What our work is, what it isn’t, and what we don’t promise.
We’d rather state this in plain language on its own page than bury it in small type at the bottom of a report.
We don’t guarantee approvals
Nothing YES provides is a promise that a jurisdiction will approve your project, approve it on any particular schedule, or approve it on any particular terms. Entitlement decisions are made by boards, commissions and elected officials exercising discretion, and no consultant controls that outcome.
What we provide is analysis of the public record: what a body has decided before, on what stated basis, with what conditions attached. That record is evidence of precedent and pattern. It is not a prediction, and it should not be relied on as one.
Our reports are preliminary
QuickCheck reports and similar written work are preliminary due diligence. Conclusions are based on public data, publicly available mapping, and professional judgment. On-site investigation is recommended to confirm all findings.
Our reports are not, and are not a substitute for: a boundary or topographic survey, a geotechnical investigation, a Phase I or Phase II environmental site assessment, a wetland delineation, a title search or title opinion, an appraisal, a market study, engineering design, or legal advice.
Public records change
Our analysis reflects the public record as it stood when the work was performed. Ordinances are amended, comprehensive plans are updated, boards change composition through elections and appointments, staff turn over, and utility capacity moves. A report accurately describing a jurisdiction on one date may not describe it accurately a year later.
We aren’t your lawyer or your engineer
YES provides land planning, entitlement and development management consulting. We are not a law firm and we do not provide legal advice. We are not an engineering firm and we do not provide engineering services requiring a professional seal. Where a matter requires licensed legal or engineering work, we’ll say so and we’ll work alongside the professionals you retain.
Third-party data
Our work draws on records published by municipalities, counties, state agencies and federal sources. We take care in reading and reporting them accurately, but we don’t control their completeness or accuracy, and gaps in a public record are a real feature of this work. Where a record is incomplete or a finding is uncertain, our reports say so.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you want to know how it applies to a specific engagement, ask us before you engage. We’d rather answer it up front.