RFQ - Unified Development Ordi

MAYOR

Gary E. Jones

MAYOR PRO TEM

Eric Blair

COUNCILMEMBERS

Dr. Sylvia C. Martin

Dr. Deborah M. Fisher Mrs. Ceretta Smith

CITY ADMINISTRATOR

Elaine Matthews

CITY ATTORNEY

Chris Dube

CITY CLEK

Brian Henderson

To: Interested Parties From: Ronnie Kurtz, Director of Planning and Community Development Re: Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Unified Development Ordinance for the City of Grovetown, Georgia

July 31, 2023

The City of Grovetown is requesting statement of qualification proposals from interested consultants to provide professional planning services associated with combining the City’s various development codes to create a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO should be consistent with and incorporate elements from the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan.

Submittal Deadline The anticipated schedule for the Request for Qualifications is as follows:

Request for Qualifications made Available Monday, July 31, 2023

Deadline for questions Monday, August 28, 2023, by 5:00 PM

Responses to questions disseminated Tuesday, September 5, 2023, by 5:00 PM

Submittal deadline Friday, September 22, 2023, by 4:30 PM EST

One (1) hard copy and one (1) electronic copy of the submittal must be received by September 22, 2023, at 4:30 PM. Submissions must be in a sealed envelope. Outside of the envelope must include the vendor’s name and address as well as identifying the folder as response to the RFQ for Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

Address all submissions to:

Ronnie Kurtz, AICP Director of Planning and Community Development PO Box 120 Grovetown, GA 30813

Hand delivered copies may be delivered to the City’s physical address of 103 Old Wrightsboro Rd., Grovetown, Georgia 30813 ONLY between the hours of 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM ET, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays observed by the City of Grovetown.

Vendors are responsible for informing any commercial delivery service, if used, of all delivery requirements and for ensuring that the required address information appears on the outer wrapper or envelope used by such service. The submittal must be signed by a company officer who is legally authorized to enter into a contractual relationship in the name of the vendor.

Contact Person and Inquiries

Vendors are encouraged to contact Ronnie Kurtz by e-mail to rkurtz@cityofgrovetown.com to clarify any part of the Request for Qualifications requirements. All questions that arise must be submitted prior to deadline for questions date in Submittal Deadline section and shall be directed to the contact person in writing via e-mail. Any unauthorized contact shall not be used as a basis for responding to this RFQ and also may result in the disqualification of the vendor's submittal.

The City of Grovetown will issue responses to inquiries and any other corrections or amendments it deems necessary in written addenda issued prior to Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Vendors should not rely on any representations, statements, or explanations other than those made in this Request for Qualifications or in any addendum to this Request for Qualification. Where there appears to be a conflict between the Request for Qualification and any addenda issued, the last addendum issued will prevail.

Rejection of Submissions The City of Grovetown may reject any and all submittals and reserves the right to waive any irregularities or informalities in any submittal or in the submittal procedure.

Submittals received after said time or at any place other than the time and place as stated in the notice will not be considered.

Background The City of Grovetown (City) is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the State of Georgia, having grown approximately 50% from 2010 to 2020 and approximately 5% in 2021 alone. Located directly adjacent to Fort Gordon, location of US Army Cyber Command, the City is now home to approximately 18,000 residents and counting. Accompanying this growth has been a transition from what was once substantial mobile home stock towards a modern, middle-upper middle class suburban community.

Over the years, the City has adopted a zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, sign ordinance, and stormwater management ordinance. Each ordinance has been drafted and adopted independent of the other and, in most cases, several years apart. This has resulted in several inconsistencies, redundancies, and omissions across the various codes, in addition to the general confusion such an array of development regulations causes for citizens, developers, and staff alike.

Project Goals The aim of the project is to integrate the City’s existing Zoning Ordinance (“Appendix A” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances), Subdivision Ordinance (“Appendix B” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances), Sign Ordinance (“Appendix C” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances), and Stormwater Management Ordinance (Chapter 17 in the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances) into one streamlined ordinance (UDO). Through the redrafting process, necessary changes and updates to the existing codes should be considered and included.

Additional targets can and will be established through interaction with the consultant and the public participation process.

Scope of Work The professional consulting firm selected for this assignment will work intimately with the Director of Planning and Community Development and the Department’s full-time staff. Additionally, the firm will interface with the Mayor of Grovetown and City Councilmembers at Council’s discretion. The firm will also be responsible for executing a series of public informational sessions/hearings at distinct project checkpoints as recommended by the consultant and/or requested by the City.

More specifically, proper completion of the project is expected to entail:

· Review of the City’s Zoning Ordinance (i.e. “Appendix A” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances).

· Review of the City’s Subdivision Ordinance (i.e. “Appendix B” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances).

· Review of the City’s Sign Ordinance (i.e. “Appendix C” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances).

· Review of the City’s Stormwater Management Ordinance (i.e. Chapter 17 in the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances).

· Review of the Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2021 and revised in 2023.

· Restructuring of above referenced ordinances into a single ordinance, eliminating any existing inconsistencies ad redundancies.

· Editing and updating of existing standards per best practices in engineering, planning, zoning, and landscaping in conjunction with considerations from City staff.

