Land Entitlement, Partnerships & Forward Planning

EXPERIENCE

Shared Equity Investments provides comprehensive project planning and are able to tailor our services to your needs. We have over 30 years of combined experience working in land entitlement, project development and consulting services and have established outstanding relationships with Southern California city departments and individuals on City and County staff.

Because of our experience, we are able to assist you in obtaining subdivision and minor land division approvals in a timely manner with efficiency and professionalism.

Craig Heaps, President
Craig Heaps has been involved in Land Acquisition, entitlement, development and construction for more than six years. He has been in the forefront in working with the Planning departments in cities throughout Southern California. It is this experience and these relationships which allow him to work quickly and effectively when entitling a project.

Craig’s past experience is in the marketing arena and his ability to develop relationships and work with others is an asset to Shared Equity and their partners as well. As a Vice-President at Fidelity Homes, Inc., Craig entitled almost 1,000 residences over the past four (4) years and is currently working as a consultant on entitling another 1,200 residences in various Inland Empire Communities.

As the President of Shared Equity Investments, Craig is overseeing land acquisition and working with several property owners as a Joint Venture partner. While Shared Equity is working on their own projects as a long range business plan, Craig has recognized the need for forward planning and Land Entitlement partners for land owners, developers, lenders, investors and banks. In addition, Craig acts as Lead Project Manager on every Shared Equity developments.

Jeff Kreidel, Project Manager
Jeff has more than four years of experience in the entitlement field and is best known as a “Trouble-Shooter” within the industry. He works very well with the project planners in expediting the entitlement process and finding the best possible solution to any problem.

Jeff often takes the lead in dealing with the Planners and getting a development "on its' feet". He spearheads the research & development department at Shared Equity and often follows up on finding the best and highest use for a particular property.

Zone Changes and General Plan Amendments are among the projects that Jeff is assigned when it is believed that a property can hold a higher density than current City or County Zoning allows. He also works in the field with the Real Estate Agents and Brokers to explore development possibilities and talk to potential development partners about their land and the possibilities.

Morgan Ketza, Project Manager
Morgan received her training on the other side of the counter. Her four (4) years of on-the-job training in the City of Yucaipa prepared her to work in the private sector. In Yucaipa, she worked as a Permit Technician. Her assignments allowed her to cross-train with the Planning Department and gain knowledge about the intricacies of putting together a project and entitling a property. She also has over six (6) years of experience working within a municipal setting.

Morgan excels in working within the framework of the various cities and is well versed on building codes, planning codes and putting together the various fees associated with construction. While working with Fidelity Homes, Inc., she showed an innate ability to work with each and every city in an efficient manner and develop relationships at the counter that proved to be beneficial through the planning process. Morgan is well received and is a very effective liaison for Shared Equity Investments with cities, counties, investors and land owners. She also plays a key role in the marketing aspect of the entitlement and property sale process.

Christian Manzo, Manzo Design Consultants
Christian is owner and President of Manzo Design Consultants. He has over 10 years of experience in civil engineering throughout Southern California. During that time, Christian has worked with local agencies at the City and County levels to ensure that each project is designed to meet all standards and that each project is cost efficient during the building phase.

Christian, and his experienced staff, can assist in creating any documents and drawings necessary for land entitlement approvals or final engineering submittals. Manzo Design Consultants is the “Top Choice” Civil Engineer for Shared Equity Investments Inc. and works with many other engineering firms in Southern California on a consulting basis.

Debbie Melvin, ACDY (Consultant)
Debbie is a Partner with ACDY and an asset to Shared Equity Investments. She is an Entitlement Specialist with unprecedented contacts within various City and County Agencies. In the past four years alone, Debbie has worked with, among others, Richmond American Homes, Sprint Cellular, Meritage Homes, MBK Homes, Costco, Panattoni Development, Fidelity Homes, RWR Homes, Mastercraft Homes, The Shopoff Group, Davis Land Partners, and Bixby Land Company.

Debbie has worked within many agencies, but really specializes in the County of Riverside. She has worked on and cultivated many relationships in these jurisdictions over the past twenty years. While her background was developed in Civil Engineering, she really specialized in relationships and the ability to expedite plans with the agencies with whom she works. Debbie is called upon to work with Shared Equity where her contacts and ability to work within the system will help move the project along and get plans approved.

Chris Venable, Big Cat Construction
With more than twenty years of hands-on experience in grading and excavation, Chris is a well-respected dirt contractor in Southern California. He has moved dirt on public and private jobs throughout the region - highway, flood control, landfill, commercial & residential development to name just a few. In a industry that makes or breaks people by what they accomplish and how they conduct themselves, Chris has built a solid reputation and a loyal following of dedicated operators and suppliers who prefer to work with him. He treats people in the manner that he likes to be treated, directly, fairly and with commitment.

You will recognize him by his blazing orange shirt and bald head, towering above the crowd. Although he may be covered with diesel and dust, his no-nonsense approach inspires those around him to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Whether it requires a single loader and dump truck or a fleet of scrappers and bulldozers working in concert; your project is in capable hands with Big Cat Construction.

Julie Brown, The Pacific Beacon Group (Consultant)
Julie is a tremendous asset to Shared Equity Investments for far more than her 17 years in the industry. Her experience in forward planning, processing maps, and project design is without peer in the entitlement community. Julie has diverse experience that allows her to assess a piece of property from the inception of an idea, all the way through occupancy permits. She is a specialist in the due diligence process and her past experience in environmental site assessments, title analysis and biology management allows her to not only see issues related to raw land, but solve those issues before they become problems. Julie has tackled some of the biggest residential projects in the Inland Empire with great success and will be working in project management on several Shared Equity projects.