The scope of services is broken into two separate phases consisting of seven tasks in total. Once the first five tasks in Phase I are complete, RTA staff, in collaboration with the Service Boards, will determine whether to move forward with the remaining two tasks outlined in Phase II. Steering Committee and Technical Committee A steering committee shall be established at the onset of the study. The RTA and the Service Boards will determine members of the steering committee with input from the awarded consultant. Steering committee members will be comprised of RTA and Service Board staff with TOD, real estate, financial, and legal expertise and be supplemented with representatives from outside agencies as deemed necessary. The steering committee will guide the scope of services, review all draft deliverables, and provide overall direction of the study. In addition to the kickoff meeting, the awarded consultant should expect to convene the steering committee at least three (3) times. The technical committee, a subset of the steering committee comprised of a core group of RTA and Service Board staff will hold monthly project status meetings with the awarded consultant team. Phase I Task 1: Overview of Joint Development, Best Practices, and Benefits and Opportunities The awarded consultant shall provide a definition and description of the various approaches to joint development, including an understanding of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) definition and process. The awarded consultant shall evaluate the benefits for transit agencies to pursue joint development, including potential revenue generation and achieving TOD goals (including those related to housing and housing affordability), ridership potential, sustainability, and climate resilience. The awarded consultant shall discuss how joint development is used at other transit agencies (nationally and internationally), detailing what development types and financial benefits are being achieved, describing the tradeoffs of following the FTA’s process for joint development versus merely pursuing/supporting TOD efforts via other methods, and developing a handful of case studies (preliminary work to be provided by RTA and Service Board staff). Deliverables: Kickoff steering committee meeting, electronic report including above details, presentation of results to the steering committee, and revised draft report based on comments by the RTA and Service Board partners. Task 2: Document Transit Agency Real Estate Land Holdings and Past Efforts The awarded consultant shall create an easy to navigate internal inventory of all existing station-adjacent or co-located property owned by each Service Board that meets a minimum criterion for joint development as established by the awarded consultant and steering committee. The inventory shall include the Property Index Number (PIN) and physical address of each parcel, description of current use, size, zoning, description/classification of current market where the land is located in proximity to the nearest transit boarding area (station or stop). An interactive, GIS-based map should also be created with layers, including parcels worthy of development and transit stations. The Service Boards have existing partial inventories that can be used as a starting point. The awarded consultant shall research, and document current or previous joint development and other real estate efforts conducted by each Service Board. This will include current and/or previous joint development, recent renewed approach to TOD at existing commuter parking areas, and other real estate efforts/transactions by Service Board. Deliverables: Land holdings inventory for each Service Board that includes all details as described above, listing of those parcels potentially suitable for development and GIS Map, summary of past efforts, presentation and discussion with steering committee Task 3: Explore and Evaluate Joint Development in the RTA Region The awarded consultant shall establish a potential framework for joint development in the RTA region using information from the first two tasks paired with research and understanding of the market potential in the region. The awarded consultant shall establish goals and objectives for a future program to include the following topic areas: 1. Preferred Approach – land sales, leases, property exchanges, etc. 2. Types of Developers – private for-profit, non-profits, etc. 3. Types of Development – residential, commercial, mixed-use a. Affordability - market rate, mixed-income, Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)-level affordability (20% affordable), 40% affordable, 100% affordable 4. Density of Development 5. Use of Revenue Generated The awarded consultant shall include research and approach to establish the legal framework for joint development pursuits by the RTA and Service Boards, considering both federal and state requirements. The awarded consultant shall identify impacts and barriers of local zoning and provide strategies to revise municipal zoning, as needed, to allow for joint development pursuits. The awarded consultant shall organize a development roundtable or focus group with developers to discuss interest in pursuing future joint development opportunities and the pros and cons of a future joint development program from the private development sector perspective. Deliverables: Electronic report documenting above findings and organized to include strategies or solutions to any legislative, legal, or regulatory barriers, presentation and discussion with the RTA, Service Boards, and steering committee Task 4: Financial Cost-Benefit Analysis of Joint Development The awarded consultant shall calculate potential revenue associated with small, moderate, or aggressive approaches to joint development based on use cases derived from Service Board land holdings and current market findings from the previous task. Calculations should consider the real estate market and development restrictions due to local zoning constraints at each parcel location. The calculations shall compare joint development revenue of other transit agencies that have a joint development program. The awarded consultant shall conduct a cost/benefit analysis that includes a discussion of benefits to pursuing joint development, associated development costs to consider, a comparison to alternate approaches of advancing TOD outside of joint development, as well as other limitations (include those discussed in Task 2).
