REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Date: June 23, 2025

Local Authority: City of Upper Arlington, Ohio

Project Name: Upper Arlington Master Plan Update

Project Extents: City of Upper Arlington Corporate Boundaries

Response Deadline: Monday, August 4, 2025

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: 3600 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221

Number Copies: 3 hard copies, 1 electronic

The City of Upper Arlington (population 36,000) is seeking proposals for services necessary to update the community's Master Plan. The current Master Plan was adopted in 2001 following a three-year visioning process and included eight defined study areas that set the course for thoughtful redevelopment.

The Master Plan was updated internally in 2013 and has since been supplemented and supported by several key planning efforts such as: the 2017 Parks & Recreation Comprehensive Plan, the 2018 River Ridge/Kingsdale West Study, the 2019 Arts & Culture Master Plan, the 2020 Lane Avenue Planning Study, the 2021 Economic Development Blueprint, the 2021-22 Neighborhood Compatibility Review, the 2022-23 Police and Fire Operations Study, the 2024 Envision Henderson Study, and the 2025 Housing Market Analysis Study. Additionally, infrastructure projects are guided by the annually updated 10 Year Capital Improvement Program along with a 2025 Facilities Assessment. These successful planning efforts will provide context to the Master Plan update but should not be replicated. Some of the Development Plans can be found on the City's website at https://upperarlingtonoh.gov/community-development/.

Concurrent with significant regional growth, the City of Columbus, Upper Arlington's surrounding neighbor, recently adopted a significant update to their zoning code (Zone In), which could dramatically transform development along key adjacent corridors. The Central Ohio Transit Agency (COTA) will be installing a bus rapid transit line near the City's north and east boundaries in 2030. The Ohio State University is redeveloping its West Campus into "Carmenton", which seeks to add millions of square feet of commercial and research uses, creating nearly 10,000 jobs. The establishment of Quarry Trails Metro Park on the City's western border has created recreational opportunities which have yet to be fully realized. Finally, the recent opening of the Bob Crane Community Center at Kingsdale has fulfilled a major social, programmatic, and recreational need in the community.

The Master Plan update will be directly impacted by extensive community outreach and involvement, including public meetings (in both remote and in-person formats), surveys, focus groups, pop-ups and similar events that will be held to identify significant community issues. A committee of residents will be appointed by City Council to help guide the planning process. The Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning (BZAP), Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and City Tree Commission will also be involved in the plan process. City Council will approve the final plan.

The consultant team will work heavily with all elements of the City of UA government. While land use and parks planning are central to this project, this effort should touch on all elements of City government operations.

The result of this project will be a dynamic and innovative Master Plan that sets out the strategic vision for the City of Upper Arlington, and guides future development, investment and decision-making for the next 10-20 years. In addition to the more traditional areas of focus in a Master Plan, the following must also be included:

• Development of a strategic framework for the City of Upper Arlington. (Mission, Vision, and Values or an equivalent framework.)
• Development of a tactical framework to plan for key elements of city operations and community development such as housing, economic development, community facilities, safety, resilience, recycling and green initiatives, infrastructure and transportation.
• Consideration of appropriate areas for alternate housing types (a.k.a. 'missing middle' housing) such as townhomes, duplexes, and similar non-single-family dwellings. Additionally, the study should consider the appropriateness of accessory dwelling units. Findings should balance the addition of alternate housing types with the preservation of the community's highly desirable single-family residential neighborhoods.
• An element of the project will include the development of a guiding document for Parks and Recreation to serve as a successor to the 2017 Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan and incorporates the 2025 tree canopy assessment for the creation of an urban forestry plan.
• The plan should include a forward-looking perspective that thoughtfully considers the potential influences of emerging technologies. It must be forward-looking enough to consider potential impacts from AI and other disruptive innovations as it relates to the community.
• The final document must be transformed into an ArcGIS Story Map or other livable document for easy public access and interpretation.

Scope of Services

The scope of services follows. Note that modifications to better meet the project objectives will be accepted and will be evaluated in the firm's understanding and approach.

