(a) When the award of a lease is to be based on selection criteria in addition to or other than the amount of the rent, the Director must, subject to § 18.9, solicit proposals for the lease through issuance of a public Request for Proposals (RFP).

(b) An RFP may be preceded by issuance of a public Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The purpose of an RFQ is to select a “short list” of potential offerors that meet minimum management, financial and other qualifications necessary for submission of a proposal in response to an RFP. If the Director issues an RFQ, only persons determined as qualified by the Director under the terms of the RFQ shall be eligible to submit a proposal under the related RFP.

(c) The Director must provide public notice of the leasing opportunity by publication at least twice in local and/or national newspapers of general circulation and/or through publication in the Commerce Business Daily. The public notice shall contain general information about the leasing opportunity and advise interested persons how to obtain a copy of the RFP (or RFQ where applicable). The RFP (and RFQ where applicable) shall contain appropriate information about the property proposed for lease, including limitations on the uses of the property to be leased, information concerning the leasing process, information and materials that must be contained in a proposal, the time and place for submission of proposals, terms and conditions of the lease, and the criteria under which the Director will evaluate proposals. The RFP may state the fair market value rent as the minimum acceptable rent if determined by the Director at that time. The RFP (and RFQ where applicable) must allow at least sixty (60) days for submission of proposals (or qualifications under an RFQ) unless a shorter period of time is determined to be sufficient in the circumstances of a particular solicitation.

(d) The Director may determine that a proposal is non-responsive and not consider it further. A non-responsive proposal is a proposal that was not timely submitted or fails to meet the material terms and conditions of the RFP. After the submission of offers and prior to the selection of the best overall proposal, the Director may request from any offeror additional information or written clarification of a proposal, provided that proposals may not be amended after the submission date unless all offerors that submitted responsive proposals are given an opportunity to amend their proposals. The Director may choose to reject all proposals received at any time and resolicit or cancel a solicitation under this part without liability to any person.

(e) (1) The criteria to be used in selection of the best proposal are:

(i) The compatibility of the proposal's intended use of the leased property with respect to preservation, protection, and visitor enjoyment of the park;

(ii) The financial capability of the offeror to carry out the terms of the lease;

(iii) The experience of the offeror demonstrating the managerial capability to carry out the terms of the lease;

(iv) The ability and commitment of the offeror to conduct its activities in the park area in an environmentally enhancing manner through, among other programs and actions, energy conservation, waste reduction, and recycling; and

(v) Any other criteria the RFP may specify.

(2) If the property to be leased is an historic property, the compatibility of the proposal with the historic qualities of the property shall be an additional selection criterion. If the RFP requires proposals to include the amount of rent offered, the amount of rent offered also shall be an additional selection criterion.

(f) The Director will evaluate all responsive proposals received. The responsive proposal determined by the Director to best meet on an overall basis the evaluation criteria will be selected for negotiation of the lease. If two or more responsive proposals are determined by the Director to be substantially equal under the evaluation criteria, the Director shall provide an opportunity for those proposals to be amended by their offerors as necessary for the Director to select the best amended proposal. In such circumstances, the Director will provide each offeror that submitted a substantially equal proposal appropriate information as to how their proposals may be amended in order to enhance the possibility of selection as the best amended proposal. If two or more proposals remain as substantially equal after amendment, the Director will select for negotiation of the lease from among these proposals the proposal that the Director determines on an overall basis will be most beneficial to effective management of the park area.

(g) The Director will provide the offeror that submitted the best overall responsive proposal as determined by the Director a specified period of time to negotiate the final terms of the lease (and may enter into a letter of intent to negotiate in this connection). The final terms of the lease must be consistent with the requirements of the RFP. If the negotiations do not result in an executed lease within the specified time period, the Director, in his discretion, may extend the negotiation period, terminate negotiations and negotiate with the offeror that submitted the next best responsive proposal, or, cancel the solicitation.

(h) RFPs may state that the amount of rent to be paid will be negotiated subsequently with the offeror that submitted the best proposal, initially or as amended. The Director may execute a lease only if the Director determines that it requires the lessee to pay at least the fair market value rent of the leased property.

(i) The Director may execute a lease that includes historic property only after complying with 36 CFR part 800 (commenting procedures of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation).