Planning & Consulting Services for a Village Master Plan

Location:	Vermont
Posted:	Aug 5, 2026
Due:	Aug 27, 2026
Agency:	State Government of Vermont
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	C - Architect and Engineering Services - Construction R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Planning & Consulting Services for a

Village Master Plan

ISSUE DATE:

August 03, 2026

QUESTIONS DUE BY:

August 13, 2026

4:00 pm

DUE DATE and TIME:

August 27, 2026

4:00 pm

Request for Proposals:

The Norwich Planning Commission is seeking consultants to execute on a Municipal

Planning Grant awarded to the Town in January 2026 to develop a Village Master Plan.

Proposal Information:

Proposals are due no later than 4:00 pm August 27, 2026.

Questions shall be directed in writing, by 4pm on August 10, 2026, to Steven True, Director, Planning &

Zoning, PO Box 376, Norwich, VT 05055 or strue@norwich.vt.us

In order to be considered responsive to this RFP, each submission shall send an electronic copy labeled

TON – Planning Services via email to Brennan Duffy, Town Manager bduffy@norwich.vt.us and Steven

True strue@norwich.vt.us by the date stipulated above.

Funding

A total of $28,777 is available for consultant services from the Municipal Planning Grant Program

administered by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Town of

Norwich.

Project Timeframe

We expect to begin meetings in late September and hold the Charettes in mid-to-late October and complete

the Master Plan draft by January 2027

Proposal Expectations and Requirements

Proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee based on responsiveness to the Scope of Work.

Successful companies must demonstrate that they have the experience, financial resources, and proven

ability to provide the services required.

In order to assist in the evaluation process, please include the following information in the technical

proposal:

A. Cover Letter

B. Statement of Capability

a. Contact Information - List the name of the company, address, contact person, phone

number, and e-mail address.

b. Firm's Capabilities - Briefly describe three (3) similar projects which your company

has completed in the past ten (10) years. Please provide references for each project.

c. Staff Resumes for applicable staff working directly on the project

C. Methodology

a. Based on the included scope of work please provide a detailed work plan

addressing the topics of interest, deliverables and research questions.

D. Proposed Schedule – Provide a schedule that includes completion of work tasks and

deliverables including key meetings and complies with the timeframe provided above.

Town Rights:

The Town reserves the right to negotiate the lease terms with any and all companies that submit a proposal.

All proposals become the property of the Town upon submission. The cost of preparing, submitting, and

presenting a proposal is the sole expense of the proposer. Revisions to the request for proposal will be

posted on the Town’s website. The Town of Norwich reserves the right to modify any technical and

submission requirements associated with this request for proposals. The Town of Norwich reserves the

right to reject any or all proposals or to award contracts in whole or in part, if this is held to be in the Town's

best interest.

All plans, data, reports, and materials, in digital and hard copy form, used or created for this project will be

delivered to and become the property of the Town upon completion.

A low bid does not guarantee award of the contract.

Addenda:

1) Scope of Work

TOWN OF NORWICH

VILLAGE MASTER PLAN

SCOPE OF WORK

Prepared by the Steering Committee on behalf of the Planning Commission, July 27, 2026.

INTRODUCTION

The Norwich Planning Commission is seeking proposals from a consultant group to complete a

Village Master Plan for Norwich utilizing funds from a Municipal Planning Grant awarded in

January 2026 by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

The Consultant must seek input from a broad cross-section of Norwich residents and business

owners, in a way which fosters public engagement and community connection.

The steering committee clearly articulated that the final Village Master Plan must:

• Be concise, functional and useful.

• Promote and encourage community and consensus building.

• Include an Implementation/ Actions Section which clearly states what the goals are, who

should do the work, and when it should be done.

In order to be efficient in time and funding, build on previous studies, and maximize public input

from all sectors, the Planning Commission established a Steering Committee to frame the Scope

of the Village Master Plan and prepare a written Scope of Work to be utilized by the Consultant

Planning Group as the framework for their analysis. The steering committee is representative of a

cross section of the Town and the various community networks. Several members have children

in the school. Several members attended school in Norwich and one has recently returned with

her young family.

DELIVERABLES.

