The Planning Department recommends approval of award for consultant services to Freese and Nichols, Inc. for the Zoning Ordinance Re-Write in the amount of $966,300.
The city’s primary development regulations are split into two separate ordinances, the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance, which are largely rooted in the policy aims of the comprehensive plan from the 1980s. This plan addressed a rapidly growing city with a large amount of undeveloped land; however, today 4% of land in the city remains undeveloped and most development projects involve redevelopment of a property. The ordinances were not designed to address these demands. Additionally, the ordinances have been amended many times as development and legislative issues arose, leading to a complicated system of regulations that could use a comprehensive review.
With the adoption of Comprehensive Plan 2021, the city’s development regulations need to be realigned to ensure that they support the intent of the new plan. Simplifying the ordinances where possible to streamline review will benefit the whole community - city leaders, residents, staff, property owners, and developers. Additional graphics, updated language, and use of technology, can make the documents more user friendly.
Upon successful adoption, the revised development regulations would provide the following benefits:
1. Incentivize economic development through redevelopment and revitalization of underperforming properties, with a focus on retail and multifamily;
2. Simplify the development and redevelopment process;
3. Streamline analysis of projects that include legal exceptions to basic ordinance requirements, such as nonconformity or variances;
4. Make the ordinances easier to use for property owners, developers, and city staff;
5. Utilize industry standards, applicable locally, where possible;
6. Implement the land use priorities of the city as efficiently as possible; and
7. Align the regulations with other policies of the comprehensive plan as identified by staff and the consultant.
The scope of the project includes a designated Steering Committee and regular meetings with the Planning & Zoning Commission throughout the project. A joint City Council and Commission workshop is also planned before public hearings before the Commission and final approval by City Council.
The project was solicited through a request for qualifications with the City of Plano Procurement Division to secure an experienced consultant for the Zoning Ordinance Re-Write. There were two responses submitted for consideration and evaluation by a staff committee. These two respondents were invited to conduct a 1.5-hour interview with the evaluation committee. At the conclusion of these interviews, the evaluation committee reconvened to discuss interview results and to evaluate the merits of each respondents’ proposal. Following this period of additional deliberation, Freese and Nichols, Inc. was ultimately selected due to their collective experience with zoning and subdivision regulations, qualifications of the project team, the quality and design of previous work. It was a unanimous decision among the staff committee members.
If this expenditure is not approved, the current Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances would stay intact. This situation is problematic as it reduces effectiveness of customer services to the residents, businesses, and property owners in Plano due to outdated, and at times unclear, regulations. It also significantly inhibits and delays the City’s efforts to meet the objectives and guidelines of the Comprehensive Plan 2021.
Partial funding was previously approved for this project, however an additional funding is needed as discussed in the Financial Summary below.