Land Use Policy

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William Fulton Group has long experience in crafting land use policy for local governments. Land use policy often emerges as the result of purely political processes, but WFG uses evidence-based research to identify – and predict – the relationship between land used policies and real-world land-use outcomes. Among WFG’s skills are:

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• Identifying land supply, zoning capacity and likely buildout scenarios.

• Determining whether land use policy is actually accomplishing the desired objective.

• Transfer of development rights and related mitigation banking techniques.

• Identifying land-use strategies to increase housing supply and affordability.

• Connecting economic development implementation tools with land use plans to ensure that the plans are successfully implemented.

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Significant past projects include:

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• A three-year analysis of land use strategies to reduce auto dependence in the South Bay cities of Los Angeles.

• The most extensive analysis of the Lake Tahoe transfer of development rights system ever undertaken.

• Transfer of development rights feasibility studies and assessment for Pierce County, Washington; James City County, Virginia; and Beaufort County, South Carolina, among others.

• Assessment of Ventura County’s urban growth boundary policy, focused on whether stated goals (preservation of agriculture and open space) were achieved.

• Overall assessment of growth management ballot measures in California.

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​Housing Policy

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William Fulton Group has extensive experience in analyzing housing supply and affordability problems and devising potential solutions that can “break through” the typical logjam on housing policy. WFG’s expertise includes:

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• How to use California’s new housing production laws

• Land use policies to encourage workforce and middle-income housing.

• Innovative financing strategies for workforce and middle-income housing.

• Role of philanthropies and other non-government players in increasing housing supply.

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Significant housing policy projects include:

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• Facilitation of Mayor Todd Gloria’s working group on middle-income housing in San Diego.

• Analysis of the impact of SB 35, SB 9, and other housing production statutes in California for the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.

• Oversight of major housing policy analyses in Houston and Harris County, including the first-ever affordable housing study for Harris County.

• Strategies to preserve “naturally occurring” (privately owned) affordable housing in both San Diego and Houston.

• With PFM Group Consulting, devising a scoring system for affordable housing projects for a major Texas city.

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Economic Development

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William Fulton Group is adept at analyzing underlying economic conditions and crafting implementable economic development strategies. Bill Fulton often works on economic development issues collaboratively with PFM Management and Budget Consulting. Among WFG’s skills are:

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• Helping jurisdictions clarify their economic development goals.

• Crafting strategies that encourage expansion of core export-oriented industries

• Crafting policies to create innovation districts that link startups to “place-based” assets.

• Connecting economic development and land use strategies

• Ensuring that economic development strategies are inclusive and equitable.

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Significant past projects include:

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• With PFM Group Consulting, economic development strategies for Ventura, Moorpark, and Port Hueneme, California.

• Political leadership for a high-tech incubator strategy in Ventura, California, which led to the creation of The Trade Desk, now a billion-dollar ad-tech company.

• First economic development strategy for the City of San Diego in 15 years, focused on export-oriented goods and services economy rather than local services.

• Connecting economic development implementation tools to land use plans in the Downtown Plan for Denton, Texas.

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Local Governance And Strategic Planning

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William Fulton Group has considerable experience analyzing the governance and financial structures of local government. WFG is especially skilled at asking difficult questions about why governance structures exist and proposing strategic alternatives designed to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness.

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Significant past projects include:

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• Facilitation of a strategic planning process for Teton County, Idaho.

• Facilitation of a strategic planning process for the Economic Revitaliation Commission for the City of Honolulu, Hawaii.

• Assessment of municipal utility districts in suburban Houston

• Assessment and strategic recommendations for Harris County Toll Road Authority.

• Organizational assessment of a regional agency in Ohio to better position itself for federal funding.

• Analysis and recommendations on possible consolidation of Houston and Harris County public health departments.

• Analysis and recommendations on coordination of growth management strategy among regional agencies in San Diego County, California.

• Design of governance options for a major new city in Central Texas.

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Written and Verbal Communication

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William Fulton Group is extraordinarily skilled at communicating policy ideas to all audiences across a variety of platforms. WFG is especially skilled at:

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• Producing extremely clear and understandable policy reports through the use of the “3D” approach: spatial, statistical, and narrative analysis.

• Writing compelling op-eds, blogs, and policy briefs.

• Producing and delivering understandable and entertaining public presentations.