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Title:
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Request for Proposals for Downtown Redevelopment Area Plan Update Consulting Services
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Title
Request for Proposals for Downtown Redevelopment Area Plan Update Consulting Services
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to update the Downtown Redevelopment Area Plan. There is no impact to the General Fund with this action.
Report
Summary
The City Council initially established the Downtown Redevelopment Area (RDA) in January 1979 by the City Council's designation of a slum area. To comply with Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) 42-6209(F), every 10 years, the City must review each RDA with portions that lie within the City’s Central Business District and either renew, modify or terminate each RDA designation.
On June 8, 2020, City Council approved the updated Downtown RDA boundary (Attachment A). The new boundary consolidates several previous RDAs in the downtown area:
Downtown
Capitol Mall
HOPE VI
7th Street/Buckeye
Booker T. Washington
Eastlake Park
Special
Western portion of the Sky Harbor RDA
Upon the City Council finding of a preponderance of slum or blight within the updated boundary, the City must next update the Downtown RDA and Improvement Plan, which was last updated in 2001. The previous RDAs within the updated boundaries had their own plans that were created and updated at different times, all of which will be incorporated into the updated Downtown RDA and Improvement Plan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public outreach portion of the boundary update was significantly impacted and necessitated staff conducting virtual community meetings. Feedback received from neighborhood groups during these meetings emphasized the need for a robust planning effort, including the formation of a steering committee comprised of impacted neighborhood group members who will assist with the community feedback portion of the updated plan.
If approved, the RFP's scope of work will include gathering community feedback, surveying existing land use and redevelopment area plans, and incorporating priority areas into a cohesive plan for development of the greater downtown area. Each proposer will be required to have five years' experience conducting economic development or land use planning studies and the RFP will include standard terms, conditions and other necessary requirements. Responsive proposals will be evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria (1,000 possible points):
Primary Consultant’s Qualifications and Experience (0-300 points)
Proposer’s Qualifications and Experience (0-250 points)
Approach to Scope of Work (0-225 points)
Primary Consultant’s Hourly Rate (0-225 points)
Staff anticipates the RFP will be issued in the fall of 2020, with staff seeking City Council approval for the contract award in the spring of 2021.
Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval by the Land Use and Livability Subcommittee at the Sept. 16, 2020 meeting by a vote of 4-0.
Financial Impact
There is no impact to the General Fund as a result of this action.
Location
Council Districts: 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Jeff Barton, Inger Erickson and Mario Paniagua, and the Community and Economic Development, Neighborhood Services, and Planning and Development departments.