What North Star Planning does

North Star Planning is a privately-held professional planning consultancy founded in 2017 and headquartered in New Gloucester, Maine. The firm delivers municipal and community planning services to cities, towns, counties, nonprofits, and private developers across New England, with a core practice in comprehensive planning, open space and resilience planning, downtown and neighborhood plans, zoning and land use ordinance development, and development review support. Delivery is supported by GIS and spatial analysis tools, in-house drone photography/video, and a partner network that includes Aceto Landscape Architecture (design), Gorrill Palmer (engineering), and Levine Planning Strategies / HSRI (housing policy and human services research).

The company sells primarily on a fixed-fee, project-by-project basis via a sales-led motion targeting municipal decision-makers and planning officials, pursuing work through direct outreach, public engagement, and competitive RFPs. A 2025 productized Fixed-Fee Services menu (workshops at $600, surveys at $3,500-$5,500, inventory chapter drafting at $20,000-$30,000 by population, ordinance audits at $5,000-$10,000, zoning map digitization at $7,500, and drone aerial imagery at $300 base + $85/hour) sits alongside larger comprehensive plan engagements. Notable outcomes include eight state-certified comprehensive plans led since 2018, the MAP 2024 Plan of the Year for the City of Bath, and the Yarmouth Comprehensive Plan Update adopted by the Town Council and found consistent by the State of Maine. The firm employs approximately five to six people under founder and AICP-certified Principal Ben Smith and is privately owned with no institutional capital disclosed.

Name

North Star Planning

Legal name

North Star Planning

Website

https://northstar-planning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

North Star Planning is a Maine-based municipal planning consultancy founded in 2017 that delivers comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, transportation studies, and public engagement services to cities, towns, and counties across New England on fixed-fee contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Planning Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Municipal planning services
• Comprehensive plan development
• Land use consulting
• Zoning ordinance services
• Downtown revitalization planning

Headquarters

HQ city

New Gloucester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Comprehensive Planning Services: Fixed-fee comprehensive plan services including inventory chapter drafting ($20,000-$30,000 depending on municipality population), audit services ($1,500), and map creation ($6,000). Projects typically involve multi-month engagements with municipalities.
2. Zoning and Land Use Services: Ordinance auditing and zoning support services including full land use ordinance audits ($10,000), housing barrier audits ($5,000), population/housing projections ($1,000), and custom buildout analyses.
3. Public Engagement Services: Community participation services including public workshops ($5,000) and community surveys ($3,500-$5,500 depending on scope).
4. Planning Board Support: Best practices workshops ($600) and coaching sessions ($250) for planning board members and chairs.
5. GIS and Aerial Imagery Services: Zoning map digitization ($7,500), plan document design/layout services, and drone photography/videography ($300 base + $85/hour).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

North Star Planning is a professional planning consultancy that delivers community planning services to municipalities, state and county governments, nonprofits, and private developers across New England. Core offerings include Comprehensive Planning, Open Space & Resilience Planning, Downtown & Neighborhood Plans, Zoning & Land Use ordinance services, and Development Review & Planning Board Services, supplemented by a fixed-fee menu of workshops, coaching, public engagement, mapping, and drone-based aerial imagery.

