CITY OF BLUFFDALE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

APPEALS AND VARIANCE HEARING OFFICER

COB18001LAW

Release Date: January 12, 2018

Submittal Deadline: February 7, 2018

5:00 p.m.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

APPEALS AND VARIANCE HEARING OFFICER

The City of Bluffdale is currently seeking an individual experienced in land use matters to serve as the

Appeals and Variance and Hearing Officer (“AVHO”). The AVHO is the appeal authority described in Utah

Code Ann. § 10-9a-701 and in the Bluffdale City Code, Title 2, Chapter 4. The qualified individual shall

have training or experience in fields relating to land use law, preferably including but not necessarily

limited to acceptance to the bar of the State of Utah. Furthermore, a qualified individual shall have

experience in conducting administrative or quasi‐judicial hearings utilizing land use and other regulatory

codes.

The City of Bluffdale will receive sealed responses until February 7, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., in the Bluffdale

City Hall building, 2222 West 14400 South, Bluffdale, Utah 84065. Responses received after that time

will not be accepted. Responses will be publicly opened at the above‐stated time and date. Applicants

shall submit three (3) proposal copies.

Questions concerning the scope of work, responses submittal, or process should be directed, in writing,

to Vaughn Pickell, AICP, City Attorney. Questions may be e‐mailed to vpickell@PROTECTED.

Copies of the RFP Documents may be obtained from the City Attorney at no cost. The City is not

responsible for expenses incurred prior to award by the City of Bluffdale. The City of Bluffdale reserves

the right to reject any and all responses and to waive any irregularities or informalities.

We look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

Vaughn R. Pickell, AICP

City Attorney

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

TO SERVE AS

APPEALS AND VARIANCE HEARING OFFICER

CITY OF BLUFFDALE

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City of Bluffdale is currently seeking an individual experienced in land use matters to serve as the

Appeals and Variance Hearing Officer. The qualified individual will have training or experience in fields

relating to land use law, preferably including but not necessarily limited to acceptance to the Utah State

Bar. Furthermore, a qualified individual will have experience in conducting administrative or quasijudicial

hearings utilizing land use or other regulatory codes.

II. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

The Appeals and Variance Hearing Officer shall be required to carry forth the following tasks during a

meeting to be held as necessary to address applications as they are received by the City of Bluffdale:

a. Hear and decide appeals from administrative decisions applying the provisions of the

Bluffdale City Land Use Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance and applicable provisions of State

law (“Land Use Regulations”).

b. Hear and decide variances from the terms of the Land Use Regulations, pursuant to the

criteria for variances specified in Utah law.

c. Hear appeals regarding the interpretation of the zoning map, disputed questions on lot

lines, district boundary lines, or similar questions as they arise in the administration of the

zoning regulations, but only after a written decision has been made by the applicable land

use authority.

d. Act as the final arbiter of issues involving the interpretation or application of the Bluffdale

Land Use Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance.

III. PROPOSAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

It is explicitly stated that the candidate will be required to disclose if they are currently working for any

private sector clients within the City of Bluffdale. Any work or recent work within or for clients within

the City of Bluffdale may disqualify the individual from consideration. Finally, the selected individual will

be required to enter into a contract with the City of Bluffdale that will prohibit any consultation work

within the City of Bluffdale during the contract period.

The profile of the proposers should provide general background information. This should include the

following:

1. Proposer’s Qualifications

a. Describe a recent experience relating to the type of administrative decision making an

appeal authority would conduct.

b. If others are to assist the proposer in a clerical or supportive capacity, those individuals

should provide similar information.

c. A knowledge of the following theory, principles, and practices:

i. Training or experience in conducting administrative or quasi-judicial hearings

utilizing land use and other regulatory codes,

ii. Expertise and experience in city planning or other land use matters, and

iii. Knowledge or experience in environmental sciences, law, architecture,

economics, or engineering;

OR

i. Membership in the Utah State Bar (active status and in good standing),

ii. Proven experience in providing legal services or advice to municipalities,

counties, governmental entities, or private developers, and

iii. Proven experience in environmental and land use law, municipal or county

planning, or land use management.

d. Ability to do the following:

i. Plan, organize, and effectively conduct meetings and hearings to be held in a

public forum,

ii. Read, understand, and interpret adopted City ordinances and applicable State

law,

iii. Analyze situations accurately and property, finding facts and apply applicable

laws,

iv. Render fair and equitable decisions, which will affect individuals and

organizations, based exclusively on the principles of applicable laws,

v. Finding facts based upon substantial evidence in the record, properly applying

those facts to the applicable law, and writing decisions that are clear, coherent,

and include the legal standard upon which they are based.

vi. Ability to render decisions within the required timelines.

2. Fees

Supply the billing rates, inclusive of travel, and all other out-of-pocket expenses.

3. Non-discrimination

Affirm that the applicant does not discriminate against any individual because of race, color,

national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity, age, or handicap, and that

these shall not be a factor in conducting hearings or in the decisions rendered.

4. Professional Liability Insurance

Affirm that the individual possesses professional liability insurance.

IV. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

1. Technical Factors

a. Responsiveness of the proposal in clearly stating an understanding of the

administrative and quasi-judicial services to be performed.

b. Qualifications of the individual.

c. The ability to render decision within the required timeframe.

