I. INTRODUCTION

Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to receive competitive proposals from qualified planning individuals and consultant teams (hereinafter referred to in the singular as "consultant") who are interested in carrying out a comprehensive update to the City of Countryside Comprehensive Plan ("Plan Update"), which was last adopted in 2004. The Plan Update should provide vision and policies that will guide the City's future land uses and will incorporate plans currently underway. A Plan Update will assist City staff, Plan Commission, City Council, and its advisory committees to gauge the direction that citizens and various other stakeholders within the community would like to see the City move towards. The Plan Update must provide guidance to the City on how to appropriately implement new development and redevelopment within the community while also meeting the service demands that come with community growth.

History and Background

The City of Countryside is located in Cook County, Illinois, northwest of Interstate 55 (Stevenson Expressway) and Interstate 294 (Tri-State Tollway) in the Chicago Metropolitan Region. Located just 15 miles from the Chicago Loop, the City of Countryside offers its residents and visitors access to Chicago while maintaining its older suburban charm. With a population of 5,895 (2010 census) Countryside is a close-knit community with many citizens being second and third generation residents of the City.

There are 200,000 residents that live within a 10 minute drive of the City and have an average household income of $105,580. The main commercial corridor through the City is LaGrange Road (U.S. 45) that runs north and south and carries greater than 33,000 ADT per day. LaGrange Road is home to 10 Auto dealerships carrying 12 motor vehicle brands. The City also offers 2 Motorcycle dealers carrying 2 motorcycle brands. There are 2 TIF Districts that were established in 2010 and 2019.

II. SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Expectations

The Plan will guide decisions affecting the physical development and redevelopment within the City's planning area. The process for the Plan Update will be critical to its success and must ensure that the final document reflects the desired vision for the community as determined by citizens, developers, land owners, business leaders, appointed and elected officials, and other stakeholders through community participation. The Plan will be a guiding document that reflects the community's unique character and provides a clear process, together with specified objectives and policies, of how the City can build upon its strengths while becoming more sustainable and economically resilient.

Services
The services provided by the chosen consultant will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

1. A thorough evaluation of and recommendations for modifications to the existing plan, including its vision statement, guiding principles, goals, policies and objectives.
2. An analysis and incorporation of relevant data and trends related to population, employment and housing forecasts.
3. An effective steering committee and public participation process to ensure community involvement in the Plan Update process. A proposed schedule of steering committee meetings, open houses and public meetings shall be proposed by the consultant at key points in the process. In addition, to working with the steering committee, the chosen consultant will present the final proposed plan to the Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals and City Council at required public hearings as they consider recommendation and adoption, respectively.
4. Effective coordination with staff, Plan Commission, and City Council. The consultant will assist with the creation of a Comp Plan Steering Committee composed of the Plan Commission, City Council and other community representatives.
5. Recommendations and a plan for integration with other relevant plans and initiatives adopted by the City. A list of plans currently underway and/or completed to be integrated are included in this Section.
6. Development of feasible and fiscally responsible recommendations as determined by the Plan Update process.
7. Re-evaluation of the land use map and land use types and how they function with the existing zone districts adopted by the City, as well as potential future zone districts, if any.
8. The development of a final Comprehensive Plan that will be relevant to the needs of the City and respects the culture and vision of the stakeholders and citizens of the City of Countryside.
9. General recommendations on appropriate changes that should be made to the City of Countryside Zoning Ordinance to make it consistent with the Plan Update.
10. Specific strategies proposed that detail the resources and actions necessary to implement any recommendations made during the Plan Update process.

These are general requirements for the Plan Update and are not intended to be a comprehensive list of tasks and deliverables. It is expected that the chosen consultant will provide the City with more specific recommendations for approaches, tasks, and deliverables based on their experience and expertise from past work on comprehensive plan projects.

Community Involvement in Decision Making
The City of Countryside puts strong emphasis on ensuring participation of citizens in every stage of decision making. Participation of citizens, developers, land owners, business owners, appointed and elected officials, and other stakeholders throughout the community is paramount to success of the Plan Update; therefore, the City will place a strong emphasis in the selection process in choosing a consultant that has strong facilitation skills with respect to the open house and public meeting process. The selected consultant will be responsible for organizing and either leading or co-leading public meetings with City staff.

Products and Deliverables

Some of the deliverables to be included with the Plan Update are expected to be, but not limited to the items below. Other areas of emphasis may be identified during the Plan Update process.

Comprehensive Plan Document
A completed Plan Update document shall incorporate the required information outlined under the Services subparagraph found in this Section above. Consultant shall provide one (1) unbound copy and nine (9) bound copies of the final Plan document to the City, including graphics. The consultant shall also provide one (1) electronic submission of the Plan document, including attachments and other graphics, in an editable format commonly used by the City of Countryside Community Development Department.

