Unsolicited proposals.

Norfolk City Code § 33.1-113

in effect

Sec. 33.1-113. - Unsolicited proposals. The city may, pursuant to the PPEA and this article, publicize its needs and encourage interested parties to submit unsolicited proposals. When a proposal is received without the prior issuance of an official RFP, the proposal is an unsolicited proposal. The city will establish timelines for the review and selection of unsolicited proposals. Unsolicited proposals shall be submitted to the city manager or his/her designee. (a) Decision to accept and consider unsolicited proposal; notice. (1) The city reserves the right to reject any unsolicited proposals at any time, in its sole discretion. (2) Upon receipt of any unsolicited proposal or group of proposals and payment of the required fee, the city will initially determine whether to accept the unsolicited proposal for the purpose of publication and conceptual-phase consideration, as described below. If the city determines not to accept an unsolicited proposal, it will return the proposal, together with any fees not expended in initially considering the proposal and accompanying documentation, to the private entity. (3) If the city chooses to accept an unsolicited proposal for publication and conceptual-phase consideration, it will give public notice in accordance with the PPEA and this article and specify a period of time not less than forty-five (45) days during which it will receive competing unsolicited proposals pursuant to § 56-575.4 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended and this article. The city will publish notice during this period in one or more newspapers or periodicals of general circulation within the city and the Hampton Roads area to notify other parties that may be interested in submitting competing unsolicited proposals. In addition, the notice will be advertised in Virginia Business Opportunities and on the Commonwealth's electronic procurement website. The notice shall state that the city (a) has received an unsolicited proposal under the PPEA, (b) intends to evaluate the proposal, (c) may negotiate an interim or comprehensive agreement with the proposer based on the proposal, and (d) will receive for simultaneous consideration any competing unsolicited proposals that comply with the PPEA and this article. The notice will also summarize the proposed qualifying project, and identify its proposed locations. (4) To ensure that sufficient information is available upon which to base the development of a serious competing unsolicited proposal, representatives of the city familiar with the initial unsolicited proposal and this article will be available to respond to inquiries and meet with private entities that are considering the submission of competing unsolicited proposals. The city will conduct an analysis of the information pertaining to the unsolicited proposal included in the notice to ensure that such information sufficiently encourages competing unsolicited proposals. The city will also establish criteria, including but not limited to, key decision points and approvals, to ensure proper consideration of the extent of competition from available private entities prior to selection. Copies of the unsolicited proposals will be available upon request, subject to the provisions of FOIA and § 56-575.4 G of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. (5) Before the city posts notice and proceeds, the initial proposer shall pay the balance due, if any, of the required review fee. (b) Proposal posting requirements. (1) Conceptual proposals, whether solicited or unsolicited, shall be posted by the city within ten (10) business days after acceptance of such proposals in the following manner: a. The city will post the proposal or a summary thereof on its website and by publication, in a newspaper of general circulation in the city and the Hampton Roads area. The city may also post the proposal on the department of general service's web-based electronic procurement program commonly known as "eVA," in the discretion of the city. b. The posting will include, either (i) a copy of the proposal, except for items afforded protection pursuant to this article, or (ii) a summary of the proposal and the location(s) where copies of it are available for public inspection. At least one copy of the proposal(s) shall be made available for public inspection. (2) Nothing within this article shall be construed to prohibit the posting of any conceptual proposals by additional means deemed appropriate by the city so as to provide maximum notice to the public of the opportunity to inspect any proposals. (3) Trade secrets, financial records, or other records of the private entity excluded from disclosure under the provisions of subdivision 11 of § 2.2-3705.6 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, or this article need not be posted, except as otherwise agreed to by the city and the private entity. The city will impose reasonable restrictions upon the inspection of any procurement transaction records to ensure the security and integrity of the records. (c) Proposal review fee. (1) The city will charge a fee to any private entity to cover the costs of processing, reviewing, and evaluating any unsolicited proposal or competing unsolicited proposal submitted, including the costs of attorneys, outside consultants, and financial advisors. Except as otherwise provided in the RFP of a solicited proposal, no fee will be charged to process, review or evaluate solicited proposals. (2) For unsolicited proposals and competing unsolicited proposals, the city shall impose review fees based on the reasonably anticipated costs to the city in accordance with the following schedule: a. The payment of an initial fee must accompany the submission of an unsolicited proposal to the city before it will proceed with its initial review. This fee shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). b. The city will impose additional fees throughout the processing, review and evaluation of the unsolicited proposal if and as the city reasonably anticipates incurring costs in excess of the initial fee. The city will notify the private entity of such additional fees as and when it anticipates incurring such costs, and the city's further continuance of the review process will be conditioned upon prompt payment of any additional fees required. (d) Review by the city at the conceptual stage. (1) Only unsolicited proposals fully complying with the requirements of this article and the PPEA that contain sufficient information for a meaningful evaluation and that are provided in the required format will be considered by the city for publication and further review at the conceptual stage. (2) The city will determine in writing before commencing the conceptual stage of review whether it will proceed using (a) standard procurement procedures consistent with the VPPA and its procurement ordinance, or (b) procedures under this article. However, the city may proceed to the conceptual phase under this article only if it first makes a written determination with the advice of the city attorney that doing so is likely to be advantageous to the city and the public based upon either: the probable scope, complexity or priority of need; the risk sharing, including but not limited to, guaranteed cost or completion guarantees, added value or debt, or equity investments proposed by the private entity; or the increase in funding, dedicated revenue or other economic benefit that would otherwise not be available. (3) After reviewing the original unsolicited proposal and any competing proposals submitted during the notice period, the city will determine either: (a) not to proceed further with any proposal; (b) to proceed to the detailed phase of review with the original proposal; (c) to proceed to the detailed phase with a competing proposal; (d) to proceed to the detailed phase with multiple proposals; or (e) to request modifications or amendments to any proposals and postpone the final decision under this subsection. The decision to proceed to the detailed phase on a conceptual proposal shall not commit the city to going forward with the proposal, and the city reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject a proposal after entering the detailed phase of its review. If the city proceeds with more than one proposal into the detailed stage, the city may, as its sole discretion, choose to reimburse the unsuccessful proposer for costs incurred in the detailed phase of review, and charge such costs to the successful proposer in the interim or comprehensive agreement. (4) Discussions between the city and any private entity about the need for infrastructure improvements shall not limit the ability of the city to choose to use standard procurement procedures to meet its infrastructure needs. The city retains the right to reject any proposal at any time prior to the city's approval of and the city's execution of an interim or comprehensive agreement. (Ord. No. 45,063, § 1, 4-9-13)

Source: City of Norfolk, Virginia, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/norfolk/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COCI_CH33.1PR_ARTIXPUIVPA_S33.1-113UNPRFetched: 11/1/2026