INTRODUCTION

The City of Olathe, Kansas (“City”) is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to review and update its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) following adoption of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, Elevate Olathe, which is designed to guide Olathe’s growth and development over the next 15 years. The City is seeking firms experienced in providing professional services including research, analysis, stakeholder engagement, drafting of UDO text and graphics, and final document preparation. The project will align development standards with the goals of Elevate Olathe and result in a UDO that supports an efficient development process, quality standards, compatibility with state statues, and advancement of Olathe’s livability, mobility, resiliency and community identity.

The City's existing UDO is available on-line for review at https://olathe.municipal.codes/UDO and the adopted Elevate Olathe Comprehensive is available for on-line review a https://www.olatheks.gov/government/planning.

Other Long Range plans and Corridor Studies can be found at https://www.olatheks.gov/government/planning. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The City adopted the Elevate Olathe Comprehensive Plan in April 2026, which was a complete update to the previous PlanOlathe Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2010. Key recommendations of Elevate Olathe are to update the City's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to align with the strategies and actions contained in the updated plan, specifically pertaining to the following:

• Development of a Mixed Use Zoning District, including Vertical Mixed Use and Mix of Uses opportunities,
• Site Design Standards,
• Flexibility for infill development,
• Protection of natural features,
• Greater mix of housing types and complete neighborhoods, and
• Revitalizing commercial corridors with guidance on building form and placement.

The City’s last holistic update to the UDO occurred in 2014. Since then, targeted amendments have been adopted, including significant updates to architectural standards (2019), animal regulations (2020), accessory dwelling units (2022), and the Downtown sign code (2025).

The Project is expected to include a combination of existing, modified, and new regulations, including the creation and repeal of zoning districts, development standards, and design standards. The code update must include robust stakeholder engagement and close collaboration with City staff to ensure alignment with the Olathe community, the Olathe 2040 strategic plan, the goals of Elevate Olathe, and the City’s established development review practices.

PRIMARY GOALS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE:

1. Allowing greater flexibility in residential land uses with context sensitive designs (i.e. missing middle housing):

The UDO update should realign land use and architectural standards to support a variety of housing types, including homes on small lots. The Elevate Olathe Comprehensive Plan encourages “missing middle” housing, and the UDO should support these housing types by balancing context-sensitive design with flexibility that enables feasibility and affordability.

2. Development of design guidelines that may serve as overlay district standards for the Santa Fe subarea, as identified in the Comprehensive Plan:

Santa Fe Street, extending from approximately the BSNF Railroad to Mur-Len Road, served as Olathe’s original commercial corridor and business center. Over time, the corridor evolved into an auto-oriented environment and is now characterized by aging buildings, fragmented reinvestment, and inconsistent design. The transformational $270 million interchange improvements at Santa Fe Street and I-35 will affect many existing properties in the area. As redevelopment and reinvestment occur, consistent standards for building placement, architecture, site design, and landscaping should be applied to establish cohesive street frontages and enhance the visual quality of one of the City’s primary gateways.

3. Updating Site Design Standards to require realistic and meaningful site design and clarify how zoning standards are implemented in relation to Site Design Standards (columns provided in UDO 18.20):

The Site Design Standards (UDO 18.15.100) should be updated to align with the Future Land Use Map in the Elevate Olathe Comprehensive Plan and the zoning districts established through this UDO update. While the standards were originally intended to provide “maximum design flexibility,” in practice this flexibility has often resulted in underutilized amenities that add limited value to projects or allow for building placement and other features that are already standard in typical development. Features that promote sense of place should be incorporated along with bicycle and pedestrian amenities.

4. Updating or repealing dated and underutilized zoning districts with overly complicated regulations (i.e. TOD and PR Districts), and create a new Mixed Use zoning district, as identified in the Comprehensive Plan.

5. Updating the Use Matrix, particularly in the Downtown and Business Park Districts, to remove antiquated uses and include new and emerging technologies and land uses (UDO 18.20.500).

6. Updating the Original Town Overlay District to align with the vision for housing described in the Elevate Olathe Comprehensive Plan.

7. Evaluating the Architecture Code to meet industry’s best practices and maintain regional competitiveness.

8. Updating the Sign Code to meet industry best practices and increase ease of use.

9. Right-size parking standards and encourage shared-use parking opportunities.

10. Updating Tree Preservation standards for clarity and ease of use.

11. Updating development review procedures to consolidate review processes and timelines when feasible.

12. Updating Nonconformities and Vested Rights for ease of interpretation and use.

SCOPE OF WORK

The City seeks to contract a consulting firm (or team of consulting firms) to provide professional planning, technical, and legal assistance in updating the City’s Unified Development Ordinance. Specifically, a consulting firm with substantial experience in developing and drafting land development regulations, particularly those undergoing significant growth and redevelopment.

The consulting firm(s) is also expected to provide a wide range of services including, but not limited to the following:

1. Review of the Elevate Olathe Comprehensive Plan, with special attention given to the Future Land Use Map, subareas, and the goals and strategies within Chapter 3, for alignment with UDO updates.
2. In coordination with staff’s Technical Committee, audit the current UDO and provide a report summarizing the existing strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in comparison to other municipalities.
3. Develop and implement a public engagement plan which should incorporate a range of outreach tools, including a dedicated project website, online survey(s), and social media content. In addition, this plan should involve stakeholder engagement, focus group discussions, and public workshops to present and discuss opportunities for improvement. Public engagement opportunities must be provided throughout the review, drafting, revising, and adopting processes.  For the purposes of this statement of qualifications, assume a minimum of three (3) community stakeholder meetings, one (1) public open house, at least one (1) internal technical committee meeting per major topic area, two (2) presentations to the Planning Commission, and two (2) presentations to the City Council.  The consultant will be responsible for preparing all materials for meetings, including graphics, exhibits, presentation documents, etc.  The consultant will be the primary presenter at each meeting.
4. Creating tables and graphics to convey complex zoning concepts.
5. Develop a user-friendly development ordinance with hyperlinks and supporting graphics that are easy to understand, administer, and interpret.
6. Identify significant nonconformities which result from updates to the UDO.
7. Provide for efficient code administration with the delivery of predictable, high-quality outcomes.
8. Allow for responsiveness to market conditions and community needs and expectations.

