leadership, Town Boards, and most importantly the public.

A Digital Plan It is imperative that thought be given to how the final plan will be a digital and interactive product. One that allows for all aspects of plan interaction, navigation, and a metrics dashboard display of plan progress. Digital functionality should provide a citizen with the ability to browse and navigate the plan. It should allow staff to track and insert data points for ongoing implementation monitoring following plan adoption.

An example of this type of digital approach is the ClearGov product, which the Town currently uses for its budgeting, capital improvement projects, and strategic planning efforts. However, existing Town tools the Town currently has access to such as Microsoft Office 365, Esri ArcGIS, and CivicPlus are also options.

Deliverable: A plan that captures all the data analysis, community feedback, technical commentary, to provide a hierarchy of goals, objectives, strategies, maps, implementation steps etc., to achieve fulfillment of the plan’s vision for Clayton.

TASK 7 - FINAL PLAN APPROVAL

The plan will require a recommendation for approval by the Planning Board at a public meeting and then adoption by the Town Council at a public hearing. For these meetings the consultant is expected to participate in person. The following are anticipated steps to be considered in preparation for a final plan adoption by Town Council:

• Final recommendation of approval by the Steering Committee.

• Final recommendation of approval by the Town Planning Board, which meets on the 4th Monday of each month at 6:00 PM.

• Presentations to the Town Council at their Work Session, which occur on the first Monday of each Month.

• Final approval by the Town Council at the Public Hearing, during a regular meeting that occurs on the first and third Monday of each month.

• Include how any other Town Boards would be included in the recommendation phases of the plan, if deemed as part of your proposal.

• Include how the Steering Committee would provide a recommendation

• Include a detailed description of how feedback from a Town Board would be incorporated into the final plan document.

https://cleargov.com/

Deliverable: Final adoption workflow document that showcases the steps from initiation to final approval at a Town Council public hearing. This should include a timeline that incorporates project feedback loops, draft revisions, and document preparation.

B. PROJECT COMPLETION AND SUBMITTAL

The identified tasks in the Project Scope are expected to form the basis for the new plan.

However, if there are any other tasks not identified that the consultant group finds should be included in the RFP submittal, we welcome your customization.

For deliverables of the plan, all documents (.doc files), graphics (illustrator), maps (.shp files, etc.) will be provided by the consultant. The final plan will need to be considered as both a physical printable copy, digital copy, and as an interactive digital format.

C. MEDIA AND FILE FORMATS

Throughout the plan process, project deliverables will need to be provided to the Town in their native format(s) (current software version), e.g., Adobe, Illustrator, InDesign Photoshop, GIS, and Microsoft Products, etc. Other project deliverables distributed to stakeholders or placed on the internet for public access will need to be provided in native file formats.

For presentations, they are expected to be produced using PowerPoint. Other presentation platforms may be acceptable provided that their native file formats are viewable/editable by Town staff.

The consultant should expect to be the originator of text, images, figures, maps, etc. that are to be used for the plan. To assist in the review/adoption cycle, deliverables will be expected to be dated and identified as either draft or adopted, as appropriate.

D. GENERAL CONSULTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide deliverables that have undergone quality assurance and quality control.

• Maintain regular communication with the Project Manager and Town staff.

• Provide timely and professional deliverables in agreed formats.

• Ensure confidentiality, neutrality, and objectivity throughout the process.

• Provide an innovative plan that celebrates the best of the planning profession.

• Execute a robust public engagement that truly represents Clayton.

E. ATTACHMENT LINKS

• Link to the Clayton Comprehensive Growth Plan 2045

• Link to the Clayton Official Zoning Map (July 1, 2026) https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/293/Clayton-Comprehensive-2045-Growth-Plan-PDF?bidId= https://www.townofclaytonnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/366/Official-Zoning-Map-PDF_20260701

4 EXECUTION OF PROPOSAL

Please include this statement in your RFP submittal:

By submitting this proposal, the consultant firm’s representative certifies that:

☐ 1. This proposal is signed by an authorized representative of the consultant firm.

☐ 2. All costs and availability associated with performing the services described herein have been determined and included in the proposed cost.

☐ 3. The consultant firm representative has read and understands the conditions set forth in this RFP, with any addenda, and agrees to them with no exceptions.

☐ 4. The RFP and any addenda are included in this RFP submittal.

Printed Name Signature

Title Date