INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

The City of Wheaton, Illinois is requesting proposals from qualified firms or individuals to help with a complete overhaul of its Zoning Ordinance. The last full update to the Code was made in 1989, following comprehensive revisions in the late 1970s, though there have since been 147 amendments.

The City aims to implement a new Zoning Ordinance that reflects its stated goals, objectives, and strategies, adheres to modern development standards and community needs, and offers a user-friendly experience. This RFP provides all technical requirements, timelines, and submission guidelines. Proposers are invited to submit innovative yet practical solutions that fulfill or surpass the service expectations outlined in this document.

Relevant background information includes:

Current Zoning Code

Comprehensive Plan

Wheaton Downtown Strategic Plan and Streetscape Plan (Appendix A)

2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan (Appendix B)

Intergovernmental Agreements with the County and Park District

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The successful consultant shall provide all labor, materials, and incidentals necessary to perform the services set forth below.

A. Information Gathering and Analysis Phase

The consultant is expected to acquire a comprehensive understanding of current conditions within the City. This knowledge should result in a background analysis, summarized in an existing conditions memorandum, which will provide justification for preliminary recommendations in subsequent phases.

The review should, at a minimum, cover zoning applications from the past two years to identify any trends or patterns. It must thoroughly assess the City's current plans and ordinances related to zoning and check for inconsistencies with the Comprehensive Plan. Analyzing conformity with bulk and yard standards — including minimum setbacks, lot widths, and lot sizes — should utilize City or County GIS data, Google Street View, site visits, or other suitable methods. In addition, conducting a broader inventory of Wheaton's physical conditions — including land uses, building and site features, parking locations and their condition, as well as landscaping and buffering — can be helpful in developing updated regulations for bulk, permitted uses, parking standards, and other development factors. The review should also address the impact of State mandates, such as “People Over Parking.”

The consultant is expected to collaborate closely with City staff to address previously identified Zoning Code issues, as well as areas of particular concern to the community, which would be revealed through a public meeting or community survey.

B. Preliminary Recommendations Memorandum Phase

Following the Information Gathering and Analysis phase, the consultant shall develop and present a memorandum, or equivalent document, describing their major preliminary recommendations related to the zoning ordinance. This deliverable should also summarize the analysis and findings of the existing conditions review to provide a basis for the preliminary recommendations and describe the consultant's proposed approach to revising the existing zoning ordinance. The purpose of this deliverable is to provide a checkpoint for the City to ensure that all project partners are on the same page prior to drafting regulatory language. The draft memorandum will first be distributed to City staff, who will review and provide comments on the document. The Consultant should also be available to schedule a meeting with the Planning and Zoning Board and/or City Council to discuss the memo.

C. Draft Ordinance Phase

Using the preliminary recommendations memorandum as a guide, the consultant shall draft an updated zoning ordinance for the City. The new ordinance shall be clearly worded and organized to encourage the document's accessibility to a wide range of audiences. The new ordinance shall include a table of contents and utilize graphics, hyperlinks, and tables wherever possible to clearly illustrate concepts. The consultant should carefully keep track of significant points of departure from the existing ordinance to ensure clarity and transparency. The draft ordinance should, at a minimum, address the following topics:

(1) Definitions: Review Zoning Ordinance definitions to ensure they are comprehensive and meet current best practices and modern uses.

(2) Scope of Regulations, Administration and Enforcement: Revise provisions regarding nonconformities to align with current best practices and ensure clarity through the use of plain language.

Assess the administration and procedures of the Zoning Ordinance to confirm compliance with contemporary standards and recent legal precedents. Maintain the administrative process for zoning variation, refining it if required. Evaluate special use standards and consider implementing supplementary zoning requirements for designated special uses, to potentially eliminate the need for a special use permit.

Examine standards for all forms of zoning approvals within the framework of prevailing legal precedents.

(3) Use Lists: Review the Permitted and Special Use lists in each zoning district to maintain consistency and relevance throughout. Check definitions and assigned districts to ensure they reflect current uses where applicable. Streamline and clarify the use lists by following the formatting of the R-R District, and consolidate them for better organization and efficiency.

Consider recommending further requirements and regulations that could allow certain uses—such as fast food restaurants and Wheaton College activities — that are currently listed as special uses; to possibly be administratively approved.

(4) Single-Family Bulk Requirements: Evaluate the existing single-family bulk requirements and provide recommendations as needed to ensure they align with best practices and maintain the city's standards of high-quality character.

(5) Downtown: Establish regulations aligned with the Downtown Strategic Plan and Streetscape Plan, proposing that areas outside the current C-2 zone be rezoned into a new, comprehensive Downtown Mixed-Use classification. This new zoning classification would feature provisions designed to support and promote downtown redevelopment by simplifying and streamlining requirements through a form-based code for different downtown sections. It would also allow more mixed-use projects by right, reflecting the vision for Downtown Wheaton.

Revise downtown design guidelines and recommend process improvements with the aim of eliminating the necessity for the Downtown Design Review Board.

(6) Accessory Uses: Evaluate permitted accessory uses for clarity, completeness, alignment with current best practices, and suitability for contemporary applications.

(7) Parking Requirements: Conduct a thorough review of current parking requirements and propose recommendations for standards in line with best practices. Consider provisions for bike rack installations as well as regulations concerning commercial vehicles and recreational vehicles (RVs).

(8) Signage: Recommend updated, content-neutral sign regulations generally and which also offers greater flexibility for temporary signage.

(9) Environmental Sustainability: Review and update requirements for lighting, landscaping and tree preservation.

(10) Performance Standards: update to include clear, enforceable provisions. Identify whether such standards should remain in the Zoning Ordinance or City Code.

D. Draft Ordinance Review

The consultant will present the draft Zoning Ordinance draft to staff, the Planning and Zoning Board, City Council, and the public by breaking it into clear, logical, and manageable sections. This approach ensures that all parts of the draft can be carefully and easily reviewed.

E. Final Ordinance

The consultant shall prepare a final ordinance based on comments made on the draft ordinance by City staff, local stakeholders, the public, and others. The final ordinances should be provided to the City in both Word and PDF formats; all illustrations, maps, and graphics contained therein should also be provided in electronic, editable formats.

F. Other Recommended Services or Tasks

Indicate any other recommended or required services that might be needed to accomplish the goals of this project.

G. Deliverables

The consultant shall provide all text, graphics, and illustrations to be included in the new Zoning Code and any materials used in public meetings in electronic form (Microsoft Word for text add or JPEG files for images). In addition, the City shall have the right to use all text and images produced through this assignment.