"Try and leave this world a little better than you found it.”

- Robert Baden-Powell

Based in Sacramento, California, Civic NOW's team has decades of experience in city planning, public engagement, and government operations. We’ve worked inside city halls and alongside residents—translating regulations into plain language, guiding projects from concept to approval, and designing tools that make civic processes more accessible.

Our expertise spans zoning, permitting, sustainability, and equity-driven policy. Whether we’re leading entitlement reviews, crafting training materials for staff and stakeholders, or advising small businesses on how to thrive within local frameworks, our mission remains the same: empower people with the knowledge and support they need to shape their communities.

Experience

Experience leading policy changes, community visioning, changes to the General Plan and Zoning, review of community plans, and housing regulations and development. Extensive work with data analysis, regional plans, site surveys, and graphics and maps with AutoCAD and GIS systems.

Over twenty years in planning with experience dealing with General Plan and Zoning amendments, community and master plans, tentative maps, development agreements, use permits, design reviews, variances, telecommunication issues, nonconforming issues, environmental documentation/CEQA, settlement agreements, and annexations. Skills in customer support, code enforcement, front counter services, and land use research.

Managed staff, assigned tasks, and supervised departmental work, including project facilitation, budget management, and collaboration across groups with conflicting deadlines. Experienced in handling politically sensitive community projects with officials, developers, and citizens. Skilled in procurement, proposal preparation, RFP and SOQ review, and marketing.

Projects

Staffing

  • In-person staffing for San Mateo, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Stockton, American Canyon, Concord, Manteca, Napa, Roseville, Signal Hill, Yuba, and Sacramento County. 

  • Provided remote help for Lincoln, Suisun, Antioch, Westminster, and Benicia.

  • Background in current and long-range planning activities for the public and private side.

  • Skill with processing General Plan and Zoning amendments, community and master plans, tentative maps, development agreements, use permits, design reviews, variances, telecommunication issues, nonconforming issues, environmental documentation/CEQA, settlement agreements, and annexations.

Housing

  • Housing Element updates for Stockton, Lincoln, Woodland, and American Canyon cities.

  • Helped create a Housing and Neighborhood Action Plan that implemented various policies to encourage public-private partnerships, public collaboration, funding, and infrastructure needs. Items can be downloaded from the Stockton Housing Action Plan.

  • Work to secure the California housing designation of “Prohousing” for the City of Stockton.

  • Managed 2 million dollars in state grant money for various efforts that encouraged the production of more housing units.

  • Conducted needs assessment for disadvantaged communities. Work includes community outreach, market studies, and the creation of action items tailored to neighborhood reinvestment.

  • Aided in the review of the Housing Consolidation Plan review, various homeless initiatives, funding allocation and spending (i.e., CDBG, HOME), grant submittals,

  • Conducted annual reviews and reported to the state.

Visions and Long-Range Planning

  • Managed a comprehensive overhaul of the Development Code and Design Guidelines.  

  • Processed many large code and map amendment efforts consisting of thousands of property owners and hundreds of zoning code changes.

  • General Plan Updates for Stockton include annual progress reporting and coordination with state agencies and consultants on policy implementation.

  • Helped prepare and review master plans for various plans in the Sacramento and Stockton regions.

  • Managed and assisted in annexing over 1 square mile of new land into the City of Stockton. Also managed the Municipal Service Reviews, Sphere of Influence Update, and amendments.

  • Work to facilitate master plan development in Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, and Stockton.

  • Experience in dealing with development and settlement agreements.

  • Chaired the San Joaquin Council of Governments Habitat Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC)

  • Proposal writing, budget creation, and cannabis regulation amendments. 

Infrastructure and Funding

  • Conducted infrastructure deficiency studies and explored leveraging funding to speed up redevelopment.

  • Explored the funding gap for housing projects in disadvantaged communities.

  • Helped implement various capital improvement projects (CIP).

  • Helped in many grant submittals for funding of needed infrastructure.

  • Updates to the Traffic Impact Analysis guidelines to reflect Vehicle Miles Traveled.

Data Analysis and Mapping

  • Proficient in AutoCAD and GIS mapping software systems.

  • Conducted land use projections, constraints maps, data management, map creation, holding capacity analysis, parcel surveys, GIS/AutoCAD integration, and public workshop presentations. Preparation of housing condition surveys for Woodland, Lincoln, Lathrop, American Canyon, Wasco, and Weed.

  • Conducted land use assessments to find vacant and underutilized land. Based on updated legislation, this included vacant buildings for potential residential reuse and potential industrial warehouse locations.

Customer Support

  • Experience resolving conflicts for unhappy applicants, residents, developers, and elected officials.

  • Experience in dealing with contentious project reviews.

  • Training in public outreach techniques.

Management/Training