Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Update
City of Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg, MD
Introduction
The City is seeking a qualified consultant to assist staff in a comprehensive analysis and update to the City's Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 24 of the City Code. Consultants are encouraged to collaborate with other consulting firms to work as a team as necessary.
- The consultant will be expected to coordinate with staff on a comprehensive review of the City's current Zoning Ordinance, identifying issues; developing and conducting a public engagement strategy; and drafting a revised Zoning Ordinance that reflects at a minimum:
- Updates to terminology and definitions used throughout the code,
- Improvements to the overall organization, and ease of use,
- Incorporation of diagrams, tables, graphics and illustrations that clarify and enhance understanding of relevant code sections,
- Revisions to or possible new development of zoning districts that better reflect the City's goals, policies and visions.
- The final draft Zoning Ordinance will be presented by the chosen consultant and City staff, through the City's public hearing process, for adoption. The entire process, including possible work sessions and pubic engagement meetings, through adoption is anticipated to take 12-18 months to be completed.
Background
- Gaithersburg is among the largest cities in the State of Maryland, with a population in excess of 69,000, occupying more than 10 square miles within Montgomery County. The current zoning ordinance accompanies this solicitation as Exhibit A.
- The last comprehensive update to the Zoning Ordinance was in 1965. Over the past 57 years, the Ordinance has received a multitude of amendments. These "piecemeal" amendments have created the following issues:
- The code can be difficult to navigate and is poorly organized;
- Sections of the code, including the definitions, are outdated, reference items that are no longer relevant, and/or do not adequately address the changing nature of development trends or impacts on race equity. Sections may in fact act as a disincentive to investment and redevelopment and may inadvertently perpetuate inequality, segregation or displacement as land-use patterns shift in the future;
- Some sections are not consistent with other sections of the code;
- The code can be difficult to interpret and contain standards that are difficult to administer;
- The zoning districts may be overly complex or lack the ability to fully address the City's policies, vision, goals, or master plan.
- While originally written to accommodate the City's rapid growth and expansion, reflecting the suburban, Euclidean-based development planning principles of the 1960s, recent development trends demonstrate that the City has transitioned to predominately infill redevelopment, reflecting a more urban, mixed-use pattern.
Scope of Work
The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Review, with assistance and input from staff, the City's Zoning Ordinance including but not limited to, identifying all issues, omissions, inconsistencies, conflicts, overlaps, redundancies, equity shortfalls, and outdated provisions and provide a written assessment of findings/opportunities for improvements.
- Assist in developing, coordinating and conducting a diverse public engagement strategy, including engaging historically underserved communities; designed to inform key stakeholders and the public at large; culminating in a report on the public engagement outcomes.
- Explore, including literature review of current zoning practices, innovative zoning approaches to advance the City's goals including but not limited to the possible creation of new zoning districts.
- Participate in regular virtual or in-person meetings with City project team staff to discuss and develop the various project deliverables.
- Provide a draft Zoning Ordinance for review by staff that is clear and user-friendly for the general public, stakeholders, elected and appointed officials, and the development community; incorporates graphics, illustrations, charts, and tables; is legally sound; eliminates inconsistence, conflicts, overlaps, redundancies, and outdated provisions; minimizes nonconformities; promotes and furthers the City's commitment to racial equity; implements modern development standards and best practices; and improves and streamlines the City's entitlement process to remain economically competitive.
- Complete and present for adoption a final draft Zoning Ordinance through a public hearing process conducted by the City Council and Planning Commission.
- Conduct with the City Council and Planning Commission up to four (4) joint work sessions; a joint public hearing; a recommendation meeting with the Planning Commission; and final adoption meeting by the City Council.
Deliverables
The consultant will be responsible for providing the following deliverables with milestones to be determined in consultation with staff:
- A Report identifying the issues, inconsistencies, conflicts, overlaps, redundancies, missing planning based zoning topics, and outdated provisions of Chapter 24 of the City's Zoning Ordinance to be addressed in a revised draft.
- A Report on the public engagement effort's outcomes.
- Draft revised Zoning Ordinance for review by staff that reflects best practices, the project's goals, and addresses the current Zoning Ordinance assessment report and outcomes from the public engagement effort.
- Final Zoning Ordinance for adoption by Mayor and City Council
SOLICITATION SCHEDULE
Below is the schedule of events for this Solicitation. Unless otherwise specified, all references herein to times of EDT
- Solicitation Issued: May 18, 2022 N/A
- Offeror Questions Due in Writing: June1, 2022 by 5:00 PM
- Q&A Addendum Issued: June 8, 2022 by 5:00 PM
- Submission Deadline: June 15, 2022 by 5:00 PM
The complete RFP and submission requirements may be obtained at:
https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/Home/Components/RFP/RFP/297/2454