Blaine Comprehensive Plan Technical Assistance and Engagement Services

Request for Proposal
2050 Comprehensive Plan
Technical Assistance and Engagement Services
Proposal due date: June 24, 2026 4:00 PM
Closing date for all questions: June 5, 2026 4:00 PM
Tentative approval of contract date: July 20, 2026

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Scope of Services.......................................................................................................................................... 3
Proposal format and content...................................................................................................................... 5
General rules................................................................................................................................................. 5
Evaluation and selection ............................................................................................................................. 6
Legal Notices................................................................................................................................................. 8
Reference Documents ................................................................................................................................. 9
Introduction
Project overview
The City of Blaine is seeking qualified consultants to provide technical assistance and
engagement services in support of a staff-lead comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan
must comply with all minimum requirements as published by the Metropolitan Council and will
also include an Economic Development chapter. Consulting teams should have experience in
land use, housing, and transportation planning and experience working on comprehensive plans
for developing communities. City staff will prepare all maps, and draft all plan text, except as
specifically identified in the scope of work.
An overall budget for the project has not been established. The 2026 budget allots $30,000 for
Comprehensive Plan Preparation. Additional budget will be allocated for 2027 and 2028.
City Background
Blaine is a municipality located in Anoka County in the Northern Twin Cities Metropolitan Area
with a population of approximately 75,000, currently ranking as the 10th largest city in the state,
and is one of the fastest growing cities in Minnesota and the largest in Anoka County. Since its
incorporation in 1964, Blaine has grown steadily with an increase of approximately 10,000
residents per decade, resulting in a community with diverse housing stock with single family
homes, townhomes/twin homes, and apartment buildings built in each decade. The City has
approximately 2,300 manufactured homes, across six land lease communities, the largest
number in the Twin Cities metro by a large margin. Approximately 800 acres of greenfield
residential development remain in addition to scattered infill residential development sites.
The City has commercial development typical of second and third ring suburbs with limited
undeveloped commercial land. The City has a strong industrial sector including small scale
industrial parks dating to the 1960s and 70s, large speculative office/warehouse construction
currently underway, and everything in between. Due to the age of the community, several
opportunities for redevelopment of obsolete commercial and industrial sites exist. A plan for the
redevelopment and revitalization of the Northtown Mall area was approved by the City Council
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in 2022 and implementation of the plan in partnership with private landowners remains a
priority over the upcoming regional planning cycle.
Unique features include the Anoka County Airport (the second busiest reliever airport in the
metro area), the National Sports Center, a PGA golf course (Tournament Players Club), and a
521-acre city owned wetland sanctuary.
Scope of Services
The City of Blaine is seeking a consultant to provide technical assistance on components of the
comprehensive plan and to lead community engagement for the plan. City staff will complete
the drafting of the plan with that technical assistance. All maps listed in the minimum
requirements will be created by staff.
Technical Assistance with Land Use Map
Development of the land use map will be staff led, with technical assistance from the selected
consultant. Staff expects several changes to the land use map, including:
1. Review and modification of the land use categories to simplify and provide flexibility
2. Review of developed parcels and correction to land use classification to align with
developed condition
3. Review of undeveloped parcels and redevelopment targets for potential classification
changes due to changing conditions, goals, and compliance with Met Council density
requirements.
4. No changes to the MUSA are expected. If a MUSA change is proposed, additional services
may be sought under the contract with the selected vendor.
Technical assistance with establishing simple, yet flexible, land use categories and review of
iterations of land use maps for compliance with density requirements is sought under this
proposal. Proposal should account for:
1. One brainstorming meeting with city staff
2. Three rounds of iterative review of land use map scenarios (each review may include
multiple scenarios). Review should include calculations necessary to determine compliance
with density requirements and LGAH requirements and suggestions to achieve
compliance, if applicable.
3. Technical assistance responding to Met Council comments on land use map following plan
submission.
4. Adjustments to Transportation Analysis Zones based on the land use map
City Council Facilitation
The majority of City Council discussions related to the Comprehensive Plan will be lead by staff,
however consultant assistance is being sought for facilitation of three 30-60 minute discussions
in a workshop or retreat setting on high impact or controversial topics. Workshop meetings are
held at 5:30 on the first three Mondays of the month. Consultant schedules can be
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accommodated when scheduling workshop sessions within the available meeting dates.
Expected topics include land use map changes and identification of housing needs and
strategies.
Community Engagement
Community engagement is expected to be consultant lead and staff supported. Community
engagement goals and opportunities should be established between the consultant and staff.
Written summaries of all completed engagement activities and findings for each must be
prepared by the consultant.
Proposal should account for six different engagement activities reaching a variety of groups.
Expected groups/events for in person engagement include, but are not limited to:
* Sizzlin' Summer and Oktoberfest events hosted by the City of Blaine
* Blaine Business Council and/or MetroNorth Chamber
* Middle or high school students
* Mary Ann Young Center (senior programs)
* Manufactured home park residents
* Standard open house events
Proposal should account for two of each of the following:
* Half day tabling events (1 city staff, 1 or 2 consultant staff)
* Two standard 2 hour open house events (2 city staff, 2 consultant staff)
* Two 60-90 minute targeted engagement activities (2 consultant staff)
Consultant will be responsible for preparing materials and program for engagement activities, in
consultation with city staff. Maps that are required elements of the comprehensive plan will be
provided to the consultant by City staff for use in engagement materials. Consultant will prepare
a written summary of findings from each event.
