Management
Charles Santos, Principal Planner
Charles is an experienced land use consultant with extensive practice in land acquisition due diligence, Coastal Zone development entitlement, and construction management. Charles manages all aspects of Santos Planning’s day-to-day business operations. Specializing in feasibility analyses, complex commercial and residential development projects, and clearance of violations, Charles utilizes his background in environmental policy and land use planning and management to ensure success for all of his clients.
Prior to founding Santos Planning, Charles worked as a project manager at a specialized planning firm in Malibu, where Charles led his team in handling some of the firm’s most politically sensitive development projects, involving development agreements, conflicting multi-jurisdictional environmental review, legal challenges, and agency appeals.
As a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Planning Association, Conejo Valley Business Group, and California Building Industry Association, Charles is an active leader in shaping community development, stategizing economic growth, and maintaining Santos Planning’s expertise in comprehensive land use planning. As a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Charles also received his Certificate in Construction Management from the University of California, Los Angeles.
charles@santosplanning.com
Steve Montoya, Project Manager
Steve joined Santos Planning with a strong background in due diligence analysis, feasibility studies, land entitlement, and project management. As Project Manager, Steve serves as an advisor to Charles on all aspects of the firm’s development consulting, project entitlement services, and general management. Specializing in CEQA and Subdivision Map Act compliance, California Coastal Act policy analysis, and California water projects, Steve advises on the firm’s projects involving complex policy and environmental impact analysis, lot legality, legal access issues, and jurisdictional review of the CA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, State Water Resources Control Board, and US Army Corps of Engineers.
Before joining Santos Planning, Steve was an accomplished project manager at a Malibu-based planning firm, where Steve successfully managed some of its largest and most complex, multi-jurisdictional commercial and residential development projects.
As a member of the American Planning Association, Steve stays up-to-date on the latest trends in land use legislation, case law, and emerging issues, by actively attending industry conferences, land use regulation and environmental policy classes, and local agency planning meetings and workshops. As a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Steve received his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies.
smontoya@santosplanning.com
