Robert C. Edwards
Mayor
M. Renée Cahoon
Commissioner
Susie Walters
Mayor Pro Tem
John Ratzenberger
Commissioner
Town of Nags Head
Post Office Box 99
Nags Head, North Carolina 27959
Telephone 252-441-5508
Fax 252-441-0776
www.nagsheadnc.gov
Cliff Ogburn
Town Manager
Marvin Demers
Commissioner
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Board of Commissioners
FROM:
Holly White, Principal Planner
DATE:
April 27, 2015
SUBJECT:
Consultant Recommendation: Update the Town’s Land Use Plan/Town Code
Staff would like to recommend the team of Code Wright Planners (lead) and Benchmark Planning
(sub) to conduct updates to the Town’s Land Use Plan and Town Codes.
On March 5th, Staff released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for services to update the Land Use
Plan (LUP) and Town Codes. Submissions were due on March 19th and the Town received six (6)
submittals. Staff reviewed the applications utilizing a pre-defined set of criteria and scoring system.
Three (3) firms were invited to participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP) process on March 25th.
Proposals were due on Wednesday, April 8th. After staff review, all three (3) firms were invited to
participate in an interview process with a team of Town staff between April 14th-24th. This team
consisted of Andy Garman, Kelly Wyatt, Dave Ryan, and Holly White.
The three (3) firms made a brief presentation explaining their proposals followed by a series of staff
questions. Staff evaluated the firms utilizing set criteria and a score sheet during the interview. Staff
met on Friday, April 24th to discuss how we scored each firm and develop a team recommendation.
Based on this process, staff is happy to recommend the team of Code Wright and Benchmark
Planning to move forward with the update process. This team was selected based on the following
criteria:
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Relevant experience with similar projects that were successful,
Qualified staff,
Realistic in their project schedule of 18-24 months,
Availability of key staff during the project,
Good working knowledge of North Carolina and coastal issues,
Knowledgeable of current planning legislation,
Focused project process that lends itself to citizen education and stakeholder buy-in,
Creativity in the project approach,
An engaging interview,
Good use of technology to reach all citizens,
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Experienced with application of policies and codes,
Pro-bono hours following completion of the project to assist staff in modifying in areas of the
code that are not functioning as intended,
Clear in their level of staff involvement to stay within budget, and;
Overall flexibility.
Information regarding the selected project team can be found at the following websites:
http://www.codewright.info/
http://benchmarkplanning.com/
Action N eeded:
Staff is requesting that the Board of Commissioners approve of staff’s recommendation and
authorize staff to prepare a final scope and contract to complete the project.