Careers at Craig Lawson & Co., LLC

Firm Description
Established in 1999, Craig Lawson & Co., LLC (CLC) is a land use consulting firm located in West Los Angeles offering a full range of real estate development, project entitlement and zoning services, including zoning research, land use analyses, project team coordination, project management, land use entitlements preparation and processing, advocacy, and representation at public hearings. CLC draws from a professional staff of over a dozen associates committed to providing quality services to the real estate development community, public agencies, and non-profit organizations. Over the last twenty-two years, CLC has achieved an exceptional success rate in the approval of land use entitlement applications for complex high-rise, mixed-use, residential, commercial, retail, industrial, institutional, non-profit, and governmental projects throughout the Los Angeles region.

The firm's focus and most of its experience is in working on development projects in the City of Los Angeles; however, CLC has also worked on entitlement efforts in other jurisdictions around Southern California including the County of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, El Segundo, and Culver City. Within the Los Angeles planning and development community, CLC is trusted as an authoritative source and effective advocate.

The Successful Candidate Will Have:

• A keen interest in urban development, land use planning, and the real estate industry.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, and can successfully interact with and manage project teams, including clients, architects, environmental consultants, civil engineers, and others.
• Highly developed professional writing skills. The job requires making effective arguments on behalf of clients' projects, and to convey the issues and the merits of projects clearly (orally and in writing) both to the project team, community stakeholders, and City or County Staff.
• A comfort level representing the firm and its clients both at public hearings and community meetings.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated time management capabilities, including the ability to track and enter time allocated to various projects.
• Completed at a minimum a 4-year undergraduate degree, preferably in Urban Planning, Architecture, Public Policy, Real Estate Development, or a similar field.
• At least one year of relevant professional experience in the real estate, planning, or public policy fields.

• Conduct initial research on project sites. Review zoning and land use constraints to a comprehensive degree. Determine the extent of what can be built on a given site. If applicable, review conceptual architectural design plans against the zoning constraints.
• Collaborate with the project team on the design of the project, ensuring that it is consistent with zoning constraints, applicable design guidelines/criteria, and advising on entitlement options.
• Prepare a detailed project description for review and concurrence from the project team.
• Meet with staff from the applicable City Council Office, the Planning Department, and other public agencies to discuss the proposed project and respond to initial comments and issues.
• Participate in meetings with key stakeholders, community leaders and neighborhood council members. Work with client's community relations coordinator to define the project and provide public information and respond to issues raised.
• Prepare and submit detailed and strong project land use entitlements applications, including the preparation of various supporting exhibits. Prepare written arguments and Code-required findings in support of projects to demonstrate how they are consistent with applicable City Planning goals, Community Plan/Specific Plan/Overlays policies and objectives.
• Assist in managing the project throughout the entitlement process. Maintain regular communication with reviewing City staff and project team members and provide updates where needed.