Civic Solutions

What Civic Solutions does

Civic Solutions, Inc. (CSI) is a privately held California corporation founded in 1991 by Thomas G. Merrell, AICP, that provides professional urban planning and community development consulting services to public agencies. The firm operates from a headquarters in Ladera Ranch and a satellite office in Ontario, serving city and county planning departments across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties, with a roster of more than 50 municipal clients and select private-sector developers. Its longest-tenured engagement is with the City of Irvine, which it has served since 1993, and it has functioned as the de facto planning department for the City of Jurupa Valley since that city's 2011 incorporation.

The company's service portfolio is organized into four areas: City and County Planning Services (discretionary case processing, development review, CEQA documentation, and project management), Community Planning Services (general plans, zoning code updates, specific plans, housing elements, and environmental justice elements), Project Planning Services (organizational assessments, citizen participation, and dispute resolution), and Downtown Solutions — a sub-brand focused on urban design, downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and form-based coding. Its core technology is a proprietary methodology called 'downtowncode,' which combines Euclidean zoning, form-based zoning, municipal ordinances, and Smart Code in a graphics-heavy format tailored to downtown and specific-plan work. Notable technical specializations include an Equestrian Lifestyle Protection Overlay (built for Jurupa Valley) and a form-based code with shared/off-site parking provisions (built for Lake Elsinore).

Civic Solutions makes money through consulting fees billed under on-call contracts, long-term staffing agreements, and project-based engagements with public agencies, with services priced by staff time and contract scope rather than via any disclosed price list. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and direct, relying on professional referrals, APA participation, a project-portfolio website, and the firm's 30+ year reputation within Southern California municipal planning circles. There is no disclosed funding, no parent company, and no institutional ownership — the firm remains independent and founder-led. Disclosed planner salaries range from $66,560 to $116,000, indicating a professional-services cost base that scales linearly with headcount.

Name

Civic Solutions

Legal name

Civic Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://civicsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Civic Solutions, Inc. is a privately held California urban planning and community development consulting firm founded in 1991, providing contract planning staff, CEQA documentation, general plans, zoning updates, and downtown revitalization services to more than 50 municipal clients across Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Planning Consulting

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

Keywords

• Municipal planning services
• Urban planning consulting
• Community development services
• Zoning code consulting
• General plan preparation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Juan Capistrano

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Planning Services: Consulting fees for providing professional urban planners to municipal planning departments. Services include discretionary case processing, development review, project management, and environmental documentation for public agencies. Revenue is generated through contract arrangements including on-call services, long-term staffing contracts, and project-based engagements.
2. Contract Planning Services: Day-to-day staffing and project management services for municipal planning departments. The company provides full planning department services for cities under contract, functioning as an extension of city staff.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Civic Solutions provides professional urban planning and community development consulting services to public agencies, functioning as an extension of city staff. Offerings include current planning (discretionary case processing, development review, project management), long-range community planning (general plans, zoning code updates, specific plans, housing and environmental justice elements), project planning consulting (organizational assessments, citizen participation, dispute resolution), and downtown revitalization/urban design delivered through its Downtown Solutions division.

Product overview

Civic Solutions provides comprehensive urban planning and community development consulting services to public agencies throughout California. The company operates as a single integrated service offering organized into four main areas: City and County Planning Services (discretionary case processing and development review), Community Planning Services (general plans, zoning codes, and policy planning), Project Planning Services (municipal consulting and facilitation), and Downtown Solutions, a specialized division focused on urban design and downtown revitalization. The company has served city and county planning departments since 1991.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Downtown Solutions: A division of Civic Solutions providing urban design and downtown revitalization services, including revitalization, economic development, historic preservation, land use planning, community outreach and urban design.

