QES Inc. has decades of experience managing entitlement projects both large and small for a variety of stakeholders engaged in the development, land-use, construction, and housing trades. Checklists are part and parcel of everything we do.
We follow land development due diligence checklists to ensure that all possible pitfalls have been revealed and therefore increase the possibility of a positive and profitable project.
We’ve expertly navigated the often shifting sands of the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and surrounding communities’ land-use entitlement and regulations environment for decades. Our expert staff works with the development team to do proper due diligence on each and every project.
In short, we’ll make sure your project meets any and all requirements, including but not limited to those associated with:
- Land-Use Entitlements: We will prepare and process land use entitlement applications for Transit Oriented Communities, Density Bonus, and other entitlements for residential, mixed-use, low-income housing, commercial projects, and more.
- Governmental Relations and Community Engagement: Our long, varied, and vast experience means we have consistent and quality access to relevant stakeholders within governmental and municipal quarters.
Land Development and Due Diligence
Both land development and due diligence are umbrella terms that contain within them a number of other critical services. And for QES Inc., those critical services can number in the hundreds for the projects we work on.
QES is a Southern California professional land use consulting firm. We work with Urban Planning Design groups, architects, engineers and developers to determine the best use of a property and the viability of development potential. The history of our company can be traced back nearly four decades when founder and owner Eric Lieberman first began managing entitlements for the planning division of a civil engineering firm.
From that moment until this one, we’ve remained a trusted partner for those who need entitlements for land development, due diligence, permit expediting, and more.
QES’ expertise and experience mean our staff can navigate regulatory red tape, adhering strictly to regulatory codes and both the letter and the spirit of the law.
Our clients turn to us time and time again for our due diligence in land use entitlement applications for residential, mixed-use, affordable housing, commercial shopping centers, and hotels. But they also turn to us for general plan amendments, zone changes, transit-oriented communities, density bonuses, subdivisions, and public benefit projects.
Let’s take a close look at what we mean when we talk about land development due diligence and any checklists that go along with that process.
Due Diligence: Land Development
There are many steps in the process of land development, especially in a city as large and diverse as Los Angeles. Developers and public officials must all perform their due diligence in order to ensure projects and citywide growth are managed, timelines are established, costs are estimated and fees are paid on time and in due course. It is no different for site specific development projects.
Due diligence for land development means asking the right questions and knowing where and how to find the answers.
Our approach begins with a 30,000-foot view and a look at the obvious and broad categories of potential issues. Many times our approach is focused on finding the “Deal Killers” and once these are ruled out we move on to uncovering the breadth of topics that go into a comprehensive development.
Here are some of the main categories we look at when looking for “Deal Killers”.
- Utilities. Does the local system have the capacity to handle the increased load? Are sewers in and available? Are there existing easements or new easements that interfere with the development plan?
- Title Review: Mineral rights, Encroachments, CC&Rs, Access, boundaries, and easements.
- Environmental Issues such as flood plain or Blue Line Streams. Water quality, tree preservation requirements, soil remediation.
- Property Characteristics: Public Street Improvements, traffic signals, topography, and drainage.
- Undesirable characteristics such as adjacency to Railroad Tracks, gas stations, airports, freeways, et.
- The political Environment is a key factor in the success of a development project. Is there local political support and is community outreach necessary?
- Understanding density, setbacks, height limitations, and floor area.
These are simply common sense land use entitlement and due diligence topics that are absolutely necessary to understand in the broad sense. Especially the cost effect. It is usually the cost associated with a remedy around these topics that stop a deal from moving forward. There is much detail to drill down on in each of these categories but the most important thing is to look for what will stop a deal in its tracks. And, we definitely want to uncover those things before too much money is spent and too much time is wasted.
Property Acquisition
- Who is the property owner? What is the property condition?
- What is the size of the property? What is the development feasibility and highest and best use?
- Which government entities have jurisdiction over this particular property?
- Is there a property survey? What is the zoning for the property? Are there easements, encumbrances, and/or covenants?
- Does the property have access to utilities, or are utility extensions necessary to serve the property?
What is the title history of the property? Are there easements, encumbrances, covenants, or CCand Rs that restrict the property from being utilized as planned?
Due diligence in land development also means acquiring information about the property’s natural features.
Your urban planning and consulting partner may actually visit the property themselves and take photos and make notes regarding such features as:
- Feasibility analyses
- Entitlements
- Property history
- Legal and physical accessibility
- Geology
- Geography and topography (slopes, wetlands, tree canopy, plants, etc.)
- Cultural/historic/archaeological importance
- Environmental site assessments/Environmental Impact Report
- Contamination (hazardous materials)
- Reviews and considerations
- Biological surveys (including recognition of animal habitats)
- Topsoil/soil erosion
- Groundwater
- Wells/water table
- Acoustic studies
- This may include recommendations for design and construction modifications, site orientation, building materials, berms, and more
- Ingress/egress
- Engineering reports
- Zoning
- Potential for subdivision
- Overlays
- Variances
Additionally, due diligence in land development means taking stock of the property’s access to essential services (roads, garbage and sanitation, drainage, sewers, police, fire, stormwater maintenance, etc.).
Permit Expediting
In land development, due diligence also involves permitting and fees regarding construction bonds, impact fees, building permits, and more.
While permit expediting is often mistakenly assumed to mean permits being obtained more quickly than they otherwise might, it’s fundamentally a phrase that indicates the necessary thoroughness of the permitting process itself as carried out by your urban planning and land-use consultant.
QES Inc.
Due diligence in land development is often a multi-month process — as is the development process itself.
And since no two land development projects are exactly alike, no single web page can cover all the possibilities. QES will work with you to find the best way forward for your specific project.
For example, this page only touches on a few of the items that will almost inevitably become part of your land development due diligence checklist. These items include (but, again, are certainly not limited to) financial due diligence, underwriting, insurance, lease reviews, planning and design, construction documents, and utilities.
We’re here for all of your Los Angeles, California, and greater Southern California real estate development projects (both residential and commercial real estate) needs. We’ll anticipate trouble spots, roadblocks, red flags, and more as you complete your development checklist.
The best way to know how to move forward with the land development due diligence process is by contacting QES Inc. for an initial free, no-obligation consultation.
We look forward to speaking with you and learning more about your project.