Zoning ordinance work firms interviewed

By Grace Lovins

As the city continues to prepare for a hefty zoning ordinance update, Birmingham Planning Board members interviewed four firms during the Wednesday, November 12, meeting, regarding their responses to the request for proposals (RFPs).

Board members anticipate making a decision on which firm to recommend to the city commission during the December board meeting.

As part of the actions included in the city’s 2040 master plan, the planning board, city planning department and city commission have been working toward the beginning of a major update to the city’s zoning ordinance. The commission allocated $200,000 in the budget to put toward hiring a firm to assist in the update and laid out a timeline to have the updates done by 2027.

Four of the six firms that submitted proposals were invited to the meeting for oral interviews: McKenna, Houseal Lavigne, Kendig Keast Collaborative with Encode Plus, and Giffels Webster with Public Sector Consultants.

McKenna, a Northville-based firm, has been involved in several past projects with the city and was the city staff’s top-rated proposal during their proposal evaluations. Houseal Lavigne, based out of Chicago, presented an emphasis on graphics and visual aids when talking with the board.

Kendig Keast Collaborative, based out of Texas, talked about building consensus among city staff, board members, residents, developers and all members of the Birmingham community to create an ordinance that works best for the city. Birmingham-based Giffels Webster touched on its collaboration with Public Sector Consultants to facilitate and implement an updated ordinance that meets the city’s needs.

After the four firms concluded their presentations, the board reached a consensus that it would be beneficial to wait until the Wednesday, December 10, meeting to formulate a recommendation for the city commission. Multiple board members also recommended Dupuis collect feedback on the interviews from the city staff that reviewed the written proposals.

No formal action or decision was made by the board, but discussions will reconvene at their next meeting in December.