RFQ For Revision of City of Reno Municipal Code Title 18

Reno City Attorney's Office

The City of Reno is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) seeking firms with significant land use experience to provide legal and land development services related to the revision of Title 18 of the Reno Municipal Code ("RMC"). RMC Title 18 concerns annexation and land use. The City seeks a firm with the ability to assemble a complementary team of attorneys and planners.

Chapters 268, 278, and 278A of the Nevada Revised Statutes ("NRS") govern annexation and land use. NRS 278.026-029 requires regional planning in the Truckee Meadows area, generally the Cities of Reno and Sparks and unincorporated Washoe County. The City of Reno's ("City") Master Plan, as well as other similar plans, must conform to the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. The Master Plan generally contains policies and goals. The City has adopted ordinances to implement policies and goals of the Master Plan in RMC Title 18. The RMC Code must conform to the City's Master Plan.

RMC Title 18 is divided into numerous sections which have been added or amended at different times over a period of years. Chapter 18.06 concerning zoning was reviewed by committee and extensively revised in 2000. Nonetheless, Chapter 18.06 also will benefit from a thorough review and revision.

The services to be furnished pursuant to this request will include, but are not limited to:

1. Review and reorganization of RMC Title 18 to make the resulting code more straightforward, and easier to understand and use

2. Identification and resolution of inconsistencies in code provisions

3. Legal analysis and code modifications where necessary

It is expected that the consultant will have an initial meeting or series of meetings wherein issues are discussed fully and appropriate staff introduced. Once the consultant begins work on the project, bi-weekly meetings (or whatever frequency is deemed appropriate) shall be conducted to ensure communications remain open, that minor issues remain minor, and major issues are made as clear as possible and addressed fully to ensure expedient resolution.

The deadline for the completion of this project is July 2004.