If budget allows, additional targeted engagement activities will be included in the contract.
Please specify the cost of additional targeted engagement activities.
Consultant will prepare and manage two online surveys to be promoted by the City
communications staff and through established community relationships with City staff.
Consultant to provide raw survey data and a written summary of findings. The City may also
utilize FlashVote for short topic specific surveys in addition to the two larger consultant managed
surveys.
The City will also utilize an advisory committee, however no consultant support for that
committee is requested.
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Plan Components:
Depending on cost, the City expects to include the following technical components in the
contract with the selected vendor. If costs do not allow, one or more of the technical
components will be removed from the scope of work.
1. Recommendations for natural systems improvement strategies including:
a. Review of applicable subdivision and zoning code language for opportunities to
improve protection of high quality terrestrial resources identified by staff.
b. Review of open space management plan and tree survey of public property and
recommend improvement initiatives for natural systems improvement on the
following City owned open spaces:
i. Laddie Lake Park (Site 1)
ii. Lochness Park (Site 3)
iii. Legacy Creek Open Space (Site 5 and adjacent 10 acres not included in
original plan)
iv. Kane Meadows Park and Open Space (Sites 8, 9, 10, 11)
2. Preparation of data for maps and required text for minimum requirements 2 and 4-8 of
the Transportation minimum requirements. Maps will be prepared by City Staff with data
provided by consultant.
Proposal format and content
Complete proposals must include:
1. Cover letter
2. Firm and team description, including relevant experience
3. Project understanding and approach, including approach to supporting comprehensive
plan preparation in a technical assistance capacity
4. Scope of work and deliverables
5. Project budget and fee proposal
6. References from at least two municipal clients
7. Examples of relevant, recent comprehensive planning projects
General rules
RFP overview
This Request for Proposals ("RFP") is an invitation for Proposers to submit a proposal to the City.
It is not to be construed as an official and customary request for bids, but as a means by which
the City canfacilitate the acquisition of information related to the purchase of services. Any
proposal submitted is a suggestion to negotiate and NOT A BID.
Estimated timeline and extension of time
Friday May 15 City publishes Request for Proposals
Friday June 5 Deadline for submitting written questions
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Wednesday June 10 City will post responses to all submitted
questions
Wednesday June 24 at 4:00 PM RFP Responses Due
Week of June 29 Respondents will be contacted to schedule
interviews
Wednesday July 8, Thursday July 9 Interviews
Monday July 20 City Council Approval of Contract
These dates are subject to revision or cancellation by the City in its sole and absolute discretion.
Proposal submission
All proposals must be submitted by the due date to Planning@BlaineMN.gov. Secure file
exchange links are accepted.
Questions and communication restrictions
Questions concerning this RFP should be submitted in writing via e-mail to Elizabeth Showalter at
Planning@BlaineMN.gov. All questions must be submitted by Friday June 5 and all questions
and answers will be posted to the City's website no later than Wednesday June 10.
Proposers shall not communicate, verbally or otherwise, with any City staff or Councilmembers or
relevant consultants concerning this RFP, except for the persons listed in this section. This
restriction may be suspended or removed by the authority and direction of the persons listed
above. If any proposer attempts or completes any unauthorized communication, the City may, in
its sole and absolute discretion, reject the proposer's proposal.
Addenda
The City reserves the right to modify the RFP at any time prior to the proposal due date.
Addendum will be posted on the City's website if the RFP is modified and may be viewed at
https://www.blainemn.gov/278/Bids-Purchasing. It is the responsibility of each prospective
Proposer to assure receipt of all addenda.
The City will modify the RFP only by formal written addenda. Proposer's Proposal should be
based onthis RFP document and any formal written addenda. Proposers should not rely on oral
statements, including those occurring at pre-proposal meetings or site visits.
Evaluation and selection
Proposal evaluation and recommendation for selection
This RFP does not commit the City to award a contract. Submission of a proposal shall neither
obligate nor entitle a Proposer to enter into a contract with the City. The City reserves the
following rights, to be exercised in the City's sole and absolute discretion: 1) to determine
whether any aspect of a proposal satisfactorily meets the criteria established in this RFP; 2) to
seek clarification or additional information from any Proposer; 3) to negotiate, sequentially or
simultaneously, pricing and/or terms with any Proposer or vendor; 4) to reject any or all
proposals with or without cause; 5) to waive any irregularities or informalities in a proposal; 6) to
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cancel or amend by addenda this RFP, in part or entirely; 7) to award multiple contracts to
Proposers; and/or 8) award a contract to a vendor that did not submit aproposal.
