The Prequel: In January of 2006, the Bradley Planning Group was founded by Geoff & Heather Bradley as a city planning consulting firm. Our first office was the mid-century modern former Greyhound bus station under the overpass in Sunnyvale! Our first contracts were with the Cities of Cupertino and Mountain View, and a due diligence project for a local housing developer. From there, the Bradley Planning Group evolved into M-Group - here is our story:
2026
Celebrating 20 years of M-Group—two decades of partnership, purpose, and progress. From our earliest projects to today, our employee-owners have shaped communities across California with curiosity, care, and commitment. Here’s to the people, the projects, and the shared vision that continue to define who we are.
2025
M-Group becomes 100% Employee Owned! The ESOP is in place and our members now fully own the firm, deepening our commitment to shared success and collaboration.
Scavenger hunt at M-Group Picnic!
2024
M-Group becomes 18 and begins the transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for our 50 staff members. What better way to celebrate?
2023
M-Group assists seven (7) Bay Area cities and towns to prepare their 6th Cycle Housing Elements and, with the City of Campbell, claims the distinction of being one of the first in Santa Clara County to have an adopted HCD-certified 6th Cycle Housing Element.
M-Group garners second APA Northern Section Award of Merit - Comprehensive Plan, this time for the City of Sunnyvale El Camino Real Specific Plan.
The Stanford University Community Plan is approved on a unanimous 5-0 vote. This is the first comprehensive update since 2000, establishing innovative and forward-thinking policies that M-Group is proud to be a part of.
M-Group takes the first step in becoming a 100% employee-owned firm by announcing the transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan!
2022
M-Group and the City of Sausalito earn the APA Northern Section Award of Merit, Comprehensive Plan, Small Jurisdiction for the 2040 Sausalito General Plan!
M-Group’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is launched with a four-point mission:
Understand how to best serve the communities we work in.
Know more about the complexity of DEI.
Learn about best practices to effect positive outcomes for DEI.
Recognize and address our limitations and identify areas of growth.
M-Group partners with Town of Atherton to provide Full Department Staffing Services to the Town!
2021
Sausalito General Plan Update is unanimously adopted, completing four years of complex policy planning, providing the City of Sausalito with a solid plan to guide the city through the next 20 years with a strong focus on equity, climate change, and rising sea levels.
M-Group celebrates 15 years of building better communities!!
2020
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, M-Group adheres to emergency orders to “Shelter in Place’” and work from home. Thanks to a strong culture of flexibility and collaboration M-Group seamlessly transitions to remote operations and effectively serves clients virtually from home offices in nine different counties across the bay area.
To build equity and diversity within the planning profession, M-Group creates a perpetual $75,000 scholarship fund for first generation students at Cal Poly SLO, and $10,000 each for two additional scholarships.
Management Team Highlight: Sung H. Kwon, AICP comes on board and bolsters M-Group’s already high level of planning expertise. He earns a promotion to the management team shortly thereafter.
M-Group virtual team meeting
2019
M-Group manages and develops the Academic Space Affordable Housing Impact Mitigation Fees Ordinance and the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance covering the Stanford Community Plan Area. The County of Santa Clara adopts and implements both ordinances.
Management Team Highlight: Christina Paul, AICP joins M-Group as Principal Policy Planner bringing with her energetic optimism for steering the bay area’s future.
Cover of Stanford University Plan.
2018
Vallco Town Center SB 35 Application: M-Group assists the City of Cupertino with a determination of eligibility for this mixed-use project’s conformance with California’s newly enacted SB 35 housing law. The project proposed plans for the 51-acre site of a former Vallco shopping center. The proposed Vallco Town Center provides 2,402 dwelling units with 50 percent of the units considered affordable housing. The application was approved and construction is currently underway.
M-Group engages with Santa Clara County to manage the Stanford General Use Permit application. After years of high-profile attention, intense community involvement, and in-depth analysis, the project would come to an end in late 2019 with Stanford’s withdrawal of the application.
2017
M-Group grows to 46 people. M-Group provides planning services to over two-thirds of Bay Area cities and counties.
The City of Sausalito enlists M-Group to manage their General Plan Update.
Management Team Highlight: Tom Ford, AICP joins the M-Group team as Principal Planner and Urban designer, later to become Director of Urban Design.
Red dots = M-Group offices, white dots = client cities.
2016
M-Group celebrates 10 years by moving its headquarters from Mountain View to Downtown Campbell, setting up shop in the historic Campbell Farmer’s Union fruit storage and packing plant building.
