Proposal Deadline: August 4, 2025, at 12pm local time
Background
The City of Goshen is located in north-central Indiana and covers an area of approximately 18 square miles. The mix of residents that makes up Goshen’s 35,000-strong population include families who have been here for generations, job seekers who have come from near and far, and others who have made homes here for the welcoming neighborhoods, recreational options, schools, and charming downtown.
In March 2024, the City of Goshen’s Zoning Ordinance turned 40 years old. The document is over 250 pages in length, includes 18 zoning and overlay districts, and has been amended 56 times. It was established at what was perhaps the height of conventional use-based zoning and tweaked routinely over the following four decades to account for the changing needs of the community and the evolution of land use planning. The Subdivision Control Ordinance was established separately in 1986 and has been amended six times.
Both ordinances and the City’s approach to planning have served the community very well. In recent years, Goshen has repeatedly seen record annual levels of building permitting. Major residential and industrial greenfield developments are underway and redevelopment projects continue to brighten and revitalize the City’s most worn-down properties. When Goshen was recently recognized as the Community of the Year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, land use planning certainly played a role.
Goshen has been unique in its ability to thrive but not isolated from the same challenges that impact many other moderately-sized Midwestern communities. As the City looks to consolidate and modernize its land use policies, expectations for continued success and a bright future are high.
Project Purpose
The City of Goshen intends to create a Unified Development Ordinance that combines and updates its Zoning and Subdivision Control ordinances. To help accomplish the task, the City requests proposals from qualified land use planning consultant firms with the expertise to comprehensively amend and combine the ordinances.
A new Unified Development Ordinance needs to be:
- Easy to read – written in plain English and illustrated throughout with relevant graphics
- Easy to search – titles, sections, and appendices will be intuitive to navigate and easily transferrable to online searching
- Comprehensive – including appropriate sections for definitions, use classifications, developmental and design standards, non-conformities, administration, compliance, subdivisions, and more
- Lawful – adherent to State of Indiana land use statutes and case law, and other state and federal laws
- Based on rigorous public feedback
- Relevant to emerging land use trends and the specific needs of the community
Specific development challenges to be addressed with the project include but are not limited to:
- Increasing density & housing supply
- Improving accessibility and connectivity
- Reducing light pollution
- Curbing the unsightliness of signs
- Growing the tree canopy
- Simplifying parking requirements
- Establishing architectural and material standards in specific zoning & overlay districts
- Encouraging high-quality development
- Retaining fundamental elements of the existing ordinances, including floodplain and wireless communications regulations
Relevant City Documents
- Zoning Ordinance – adopted March 6, 1984, last updated March 25, 2024
- Subdivision Control Ordinance – adopted September 2, 1986, last updated May 17, 2016
- Official Zoning Map – adopted March 6, 1972, last updated January 8, 2024 (next update February 24, 2025)
- Comprehensive Plan & Community Vision 2025 – adopted October 7, 2014, updated October 9, 2018
- Downtown Plan – adopted by Downtown Goshen, Inc., 2016
- Downtown River District Revitalization Plan – adopted September 14, 2021
- Climate Action Plan – adopted July 6, 2021
- Flood Resilience Plan – adopted July 18, 2022
Scope of Services
Working with the Task Force and with assistance from City Staff, the selected Consultant will develop a new UDO. The UDO will address the needs and challenges as outlined in the project purpose and others that arise as a result of community input.
The Consultant, City staff, and Task Force will work together on an agreed upon program that includes the following:
- Current Ordinance Analysis – The Consultant will work closely with the Task Force and City Staff to produce an analysis of the existing Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Control Ordinance. The analysis will include identifying the strengths & weaknesses of the documents based on objectives and goals of the Comprehensive Plan and the Consultant’s expertise in planning.
- District & Neighborhood Evaluation – Through field surveying and analysis of the zoning map and district plans, the Consultant will evaluate existing neighborhoods, corridors, and districts. The evaluation will prepare the consultant to apply context-sensitive regulations to different areas of the City where appropriate in the new UDO.
