What Consensus Planning does

Consensus Planning, Inc. is a privately-held professional services firm founded in March 1991 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by James Strozier and Karen Marcotte. The firm delivers integrated planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services to public sector clients — including municipalities, counties, tribal governments, and state agencies — and private sector clients such as master developers, homebuilders, and nonprofit housing providers across New Mexico and the broader Southwest.

The firm's core offerings span four practice areas: Planning Services (comprehensive plans, MRA plans, entitlements, zoning), Urban Design, Landscape Architecture (planting, irrigation, streetscape, park and trail design), and GIS (custom web mapping applications and dashboards built on ESRI ArcGIS Online). Technology assets include proprietary customized ArcGIS Online configurations, interactive project mapping applications, and specialty GIS solutions for rural communities that lack in-house GIS staff. The practice is differentiated by a documented consensus-building methodology — public workshops, stakeholder interviews, walking tours, and surveys — that is reflected in the firm's name and in a track record of securing project approvals in politically sensitive environments.

Revenue is generated through fee-for-service project engagements billed on a project-by-project basis to government agencies (predominantly via RFP and recurring professional services contracts) and private developers (via direct engagement and teaming relationships with architects, civil engineers, and law firms). The firm operates from a single downtown Albuquerque headquarters and serves clients exclusively in the Southwest U.S., with no disclosed resellers, distributors, or marketplace channels. Notable engagements include the 900-acre Cabezon master plan in Rio Rancho, the 13,700-acre Santolina master plan, Balloon Fiesta Park, Hope Village supportive housing, and the Ports-to-Plains Economic Impact Study that contributed to a federal Interstate Highway designation.

Name

Consensus Planning

Legal name

Consensus Planning, Inc.

Website

https://consensusplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Consensus Planning is a privately-held planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and GIS firm founded in 1991 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving municipalities, tribal governments, and private developers across New Mexico and the Southwest with consensus-based planning and entitlement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Urban planning services
• Landscape architecture
• Urban design consulting
• GIS mapping services
• Community engagement planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Consensus Planning generates revenue through fee-for-service professional consulting engagements. Services are billed on a project basis and include planning, landscape architecture, urban design, and GIS services for public and private sector clients throughout the Southwest.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Consensus Planning provides professional planning, urban design, and landscape architecture services to public and private sector clients throughout the Southwest. The firm delivers comprehensive municipal plans, metropolitan redevelopment area plans, entitlements, site planning, landscape design, and custom GIS web mapping applications and dashboards.

