REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

CITY OF DETROIT LAKES, MINNESOTA

1. Project:

The City of Detroit Lakes is seeking a professional consultant to prepare a Comprehensive Plan. The last Comprehensive Plan was completed by Northwest Association Consultants in 2000. The plan was amended in 2009, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Over the past 25 years, the City of Detroit Lakes has experienced significant growth and development. Also, regulations, especially environmental regulations regarding wetlands and storm water management have changed significantly. These factors and others have created a need for a new Comprehensive Plan for the City of Detroit Lakes. The consultant is expected to start the project in January or February of 2027 and complete the project by November 30, 2027.

2. Scope of Work:

A. Plan Elements

The completed update of the Comprehensive Plan should address the following areas:

1. Demographics
2. Existing and future land uses
3. Future public and community facilities
4. Infrastructure
5. Park and open space development
6. Historic preservation
7. Industrial development
8. Transportation (including airport) and traffic management
9. Central business district
10. Business development
11. Housing
12. Staged growth and development
13. Annexation plan

B. Outline of Proposed Process

1. Planning preparation and scheduling
2. Public information
3. Work with Planning Commission Subcommittees for policy discussion on various plan elements
4. Draft initial findings
5. Public input: solicit public input and revise policy statements
6. Charette: Intensive work sessions where participants reconcile ideas and values with the recommended policy statements, goals and other factors influencing the plan. The outcome of this session is to develop a workable set of conclusions for all of the plan elements.
7. Public hearings: hearings will be held to discuss the Comprehensive Plan draft
8. Draft Comprehensive Plan
9. Public review: public meetings will be held to discuss the Comprehensive Plan draft
10. Revision: review and revision based on input from the public meetings will be completed and the final plan will be prepared.
11. Final adoption: the Planning Commission will make final recommendation to the City Council for adoption of the Comprehensive Plan.

C. Expected End Products

The final products of the Comprehensive Planning process include the following items:

1. A Comprehensive Plan document
2. A Comprehensive Plan Summary Report
3. A current generalized land use map
4. A future land use plan map

The consultant shall provide all original documents electronically in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PDF formats. Maps and plans shall be delivered electronically with the ability for the City to modify independently, if necessary, and be compatible with City GIS software.  

3. Format Required for the Proposal

The proposal should include a section describing each of the following:

A. Qualifications and experiences of your firm and the key personnel in conducting similar planning studies. Include a list of references and recent projects. Also, include resumes of key personnel your firm would assign to this project.

B. A detailed outline of the proposed study approach, additional data requirements, items of work, time and personnel of each item, and a time schedule by items of work.

C. Your firm’s overall approach, or “philosophy” to small city planning activities generally and with regard to updating comprehensive plans specifically.

D. A description of the work plan, process and time schedules your firm would implement for updating the Comprehensive Plan.

E. Estimated costs for consulting services should be stated in a not to exceed amount. Estimated costs of reimbursable expenses should also be provided as well as a description of what items constitute reimbursable expenses. Separate estimates of costs for attending public meetings and mapping services should also be provided.

4. Section Criteria:

Upon review of all proposals, 3 – 5 proposals will be selected for interviews. Proposals will be judged on the following criteria but not necessarily limited to the following.

A. Expressed understanding of the overall project objectives.

B. Project work plan and schedule

C. Specific approach to key plan elements

D. Clarity of the proposal and adherence to the RFP

E. Experiences with similar projects of the firm and personnel

F. Results of reference checks

G. Overall cost and budget detail

5. Special Instructions

A. Submission Instructions

The proposal must be received by the City of Detroit Lakes no later than 4:00pm August 28, 2026. Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposals are to be emailed to lremmen@cityofdetroitlakes.com with the following cover page:

Detroit Lakes

Comprehensive Plan

Proposal

B. City Contact

Questions about the RFP may be directed to Larry Remmen, Planning and Zoning Director, City of Detroit Lakes by calling 218-846-7125 or emailing lremmen@cityofdetroitlakes.com

C. Limitations:

The City reserves the right to waive irregularities in the proposals. This Request for Proposal does not commit the City of Detroit Lakes to award a contract, to pay costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal, or procure a contract for services and supplies.

The City of Detroit Lakes reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this request, to negotiate any qualified source or to cancel in part or in its entirety this proposal if it is in the best interest of the City to do so. The City of Detroit Lakes reserves the right to negotiate and accept the proposals which it believes best meets the requirements and overall needs of the City.

The proposer agrees that fees and costs agreed upon are to remain in effect for the duration of the project.