The final scope of work to be carried out by the Consultant will be negotiated in advance of contracting with the City. This scope of work is intended to be flexible and shall be refined to best meet project needs and goals. Upon completion of this scope of work, the City intends to repeal the existing Unified Development Ordinance (Title 18) and adopt the new code in its entirety.

City staff will support the consultant team by:

• Reviewing project deliverables prior to their use or publication for public engagement activities, Planning Commission and City Council meetings, and UDO draft releases.
• Scheduling and public noticing for meetings and hearings.
• Coordinating city communications channels (news briefs) and social media content (Facebook etc.) for public engagement activities.
• Providing guidance on City practices, policies, and priorities related to the UDO update.
• Assisting with cross-referencing the UDO with the Municipal Code, State Statutes, and other adopted policies and procedures, and technical specifications and design standards.
• Identifying minor amendments to code sections that staff regularly works with (i.e. submittal requirements, procedures, etc.)

DELIVERABLES

1. Current UDO audit report identifying the existing strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in comparison to other municipalities.
2. Overall project plan and timeline graphic identifying the number and type of public engagement opportunities, including a graphic format for public communication.
3. Public Communication Plan
   1. project website including status updates, upcoming meetings, and other opportunities for engagement, such as online surveys.
   2. All published communication content for public engagement activities
   3. Programming and presentation of all public and stakeholder engagement opportunities.
4. Written meeting notes, summaries and survey results for all public engagement activities.
5. A complete and updated Unified Development Ordinance in multiple formats, including Microsoft Word, InDesign, PDF, etc., including a format that can easily be submitted for integration into the General Code online system.
6. All graphics and shapefiles in their respective digital formats that may be utilized and modified as needed. The City of Olathe shall retain ownership and the ability to modify all data and files generated and created as part of the UDO Update.

RFP PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

The City will receive qualification proposals, no later than 4:00 pm (CST) July 1, 2026, online at https://olatheks.bonfirehub.com/.

To simplify the review process and obtain the maximum degree of comparability, the proposal must follow the outline described below and contain the required information. Respondents are encouraged to include additional relevant information. Respondents must also include a signature page with company name, address, phone number, contact name, authorized signature, and date.

1. Letter of Interest
2. Qualifications/Project Portfolio
   1. Firm capability - company resources
   2. Areas of specialization
   3. Practice philosophy
   4. History of the firm and how many years in the business
   5. Project Team - Key project staff assigned (include resumes for each), identify any sub-consultants and their proposed roles (include resumes for each) and organizational chart
   6. Letter from Principal certifying the availability and commitment of staff, specifically a commitment to providing a dedicated project manager to serve as the point of contact throughout the duration of the project.
3. Experience
   1. Relevant recent experience with comparable projects (regional experience preferred).
   2. List of clients (3-5) for whom similar work has been done in the last ten years. Include a brief description of the project, budget/final cost, a contact name and phone number for each. The projects should be comparable in complexity, size, scope, and discipline and completed within the past ten years.
4. Project Understanding, Approach and Schedule
   1. Detailed description of the firm’s understanding of the project outlined in the Scope of Work.
   2. Description of the firm’s approach to this project along with a detailed work plan showing all key tasks.
   3. Proposed project schedule to meet the anticipated deadlines outlined in this RFP, including all stakeholder/public input processes and meetings. Please provide this in Gantt chart format.
   4. Identify the potential challenges presented by this project and the firm’s approach to meeting them.
   5. Propose additional tasks that may add value to achieving the best possible project outcomes.
5. Quality Assurance Plan
   1. Detailed description of the firm’s approach to integrating technical and quality aspects of the project, including planning, implementation, and assessment, or, more generally, how success in achieving project objectives will be measured.
6. Standard Agreement
   1. The City of Olathe’s standard Professional Services Agreement will be used for this project (Refer to Attachments). Any exceptions to the standard agreement must be submitted in writing with the proposal.
7. Proposed Fee
   1. The current budgeted amount for this project is $300,000. Submit a not-to-exceed cost and breakdown for project deliverables and outcomes. Please include any optional expenses or items over the budgeted amount for consideration. Fee may be negotiated to align with detailed scope of service refinements.

SELECTION PROCESS

1. The proposals will be evaluated by the City of Olathe’s review team using a selection criteria and format based on the following:

• Qualifications of the individuals assigned to this project (15%)
• Recent, relevant project experience (30%)
• Project approach and understanding, public engagement and organization of tasks (30%)
• References from current and past clients (10%)
• Project timeline and scope (10%)
• Fee (5%)

2.Upon review of qualified firms, the City of Olathe will conduct interviews with the highest-ranking respondents.

3. Following review of the proposals and interviews, the highest-ranking Respondent will be notified.

SCHEDULE

June 1, 2026                           RFP Released

June 10, 2026                         Statement of Interest and Questions Due

June 16, 2026                         Virtual Pre-proposal Conference (Non-mandatory)

June 22, 2026                         Responses to Questions Issued

July 1, 2026                             Proposals Due at 4:00 pm

July 27- Aug 5, 2026              Interviews with Shortlisted Firms

Sept  2026                                City Council Approval of Contract