I. Purpose of the Request:

The City of Rye, New York is seeking qualified professional consultant(s) to facilitate a planning process culminating in the completion of a comprehensive plan that replaces the City's current Master Plan adopted in 1985.

All proposals shall be submitted by 5:00 P.M. on May 16, 2025, to the Planning Department at 1051 Boston Post Road, attention: Christian K. Miller, City Planner, Tel: (914) 967-7167, cmiller@ryeny.gov.

II. Project Rationale and Context:

The City of Rye's Master Plan was completed in 1985. In 2017-2018, the City Council formed the Master Plan Task Force to assist with retaining a consultant and planning process for the completion of a new comprehensive plan. While there was extensive public engagement and submission of some draft sections of the plan, the plan was never completed.

The City Council seeks to start the comprehensive planning process anew and requires a professional consultant to facilitate a public engagement process that culminates in the completion of a new comprehensive plan. The City Council desires a comprehensive planning process that captures a shared community vision with inclusive engagement and a plan document that identifies actionable goals, policies, and strategies for the next 10-20 years. The plan should be comprehensive and address a wide range of areas, including housing, environment, flooding, culture and recreation, business, transportation, historic preservation, and community facilities.

Rye is an established community that has not witnessed significant overall population growth over the past 40 years, but shifting demographics, community values, and lifestyles have resulted in changes in the physical landscape and how best to manage and accommodate competing priorities. Rye is re-building and re-adapting existing buildings, infrastructure and community facilities to meet current needs, which has presented concerns regarding impacts to community character, environmental sustainability and natural resource protection, housing choice and affordability, traffic and pedestrian safety and flood hazard mitigation and resiliency.

A new comprehensive plan should concisely identify community current conditions and anticipate future needs and demands based on local and regional trends. The plan should identify strategies that strike a balance between competing interests and the input from an engaged community.

III. Planning Process and Consultant Work Plan

The consultant in its proposal for services shall prepare for the City's consideration a detailed planning process that includes a timeline, cost and deliverable for each task required for the completion of the Comprehensive Plan document. The City will rely on the expertise and experience of the consultant's recommended process. The City will value a consultant approach that demonstrates a creative but practical work plan that facilitates and anticipates pitfalls to plan adoption. The City desires a document that can be relied upon by local decision-makers and regional stakeholders to identify, advance and coordinate physical planning and land use policy needs. The process and work plan should include the following elements:

• Community Engagement. The City understands that the plans most embraced by the community are those that encourage and solicit throughout the process public input and provide for a variety of venues and forums to facilitate public participation. The consultant shall identify what community outreach methods it will use to identify community goals and objectives and provide continued public involvement during the planning process. Public meetings alone should not be considered adequate but included in the planning and community engagement process. Use of public input surveys (both traditional mail and online), website updates, social media and other technology driven methods are encouraged. The consultant can expect to interface with a Comprehensive Plan Committee, City Planner and City Council, which will provide input and guidance throughout the process. Plan adoption is anticipated within 12-18 months after the project is initiated.
• Background Studies. An effective plan must be rooted in the reality of past and existing conditions and future anticipated trends. The consultant's proposal shall include what background information it will provide as a foundation for the plan. The intent is not to use background information as plan filler, but to use qualitative and quantitative data to develop meaningful and practical action strategies. This would include but not limited to information and trend analysis for the City and surrounding areas including demographic characteristics, housing characteristics, economic conditions, utilities and community facilities, historic resources, land use composition, traffic, transportation and pedestrian characteristics and other elements included in the City's current Comprehensive Plan as well as those typical of "traditional" comprehensive plan updates. Information should be presented with appropriate table, charts, maps and other supporting graphics. In addition, the consultant shall review relevant studies and plans completed since the 1985 Master Plan and evaluate these plans in light of today's community needs and consider integrating substance from those plans into the comprehensive plan.
• Plan Content. The consultant's proposal shall include a detailed outline proposing the plan content. The outline should properly convey the organization, extent of background information, structure for the presentation of goals and policies and depth of analysis expected for the presentation of action strategies that advance plan implementation. The proposal must properly and clearly convey what deliverable can be expected. Examples of work products completed for other communities having similar planning processes and budgets is encouraged.
• Plan Adoption. The consultant's proposal shall include a work plan identifying a time frame and budget for each task in the planning process. Work to be completed by the consultant, sub-consultant, City staff or City Comprehensive Plan Committee should be identified in the work plan. The work plan shall integrate the public engagement process and identify at appropriate increments throughout the process the involvement of the City Comprehensive Plan Committee to review and comment on draft work product or to provide strategic direction throughout the planning process. It is expected that that the adoption of the document will be subject to state environmental review. The cost and timing to complete State Environmental Quality Review should be included in the work plan as a separate item depending on whether a more extensive environmental review (i.e. positive declaration) is required. The City Council will be responsible for the Comprehensive adoption.

The City needs a plan that will be used and relied upon by decision-makers years after plan adoption. The consultant should include in its work plan its planning principles, unique process mechanisms or measures that will help ensure the long-term utility of the planning document. To the extent possible, the consult should provide specific examples of similar comprehensive plan initiatives it has undertaken that demonstrate continued future reliance on the plan document by community decision-makers.

IV. Proposal Submission Requirements

The contents of the proposal shall become contractual obligations, if a contract ensues. Proposals shall contain the following information:

• The proposals shall be submitted marked on the outside envelope "Proposals for City of Rye Comprehensive Plan Update". The outside envelope shall also list the name of the consultant and the date of delivery of said proposal.
• The consultants shall submit one (1) original, eight (8) copies and one .pdf version of the proposal. Proposals shall be typewritten (single-spaced) with pages numbered and signed in ink by an official authorized to bind the company to its provisions.
• Proposals submitted in response to this request should be prepared simply and economically, and contain the following information:
  • A cover letter of interest and general description of recommended approaches, scope of work, processes and deliverables.
  • Name, address, telephone number and contact person for each consultant
  • References – a minimum of three (3) professional references for whom a similar project has been completed in the last five (5) years.
  • Documentation that the consultant fulfills the experience requirements referenced in this document.
  • List of consultants and/or subcontractors including qualifications and bios of key team members referenced in the proposal.
  • Project Approach. Include a discussion of the distinguishing features of your team and approach to this project. The discussion should include specifics regarding public participation and outreach, committee responsibilities and facilitation of planning process as discussed in the Section III of this RFP planning process and Consultant work plan.
  • Schedule. Scope of Work including a breakdown of tasks, time line, deliverables and task responsibility.
  • Conflict of Interest. The consultant shall submit a conflict of interest form (provided upon request).
  • Deliverables. The proposal shall identify the format and number of final deliverable (i.e. plan document). The proposal shall also identify interim documents to be delivered at various phases of the planning process.
  • Budget. Provide a detailed budget broken down by task. Include overhead and hourly rates of individuals involved. Also, provide an estimated budget with staff hours for completing each phase of the proposed scope of work.

V. Selection Process:

The City of Rye will review and evaluate all proposals based on each firm's qualifications, references, relevant experience, and cost, among other considerations. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and waive any formality to the extent that is in the best interest of the City. After proposal submission the City may elect at its sole discretion to conduct interviews of potential consultant candidates before selecting the desired consultant.

4/11/25