Product overview

Consensus Planning is a planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm providing professional services to public and private sectors throughout the Southwest. The firm operates as a single unified service offering organized around four core disciplines: Planning Services, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Projects range from comprehensive municipal plans and metropolitan redevelopment area plans to site-specific landscape design and custom web mapping applications. The firm emphasizes consensus-building approaches and sustainability in land use, water conservation, transportation/mobility, accessibility, and community needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning Services Comprehensive planning services including community plans, land use entitlements, zone changes, site plans, and metropolitan redevelopment area plans for government agencies and private developers across the Southwest.
• Urban Design Urban design services integrating multiple disciplines to deliver creative, contextual, and buildable design solutions for municipalities and private developers.
• Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture services developing outdoor environments including planting plans, irrigation design, streetscape design, park design, and trail design that meet physical, social, and emotional community needs.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) GIS services including data acquisition, data creation, scenario visualization, and spatial analysis to build interactive maps, custom web mapping applications, and dashboards providing access to tailored GIS data for public and private sector clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• $90 million economic impact generated by Balloon Fiesta Park event (2011 figures)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Bohannan Huston, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivil engineering firm collaborating with Consensus Planning on multiple projects including Overlook at Oxbow cluster subdivision and other residential and mixed-use developments. Provides civil engineering expertise complementing Consensus Planning's planning and landscape architecture services.
• Rodey Law FirmcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm providing legal counsel on development agreements, zoning matters, and regulatory approvals for major planned community projects including Cabezon and Santolina. Assisted in negotiating Level A and Level B Development Agreements required by the Board of County Commissioners.
• Garrett DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaster developer partner for the 13,700-acre Santolina planned community project, working with Consensus Planning as the lead planning and landscape architecture firm on Level A and Level B master plans.
• Whitneybell Perry ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm collaborating with Consensus Planning on the Titan Nob Hill multi-family redevelopment project in Albuquerque's Nob Hill neighborhood.
• Isaacson & ArfmancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivil engineering firm collaborating on multiple projects including Stonegate Village and Titan Nob Hill. Provides civil engineering expertise alongside Consensus Planning's planning services.
• SEC PlanningmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanning and engineering firm (based in Austin, TX) collaborating as part of the project team for the 13,700-acre Santolina planned community alongside Consensus Planning and Garrett Development.
• Mullen Heller ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm on the Hope Village permanent supportive housing project team, providing architectural design services alongside Consensus Planning's entitlements and landscape design.
• Baker Architecture + DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm on the Tiny Home Village project team for the 30-unit transitional housing development at the Albuquerque Indian Center.
• Paragon Engineering GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering firm collaborating on the Upper Petroglyphs residential master plan for approximately 3,000 acres alongside Consensus Planning and Garrett Development Corporation.
• New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (Housing New Mexico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState housing finance agency that provides financing and approval for affordable housing plans and projects. Consensus Planning developed the Clovis Affordable Housing Plan in consultation with the agency and Hope Village was jointly funded with this partner.
• Eastern Plains Council of Governments (EPCOG) and NMDOTmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional planning body and state transportation department engaged Consensus Planning for the Ports-to-Plains Economic Impact Study examining the designation of US Highway 87/64 as a future Interstate Highway.
• Titan DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor development firm that engaged Consensus Planning for multiple projects including Arbolada North Mesa (136 housing units), Titan Nob Hill multi-family redevelopment, and The Highlands four-block mixed-use project on Central Avenue (Historic Route 66).
• HopeWorks and YES HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit housing provider and housing developer jointly engaged Consensus Planning for Hope Village, Albuquerque's first permanent supportive housing project (42 units) for chronically homeless individuals.
• Clark Barnes (Architect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject architect for the Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites dual-brand hotel project (170 rooms) in downtown Albuquerque, working with Consensus Planning on entitlements and landscape design.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Global engineering, architecture, and planning firm with Southwest offices. Competes on larger municipal planning, infrastructure, and master-planned community projects but does not specialize in Consensus Planning's niche regional focus.
• SWCA Environmental Consultants: Larger environmental planning and consulting firm with deep Southwest presence. Comparable in serving NM municipalities and developers on planning, environmental review, and entitlement work, though broader in scope.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure and planning firm with U.S. Southwest presence. Competes on large-scale comprehensive plans, transportation corridors, and master-planned community engagements as part of a broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Wenk Associates: Denver-based landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with comparable regional Southwest focus. Similar size and integrated multi-disciplinary service offering for public and private sector clients.
• OLIN Partnership: Landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with integrated practice model similar to Consensus Planning's multi-disciplinary approach for both public and private sector master planning.
• Design Workshop: Landscape architecture and urban planning firm with offices throughout the western U.S. Highly comparable multi-disciplinary practice model serving municipalities, developers, and tribal clients on master planning and entitlements.
• LandDesign: Multi-office landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm serving private developers and municipalities. Comparable integrated service model and project types (master-planned communities, mixed-use, parks).
• MIG Inc. Planning, design, and communications consultancy with strong public-sector practice. Comparable in serving municipal clients on comprehensive plans, public engagement, and GIS-based planning services.
• Sasaki Associates: Planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm with comparable multi-disciplinary integrated practice serving both public sector and private developers on master planning and large-scale community projects.
• Sites Southwest: Albuquerque-based landscape architecture and planning firm serving public and private sector clients throughout New Mexico. Directly comparable in geography, service mix (planning, landscape architecture, urban design), and target client base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/consensusplanning

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Consensus Planning