REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

FORT WORTH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT

SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR INFILL DEVELOPMENT

JUNE 15, 2022

The Fort Worth Development Services Department invites qualified consultants, design professionals, planning, and/or urban design firms to respond to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to create a new infill development section of the City's Subdivision Ordinance.

The firm selected and contracted to write and prepare the Infill Development Section will be responsible for working with city staff to guide the text amendment through the approval process. Responses to the RFQ should consider and employ the following criteria:

• CONSENSUS BUILDING: The successful respondent will work with city staff to prepare updates and meet with the Development Advisory Committee's (DAC) Infill Subcommittee on a regular basis. This committee is comprised of DAC members, but also includes Fort Worth's Development Services, Fire, Transportation and Public Works, and Planning and Data Analytics Departments, as well as Near Southside, Inc., Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., and Fort Worth Housing Solutions.

• SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE: The successful respondent will write and prepare the Infill Development Section of the ordinance and that section will need to address the following items:
  • Re-Plats - Provide guidance and criteria in the infill subdivision criteria to guide development as to when a replat is applicable and when it is not. Suggest alternative steps to resolve easement cleanup, dedication, or similar activities that will adhere to the infill subdivision ordinance without requiring a full re-plat of the infill lot.
  • Right-of-way dedication – dedication is not usually required in older areas of the City, but when the question arises, there needs to be sufficient information on which project types or circumstances are exempt from dedication, which project types or circumstances could trigger dedication requirements, the amount of width needed for travel lanes, medians, bike lanes, parkways and other elements as identified in the Master Thoroughfare Plan. This section will need to demonstrate how these elements can be addressed in an urban street cross section.
  • Vacation – The only criteria listed in the Subdivision Ordinance for vacation of public right-of-way is an adverse impact to traffic circulation. Other variables, for proposed street and alley vacations, should be identified.
  • Public pedestrian access easements (PPAE) – Criteria exist for PPAEs in certain zoning districts. Investigate how this language can be more specific and how it can be applied to districts that are not already included in the ordinance. Also, provide other alternatives for breaking up block faces and block perimeters.
  • Drainage easements and open space easements – Identify how these easements would be different in an urban context, and define alternatives where land is scarce.
  • Provide alternatives for developments centered around public and private courtyards, both residential and commercial.
  • Private sidewalks in public use easements – provide a definition of these easements and how they apply to denser residential developments.
  • Maneuverability – Provide minimum standards for maneuverability when tight spaces are being proposed. Aisles that are proposed to be used for fire lanes will have different criteria.
  • Parking – Parking will not be defined in the Subdivision Ordinance. However, recommendations for parking alternatives and addressing maneuverability can be recommended for future amendments to other ordinances or policies. (i.e. surface parking lot permeability or alternative surfaces).
  • Shared common access easements – these private access easements are the one exception to private easements in the current ordinance, since private easements on plats are not generally encouraged. Determine whether these are useful tools for infill development.
  • Rear entry access - Proposed townhome developments often request to eliminate this requirement, especially for lots that are 20 feet wide or narrower. This creates long rows of facades that are primarily garages, which are undesirable with respect to walkability and neighborhood character and an outcome that the rear-entry standard is intended to prevent. Provide criteria for when this approach may be appropriate.
  • Utility easements – Create guidelines for utility easements that encourage creative and practical solutions to support desirable redevelopment projects, especially in space-constrained locations, while upholding principles from infrastructure design guidelines that are incorporated by reference into the Subdivision Ordinance. This section will need to address both City and franchise utilities within an easement.
  • Water and Sanitary Sewer Taps - Address and streamline the termination of existing water and sanitary sewer services (kill taps) for existing platted lots, and address procedures to facilitate timely installation of new relocated water and sanitary sewer connections applicable to redeveloping lots.
• IMPLEMENTATION: City staff and the successful respondent will coordinate on the following implementation activities:
  • Informational presentations to the Greater Fort Worth Builders' Association, Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors, the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, and neighborhood organizations, as identified.
  • City staff and the successful respondent will also present to the City Plan Commission and City Council as part of the final approval process for ordinance approval related to the text amendment.

In addition, RFQ responses should include the following information:

• Proposed Team, including office location, key individuals, organizational description, and resumes.
• Experience and References, including relevant experience of proposed team members and names and contact numbers of responsible individuals who may be contacted for references.
• Previous experience and success with subdivision text amendments of similar scope and nature
• Provides examples of the most relevant projects completed within the last five years
• Project Approach and Schedule, including a description of the primary project tasks and proposed methodologies.
• Plan to meet MBE/WBE Ordinance Requirements. Note that a MBE/WBE Goal will be established following consultant selection and development of the preliminary project scope. The preliminary MBE/WBE Goal is 15%.

RECEIPT OF RESPONSES:

Five (5) copies of the submittal shall be provided to the City. The City will review all responsive submittals. The City reserves the right to approve the selected team's Project Manager

Sealed responses for the ("Project") will be received by the City of Fort Worth Purchasing Office until 1:30 P.M. CST, Thursday, July 14, 2022 as further described below:

City of Fort Worth
Purchasing Division
200 Texas Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Responses will be accepted by:

1. US Mail at the address above,
2. By courier, FedEx or hand delivery from 8:30-1:30 on Thursday, July 14, 2022 only at the South End Lobby of City Hall located at 200 Texas Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. A Purchasing Department staff person will be available to accept the response and provide a time stamped receipt; or
3. If the respondent desires to submit the response on a day or time other than the designated Monday, the respondent must contact the Purchasing Department during normal working hours at 817-392-2462 to make an appointment to meet a Purchasing Department employee at the South End Lobby of City Hall located at 200 Texas Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102, where the responses will be received and time/date stamped as above.

Responses will be opened publicly and the firm names read aloud July 14, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST in the City Council Chambers.

CITY'S RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT RESPONSES

City reserves the right to waive irregularities and to accept or reject responses.

AWARD

The following criteria will be the basis for the selection process:

• Project Understanding (25%)
• Project Team, Qualifications, Experience, and Capabilities (35%)
• Project Approach and Schedule (30%)
• Local Sensitivity (5%)
• Demonstration of Ability to Meet MWBE Goal (5%)

INQUIRIES

All inquiries relative to this RFQ should be addressed to the following:

Stuart Campbell, Planning Manager, City of Fort Worth

Email: stuart.campbell@fortworthtexas.gov

Phone: (817) 392-2412

EXPRESSION OF INTERSEST

To ensure RFQ respondents are kept up to date of any new information pertinent to this project, respondents are requested to email Expressions of Interest in this procurement to the individuals listed under INQUIRIES above. The email should include the respondent's company name, contact person, that individuals email address and phone number. All Addenda will be distributed directly to those who have expressed an interest in the procurement and will also be posted in the City of Fort Worth's purchasing website at http://fortworthtexas.gov/purchasing/

PUBLIC URL LINK:

https://docs.b360.autodesk.com/shares/2bb58e64-8e36-4977-8e5e-c983dc7bc4c0

LINKS TO RELEVANT DOCUMENTS:

• City of Fort Worth Development Services Website: https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/development-services
• Fort Worth Preservation & Urban Design District: Preservation & Urban Design – Welcome to the City of Fort Worth (fortworthtexas.gov)

END OF SECTION