The Town of Summerville, South Carolina is soliciting proposals from consulting firms interested in assisting the Town with developing an Urban Forestry Master Plan as outlined in its Urban and Community Forestry Grant #2021-U02 awarded by the South Carolina Forestry Commission on behalf of the USDA Forest Service. The scope of the project is to develop an Urban Forestry Master Plan to provide a framework for the Town to effectively manage and maintain the urban and community forest as a sustainable asset, consistent with the values and needs of the community, while maximizing its ecological, social, health, and economic benefits.

The master plan will help create a better understanding of the Town's tree maintenance needs; prioritize tree removal and planting; plan for short-term and long-term staffing and funding needs; develop risk management and hazard mitigation strategies; and allow the Town to advocate and advance the myriad of benefits that trees provide to the community.

The planning process will be led by a consultant in coordination with Town Staff, utility providers, the Town's Tree Protection Board, and other local community organizations. The following scope is a framework for the overall process that can be refined as needed:

• Meet with Town Staff to develop an outreach plan to engage the community to determine the public's needs and desires for the urban forest.
• Implement the public engagement process with community stakeholders, citizens, businesses, developers, and other interested parties. This may involve surveys, email, focus groups, interviews, etc. Town Staff and volunteers will be able to handle in-person events as needed. The data/information collected during public outreach should be analyzed and incorporated into the master plan.
• Meet with Town Council and Citizen Boards/Committees to assess the importance of urban forestry and the desired functions of the urban forest.
• Review existing UTC assessments (2015 and 2020), data analyses, as well as current plans (Comprehensive Plan, GI Plan). Assess and evaluate the current ordinances, policies, and procedures affecting the urban forest.
• Review the current and future threats and opportunities to the urban forest, specifically associated with development trends' effects on existing trees and what options exist to best protect and replace the existing tree canopy with new development.
• Provide general recommendations to increase operations efficiencies, reduce costs and risk mitigation, and promote better coordination between departments, decision makers and the community at large.
• Identify and evaluate other resources including other governmental entities and nonprofit partners that can contribute to the success of the growth and sustainability of the Town's urban forest.
• Compile best practices for community outreach and engagement to support expansion and maintenance of the urban forest.
• Prepare a plan document with appropriate and effective graphics that presents the content in a concise, readable, and engaging style. The plan should include a framework of short-term and long-term actionable goals, objectives, recommendations, and strategies that mesh with the Town's overall goals and priorities. Funding possibilities and resource needs should be identified where possible.
• Define metrics to measure success and keep the plan updated and useful for the long-term.

The Urban Forestry Master Plan should be a user-friendly document available in both written and digital form, containing high quality graphics, charts, and maps. The plan should include an executive summary or other such document/section that can be easily and widely distributed and a summary of data gathered from engagement activities. A digital copy of the final draft document and the final approved plan in both PDF and other editable word processing program, preferably Word or InDesign shall be provided along with a summary PowerPoint for presentation to Town Council and other groups.

For the full RFP package please go to the following link: http://summervillesc.gov/302/Bids-RFPS