Product overview

North Star Planning is a professional planning consultancy offering a portfolio of community planning services for municipalities, state/county governments, nonprofits, and private developers across New England. The core offerings include Comprehensive Planning, Open Space & Resilience Planning, Downtown & Neighborhood Plans, Zoning & Land Use ordinance services, and Development Review & Planning Board Services. Additionally, the firm provides Fixed-Fee Services including Planning Board workshops and coaching, Public Participation support (workshops and surveys), Comprehensive Plan inventory services, Ordinance & Housing Support, and Maps/Document Production with Aerial Imagery. The company has completed numerous planning projects including comprehensive plans for Yarmouth, Bath, and Gray; village masterplans for Little Falls/South Windham; transportation studies like North Windham Moves; zoning audits and housing studies; and open space plans.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comprehensive Planning Long-term planning engagements that coordinate municipal staff, community volunteers, the public, and subject matter experts to create tailored comprehensive plans that meet state requirements and build community consensus around a shared vision. Sold to municipal clients across New England.
• Open Space & Resilience Planning Planning services that prioritize natural areas, study connectivity, balance conservation with recreation and economic development, and incorporate climate planning with vulnerability assessments to build community resilience. Sold to municipalities and conservation-focused nonprofits.
• Downtown & Neighborhood Plans Focused planning and design projects rooted in community vision for building or revitalizing centers of activity, combining placemaking with economic development, transportation, and land use goals. Sold to municipalities.
• Zoning & Land Use Ordinance services including writing new ordinances, zoning and policy updates, recodification of existing ordinances, usability improvements, solar standards, conservation subdivision rules, and LD2003 compliance. Sold to municipalities and private developers.
• Development Review & Planning Board Services Services that help Planning Boards conduct professional, thorough, and efficient development review, including contract planners, temporary staffing, on-call services for complex projects, and training beyond basic legal requirements. Sold to municipalities and developers.
• Fixed-Fee Planning Board & Public Engagement Services A publicly disclosed, pay-as-you-go fixed-fee menu including a $600 one-hour Best Practices Workshop for Planning Board Members, a $250 one-hour Planning Board Chair Coaching session, a $5,000 1.5-hour Public Workshop, and Community Surveys priced from $3,500 (up to 10 questions) to $5,500 (20–30 questions). Sold to municipalities.
• Fixed-Fee Comprehensive Plan Inventory Services Fixed-fee inventory chapter deliverables including Inventory Chapter Drafting at $20,000–$30,000 depending on municipality population, $1,500 Inventory Chapter Audits, and $6,000 complete Inventory Chapter Map sets. Sold to municipalities.
• Fixed-Fee Ordinance Audit & Housing Services Fixed-fee zoning and housing support services including a $10,000 Land Use Ordinance Audit, a $5,000 Barriers to Housing Ordinance Audit, and $1,000 Population & Housing Needs Projections using census data and building permits. Sold to municipalities.
• Fixed-Fee Mapping & Aerial Imagery Services Fixed-fee mapping and aerial services including $7,500 Zoning Map Creation or Digitization with packaged GIS files, Final Plan Document Design & Layout delivered as PDFs (with InDesign source), and Aerial Imagery for $300 base plus $85/hour plus mileage by a licensed and insured drone pilot. Sold to municipalities and developers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 state-certified comprehensive plans led since 2018
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Aceto Landscape Architecture (ALA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership on village master planning projects. ALA provided design graphics and renderings while North Star led public outreach and facilitation. Notable projects include Little Falls/South Windham Villages Masterplan and Washington Street transformation project in Auburn.
• Gorrill PalmercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering firm partnership for transportation planning projects. Gorrill Palmer provided plan graphics and technical engineering analysis for Route 302 corridor study in North Windham (North Windham Moves project).
• Levine Planning StrategiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on housing policy and zoning analysis. Partnered on Lakes Region Homeless Services Study for Cumberland County, with Levine leading overall study coordination.
• Human Service Research Institute (HSRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on human services research. HSRI conducted stakeholder engagement for Lakes Region Homeless Services Study while North Star handled housing data analysis, zoning review, and siting analysis.
• Royal River Conservation TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partnership on conservation and open space planning. Coordinated with Yarmouth Open Space Task Force and Town departments to create open space plan recommendations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin): Large Northeast-based engineering, planning, and design firm with extensive municipal planning, transportation, and community development practices - competes for the same comprehensive planning and zoning RFPs that North Star pursues.
• Kimley-Horn: Large planning and engineering consultancy with substantial municipal planning, land use, and community development practices across the U.S. - competes for larger multi-disciplinary planning engagements that North Star would otherwise partner to deliver.
• BSC Group: Massachusetts-based consulting firm providing engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and environmental services to municipalities and developers across New England - broader service portfolio but directly overlapping in municipal planning and zoning work.
• Tighe & Bond: New England engineering and consulting firm with municipal planning, zoning, and community development practices serving cities and towns across the region - significantly larger but overlapping in municipal comprehensive planning RFPs.
• Stantec: Global engineering, architecture, and planning firm with a significant New England municipal practice offering comprehensive planning, zoning, and community development services - broad incumbent competing for the larger end of the RFP pool.

Direct peers

• Mithun: Design and planning firm combining architecture, urban design, and planning for communities, with comparable comprehensive plan and community visioning work for municipal clients.
• The Cecil Group: Portland, Maine-based urban planning, design, and landscape architecture firm serving municipalities across New England with comprehensive plans, zoning, and downtown revitalization - directly comparable services to North Star in the same geography.
• Halvorson Design: Planning and design firm offering comprehensive planning, zoning, and urban design services to municipalities; comparable boutique scale and private-sector model serving public-sector clients in the Northeast.

Others

• Aceto Landscape Architecture (ALA): Maine landscape architecture firm in active partnership with North Star on village masterplans and streetscape projects; adjacent design deliverable partner rather than a head-to-head competitor.
• Gorrill Palmer: Maine-based engineering firm that partners with North Star on transportation planning projects; not a direct competitor but adjacent infrastructure provider whose capabilities overlap on transportation components of master plans.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/northstar-planning
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-star-planning

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 North Star Planning