Management Team Highlight: Adam Petersen comes to M-Group as a senior planner from the City of Cupertino. Demonstrating his talent and dedication, he quickly becomes a Principal Planner just two years later.
Headquarters, Downtown Campbell.
10th Anniversary company picnic
2015
To be able to serve more communities around the Bay Area M-Group opens two new offices – Santa Rosa and Hayward.
M-Group starts work leading a team of consultants and stakeholders to prepare the Sunnyvale El Camino Real Corridor Specific Plan and EIR. This long term and complex project is still in progress.
M-Group completes seven Housing Elements during the 5th RHNA Cycle.
Santa Rosa office grand opening.
Santa Rosa office.
Hayward office ribbon cutting.
Hayward office.
2014
Recognizing that Community Engagement is a valuable yet time-consuming part of city planning, M-Group incorporates this specialty in its service offerings.
M-Group launches the first edition of THE LIST - a comprehensive directory of city planners in the bay area.
Management Team Highlight: Sheldon Ah Sing, AICP joins M-Group as a senior planner focusing on policy planning, development review, project management and CEQA.
2013
Heather Hines becomes a Principal owner of the firm, responsible for all work in the North Bay.
M-Group continues to expand services to include Environmental Review and Historic Preservation. With increasing local and state environmental concerns and regulations, M-Group creates a specialty service to address the needs of public agencies in terms of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Management Team Highlight: Olivia Ervin joins M-Group in the north bay as an environmental planner. With studies in environmental law and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resources Science, Olivia creates her niche in environmental planning.
2012
Urban Design added as a service to provide our client cities with more design assistance with streetscapes, public realm, and design guidelines.
2011
As M-Group’s reputation continues to define high-quality, innovative city planning, the team expands to 20 people.
M-Lab, M-Group’s forum for planning related discussion and articles, is born in an effort to create an open exchange of information amongst Bay Area planners.
2010
M-Group successfully completes two major projects pushing their reputation as high-quality policy planning experts to a new level! The City of Belvedere General Plan Update and the City of Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan are both adopted.
City of Half Moon Bay hires M-Group to provide full-service staffing for counter coverage, development review, and division management. M-Group implements over 50 items from a recent management audit of the planning function.
M-Group completes a dozen Housing Elements during the 4th RHNA Cycle.
City of Belvedere General Plan.
City of Burlingame Downtown Specific Plan.
2009
M-Group lands a contract for staffing and managing the City of Petaluma’s planning division based on a unique 100% cost recovery model. The contract would soon expand to include advanced planning, housing, and numerous special projects. This ongoing engagement is the cornerstone example of M-Group’s staffing services and development review capabilities.
M-Group commits to working solely for public agencies to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.
Management Team Highlight: Formerly a planner with the City of Petaluma, Tiffany Robbe joins M-Group as a senior planner and continues to serve Petaluma when M-Group takes on whole department responsibilities for the city.
M-Group staff at City of Petaluma Planning Division.
2008
M-Group gets more media attention and gains exposure - The Business Journal: Easing the planning process.
M-Group outgrows its original office and moves its headquarters to Mountain View near the Sunnyvale Golf Course.
M-Group Headquarters, Mountain View.
2007
M-Group started doing planning work for developers including Trinity Church in Sunnyvale and Merrill Gardens in Campbell.
The Campbell Reporter features M-Group in the front page article Building Character.
Rendering of Merrill Gardens, Campbell.
Front page of The Campbell Reporter March 9, 2007
The Prequel: In January of 2006, the Bradley Planning Group was founded by Geoff & Heather Bradley as a city planning consulting firm. The first employee hired was Associate Planner Judie Gilli. Our first contracts were with the Cities of Cupertino and Mountain View and a due diligence project for a local housing developer. From there the Bradley Planning Group evolved in to M-Group - here is our story:
2006
July 13, 2006, Whitney McNair, formerly with the City of Mountain View, joins Geoff & Heather Bradley, and an S-Corp is formed in the name of Metropolitan Planning Group or M-Group for short. Our existing logo is created at this time.
The old Greyhound bus station in Sunnyvale was renovated to be M-Group’s first headquarters. The ticket counter was kept in place for conducting business and rolling out plans.
New projects at this time were with Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto, mostly for large project development review.
M-Group’s first office: the old Greyhound bus station in Sunnyvale.
The original ticketing counter.
Corner office.
M-Group continues to serve cities and counties of the Bay Area and beyond offering six specialty services including:
