Experience - Hansen Planning Group

Who We Are

Hansen Planning Group is a Utah-based planning and consulting firm. We advise local governments on legislative and administrative decisions by providing civic planning, research, ordinance drafting, and other professional services.

Our team is headed by Mike Hansen, AICP, who has over two decades of experience and has completed over 100 planning and ordinance projects in the last seven years, mostly for Utah communities.

Mike Hansen

Qualifications:

American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
Master’s of Political Economy, GWC
Master’s of Public Administration, University of Utah
B.S. Urban Planning, University of Utah

Mike has worked in strategy, land use, and organizational development for 20+ years. His career has been marked by successful leadership of progressively difficult challenges. Working in all levels of government, he has worn the hats of a strategic planner, demographer, administrator, and change leader. He has led small entrepreneurial teams, statewide initiatives, and even served in the Governor’s Cabinet.

Among his many achievements, Mike’s optimization efforts led to Utah being recognized as the “Best Managed State.” In the private sector, Mike has orchestrated projects with citizen groups, special service districts, city staff, and engineers. Focusing on short-term implementation strategies and the long-term return on investment, Mike has drafted roadmaps for cities, counties, and the state with results seen in land use, industry investment, economic development, and state code compliance.

Isaac Hansen

Qualifications:

B.S. Environmental Science and Ecological Restoration, Humboldt State University

Isaac has 7+ years of experience in environmental resource planning and conservation. He has worked with both local governments and private parties to draft ordinances, conduct feasibility studies, optimize property taxes, and make actionable plans.

Isaac has also coordinated land annexations and acquisitions, including a +20,000-acre carbon offset project in the Olympic Rainforest. His special skills include GIS mapping and engaging diverse stakeholders. Isaac loves the outdoors and is always ready to provide a literal boots-on-the-ground perspective.

Jacob Hansen

Qualifications:

Juris Doctorate (in progress), BYU Law School
B.S. Economics, BYU

Jacob is currently a law student on track to graduate in 2024. While at BYU Law, he has worked for Chief Justice Durant on the Utah Supreme Court and at Sidley Austin, one of the world’s top law firms.

In the civic planning space, Jacob focuses on legislative ordinance drafting and economic development research. Jacob is also a 3X published author and has ghostwritten or edited 60+ non-fiction books for past clients; he has a passion for clear and engaging writing, especially when it comes to inherently dry and technical topics (like land-use law).

Projects

We’ve planned our way around the block. Here are just a few of the 100+ projects our team has worked on.

Utah Ombudsman Subdivision Training Materials (2023)

Focus: Utah subdivision law

Commissioned by the Utah Ombudsman Office to create modules and other materials to train local government leaders in Utah on state subdivision law and best practices.

Ballard City, UT, GP + Code Update (2023)

Focus: long-term vision, user-friendliness, land use

Balanced heritage preservation with new growth and collaborated with stakeholders to update the general plan and ordinances, emphasizing character preservation, growth accommodation, and user-friendly, transparent land use code revisions.

Honeyville City, UT, GP + Code Update (2023)

Focus: land use, development, proactive regulation

General plan and related ordinance update to proactively respond to growing threat to the city's rural character caused by regional growth pressure.

Roosevelt City, UT, Code Update (2023)

Focus: local review convenience, subdivisions

Full codebook update, illustrated by "policy summary catalogs" to speed the review process. Notable emphases on tiny home subdivision policy and a unique approach to on-street parking regulation.

Lake Point City GP + Code Creation (2023)

Focus: new governance structure, annexation, codebook creation

Translated the vision of Utah's newest city into a general plan and accompanying land use regulations designed to set the course for future development and effective local leadership.

Blanding City, UT, GP + Code Update (2023)

Focus: land use, strategy, mapping, college town

Modernized the city's antiquated general plan and land use regulations, with a special emphasis on interactive mapping resources.

Emery County, UT, Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan (2022)

Focus: hazard mitigation, organization, environmental

Collaborated with all municipalities in the county on a deadline and analyzed substantial quantities of data to create a plan that prepares the region to bounce back after a natural disaster.

Richfield City, UT, Code Update (2023)

Focus: subdivision, land use, conditional use

Reworking land use and subdivision codes to respond to recent decline in community growth, with improved processes for conditional uses and an airport expansion.

Salina City, UT, GP + Code Update (2023)

Focus: economic transition, housing

Helped the city pivot its approach in response to major industry transition and incorporate redevelopment initiatives into its general plan and refined its development code.

Shoshoni Town, WY, Code Overhaul (2023)

Focus: land-use, state conformity

Comprehensive update of the town's land use regulations to align with the community's economic development and housing plan.

Hyde Park City, UT, GP + Code Update (2022)

Focus: housing, development agreements, mixed-use zoning

Responded to record housing demand and navigated controversial development requests while updating the city's general plan; rewrote land use ordinances into “plain language” and to be state compliant.

Juab County, UT, GP Update (2022)

Focus: environmental, transportation, land use

Crafted a new general plan for the county that expressed local desire to preserve the region's beautifully and wholesome character in the face of fast-moving development; developed a County Resource Management Plan.

Sanpete County, UT, Code Update (2021)

Focus: collaboration with the Planning Commission

Full codebook update, illustrated by "policy summary catalogs" to speed the review process. Notable emphases on tiny home subdivision policy and a unique approach to on-street parking regulation.

Box Elder City, SD, Code Update (2022)

Focus: land-use, military base, commercial zoning

Conducted to support the city's new General Plan. Project involved designing a consolidated land use / design standards table and to create special regulations related to noise and airspace issues.

Centerfield City, UT, Code Update (2022)

Focus: subdivision, building code, land use

Untangled the city's building, subdivision, and land use ordinances on an expedited timeline.

Monroe City, UT, Code Update (2022)

Focus: subdivisions, land-use, state compliance

Modernized the city's antiquated land use regulations, with a special emphasis on interactive mapping resources.

Weber County, UT, Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan (2022)

Focus: environmental, municipal coordination

Created an action plan to prepare for environmental threats using interactive story maps and a project-specific website; coordinated with 36 stakeholder entities.

Rich County, UT, GP Update (2021)

Focus: land-use, resource management

Synchronized county and municipal goals to create a general plan that provided for ongoing policy harmony in light of future development and resource management challenges.

Cedar City, UT, GP Update (2020)

Focus: community involvement, land use, healthcare, development

Produced an extensive general plan, including multiple unique chapters addressing issues of interest to the community such as downtown development, healthcare, and natural resources; conducted thorough public interaction and stakeholder coordination.

Davis County, UT, Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan (2020)

Focus: environmental, resiliency

Promoted sound public policy for reducing the the vulnerability of citizens, infrastructure, and property to natural disasters; shepherded the creation of a FEMA-approved mitigation plan for the region.