- Public Outreach – The consultant will develop and implement a rigorous public outreach strategy. Public outreach will include regular meetings and interactions with focus groups, community stakeholders and the general public. In-person meetings, traditional and social media, and other effective forms of communication with the public will be used in soliciting feedback and disseminating updates and a final draft.
- Application of Best Practice – The Consultant will apply expertise of modern zoning and subdivision regulations to the structure, wording, and design of the UDO. Current best practices from the field of planning, including in the drafting process and in the substance of the UDO, will be implemented.
- Outlining – The Consultant will provide a scope, outline, and organization of the UDO for Task Force and Staff review prior to composing the first draft
- Drafting the Document –The Consultant will prepare a draft of the UDO for review by the Task Force, culminating in a final version to be acted upon by the Plan Commission and the City Council. The draft shall be provided in PDF, HTML, & Microsoft Word format, and shall be ADA compliant.
Alternate Item – Zoning Map
At the end of the process, the City may wish the same Consultant to create an updated zoning map. Said map will be consistent with the style and symbology of the current zoning map, shall be provided in a format compatible with ArcGIS software, and shall be ADA compliant.
Desired Qualifications
The Consultants chosen for the project should be:
- Experts – Consultants should be a team with expertise in the following areas: land use planning, architecture or urban/rural design, landscape architecture and graphic design.
- Experienced – Able to demonstrate experience rewriting and combining zoning ordinances and subdivision control ordinances; working with land use laws in the State of Indiana; implementing modern zoning best-practices; gathering and implementing large amounts of public feedback into a UDO
- Creative – Capable of designing a simple, captivating UDO that can be read and understood by anyone searching for zoning and subdivision information in the City of Goshen
- Effective – Qualified to deliver a viable draft UDO and corresponding zoning map developed in a professional and timely manner
Proposal Requirements
For evaluation purposes, each proposal submission shall include, at a minimum, the following items:
- Letter of interest
- Statement of Qualifications, including at least three (3) digital samples of recent work relevant to the project.
- Consulting Firm Background – staffing information, workload, and ability to undertake and complete the project within the proposed schedule
- A brief statement of the Consultant’s philosophy or approach to the project
- Public outreach & communication description, with details on the process for gathering and incorporating public input into the UDO
- Scope of work, including the proposed methodology and deliverables, as well as areas for streamlining and cost-savings in the project.
- Schedule that includes an expected timeline of project milestones expressed in days/weeks
- Budget, including alternate item
- References
Additional information about the Consultants relevant to the project is welcome.
Selection Process
Award of the project will be to the consultant deemed best qualified to perform the services outlined in the RFP and other services deemed necessary by the City.
- Proposals received for this RFP will be reviewed by an evaluation committee comprised of a mixture of City Staff, elected officials, members of the Plan Commission, and/or members of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
- The evaluation committee will evaluate consultants on their experience and qualifications and on the substance of their proposals.
- After evaluating the proposals, the evaluation committee will select the top two to three consultants for follow-up interviews.
- Based upon the interviews, the evaluation committee will select a consultant.
- Upon selection, the consultant will be contacted to finalize a contract, which will include fee structure, project schedule and any additional scope of services that may result from the interview.
Note the following: The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. The City reserves the right to waive any requirement or condition of the RFP upon finding that it is in the best interest of the public to do so. The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by the respondents in replying to this RFP. The City is not liable for any costs for work or services performed by the selected consultant prior to official confirmation and execution of a contract.
Submission Instructions
Proposals should be mailed to:
City of Goshen
RFP for Unified Development Ordinance
Attn: Rossa Deegan, Assistant Zoning Administrator
204 E Jefferson Street, Suite 4
Goshen, IN 46528
Each submission shall include six (6) hard copies, and one (1) electronic copy provided by email.
For questions, contact Rossa Deegan, Assistant Zoning Administrator, at the address above or by:
Email: rossadeegan@goshencity.com
Phone: 574-534-3505
The deadline for application is August 4, 2025 at 12pm. Applications received after that time will not be considered.