Planning for Healthy, Thriving, Sustainable Communities through Expert Design
As Pacific Northwest veterans in holistic, integrated mixed-income housing projects, Otak researches, plans, and designs affordable housing at all density levels. Ensuring access to public parks and open spaces, community services, healthy foods, and public transportation, we prioritize sustainability, resilience, and climate action to improve communities.
Long Range Planning
Long Range Planning defines the form, function, and maintenance for a master plan, defining spaces centered around a focused vision. Otak uses long range planning grounded in policies, goals, and objectives to envision long-term urban and infrastructure design. We emphasize community engagement, facilitating outreach and ensuring that community ownership aligns with holistic master plans. Using long range planning, we translate zoning and development regulations, streamlining projects from vision and completion.
Current & On-Call Planning
Otak provides a wide array of on-call services—planning reviews; inspecting sites, streets, and facilities; analyzing code; preparing staff reports, and more. To us, being on-call means being there for our clients, whenever we’re needed. It means being responsive, flexible, and accountable to serve your needs continuously. For nearly half a century, we have provided this level of commitment and successful on-call planning to our clients.
Public Participation & Community Engagement
Otak strives to engage the community equitably to empower and facilitate community stewardship, creating a sense of belonging and ownership vital to a project’s success. With open and participatory public decision-making, we build consensus and trust, using feedback to guide policy, planning, design, and decisions. Our spaces embrace and celebrate unique cultures, identities, visions, and values, ensuring the final design reflects the community’s needs equitably and inclusively and amplifies voices.
Code Development & Amendments
Otak understands and accounts for local development codes to meet project compliance and best accommodate for them through design. We work with both the community and lawmakers to amend codes when needed in order to improve a site’s or community’s need. We identify practical improvements and generate support for code amendments by working creatively within the bounds of existing code to achieve project goals.
Station Area Planning & Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Vibrant, livable, sustainable communities are created through transportation, so Otak designs compact, walkable, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use communities with central transit systems focused on rail systems, limiting reliance on cars. Otak is involved with regional planning, urban revitalization, and suburban renewal to provide better access to jobs, life services, and the ability to live, work, and play in the same area all while stimulating local economies and reducing their environmental impact.
Corridor Planning & Scenic Byways
Corridors and scenic byways shape and enhance life’s journey, promoting healthy natural environments while also expanding access to them. Otak works with communities to develop visions, goals, and strategies for scenic byways. We develop meaningful, interpretive programs that enhance both visitor experience and our collective shared memory of these places by developing corridor management plans that outline how to protect and enhance a scenic byway’s intrinsic qualities and characteristics.
Want to talk Projects? Contact our Planning Leads.
Insights from Otak Planning
Danah Palik Earns SITES Accreditation
February 2, 2023
Don Hanson’s Retirement: A Lasting Legacy in Landscape, Planning and Design
Ann Nguyen Works To Transform Communities
October 7, 2020
