COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING 201 W 4 th St Pittsburg KS 66762 (620) 232-1210 www.pittks.org FAX: (620) 232-2103 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR PREPARATION OF A LAND USE PLAN The City of Pittsburg, Kansas requests submittals from qualified firms (consultant) who possess the expertise for successful development of a Land Use Plan. For the purposes of this RFP, the City is looking to specify that portion of a larger Comprehensive Plan that identifies appropriate long-term zoning designations for areas inside the city limits as well as areas outside the City likely to require City services in the future. The overall Comprehensive Plan will be expanded through future RFPs in pieces focusing on transportation, housing, downtown, public facilities, sustainability, and food and health. Introduction: The City of Pittsburg is located in the southeastern portion of Kansas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city measures approximately 12.9 square miles and has a population of 20,233 persons. The city is easily accessible via US Route 69/160, which traverses north/south and provides access to Kansas City to the north and Oklahoma to the south. East/west access to the city is provided via Kansas Highway 126, which connects to US Route 160 and US Route 400. Pittsburg, Kansas is home to Pittsburg State University (PSU), enrolling over 6,000 students. PSU is a four-year institution offering degrees from more than 100 programs within the Colleges of Arts and Science, Business, Education, and Technology. PSU is home to the Kansas Technology Center, a state-of-the-art technology program and the largest academic building in Kansas. Pittsburg has one public school district, the Unified School District #250. USD 250 s current enrollment is approximately 2,600 students, and consists of four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Pittsburg also has a pre-kindergarten through high school parochial system with approximately 350 students. Pittsburg s major medical center is Via Christi Hospital, a 188-bed facility operated by Ascension/Via Christi Health. The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, one of the largest public health clinics in the country, also has its primary location in Pittsburg. In addition to these infrastructure
and area services, Pittsburg offers additional amenities for residents including auditoriums, festivals, social gatherings, museums, parks, recreation, and other attractions. Pittsburg is undergoing a period of growth and development. There has been over $400 million of private investment over the last five years. The City s 2017 housing marketing campaign has brought interest from potential housing developers and developments of20 homes recently completed and an additional 140 scheduled to begin early in 2019. There has been studies of the Pittsburg housing market indicating a strong latent demand that suggest a high potential for future residential development throughout the area. The Land Use Plan will encompass and build on existing City plans and documents including: Housing Needs & Assessment Strategy (2014) with addendums (2015 & 2018), Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (2015), Pittsburg Economic Development Strategy (2016), Mid City Renaissance District Plan (2017), Pittsburg Next Step Memo (2017), Imagine Pittsburg 2030 (2017). Planning Elements: The goal of the Land Use Plan is to provide a documented city-wide vision to guide zoning for the growth, development and redevelopment of the city. The City is contemplating various non-euclidean zoning options. Based on this goal, a diverse group of stakeholders in coordination with the Department of Community Development and Housing (CDH) will work with the chosen consultant to guide the development of the plan. The consultant shall take primary responsibility for completion of the plan elements, while providing a support and assistance role to the Department on specific tasks as further detailed below. In addition, the CDH will assist with various plan staffing elements. Potential Planning Components: Identify net useable land areas, appropriate densities, and open areas. Assess the acquisition and protection of open space, planning the expansion of the city limits of Pittsburg. With particular attention to the following areas: Mid-City Renaissance District Broadway Corridor Downtown Overlay District South 69 Corridor Warehouse District City-Wide Storm Water Plan To accomplish this goal, the city is looking for the process, content, and structure of a Land Use Plan that achieves the following: Identifies likely growth and development patterns in and around Pittsburg in increments of five years over a twenty-year period. Builds upon previous plans while identifying areas of improvement and/or change. Provides a vision and goals for land use designation that accommodates the continued growth and development of Pittsburg.
