The Mellgren Planning Group is one of Florida’s leading land use planning companies, providing quality and comprehensive strategic planning, community consensus building, and zoning and land use consulting services to governments.

Our significant background in corridor studies, planning a regional activity center, economic impact analysis of redevelopment, and zoning regulation writing make us uniquely suited to help growing communities plan for their future.

Our expertise in the neighborhood master and small-area development plan preparation, as well as plans for redevelopment and housing have helped rapidly growing and redeveloping municipalities gain control over current development issues, and create long-range plans for future growth and development.

Our community outreach and visioning programs have enabled fractured communities to achieve consensus on current and future development and move forward with community development and redevelopment.

Michele Mellgren, AICP

Principal

Ms. Mellgren has extensive experience in all phases of planning, zoning and land use matters, providing services to a number of local governments and private clients. Her experience includes undertaking land use plan amendments; rezonings; variances; redevelopment and corridor plan preparation; development research; economic impact and housing analysis; zoning code and land development code preparation, interpretation and application; and, providing expert witness testimony. She has provided expert witness testimony in more than 500 public hearings and has also qualified as an expert witness in circuit court. She also serves as the planning and zoning official for the Town of Southwest Ranches, Florida.

Ms. Mellgren worked from 1994 to 1998 for the Town of Davie, where she was the director of development services and was responsible for preparing and administering the comprehensive plan, the zoning code and land development regulations. From 1989 to 1994 she worked for the City of Fort Lauderdale as development programs manager. Before joining the public sector in Florida, Ms. Mellgren served in the private sector in the Washington, D.C., area from 1985 until 1989, working for Dewberry & Davis, and for Winchester Land, a land development and home building subsidiary of the Weyerhaeuser Company.

Michele Mellgren, AICP, holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from The George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., and a is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, and Florida and Broward County American Planning Association. Her recognitions include being a member of the Florida Department of Community Affairs Evaluation and Technical Advisory Committee (2004), and providing professional leadership to Ft. Lauderdale’s planning department (2001).

Jeff Katims, AICP

Senior Associate

Mr. Katims has two decades of public and private sector experience in urban planning, zoning and land use, including providing expert witness testimony. He undertakes land use plan amendments; rezonings; variances; development research; zoning code and land development code preparation, interpretation and application; and, providing expert witness testimony. He also serves as the assistant planning and zoning official for the Town of Southwest Ranches, Florida, including serving as the town’s expert witness in quasi-judicial land use matters, as necessary.

Mr. Katims worked from 1996 to 2001 for the Town of Davie, where he ultimately served as the planning and zoning manager. From 1993 to 1996 Mr. Katims worked for the City of Hallandale Beach as an associate planner. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Katims provided professional planning services to the Albany Dougherty Planning Commission in Albany, Georgia, administering multiple city and county zoning and subdivision regulations; analyzed land development applications; and, prepared and implemented the county’s first ADA para-transit plan.

Jeff Katims, AICP, holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the Florida State University. He completed the Virginia Polytechnic Institute’s Academy for the New Urbanism, Form-based Codes Institute. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, and Florida and Broward County American Planning Association, and is certified eligible for Group 13.6 work by FDOT.

PLANNING TEAM MEMBERS

Alyce Decker, AICP

Senior Planner

Ms. Alyce Decker has more than a decade of professional experience with a broad and extensive background in market research, communications, and urban planning; working in both professional and pro-bono capacities. Ms. Decker has served as consultant, adviser, and program manager to numerous local governments, community organizations, real estate and commercial interests; and institutions in Community Development, Recreation, Preservation and Civic and Cultural Affairs. Ms. Decker has helped to create public-private partnerships within the cultural arts community in Jacksonville and was a member of the Jacksonville Host Committee for Super Bowl XXXIX.

Ms. Decker earned her masters degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida, and her master of arts degree in corporate and political communication from Fairfield University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association, the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association, the First Coast Chapter-Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association and a board member of the Mayport Waterfronts Florida Partnership.

Swati Meshram, AICP, FITP

Associate Planner

Ms. Meshram works on a variety of projects including EAR-based amendments, land-use amendments, site design projects, rezoning, amendments to Developments of Regional Impact (DRI), annual reports for DRIs and due diligence reports.

In addition to design, she uses GIS to conduct spatial and visual analyses to recommend road alignments, infrastructure alignments based on visibility, and disaster mitigation plans for several communities. Her skills also include preparing graphics depicting processes, alternatives and impacts in easy to understand, static and animated, visuals for public participation programs.

Ms. Meshram, AICP, FITP, holds a master’s degree in environmental planning from Arizona State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, and Florida American Planning Association.

Travis Minch, AICP

North Florida Manager/Planner

Mr. Minch has experience working on a broad range of planning projects including EARs, EAR-based amendments, land use plan map amendments, rezonings, plats, variances, site plans, community redevelopment plans, corridor studies, water supply facilities work plans, capital improvement element annual updates, and general research. He is a past recipient of the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association’s “Outstanding Student Planner” award. He was also a contributing author to the Marine Management Strategic Plan for Monroe County, Florida; a plan which was awarded “Outstanding Strategic Planning Project” by the Gold Coast Section of APA Florida. Travis Minch holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Prior to joining The Mellgren Planning Group, Mr. Minch worked as a Utilities and Management Analyst for a local government in Central Florida.

Josh Ooyman

GIS Analyst/Planner

Mr. Ooyman provides full GIS and mapping services, and prepares EAR-based amendments. He has assisted local governments and businesses to create solutions to urban and regional planning issues through GIS analysis and map generation. He has also served in the capacity of urban planning research assistant, undertaking data research for spatial planning on housing rental costs and population; evaluating comprehensive plans with a focus on economic policies, demographics. Mr. Ooyman earned his master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University.

Travis Schenk

Associate Planner

Mr. Schenk assists in the preparation of EARs for various cities, and updates zoning codes for Florida municipalities. As part of the ongoing planning services that the firm provides for the Town of Southwest Ranches, he prepares public hearing items for town council meetings that include variances, plats and site plans. He is also responsible for responding to general questions from the public regarding zoning requirements, and reviews building permit applications for compliance with the zoning code. Travis Schenk holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University.

Dawn Teetsel

Associate Planner

Ms. Teetsel provides current and long-range planning solutions, interprets zoning regulations for clients, conducts public meetings and presentations, and provides site plan and building permit review for consistency with land development regulations, technical review of development proposals, and all phases of comprehensive planning, including EARs and EAR-based amendments. Ms. Teetsel earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University.