Practice Areas
Most engagements draw on several of these disciplines in sequence. We are retained to lead the entitlement workstream and to coordinate with the developer's broader project team.
Where a project requires capital structuring or pre-development scope beyond the entitlement workstream, we coordinate alongside groups such as Focal Investments' land use & entitlements advisory and development advisory practices.
01
Strategy work begins with a defensible read on what the site can support and which pathway gets there with the least risk. We model density bonus, TOC, AB 2011, SB 35, and conventional discretionary paths against the developer's underwriting before recommending a direction.
Typical engagement: 2–6 weeks for feasibility; ongoing through approvals.
02
Zoning is the floor, not the ceiling. We map base zoning against general plan designations, overlay conditions, specific plans, and recent legislative changes to identify the actual development envelope — and the leverage points within it.
Typical turnaround: 1–3 weeks for a defensible zoning read.
Markets
Case studies
03
California's State Density Bonus Law has expanded materially. We structure projects to capture the right combination of base bonus, incentives, and waivers — and we model the affordability commitment against operating yield.
Integrated into the feasibility and entitlement workstream.
Markets
Case studies
04
State streamlining statutes create ministerial paths that bypass discretionary review and CEQA. Eligibility analysis is technical and consequential — we run both pathways alongside conventional density bonus before recommending an approach.
Eligibility analysis: 1–2 weeks. Streamlined approval: typically 6–10 months.
05
Community process is part of the project, not an obstacle to it. We design engagement plans that are substantive, consistent with the project narrative, and calibrated to the standing organizations and council office in the relevant district.
Begins pre-application; continues through hearing.
06
Entitlement work touches every other consultant on the project. We coordinate with architects, civil engineers, traffic, CEQA, sound, biological, and historic resources consultants to keep the application package coherent and the schedule intact.
Throughout the engagement.
Engage
We work with developers, capital partners, and property owners on entitlement-sensitive transactions across Southern California. Most engagements begin with a feasibility review prior to acquisition.