Analyzes current zoning regulations and identifies modifications that recognize changes in modern commercial operations and supports long-term growth and sustainable development. Provides a storm water plan reflecting the growth and development goals. Promotes participation by all segments of the city and community by offering a wide range of communication media, which may include press releases, public displays, surveys, and/or interactive web based tools. Minimizes cost and waste by making information easily and efficiently available, by providing electronic media and making printed copies available. Additional desired consultant skills and experience include: Experience utilizing creative methods to generate interest and involvement from diverse constituents in the comprehensive planning process. Experience engaging community members and stakeholders in a local planning process. Scope of Work: The consultant will take a lead role in all public forums, workshops, meetings, and hearings. Note-taking, minutes and web content will be also be handled by the successful consultant. Consultants may contract with sub-consultants on the Land Use Plan, but a lead consultant must be identified and must take responsibility of all deliverables and any sub-consultant must be identified in the response. CDH staff will be available to the consultant in a supporting role during this period. The Assistant Planner within CDH will be the main consultant s point of contact for the City of Pittsburg. Following is a list of expected tasks of the consultant to be detailed in the final contract with the selected consultant. 1. Initial meeting with City representatives to review and refine the project scope and schedule, as well as schedule initial meetings and begin the process of data compilation. 2. Obtain and review existing plans, drawings, and other documents relevant to the project. 3. Meet with the Comprehensive Plan Committee for regular updates on not less than monthly schedule. 4. Conduct meetings with key officials and stakeholders. The purpose of these meetings will be to obtain input and guidance related to the Land Use Plan process, to obtain opinions on the future of Pittsburg from a wide cross-section of individuals and to complete a consensus building process on the City s goals for growth and development. 5. Conduct periodic review meetings (either in person, via telephone, video conference, or email) at intervals of not less than every two weeks with the City Staff to discuss project status. 6. Plan and manage the public participation process, including but not limited to: public meetings, charrettes, informational brochures, project website, social media, and other outreach mechanisms.
7. Produce materials for a website that provides information on the Land Use Plan and provides draft documents, drawings, and other information useful to the public. 8. Conduct public meetings and topic-specific focus groups as necessary. 9. Create material for the public meetings and media venues to inform and educate the public on the Land Use Plan. 10. Develop goals, objectives and implementation strategies as well as benchmarks to measure implementation progress. 11. Analyze the consistency of relevant current city policies and plans with relation to the goals and objectives developed through this Land Use Planning process and create an implementation program. 12. Provide suggested next steps in the City s comprehensive planning process. 13. Draft elements are to be completed and submitted to the City for review, comment, and approval individually based upon a schedule developed at the beginning of the planning process. 14. Prepare a draft document and present draft to the Comprehensive Planning Committee and various community groups. 15. Prepare a final draft document and make a final presentation at public meetings and all associated meetings to secure adoption of the Plan. Tentative Project Schedule: November 5, 2018 December 7, 2018 December 21, 2018 January 7-11, 2019 January 14-18, 2019 January 21-31, 2019 February, 2019 April, 2019 June, 2019 July, 2019 Request for Proposals issued Proposals due Short list is identified Interviews and selection of consultant Refine the scope of the project Contract negotiations Approve contract/begin work Draft Land Use Plan for review Final Land Use Plan Adopt Land Use Plan Selection: Evaluation of responding firms will be based on the following criteria: Description of firm, consultant firms and experience of working together as a team
Professional background and caliber of precise experience of personnel assigned to this project Your proposed project management plan and the precise role of each person in accomplishing the work Recent experience on similar projects and how those similarities might relate to this project. Provide references with contact information for representatives of the owner of identified similar project(s) Unique or other relevant experience Capability of the firm to perform the work on schedule and within fee Firm s familiarity with the area of the project Location where work on this project is to be accomplished Anticipated deliverables Submittals should be concise and limited to a maximum of 20 pages. Additional pages not directly addressing the RFP requirements can be added as addenda. Only Firms able to do business in Kansas and able to demonstrate professional licensing in the relevant disciplines will be considered. If respondent intends to partner with another firm, clearly outline the division of responsibilities. Identify members of the primary firm, the affiliated firm (if applicable), and any sub-consultants (if applicable). The City of Pittsburg reserves the right to accept or reject any or all Statements of Proposal in whole or in part and to amend or supplement the RFP. The City of Pittsburg is under no obligation to use a firm for a particular project in the future and may select other firm(s) to do future work. Submittals: Please furnish four (4) bound hard copies of your submittal and one (1) in.pdf format on or before close of business on December 7, 2018. The bound copies can be provided by December 14; however, at least the electronic copy must be provided by December 7. Submit to: Jared Peterson, Purchasing Agent jared.peterson@pittks.org City of Pittsburg P.O. Box 688 Pittsburg, KS 66762 You may direct any questions to: Brittan Brenner, Assistant Planner brittan.brenner@pittks.org (620) 240-5190