STAFF

John B. Anderson

Owner/President

Mr. Anderson holds two Bachelor’s Degrees from Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. One in Natural Resource Planning and another in Geography with an emphasis in Cartography. 

Mr. Anderson has been providing planning services throughout the valley and foothills since 1984. In 1993, he founded J.B. Anderson Land Use Planning.

Mr. Anderson has extensive knowledge and understanding of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Zoning and Development Laws, Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA), California Subdivision Map Act, Williamson Act and the California Government Code with nearly 40 years years of experience in Public and Private sector planning.

Moreover, Mr. Anderson has experience with the preparation of budgets, the investigation of planning regulations for applications and the on-going monitoring of legislative issues.

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Mark Niskanen

Vice President

Mr. Niskanen holds a Bachelor’s Degree from San Diego State University in Public Administration, with an emphasis in City and Regional Planning. With twenty-two (22) years of professional planning experience in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada Foothills, Mr. Niskanen is experienced and well versed in Federal, State, and Local Policies and Regulations related to Land Use Development and environmental issues. 

As Vice President, Mr. Niskanen is responsible for Project Management, and has worked on a variety of Public agency Land Use and environmental planning projects. Currently, Mr. Niskanen serves as the Planning Manager for the City of Waterford and Contract Planner for the City of Oakdale. In this role, Mr. Niskanen is responsible for managing and processing Current and Advanced Planning Applications and Projects, including Cannabis related Use Permits, Specific Plan Amendments, and Annexations.

Mr. Niskanen has also successfully prepared General Plan Housing Elements for the County of Mariposa, and Cities of Livingston, Riverbank, and Oakdale, all of which were adopted and certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Mr. Niskanen has also prepared a variety of CEQA and NEPA documents, including Environmental Impact Reports, Negative Declarations, and NEPA compliance documents associated with Community Development Block Grant Projects.

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Miguel Galvez

Senior Planner

Mr. Galvez holds a Bachelor’s Degree from California State Stanislaus in Political Science/Public Administration.  With over thirty (30) years of professional planning experience in the Central Valley, Mr. Galvez is experienced and well versed in Community and Economic Development, Federal, State, and Local Policies and Regulations related to land use development and environmental issues.

As a Senior Planner, Mr. Galvez is responsible for Project Management including managing and processing Current and Advanced Planning Applications with a primary focus on Contract General Planning Services.

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Brad Wall

Senior Planner

Mr. Brad Wall holds a Master of Arts Degree in Planning from California State University, Chico, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management, also from CSU, Chico.

Mr. Wall has thirty (30) years of professional planning experience, starting in the Public Sector in 1995, and moving to the private sector from 2004 through 2007. Brad returned to the City of Modesto as Principal Planner in 2007, focusing on long-range and policy planning, before working as Planning Manager oversighting current planning operations at the City of Stockton (2022-2023). Mr. Wall is experienced and well versed in Community and Economic Development, local agency processes, and Federal, State and Local Policies and Regulations related to planning and development, and environmental documentation.

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David Niskanen

Senior Planner

Mr. David Niskanen holds a Bachelor’s Degree from San Francisco State University in Urban Studies and Planning. While at San Francisco State University, David worked on a variety of projects, including a Secondary Housing Survey and Report of the City of San Francisco for the San Francisco Planning Department. David completed his internship with the City of Livingston and J.B. Anderson Land Use Planning and joined JBAP as an Assistant Planner at the end of 2013. In 2018, David was promoted to an Associate Planner, then to Senior Planner in 2022, at JBAP and is excited to continue his career as a planning professional.

As a Senior Planner, Mr. Niskanen is responsible for project management for Land Use and environmental planning projects for Public and Private sector Clients, including zoning documents, CEQA projects, and land use entitlement processing. His other skills include air quality modeling using the California Emissions Estimator Model (CalEEMod), project organization and management. He also has experience working as a staff planner for the Cities of Lathrop and Waterford.

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Jailah Smith

Assistant Planner

Ms. Jailah Smith holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies and Planning from California State University, Northridge, California.  During her time in college, Ms. Smith provided Urban Design research assistance on several projects including an elementary school, water conservation, low-income communities, and climate sustainability on campus.  In addition, Ms. Smith was the President of the Urban Planning Students of Northridge in the Urban and Planning department. Our Firm is honored to be her first place of employment utilizing her knowledge of Urban Studies and Planning.  She has shown dedication in continuing her education to stay current on processes and regulations of Land Use Planning and Environmental Studies.

As an Assistant Planner, Ms. Smith is responsible for many day-to-day planning related tasks. She is working with a variety of public agencies and provides support documentation and research analysis for the Firm and our Public Agency colleagues and clients.

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Michael Arroyo

Associate Planner

Mr. Michael Arroyo holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from California State University Stanislaus, and a Real Estate License from California Dept. Real Estate / DRE#02197549.

Mr. Arroyo’s experience as a planning professional, including as Assistant Planner for the City of Modesto, demonstrates his commitment to meeting clients’ goals and needs, while delivering consistent, exceptional results and providing guidance and direction for development projects of varying degrees of complexity. His background as a Residential Appraiser has also given him a solid foundation in research, analysis, and project management.

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