Evaluation of proposals by a selection committee, evaluation panel, City staff, a technical
advisory committee, or by another group, individual or entity is advisory only. The City Council or
its designee may consider or reject such evaluation(s) for any or all proposals. Such evaluations
are for the sole benefit of the City Council or its designee, and as such, they are not binding
upon the City, nor may they be relied upon in any way by a Proposer.
Evaluation of responsiveness
The City will consider all the material submitted by the Proposer to determine whether the
Proposer'soffer is in compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in this RFP. Proposals
that do not comply with the provisions in this RFP may be considered nonresponsive and may be
rejected.
Evaluation of responsibility
To determine whether a Proposer is responsible, the City will consider the Proposer's general
qualifications to perform the requested services in a satisfactory manner; financial responsibility;
integrity;skill; and ability.
Factors considered by the City may include, but are not limited to, Proposer's past performance
onprevious projects; the Proposer's technical capabilities; individual qualifications of Proposer's
key personnel; and the Proposer's financial ability to perform on the contract. Proposals from
Proposersconsidered non-responsible will be rejected.
Evaluation panel and evaluation criteria
After review of each responsive proposal, the City may immediately award a contract to a
successful Proposer based on the evaluation criteria, or it may establish a short list of Proposers
for further consideration. The short list of Proposers may be asked to provide additional
information. The short list of Proposers may also be asked to attend interviews as described in
the next section.
Evaluation criteria shall include:
* Cost effectiveness
* Qualifications and experience of firm and key staff who will complete contracted work
* Experience with comprehensive planning in similar contexts, including both greenfield
development and redevelopment opportunities.
* Approach to and experience with engagement in a suburban context.
Interviews
The City anticipates conducting interviews with the highest scoring proposers. Interviews will
be conducted over Microsoft Teams on July 8 and 9. Selected respondents will be contacted
June 29 or 30 to schedule interviews and details for the interviews will be provided at that
time.
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Execution of contract
Before a contract becomes effective between the City and any Proposer, the contract award
must be ratified and signed by the Blaine City Council or its designee. If for any reason the City
Council or its designee does not ratify and sign the contract, then there are no binding
obligations whatsoever between the City and the Proposer relative to the proposed contract.
Legal Notices
City's right to withdraw, cancel, suspend and/or modify RFP
The City reserves the right to withdraw, cancel, suspend, and/or modify this RFP for any reason
and at any time with no liability to any prospective Proposer for any costs or expenses incurred
in connection with the RFP or otherwise.
Proposer's right to edit or cancel proposal
A proposal may be edited or cancelled prior to the proposal due date.
Public disclosure of proposal documents
Under Minnesota law, proposals are private or nonpublic until the proposals are opened on the
proposal due date. Once the proposals are opened, the name of the Proposer becomes public.
All other data in theproposal is private/nonpublic data until completion of the evaluation
process. The evaluation process is completed when the City enters into a contract with a
Proposer. At that time, all remaining data submitted by all Proposers is public with the exception
of data classified as private/non-public trade secret data under Minn. Stat. 13.37 of the
Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
If the Proposer believes private/non-public data is included in its Proposal, Proposer shall clearly
identify the data and provide the specific rationale in support of the asserted classification.
Proposer must type in bold red letters the term "CONFIDENTIAL" on that specific part or page of
the Proposal which Proposer believes to be confidential. Classification of data as trade secret
data will be determined pursuant to applicable law, and, accordingly, merely labeling data as
"trade secret" does not necessarily make the dataprotected as such under any applicable law.
The Proposer agrees, as a condition of submitting its Proposal, that the City will not, as between
the parties, be liable or accountable for any loss or damage which may result from a breach of
confidentiality related to the Proposal. Typically, pricing, fees, and costs are public data. The
Proposer agrees to indemnify and hold the City, its officials, agents, and employees harmless
from all claims arising out of,resulting from, or in any manner attributable to any violation of any
provision of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, including legal fees and
disbursements paid or incurred to enforce this provision.
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Proposer's costs
The City shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by Proposer in connection with this RFP.
Proposer shall bear all costs associated with proposal preparation, submission, and attendance
at interviews, or any other activity associated with this RFP or otherwise.
Proposer's ideas
The City reserves the right to use any or all ideas, concepts, or other information provided in any
proposals. Selection or rejection of the Proposal does not affect this right.
Collusion
If the City determines that collusion has occurred among Proposers, none of the proposals of
theparticipants involved in the collusion shall be considered. The City's determination shall be
final.
Conflict of interest
The Proposer affirms that to the best of its knowledge the submission of its Proposal, or any
resulting contract, does not present an actual or perceived conflict of interest. The Proposer
agrees that
should any actual or perceived conflict of interest become known, it will immediately notify the
City and will advise whether it will or will not avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the conflict of interest.
The City may make reasonable efforts to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize a conflict of interest by a
Proposer. To avoid a conflict of interest by a Proposer, the City may utilize methods including
disqualifying a Proposer from eligibility for a contract award or cancelling the contract if the
conflict is discovered after a contract has been issued. The City may, at its sole and absolute
discretion, waive any conflict of interest.
Reference Documents
2040 Comprehensive Plan
Northtown Revitalization Plan
Open Space Management Plan
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