The qualified Consultant will provide long-term strategies that build upon the City’s foundation and set a comprehensive framework to help guide and unify a vision. The Consultant will assist in identifying a vision for the City, include as a central theme throughout the planning process, with the goal of staff, elected officials, residents, stakeholders, civic groups and organizations, adopting the Vision for the Riverside community.

The City is interested in studying the existing conditions, understanding opportunities and needs, creating a defined vision for the commercial and residential areas and developing implementation strategies to ensure the future success of each area. Specific aspects to be considered during the planning process include demographics, transportation and traffic impacts, economic development, public safety, public infrastructure, neighborhood dynamics, land use, and housing.

The planning process will include a robust community outreach process with public visioning and partnership building. It is preferred that the selected consultant team themselves reflect the demographic makeup of the project area and demonstrate extensive success in engaging typically hard-to-engage populations and in neighborhood organization and empowerment. The firm selected for this project will provide leadership on all aspects of the project throughout the entire process, working closely with City staff, elected officials, and members of the public.

The Plans will be essential in preparing the updated Comprehensive Plan, guide decisions affecting the physical development within the City, inform both public and private investment and impact all rezoning and development decisions.

The City of Riverside, founded in 1995, operates under and is governed by its Charter which provides for a Council-Manager form of government. The City of Riverside is centrally located, sharing a border with five cities, Dayton, Huber Heights, Fairborn, Beavercreek and Kettering. Approximately 9.7 square miles, 20 thoroughfares (82 miles), 298 residential streets (165 miles).