Selecting a consultant
This page contains an overview of the process used in selecting a consultant to help Austin develop a new Comprehensive Plan. It also has resources that were available to the public during that process. Information not included in this page: background on the Comprehensive Plan and how to sign up to get involved with the plan.
Contents of this page
Information on the RFQ process | Public involvement | The finalists
Austin City Council has unanimously selected Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) firm to help Austin develop a new Comprehensive Plan!
WRT Firm and Team | Presentation to Council | Responses to Council | Website
Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC (WRT) is a leading multidisciplinary planning and design firm with a staff of over 200 and offices in Philadelphia, Coral Gables, New York, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, and San Diego. WRT's leadership in sustainable city and regional planning traces back to the legacy of firm co-founder Ian McHarg, whose landmark book Design with Nature established a new paradigm for reconciling growth with natural and cultural resource preservation. WRT practices what we call values-driven planning, an approach that acts upon the values and aspirations of each community, challenging citizens and community leaders to become engaged in charting their community's future. This approach is especially well suited for a community such as Austin that seeks innovation and effectiveness in raising the bar for public engagement, achieving a sustainable future, and maintaining and enhancing the outstanding quality of life and community character that citizens expect. Our approach integrates citizen engagement with a strategic focus on practical, achievable implementation and building capacity to realize the vision.
WRT's national track record in comprehensive planning includes cities seeking a renewed vision, community identity, growth management, and economic vitality, as reflected in such plans as Omaha by Design, the Cornerstone 2025 Plan for Louisville (KY), the Connections 2025 Plan for Greensboro (NC), the FOCUS Kansas City Comprehensive Plan, and the Portsmouth (VA) Destination 2025 Comprehensive Plan. WRT has extensive planning experience in Texas, including recent and past comprehensive plans for nearby Georgetown, Flower Mound, League City, Galveston, and Irving. WRT's portfolio of Texas work includes multi-modal station area and transit-oriented development planning for the DART system, as well as plans for park and open space systems and neighborhood, downtown, and commercial corridor revitalization. WRT was the original master planner for one of the most livable and environmentally sustainable planned communities in Texas - the Woodlands, near Houston. Complementing our track record in comprehensive planning and growth management is WRT's extensive urban design portfolio, led by Jonathan Barnett, one of the nation's foremost urban design practitioners and authors. Likewise, WRT's leadership on sustainability includes our current lead role in the design of one of the nation's largest environmental remediation initiatives, the restoration of the Trinity River corridor in Dallas, as well as state-of-the-art green infrastructure plans for Atlanta and Philadelphia.
WRT's team for the City of Austin Comprehensive Plan includes outstanding Austin-based firms with an extensive local track record and knowledge of issues:
- Group Solutions RJW and Estilo Communications, Inc. for community outreach and public participation
- Raymond Chan Associates, Inc. for civil engineering, infrastructure systems, and stormwater management
- Conales-Sondgeroth Associates and Carter Design Associates as local liaisons for planning and urban design
- Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., a national firm with an Austin office, for transportation and mobility
- Angelou Economics for economic and market analyses
The WRT Team also includes Criterion Planners, based in Portland (OR), who are recognized national leaders in modeling and testing growth scenarios for sustainability.
Information on the RFQ process
The consultant selection process began on September 30, 2008, when the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was released. In contrast to a Request for Proposals, an RFQ is intended to identify the strengths and weaknesses of firms with particular expertise, in relation to the anticipated Scope of Services.
Invitation letters were sent to 255 nationally prominent planning firms and local contractors. 82 asked for copies of the RFQ. A pre-application meeting was held to answer questions from all interested parties; 54 people representing national firms and local subcontractors attended. Six firms submitted applications; 1 was disqualified for noncompliance with the submission requirements. The remaining five firms were reviewed according to the evaluation criteria; of those, three firms were interviewed by a staff selection committee and subsequently forwarded to City Council.
The Request for Qualifications and attachments are available below:
- Request for Qualifications
- Attachment A: Map of the City of Austin
- Attachment B: Demographic Profile of Austin
- Attachment C: Map of Austin-Round Rock MSA
- Attachment D: Map of Edwards Aquifer Contributing and Recharge Zones
- Attachment E: Map of the Drinking Water Protection Zone (DWPZ) and the Desired Development Zone (DDZ)
- Attachment F: State Highway 130 (SH-130) Austin-Area Map
- Attachment G: City of Austin Protest Procedures
- Attachment H: Affidavit
- Attachment I: Evaluation Criteria
- Attachment J: MBE/WBE Procurement Program
Public involvement
February: Consultant presentations to City Council.
The three finalist teams, chosen through a national Request for Qualifications process, presented their approaches at the City Council meeting Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009.
- Finalist backgrounds and presentations
- Video of the consultants' presentations to Council and the question and answer session that followed.
- Throughout that afternoon, the three teams were available at City Hall and met with members of the public.
- Comments from the public were accepted through February 17.
March: Clarify the community's concerns.
- March 4: Public forum with Councilmembers. The City Council asked for the public’s input to find out what further information the community would like to know about the qualifications and experience of the RFQ finalists. The following are the results from the forum, as well as handouts available to the public:
- Suggested questions for Council to ask the consultants
- Questions for City staff
- Other comments
- Questions Council asked the consultants on February 12
- Agenda from March 4
- Staff presentations about the RFQ process from Greg Guernsey (Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department) and Mike Trimble (Contract and Land Management Department)
- Request for Qualifications frequently asked questions: Contract and Land Management and Neighborhood Planning and Zoning
- Community feedback was compiled by staff and submitted to Council for review. City Council formulated its list of questions, which were distributed to the consultant teams.
- March 27: Responses from the consultants; responses from City Staff to other questions from the March 4 public forum.
April: Community input on the consultants.
- April 7: Community meeting with Councilmembers. The public had the opportunity to provide input to council on the three finalists and to discuss the consultants' responses to Council's questions.
- Comments from the public were accepted through April 13.
- April 23: City Council selected Wallace, Roberts, and Todd to be the consultant for Austin's new Comprehensive Plan.
