Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc

What Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc does

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc (SDS) is a privately held, multidisciplinary land development design firm headquartered in Redding, California, founded in 1965. The firm provides integrated civil engineering, land planning, land surveying, hydrology and stormwater design, project entitlements, SWPPP compliance, and presentation graphics services to clients across Northern California. SDS positions itself as a full-service practice in which in-house land planners, civil engineers, and surveyors work together from entitlements through construction, leveraging state-of-the-art surveying equipment including robotic stations and GPS systems. Its customer base spans private landowners, large-scale developers, architects and builders, real estate agents, and public agencies, with a project portfolio exceeding 100,000 residential lots, millions of square feet of commercial development, and hundreds of public facilities.

The firm is led by four principals — Tim MacLean (Registered Landscape Architect), Mike Dormer (Project Manager), Josh Martin (Professional Land Surveyor and Survey Manager), and Ian Stripling (Professional Engineer) — whose combined experience exceeds 125 years. SDS is differentiated by deep regulatory expertise in CEQA, NEPA, and multi-jurisdictional permitting, and by 60 years of compiled proprietary data on Northern California properties, including published residential project maps of the Redding area used as a recurring client resource. The revenue model is straightforward professional services billing, with no public pricing, no disclosed recurring SaaS or subscription component, and no external investors or parent company.

The firm operates a single headquarters at 320 Hartnell Avenue, Redding, with 11-50 employees and is actively recruiting. Distribution is direct: phone, email, in-person consultations, and a regional digital presence via a refreshed website, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There is no evidence of geographic expansion beyond Northern California, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no adoption of AI/ML capabilities; technology investment to date is concentrated in modernized surveying instrumentation.

Name

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc

Legal name

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc

Website

https://sdsengineering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc (SDS) is a privately held civil engineering, land planning, and surveying firm founded in 1965 in Redding, California. It serves private landowners, developers, architects, real estate agents, and public agencies across Northern California with integrated entitlements-through-construction services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering and Land Development Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Civil engineering services
• Land planning consulting
• Land surveying mapping
• Project entitlements permitting
• Hydrology stormwater design

Headquarters

HQ city

Redding

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, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services: Billing for engineering, planning, and surveying professional services across land development and public infrastructure projects from entitlements through construction.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc is a full-service land development consulting firm providing integrated civil engineering, land planning, and land surveying services to public and private clients across Northern California. The firm delivers projects from entitlements through construction, including feasibility studies, grading and drainage design, roadway and utility design, master-planned community design, boundary and topographic surveys, hydrology and stormwater management, CEQA/NEPA permitting, and presentation graphics. Services are supported by in-house planners, engineers, surveyors, and Qualified SWPPP Developers/Practitioners.

Product overview

Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc is a full-service civil engineering, land planning, and land surveying firm offering integrated services for land development and public infrastructure projects throughout Northern California. The company's core offerings include Civil Engineering Services (the backbone of operations covering feasibility studies, grading, drainage, roadway, utility design, and construction documents), Land Planning Services (master planned communities, residential and commercial site plans, design guidelines), Surveying & Mapping Services (boundary, ALTA/NSPS, topographic surveys using robotic stations and GPS), Hydrology Services (stormwater management, flood studies, constructed wetlands), Project Entitlements (regulatory permitting, subdivision maps, use permits), Presentation Graphics, and SWPPP Services. Supporting resources include Due Diligence Files (property data compilation), Residential Project Maps (Redding area tracking), and Site Analysis services. All departments work closely together under one roof to ensure accuracy and efficiency from entitlements through construction, with a portfolio exceeding 100,000 residential lots and millions of square feet of commercial development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Engineering Services Core engineering services covering feasibility studies, entitlement level engineering, grading and drainage design, roadway design, utility design, retaining walls, construction documents, specifications, and construction cost estimates from concept through construction. Targets land developers, public agencies, and property owners executing land development and public infrastructure projects across Northern California.
• Land Planning Services Comprehensive land planning from preliminary concepts to finished designs, including master planned community design, residential land plans, commercial/industrial/mixed-use site plans, public space and park planning, design guidelines, and development strategies. Designed for developers, architects, builders, and public agencies planning land use in Northern California.
• Surveying and Mapping Services Precise surveying and mapping using state-of-the-art robotic stations and GPS systems for boundary surveys, ALTA/NSPS land title surveys, topographic surveys, construction staking, and final subdivision maps from single parcels to master-planned communities. Targets developers, architects, builders, public agencies, and property owners needing accurate survey deliverables.
• Hydrology Services Water and stormwater design solutions including surface and subsurface detention analysis, infiltration/retention design, watershed analysis, storm water pipe system design, flood map revisions, constructed wetland design, and fish passage/creek restoration. Serves developers and public agencies needing compliant, environmentally friendly water resource solutions.
• Project Entitlements Entitlement services navigating federal, state, and local agency requirements including regulatory permitting, outside agency coordination, subdivision maps, site development permits, use permits, rezones, general plan amendments, and entitlement negotiations. Built for developers and property owners pursuing project approvals across Northern California.
• Presentation Graphics Visual communication services from concept sketch to final marketing materials including project entitlement renderings, posters, exhibits, diagrams, brochure and direct mail design, and planned development books. Supports developers and agencies preparing entitlement and marketing materials.
• SWPPP Services Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan preparation and implementation by in-house Qualified SWPPP Developers and Practitioners, including cost-effective BMPs, monitoring, inspection, reporting, turbidity and pH sampling for Construction General Permit and MS4 compliance. Targeted at construction sites and land development projects requiring regulatory stormwater compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio exceeding 100,000 residential lots
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers40 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with significant California operations spanning water, environmental, and infrastructure. Competes with SDS on hydrology, SWPPP, and public infrastructure but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Stantec: International engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with California offices serving land development, water, and infrastructure clients. Broad incumbent that overlaps with SDS on civil and surveying work at much larger scale.
• BKF Engineers: California-headquartered civil engineering, surveying, and planning firm with multiple offices statewide. Overlaps with SDS on land development, surveying, and public infrastructure but operates at meaningfully larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• RICK Engineering Company: California-based multi-disciplinary firm offering civil engineering, surveying, planning, and environmental services. Competes with SDS for Northern California land development and public works work from a larger, multi-office base.
• Kimley-Horn: National planning and engineering design consultancy with strong California presence in land development and entitlements. Overlaps with SDS on residential, commercial, and mixed-use civil engineering but at national scale and broader service breadth.

Direct peers

• Dokken Engineering: Folsom, California civil engineering firm focused on transportation, utilities, and land development in Northern California. Comparable to SDS's civil engineering and entitlement work for public agencies and private developers in the same geography.
• LACO Associates: Eureka/Redding-based multi-disciplinary firm offering civil engineering, surveying, planning, and environmental services across Northern California. Directly comparable to SDS in size, geography, and integrated service model for land development and public infrastructure.
• Ruggeri-Jensen-Azar: Pleasanton-based multi-disciplinary firm providing civil engineering, surveying, planning, and landscape architecture across Northern California. Closely comparable to SDS in service mix and target market of master-planned communities and public agencies.
• Cannon: Northern California engineering, surveying, and planning firm serving public agencies and private developers. Comparable to SDS in integrated service delivery, public-sector client base, and mid-size firm profile.
• Siegfried Engineering: Stockton, California civil engineering and surveying firm serving Central and Northern California land development clients. Comparable to SDS in offering boundary surveying, ALTA, civil engineering, and entitlement support for residential and commercial projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SDSengineering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sharrah-dunlap-sawyer-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer Inc