An update to the village of Mamaroneck’s comprehensive plan has hit a road bump after a request for proposals yielded just one response.
Earlier this month, the village finished what will—after an underwhelming response—be one of two rounds of a request for proposals, RFP, regarding an update to its comprehensive plan—a document guiding future development in the municipality—after receiving just one proposal from Nelson, Pope & Voorhis LLC, NPV, and BFJ Planning, who would act as a consultant.
NPV specializes in environmental planning and has taken on projects in the Long Island area as well as the Hudson Valley. The budget proposed by the firm for drafting a new plan was estimated at $68,000.
According to Assistant Village Manager Dan Sarnoff, a subsequent RFP has been issued after the underwhelming response and questions on whether enough firms saw the proposal to begin with.
At least one firm, contacted by the village Planning Department after the RFP had expired, was unaware of the request to begin with, according to Sarnoff.
The second RFP went out late last week.
The village’s update of its comprehensive plan will seek to refresh a document, last updated in 2012, in an effort to ensure best practices for environmental sustainability. This includes factoring in new development guidelines iterated in a recent update to the village Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, LWRP.
An original comprehensive plan was first adopted in 1986.
Priorities listed in the 2012 draft of the comprehensive plan include retaining the village’s historical character; expanding a retail base; developing workforce; and preserving the character of the village of Mamaroneck’s neighborhoods in addition to preserving wetlands and water quality of the Long Island Sound.
According to Trustee Victor Tafur, a Democrat, who has led the call for an update to the development doctrine, making sure the largest number of potential respondents see the RFP is crucial to the update’s success. “We know that there are more planning firms out there and it would be great to be able to have options,” he said.
Tafur added that updates to the comprehensive plan, a process the village has slated for every five years since 2008, can sometimes drag on for longer than expected due to the RFP processes and overall complexity. For that reason, he said, it’s important to be proactive.
“If you keep updating every five years, it’s easier,” he said. “It’s a worthwhile effort to try to keep in-tune with development.”
– Reporting by James Pero