1.1 Project Vision:

Consultant will lay out its overall understanding of the project and provide a comprehensive vision for the project, including but not limited to project management, community outreach, collaboration with staff, research needs, data analytics, and structure and delivery of the final work product.

1.2 Project Schedule:

The Consultant shall prepare and maintain a project schedule that includes periods for ample public input, reviews, and approvals with an estimated project completion date. Staff anticipate a two-year process from start to finish.

1.3 Attendance at progress meetings, public input meetings, and council meeting presentations, including the preparation of presentations and exhibits.

1.4 Review of existing regulations and policies, and an evaluation of potential upgrades or modifications, including any potential legal review or case study.

1.5 An estimate of staff hours required for tasks outlined in the scope of work, if authorized, should be provided. These tasks may include, but are not limited to:

• Review and recommendation on existing policies and regulations
• Public Outreach and Meeting attendance
• Report creation

1.6 The Master Plan should build from those plans and studies adopted or accepted within the last ten years. The creation of additional review boards, a new zoning ordinance, historic structure review or streamlined process mapping is not to be included.

1.7 Optional survey as an 'add-on' to supplement 2025 community survey. Information about the current survey can be found at https://upperarlingtonoh.gov/?s=survey .

1.8 Other items not listed, however, beneficial to the overall creation of the Plan.

2. Submittal Requirements

2.1 Proposals will be received by the City until 3:00 PM E.S.T. on August 4, 2025. All questions must be submitted through IonWave by July 14, 2025 and responses will be provided by July 21, 2025.

Submit Proposal Package to:

City of Upper Arlington
Community Development Department
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Attention: Chad Gibson, AICP
Community Development Director
cgibson@uaoh.net

Please be advised that failure to comply with the following criteria will be grounds for disqualification:

2.1.1 Receipt of submittal by the specified date and time

2.1.2 Three hard copies and one electronic copy of the proposal submitted as specified

2.1.3 Adherence to maximum page limits (this includes the proposal and cover letter)

2.1.4 Deposit of submittal in correct location (the City is not responsible for responses that are not received by the Community Development Department at 3600 Tremont Road)

2.1.5 Prohibition against contact or communication with any elected official, representative, or employee of the City of Upper Arlington regarding this solicitation or the type of work contemplated therein, unless otherwise provided for within subsequent instructions. The City is not responsible for the accuracy of the information received outside of IonWave.

2.1.6 Any potential conflict of interests

Submittals are not returnable and will become the property of the City of Upper Arlington. Please be advised that once awarded, they become "public record" and are available to all for inspection and copying, upon request.

2.2 Proposal Format (only the following format will be accepted):

2.2.1 Submit proposals in a sealed envelope. The firm name and project title shall be displayed on the front of the envelope. Three hard copies and one electronic copy shall be provided.

2.2.2 Consultant shall limit the proposal to no more than ten (10) total pages including the cover letter. The 10 pages does not include the proposal cover, table of contents, or sections dividers. A 'page' is one side of a sheet of paper with text, graphics, etc. If both sides of a sheet of paper have text, that is two pages.

2.2.3 The proposal shall be accompanied by a one-page cover letter that shall be bound with the proposal as the first page inside of the front cover.

2.2.4 All pages shall be 8-1/2" by 11", with 1-inch margins (headers and footers may encroach with the margins).

2.2.5 The minimum font size shall be 11 point, Times New Roman or Arial.

3. Evaluation Criteria

3.1 Project Team (based on the training, education, experience, and availability of the individuals assigned to the project) (20 points)

3.2 Past Performance (past performance on similar projects based on quality of work, ability to meet deadlines, previous communication history, organizations skills, and the ability to maintain a project budget) (30 points)

3.3 Understanding of Project/Project Approach (35 points)

3.4 Quality of RFP response in terms of research, accuracy and graphics (15 points)

4. Selection Process

Following City review of all proposals, in-person interviews of the finalists may be scheduled. The firm ranked highest in the Technical Proposals will be deemed to be the most-qualified firm and will be selected to negotiate Scope and Fee for the work.