Carroll County, Maryland elected five new County Commissioners in November. These brave souls voted unanimously to get rid of all traces of the "Sustainability" agenda in the county. They abolished their "Sustainability" office and dropped out of ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), the first county to do so.Walla Walla County is faced with a similar issue. Perhaps not quite as far along as Carroll County, but far enough. "Sustainable Development" is in fact an attack on property rights. We see it every day in this country, from overbearing zoning laws to land use restrictions due to environmental reasons. An earlier post here discussed the background on this topic, also known as Agenda 21.
This may not sound like much but is in fact, huge.
We bring this to your attention because the City and County zoning laws are closely related, and property rights are directly controlled by zoning laws. This "RFP" (or "Request For Proposal") is an effort to hire an outside company to manage the updates and revisions of the current laws, codes, and regulations.Request for Proposals For Updating The City of Walla Walla Zone Code and Related RegulationsThe City of Walla Walla seeks the services of qualified professional planning consultant(s) with experience in public participation, planning and design of sustainable communities to assist in updating of the Walla Walla Zone Code and Subdivision Code.It is expected the selected consultant(s) will have an understanding of public participation processes in order to obtain public input and comment, land use planning and legislation/law in Washington State, code development, an understanding of the political environment related to working with other units of government and the public, proven project organization and management skills, and the ability to meet project timelines and budgetary constraints. It is further expected the updates will comply with the requirements of the Washington State Growth Management Act.Necessary skills of a planning consulting firm/team include the ability to preside at public meetings and hearings, engage the public, commissions, agencies and entities and obtain public/agency input, communicate technical scientific information in a manner suitable for the general public and to work collaboratively with several City departments and other groups of consultants.A complete copy of the Request for Proposals is available below in Microsoft Word (.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format below. Questions regarding the RFP should be directed in writing to Brian Walker at bwalker@ci.walla-walla.wa.us or 15 North 3rd Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362.The City of Walla Walla reserves the right to reject any and all submittals and to waive irregularities and informalities in the evaluation process. This RFP does not obligate the City to pay any costs incurred by respondents in the preparation and submission of qualifications. The successful vendor must comply with the City of Walla Walla equal opportunity requirements. The City of Walla Walla is committed to a program of equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, nationality or disability.Proposals shall be submitted in writing not later than 5:00 p.m., October 14, 2011