A. Background
The City of Inkster is hereby requesting proposals from qualified, multidisciplinary professionals in the fields of urban planning, architecture, traffic and civil engineering, historic preservation, economic and community development to assist in the preparation of a new Zoning Ordinance, zoning map and design guidelines.
The current Zoning Ordinance has been amended periodically from time to time. The City of Inkster has completed a new Master Plan which outlines a general growth and development vision for Inkster and several specific implementation strategies to be incorporated into the new Zoning Ordinance.
B. Scope of Services
The following professional planning services and general scope of work are anticipated. However, consultants are encouraged to expand on this description and to suggest alternative approaches they believe will better achieve the City’s objectives:
1. Technical Review
The consultants will conduct a review of the Zoning Ordinance and create a list of recommended amendments (above those recommended by the Master Plan), which will be added to those identified by the City. The technical review will identify sections of the Ordinance that are out of date, contain internal conflicts, do not comply with applicable State laws, or perhaps do not follow modern best practices. This review will also identify opportunities for amendments to better implement the Master Plan. The consultants will work with the Planning Commission, the City Administration, the City Manager, City Attorney and the City Council in a thorough review of the existing zoning ordinance, development challenges and an on-site analysis of the community.
2. Drafting Zoning Amendments
Using the Technical Review and additional directions from the City, the consultants will then draft revised ordinance text for the agreed upon amendments and will provide them to the City for review. This task will provide a surgical approach to the zoning update, making the highest priority changes to increase the usability and further the City’s goals. The amendments will not represent an overhaul of the zoning ordinance in its entirety. This task deliverable will serve as the initial first draft of the identified amendments to be used moving forward.
3. Meetings
The consultants will attend the following meetings under this Scope of Work.
• meetings (virtual/in person) with City Staff to review updated content recommendations.
• Planning Commission meetings to review draft text.
• presentation to the City Council to obtain feedback on draft amendments.
• Public Hearing at the Planning Commission.
consultants will prepare the content discussion for all meetings noted above.
4. Revisions.
It is the consultant’s responsibility to ensure that the new ordinance text accurately reflects the City’s direction and needs.
5. Zoning Map Update
To support the updated ordinance text, the consultants will prepare a revised Official Zoning Map using the City’s latest parcel data and GIS base layers. This process includes verifying district boundaries for accuracy and consistency with the updated zoning regulations and Master Plan land use designations, address inconsistencies, and present a clean, updated map in both digital (GIS and PDF) and print-ready formats, suitable for public display and administrative use.
C. Proposal Submission
One (1) digital copy of the proposal must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on June 17, 2025. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered. Submitted proposals shall remain in effect for 120 days from the due date. All costs incurred for proposal preparation, presentation or contract negotiations are the responsibility of the consultant. The City of Inkster reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted in response to this request for proposal and/or to select the proposal that it determines, in its sole judgment, to best meet the needs of the City of Inkster.
The contact person for the RFP is listed below:
Mr. Derek Dowdell, Community Development Director
City of Inkster
ddowdell@cityofinkster.com
313-563-9764
26215 Trowbridge Street
Inkster, MI 48141
D. Proposal Format
Proposals shall include the following information:
- Cover Letter
The cover letter should be signed by a member of the consulting firm empowered to commit their firm to a contractual arrangement with the City of Inkster. The cover letter should also identify the firm submitting the proposal and any sub-consultants that may be proposed. It should generally outline your understanding of the assignment.
- Work Approach and Timeframe
Present a detailed description of the work you propose to fulfill the requirements of this request for proposal. For each task, describe the activity, the intended results, any work or activity you assume will be conducted by the City of Inkster and an anticipated timeframe for completion.
- Professional Staff
Describe which individual professionals would work with the city administration, their respective roles in the project and provide professional resumes of each key member of the project team.
- Qualifications and References
Provide descriptions of recent prior experience with other clients, which are relevant to the challenges of this assignment. For each past project, include the name, title and phone number of a representative that the City of Inkster may contact to discuss your experience.
- Fees
Provide your fees for performing the services required as detailed in your proposal. Describe any modifications you would recommend to the general work scope described in this request for proposal and the impact of those modifications on your fee proposal. Fees shall be stated as a total not-to-exceed fee for the services outlined, based on the hourly billing rates of the staff that would serve the City together with any added reimbursable costs
for such expenses as printing, mileage, data or sub-consultants.
E. Evaluation of Proposals
The City Administration will evaluate all submitted proposals based on the
responsiveness of the work approach proposed the qualifications of the
staff that will work with the City, the overall qualifications of the firm and
the fees proposed. Specifically, the City is seeking consultants with the
following capabilities and experience:
♦ Experience in preparing zoning amendment ordinances to regulate development and redevelopment in smaller communities.
♦ Experience in building community consensus to support innovative regulatory structures
♦ Strong graphics and written and oral communication skills
♦ Experience in evaluating, codifying and capturing qualities of community design and character
The City of Inkster may schedule oral interviews with some or all the firms responding, and, in that event, the outcome of such interviews may influence the evaluation of proposals.
F. Timing
It is expected that a contract will be drawn up with the selected firm within 90 days of the due date for proposals.