Products and services

• City and County Planning Services Professional urban planning services for city and county planning departments, including project management, discretionary case processing, development review, CEQA environmental documentation, and full planning-department staffing. Designed to function as an extension of municipal staff for cities and counties primarily in Southern California.
• Community Planning Services Long-range and policy-level planning services for public agencies, including neighborhood preservation, General Plan updates, zoning code updates, specific plans, housing element updates, and environmental justice elements. Targeted at municipal clients undertaking community-wide planning initiatives.
• Project Planning Services Specialized project-based planning consulting for public and private sector clients, including municipal project management, organizational assessments, citizen participation programs, dispute resolution, and developer advisory support on entitlement and zoning matters.
• Downtown Solutions (Division) Specialized division of Civic Solutions providing urban design and downtown revitalization services, including revitalization, economic development, historic preservation, land use planning, community outreach, and form-based coding using the proprietary downtowncode methodology. Serves municipalities seeking downtown-specific planning outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully prepared Jurupa Valley's first General Plan adopted September 7, 2017 with $500,000 budget including EIR
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cooper-CarryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivic Solutions' Downtown Solutions division worked as part of the Cooper-Carry team to prepare the form-based code for the Lake Elsinore Downtown Master Plan. This was a project-specific collaboration for urban design and downtown revitalization.
• Templeton Planning GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on the Irvine Planning Area 27 (Turtle Ridge) project as the EIR consultant while Civic Solutions provided project management and planning services for the City of Irvine.
• HR GreenminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with HR Green, Kosmont, GST Consulting and Urban Futures to build the organization and set strategy for the newly incorporated City of Jurupa Valley, with each firm contributing different municipal consulting expertise.
• KosmontminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with Civic Solutions and other consulting firms to provide transition services for newly incorporated City of Jurupa Valley.
• GST ConsultingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with Civic Solutions and other consulting firms for City of Jurupa Valley municipal transition services.
• Urban FuturesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with Civic Solutions and other consulting firms for City of Jurupa Valley municipal transition services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• PlaceWorks: California-based urban planning, design, and environmental consulting firm serving public agencies and private developers with planning, entitlements, and community development services — directly comparable in customer base (municipalities) and service offering (general plans, specific plans, form-based codes) to Civic Solutions.
• MIG: Full-service planning, design, and environmental consulting firm with a strong California public-agency practice, providing general plans, specific plans, and community engagement services comparable to Civic Solutions' City/County and Community Planning practices.
• Dudek: California-focused environmental and planning consulting firm serving municipalities on CEQA documentation, general plan updates, habitat planning, and entitlements — overlapping significantly with Civic Solutions' planning and CEQA service lines.
• LSA Associates: California planning, environmental, and engineering consultancy serving public agencies with general plans, specific plans, housing elements, and CEQA services — comparable mid-size firm serving a similar municipal client base in California.
• ESA (Environmental Science Associates): Environmental planning and CEQA-focused consulting firm that supports California municipalities on general plans, EIRs, and community development — directly comparable technical service overlap with Civic Solutions' planning and environmental documentation work.
• RRM Design Group: California-based planning, design, and engineering firm with a public-agency planning practice covering general plans, specific plans, housing elements, and downtown revitalization — closely comparable service mix to Civic Solutions.

Broad incumbents

• Kimley-Horn: National planning and engineering consultancy with a substantial California municipal planning practice (general plans, specific plans, downtown revitalization) — larger and broader, but competes for the same municipal RFPs as Civic Solutions.
• Stantec: Global engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firm with significant California municipal planning capabilities including general plans, urban design, and community development — competes with Civic Solutions on large multi-disciplinary municipal engagements.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with a large urban planning and design practice serving California municipalities on complex specific plans, downtown plans, and large entitlement projects — competes at the high end of Civic Solutions' addressable market.

Emerging players

• Templeton Planning Group: California planning consultancy that has partnered with Civic Solutions on past projects (e.g., Irvine Planning Area 27 / Turtle Ridge EIR), providing environmental and planning services to similar municipal clients in Southern California.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Civic Solutions