· Reformatting of ordinances to incorporate more modern and attractive aesthetic.

· Correspondence to the City of Grovetown Planning Commission.

· Correspondence to the City of Grovetown City Council.

· Participation in legally required public meetings, including one (1) Planning Commission meeting and at least two (2) City Council meetings.

· Execution of legally required public notice procedures of the above, in conjunction with City staff.

· Coordination and participation in additional public meetings throughout the process, including at least 2 public information sessions.

Deliverables The consultant shall prepare the UDO in a format agreed to by the City of Grovetown, ideally able to be integrated into the zoning code hosted on Municode located at https://library.municode.com/ga/grovetown/codes/code_of_ordinances (Note: New Zoning Ordinance has yet to be posted on website, see addition attachment). The consultant shall provide iterative draft versions throughout the project at appropriate checkpoints for both staff and public review. At final completion, the consultant shall produce a comprehensive memo detailing the nature and scope of changes being proposed for colloquial consumption. Additional specific deliverables shall be subject to further discussion with the selected consultant as the project progresses.

Submission Requirements Prospective consultants are asked to respond the RFQ with the information detailed below. Consultants are asked to be succinct and attach only relevant information.

At a minimum, submittals shall include the following:

1. Cover Letter. Detail the composition indicating the entire team, including the Principal in Charge, Project Manager, and Support Team. Provide resumes for key personnel in appendix. Outline the philosophy of the team in approaching municipal planning and zoning in general and the task at hand with the City of Grovetown specifically.

2. Company Information. Provide Name, address, phone number, organizational structure, and summary of background and focus of firm. Identify location of firm’s offices from which various aspects of the work will be performed.

3. Availability. A brief statement as to the availability of the key firm personnel responsible for the project, detailing the firms’ ability to complete the project within the prescribed time frame. Detail subcontractors to be used, if any.

4. Examples of Work. Complete or partial samples of work involving similar types of projects and assignments, executed for municipalities of similar or larger size, preferably in the last five (5) years. Please be sure to include a writing sample of a comprehensive memo outlining changes to an ordinance/scope of a project of this size.

5. Professional References. Provide a minimum of three (3) professional references, preferably sourced from the projects referenced above. For each, provided contact name, address, phone number, and relationship to the firm.

6. Draft Contract. Supply a draft of typical professional services agreement, inclusive of terms, conditions, and pricing information.

Qualifications packages shall not exceed twenty (20) pages. Resumes of professionals and draft agreements are excluded from the page count.

Project Timeline and Budgetary Constraints The City of Grovetown has allocated approximately $55,000 for the execution of this project in the FY2024 budget. It is anticipated that, upon successful initiation of the project, an additional $55,000 will be allocated in the FY2025 budget to facilitate completion, for a total project budget of $110,000.

It is expected that the selected consultant will be able to achieve completion of the project within one year to 18 months from finalization of the contract. Completion is considered adoption by City Council, which requires a hearing before Planning Commission and two (2) readings before Council.

Upon selection, a contract shall be prepared and fully executed before work is initiated. The City reserves the right to dismiss any part or all of the contracted team when, in the City’s opinion, the services are not being provided in accordance with performance expectations.

Criteria for Consideration The following factors will be used to evaluate consultants’ qualifications:

· Demonstration of technical acumen/understanding of comprehensive planning and zoning services for municipalities of Grovetown’s current size, character, and future ambition.

· Demonstration of experience and knowledge in crafting zoning ordinances compliant with an existing Comprehensive Plan, especially taking the form of a Unified Development Ordinance.

· Demonstration of experience and knowledge related to subdivision ordinances, landscaping ordinances, stormwater management ordinances, and sign ordinances, along with the ability to integrate them into a Unified Development Ordinance.

· Demonstration of ability to provide adequate staffing resources to a) meet project deadlines and b) supply necessary technical capabilities across all project vectors.

· Demonstration of experience and skill in crafting and presenting staff reports to public boards and commissions.

· The outcome of reference checks.

· Pricing of professional services.

Principal Contact All questions and submittals regarding this RFQ should be directed and mailed to:

Ronnie Kurtz, AICP Director of Planning and Community Development City of Grovetown 103 West Robinson Avenue PO Box 120 Grovetown, GA 30813 706.860.5094 rkurtz@cityofgrovetown.com

Referenced Documents City’s Zoning Ordinance (“Appendix A” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances) LINK: https://cityofgrovetown.com/DocumentCenter/View/2301/FINAL-Grovetown-Zoning-Code-050823 City’s Subdivision Ordinance (“Appendix B” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances) LINK: https://library.municode.com/ga/grovetown/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXBSU City’s Sign Ordinance (“Appendix C” to the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances) LINK: https://library.municode.com/ga/grovetown/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXCSICO City’s Stormwater Management Ordinance (Chapter 17 in the City of Grovetown Code of Ordinances) LINK: https://library.municode.com/ga/grovetown/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH17STMA City’s Comprehensive Plan (adopted in 2021 and revised in 2023) SEE PHYSICAL ATTACHMENT TITLED: 2023 Grovetown Comp Plan Amendment 2 | Page image1.jpeg