2. Right to Reject

The City of Bluffdale reserves the right to reject any and all proposals submitted and to

request additional information from any proposer. Any contract awarded may be made to

an individual who meets the qualifications enumerated herein. The successful proposer will

be selected after an evaluation of all responses, applying all criteria and oral interviews, if

necessary, and who shall be determined to be the best to perform the duties required of the

AVHO.

V. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

 Sign and return PROPOSAL RESPONSE COVER SHEET (Attachment 1). The form shall

be signed by the applicant.

 Submit original proposal and three (3) proposal copies in a sealed envelope.

 Mark envelope with AVHO Authority RFP and submission deadline date.

 Submission Deadline: _______________, 2018, 5:00 p.m. MST.

 Submit to: Wendy Deppe, City Recorder

2222 West 14400 South

Bluffdale, Utah 84065

PROPOSALS RECEIVED AFTER THE 5:00 P.M. DEADLINE WILL BE PLACED IN THE FILE

UNOPENED AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

VI. ACCEPTANCE

1. Any proposal shall be considered an offer, which may be accepted by the City of

Bluffdale based upon the initial submission without discussions or negotiations.

2. By submitting a proposals in response to this Request, proposer agrees that any

proposal it submits may be accepted by the City of Bluffdale at any time within sixty (60)

days from the date of the submission deadline.

3. The City of Bluffdale reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive minor

technicalities and irregularities in proposals received, and to accept any portion of the

offer if deemed in the best interest of the City of Bluffdale. Failure of the proposer to

provide in its proposal any information requested in the RFP may result in rejection for

non-responsiveness.

VII. REVIEW OF PROPOSALS

Each proposal will be rviewed by City officials and/or staff. Oral interviews may be

conducted with one or more proposers. The successful proposer may be appointed by the

Bluffdale Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council.

VIII. SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Vaughn Pickell, City Attorney, may be contacted at 801-849-9415 or vpickell@PROTECTED

for information.

IX. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For information concerning the Request for Proposal and regulations, i.e., submission

deadlines, forms required, etc., or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

accommodations, interested parties may contact Vaughn Pickell, City Attorney, 801-849-

9415, or vpickell@PROTECTED.

X. CONFIDENTIALITY

All responses, inquiries, and correspondence relating to this RFP and all reports, charts,

displays, schedules, exhibits, and other documentation produced by the proposer that is

submitted to the City of Bluffdale, as part of the proposal or otherwise, shall become the

property of the City of Bluffdale when received by the City of Bluffdale and may be

considered public information under applicable law. The City of Bluffdale is subject to the

disclosure requirements of the Government Records Access and Management Act,

(“GRAMA”) Title 63G, Chapter 2, Utah Code Annotated. The City of Bluffdale generally

considers proposals and all accompanying material to be public and subject to disclosure.

Any material considered by the proposer to be proprietary must be accompanied by a

written claim of confidentiality and a concise written statement of reasons supporting the

claim, as required by GRAMA §§ 63G‐2‐305 and -309. Blanket claims that the entire RFP is

confidential will be denied. The City of Bluffdale cannot guarantee that any information will

be held confidential. If the proposer makes a claim of confidentiality, the City of Bluffdale,

upon receipt of a request for disclosure, will determine whether the material should be

classified as public or protected, and will notify the proposer of such determination. The

proposer is entitled under GRAMA to appeal an adverse determination. The City of Bluffdale

is not obligated to notify the proposer of a request, and will not consider a claim of

confidentiality, unless the proposer’s claim of confidentiality is made in a timely basis and in

accordance with GRAMA.

REPRESENTATION REGARDING ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR CITY OF BLUFFDALE CITY OFFICERS

AND EMPLOYEES AND FORMER CITY OF BLUFFDALE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

XI. CERTIFICATION

The proposer certifies that it has not: (1) provided an illegal gift or payoff to a City of

Bluffdale officer or employee or former officer or employee of the City of Bluffdale, or his or

her relative or business entity; (2) retained any person to solicit or secure this contract upon

an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage or contingent fee,

other than bona fide employees or bona fide commercial selling agencies for the purpose of

securing business; or (3) knowingly influenced, and hereby promises that it will not

knowingly influence, any City officer or employee or former officer or employee of the City

of Bluffdale to breach any ethical standards set forth in the City of Bluffdale’s conflict of

interest and ethics policy or any of the provisions of Utah Code, Title 10, Chapter 13.

ATTACHMENT 1 – PROPOSAL RESPONSE COVERS SHEET

Failure to return this form may result in no further communication regarding this:

RFP TO SERVE AS THE CITY OF BLUFFDALE

APPEALS AND VARIANCE HEARING OFFICER

Please complete this confirmation form and submit with the copies of the Request for

Proposals.

Name: ___________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

City: ___________________________ State: _______________ Zip Code: ________

Contact Person: ___________________________ Title: _____________________________

Phone No: ____________________________ Fax No: _____________________________

E‐Mail Address: ___________________________________________________________

I have received a copy of the above noted RFP. _________________

I authorize the City of Bluffdale to send further correspondence.

Signature: _________________________________________

Title: _______________________________________ Date:________________

If you have any questions concerning the RFP please list them below (answers will be sent to

all proposing individuals):

_______________________

Vaughn R. Pickell, AICP

City Attorney

City of Bluffdale

2222 West 14400 South

Bluffdale, Utah 84065

Phone: 801-254-2200

Fax: 801-253-3270

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