[Consultantservices] [Consultant Services] RFQ posted Thursday, July 05, 2007, 9:27 a.m.

[Grace Williams]

AICP has adopted the following policy:

The AICP Commission requests that entities soliciting planning
consultants follow a two-part RFQ/RFP selection procedure. Click here to
read a description of such a two-part process in PAS Report 443,
Selecting and Retaining a Planning Consultant: RFPs, RFQs, Contracts,
and Project Management, by Eric Damian Kelly, FAICP. To view more
excerpts from the report, click here.

Please send RFPs & RFQs to websitefeedback at planning.org.

Request for Qualifications - Consultant Services

Consensus Vision, Tools, and Strategies for Implementation of a Smart
Growth Regional Land Use Blueprint
The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, South
Carolina
Submittal Deadline: July 27, 2007

Project Description
The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) is
soliciting qualifications from a qualified team of multidisciplinary
consultants to assist BCDCOG Planning staff with development of a
Regional Vision that includes a "Consensus Vision, Tools, and Strategies
for Implementation of a Smart Growth Regional Land Use Blueprint for the
Future" of the Berkeley Charleston Dorchester region in South Carolina,
as well as assistance with Municipal/County Comprehensive Plans.  The
BCDCOG staffs the MPO for Transportation Planning and Water Quality
Planning.  However, the COG has no mandate for Land Use planning.  Land
use controls are under city and county jurisdiction and there is no
State legislation to require the various entities to coordinate on land
use issues.  The BCDCOG staff provides assistance to several local
planning staffs with Comprehensive Plans when requested, and may need to
call on the selected consultant team members for assistance specific to
their expertise during the contract.  The consulting team selected will
address growth management issues and proposed implementation strategies
on a regional basis in the context of SC State Planning legislation.
This current regional land use planning effort is a voluntary
cooperative effort, to find a more efficient growth pattern for the next
30 years than has been the experience of the region in the past 30
years. However, during the regional consensus process the selected
consulting team will be asked to assist local jurisdictions with
evaluation of major development proposals of concern. A particular
immediate concern is the large number and size of sites whose former use
was forestry, but are now available to be purchased and developed.  This
task should not be a distraction to the regional process, as these can
serve as local examples to introduce smart growth principles and
community design techniques to the Regional Committee. Mayor Riley of
the City of Charleston, and Chair of the BCDCOG Board of Directors, has
official appointed the "BCD Regional Land Use Planning Committee" with
representation from the various jurisdictions and interest groups from
around the region.  The consultant team selected will staff, and take
guidance from this Committee.

Scope of Services Requested
The consultant team selected shall work with the client to develop a
project schedule and to determine the desired features of the analysis
and the required deliverables.   The appropriate member of the
consultant team will be available to meet with the BCD Regional Land Use
Committee on a monthly basis to work with them in reaching consensus on
the most efficient land use pattern for the future, and introduce state
of the art techniques to implement the Land Use Blueprint vision, as
well as to address the Committee's current growth management and land
use concerns.  This may require presentations with other groups and
local governments.  The appropriate member of the consulting team will
provide written and oral communications and presentations, to BCDCOG
staff, the Regional Land Use Committee, and others deemed necessary to
communicate the findings of the project to local officials.  Public
involvement will be incorporated into the process as appropriate. The
consultant team activities will need to be coordinated with an ongoing
BCDCOG Regional Planning Program

Project Schedule
Notice to Proceed for this project will be given as soon as a contract
with the chosen consultant has been executed and all state and federal
requirements are met.  Scheduling of the project will be negotiated
during the contract negotiations by the selected consultant and BCDCOG
staff.

As part of the Request for Qualifications response, the responder is
invited to submit a time schedule they suggest, if appropriate.

Selection Criteria/Selection Process
The following criteria will be weighed in evaluating the qualifications
for each consultant:

*	Experience, qualifications, and technical competence in the
types of work required (30%) 
*	Past performance on projects of a comparable nature (10%) 
*	Relevant experience and qualifications of personnel to be
assigned to the project (40%) 
*	Indication of the degree of availability the consultant
anticipates in scheduling staff to meet project needs (10%) 
*	Familiarity with Berkeley Charleston Dorchester region (5%) 
*	Disadvantaged Business Enterprise designation (5%) 

As you can see by the weighting of the selection criteria, the specific
personnel of a firm or team of firms will play a major role in the
selection process. A committee of BCDCOG staff and stakeholders will
review each proposal.  The Selection Committee may chose to interview
the top three consultants.  The Selection Committee will make a
recommendation to the BCDCOG Board of Director's.  The Board of
Director's will approve or disapprove the recommendation.  The selected
consultants will be contacted for additional information concerning the
proposal and contractual information.  Upon agreement of the terms, the
contract will be taken to the BCDCOG Board of Director's for approval.

Proposal Submission
All proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope.  The outside of
the package shall be marked "Request for Qualifications -
Multidisciplinary Team to staff a Regional Smart Growth Land Use
Blueprint and Implementation Strategy". Proposals will be received no
later than 5:00 pm on July 27, 2007.  Please mail 10 copies to:

Robin Mitchum, Finance Manager
BCD Council of Governments
McMillan Ave., Suite 100
N. Charleston, SC  29405 

Please direct questions to Dan Hatley, BCDCOG Planning Director,
843-529-0400, danh at bcdcog.com <mailto:danh at bcdcog.com> .

 

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