Community Engagement Tools
The chosen consultant will be expected to assist the City staff with developing and implementing community engagement tools that should foster public outreach and citizen participation. The City of Countryside's website should be used in disseminating information related to the Plan Update, while providing avenues for feedback that can be incorporated into the Plan Update. The consultant should also collaborate with City staff to utilize social media to keep the public informed on the Plan Update process. Other public input outreach methods should be recommended by the chosen consultant, such as meetings, mailings, phone apps, questionnaires and specialized websites and the firm should implement these outreach efforts or assist City staff with their implementation. In addition, the consultant shall provide assistance to the City with the development of a Plan Update Steering committee.

III. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposal Submission Requirements

The consultant shall submit one (1) unbound original, nine (9) copies and one (1) digital copy as a PDF file provided on a flash drive and/or emailed as part of the proposal submittal. The City encourages the use of recycled paper products and double-sided print. The City discourages the use of plastic products including three-ring binders, plastic folders, etc. for all submissions.

The deadline to submit proposals is no later than Monday, May 3, 2021 at 4:30 PM.

The proposal submittal should be submitted in an envelope labeled "2021 Comprehensive Plan Proposal" and delivered to:

Richard Trent, Planning Manager
City of Countryside
Community Development Department
803 Joliet Road
Countryside, Illinois 60525

Proposal Format

Proposals should contain the following information:

1. Title Page. Provide the name of your firm, address, telephone and name of contact person on a title page.
2. Letter of Transmittal. Provide a complete statement regarding the understanding of the project and your interest in working with the City of Countryside on the Plan Update. The transmittal letter shall be signed by a duly authorized officer or agent empowered with the right to bind the consultant submitting a proposal for consideration.
3. Firm Background. Provide information on the size, location, available resources and brief discussion on past experiences related to updating comprehensive plans, transportation plans, economic trends and other policy documents.
4. Project Team. Identify the project team (including sub-consultants and associates) and provide a statement of qualifications of for each individual, including information such as education, professional registrations, area of expertise and years of service in their respective field.
5. Work Samples. List and provide in electronic format only (either a webpage link to the document or other electronic format) three (3) examples of comprehensive plans or other applicable writing samples recently completed by the firm or team members.
6. Methodology and Approach. Provide a description of the method and approach your firm intends to utilize in order to complete the Plan Update.
7. Understanding of the City of Countryside. Provide information that demonstrates your understanding of the City of Countryside generally and the unique issues facing the City specifically. Identify how the City's background and issues will impact the methodology and approach to the Plan Update.
8. Timeframe. Include a detailed phasing and task list and estimated completion time of each task. Provide an estimated start date and completion date of the Plan Update, based on an estimated consultant selection date of mid-June, 2021.
9. References. Submit names, emails and telephone numbers of other municipal officials that we may contact to verify performance on projects recently completed by the firm as identified under the "Firm Background" section of the proposal submittal. A completed Reference Form, in the form attached to this RFP must be included with all proposals.
10. Verify Firm Capacity. Provide a statement verifying your ability to begin work on the Plan Update and complete the tasks within the timeframes identified in the "Methodology and Approach" section of the submitted proposal based on y our firm's current work load and capacity.
11. Cost Breakdown. Submit a not-to-exceed cost breakdown of the Plan Update process, including total travel and material expenses as separate line items, for the work identified by the consultant in the "Methodology and Approach" and "Timeframe" sections of the proposal submittal.
12. Consulting Agreement. Provide a proposed contract containing all relevant terms and conditions necessary to complete the work proposed by consultant for completion of the RFP. Contract discussion and negotiation will follow award selection. Consultant must be amenable to inclusion of any information provided whether herein or in response to this RFP, or developed subsequently during the selection process. It is understood that final acceptance of the proposal shall only be complete under Corporate Authority's acceptance of a contract executed by the consultant.
13. Proposer Information Sheet. A completed Authorization Form, in the form attached to this RFP must be enclosed with all proposals.
14. Supporting Information (Optional). Provide other supporting information you feel might help us further evaluate firm qualifications and fit for completing the Plan Update.

Questions

The deadline for questions regarding the proposal is April 22, 2021. Questions can be directed to Richard Trent, Planning Manager by email at rtrent@countryside-il.org. Responses to questions and/or addenda determined to be required by City staff to further clarify this RFP will be posted to the City's webpage at https://www.countryside-il.org/bidrequests-for-proposal no later than April 28, 2021 at 4:30 PM.

All expenses incurred in the proposal preparation, up to and including an on-site interview if selected, are the sole responsibility of the consultant and are not reimbursable by the City of Countryside.