1. Map(s) of the Village Area which includes the following:

o Delineated Historic Center which contains the Churches, Town Offices, School,

Historical Society, Grange Hall, Norwich Public Library and the majority of the

Houses indicated on the National Register of Historic Places Map.

o Areas where a diversity of living units, including single family homes, duplexes,

multifamily and single rental units could be constructed in a manner which

maximizes permeable surfaces and energy efficiency.

o Develop a fully functional, interconnected trail system to ensure a walkable

pedestrian /bicycle friendly Village Area which ties the school and other civic

buildings into the trail system and connects the Village from one end to the other,

including Huntley Meadow and King Arthur Flour. These trails must maximize use

of permeable surfaces.

o Indicate those parcels in the Village which are presently privately conserved or in

public ownership and identify other possible public access areas.

2. Public engagement: design and conduct Charettes in partnership with the Steering

Committee; synthesize input and provide guidance. Consultant must build trust among

townspeople, not just facilitate dialogue; (history of ideas going nowhere due to lack of

buy-in.)

3. Narrative/Action Plan with recommendations, action plans, goals with a clear indication

of who should undertake each goal, why it is needed, and when the goal should be

completed for the following research questions.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS/CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Are there approaches to helping maintain and expand retail and other commercial

activities in the Historic Town Center, such as tax incentives, tax exemptions, public

private partnerships? For example, maintaining existing businesses requires forward

planning on septic/sewer before ownership changes trigger compliance requirements

• What would be the best way to have the Town take ownership and maintenance of those

sections of sidewalk in town which are presently owned and maintained by the Fire

District, Prudential Committee?

• Are there public /private partnerships, signage, and landscaping that could be used to

better delineate the commercial and retail center of the Historical Village and in the

southern end of the Village around King Arthur Flour?

• How could a Capital Budget Plan be used to ensure timely repair to the Town Office

Building, Tracy Hall, and help revitalize the Town Center.

• Make zoning recommendations, if necessary, that will help achieve the plan’s goals or

remove obstacles.

• What is the best approach to resolving the fact that there is no municipal wastewater

system in the Village?

• What is the best planning approach to helping increase a diversity of housing units for

first home buyers, middle housing and senior housing?

• Are there public /private partnerships that would help us mitigate against the extensive

area of flood hazards and river corridors running through the center of the village.

Village Area Boundary (See Map 1).

The Steering Committee met several times over a period of 3 months, reviewed a wide range of

data and maps, conducted personal site visits, walked, bicycled and drove the entire area, and

consulted with colleagues and friends in their networks and drafted a Map of the Boundary of the

Village Area for which a Master Plan is requested. This Master Plan will become part of the

updated Town Plan. The Town has started the process for updating its present Town Plan, with

the goal of completion in 2028. Once the Town Plan is approved the factual information, goals,

policies and recommendations can be utilized to guide updates to the town’s Land Use

Regulations.

The Boundary of the area took into consideration the desire to preserve the historic Center of the

Town, retain conserved and public green spaces, ensure flood resilience and maximum

permeable surfaces throughout the Village, ensure the area could be easily made fully walkable

and bikeable, identify an area for potential new high diversity of housing types, and identify areas

for commercial development both in the Historic Village Center and at the Southern Gateway.

The Steering Committee took into consideration the Future Land Use Areas Map (See Map 7)

developed by Regional Planning, and with reference to the housing goals suggested for Norwich

by TRORC, having opted into Tier 1B status for both the Village center & area. At present, the

housing target for the Tier 1B area is 162 units by 2030.

STEERING COMMITTEE

Jaan Laaspere, Chair, Norwich Planning Commission.

Brendan Classon, Vice Chair, Norwich Selectboard.

Cole Flannery, Member, Norwich Business Council, Owner Half-Step Beer and Wine, Norwich.

Brian Loeb, Member Affordable Housing Committee

Elena Kennedy, Director, Consulting at TNTP

Alec Orenstein, Vice Chair, Norwich DRB.

Jess Phelps, Chair, Historic Preservation Commission; Board President, Norwich Grange Hall;

Associate General Counsel, Lyme Timber Company.

Ann Sargent, Member Norwich Business Council; Owner, Ann Sargent Design Co., Norwich.

Christian Spalding, Member, Planning Commission; Director of Operations, Dartmouth Inst. For

Health Practice & Clinical Practice.

Andrew Torkelson, Member Norwich Conservation Commission; Cardiologist.

Lucinda Walker, Director Norwich Public Library.

Sheridan Zimmer, Education Consultant.

Staff:

Steven True, Director Planning and Zoning

Jean Richardson, Facilitator

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.