Matt Kowta, MCP | Managing Principal
For over 25 years, Matt has pioneered innovative techniques in economic analysis to meet the challenges of contemporary urban development. Matt oversees BAE operations spanning all of BAE’s offices, supporting clients with expertise in market analysis and development feasibility, public finance and fiscal impact, affordable housing, and strategic economic development.
Based in BAE’s Davis office for over 20 years, Matt has managed numerous economic studies relating to affordable housing, workforce housing, inclusionary housing policies, and housing impact analyses. Matt is currently overseeing BAE’s work to assist the Town of Windsor with an update to its inclusionary housing policies. He recently served as BAE’s principal-in-charge for major affordable and workforce housing studies in the Lake Tahoe region, including the Truckee/North Tahoe Regional Housing Needs Study, and an affordable housing policy study the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Matt is currently leading BAE’s work assisting Palm Beach County, Florida with an update to its workforce housing program, and he directed BAE’s work in support of Sacramento’s Central City Specific Plan, which is part of the City’s initiative to provide 10,000 new places to live in Downtown Sacramento in 10 years.
Under his leadership, BAE has been at the forefront of economic analysis for transit-oriented development in the Sacramento region, including the economic analysis for Sacramento Regional Transit’s landmark Transit for Livable Communities study of transit-oriented development potential throughout its light rail system, and the Downtown-Natomas-Airport Light Rail Alternatives Analysis study. He has provided economic analysis for notable developers such as Elliot Homes, Opus West, The New Home Company, Donahue Schriber, JMA Ventures, JDA West, Parker Development, Lennar, Alleghany Properties, and SunCal. Other studies conducted for a diverse range of projects include real estate market analysis and development feasibility analysis; economic studies in support of General Plans, Specific Plans, and other long-range planning efforts; fiscal impact analysis; incorporation advisory services and annexation studies; and numerous other specialized economic analyses tailored to the unique needs of BAE’s clients.
Matt has also managed projects in locations ranging from the San Francisco Bay Area to Reno/Tahoe, Southern California, Oregon, Washington State, and Colorado. His experience spans the full continuum of the development process, from long range planning and pre-development through redevelopment and revitalization. He has provided expert witness and litigation support services to public agency and private sector clients, covering the full range of BAE’s practice. This has included topics such as revenue sharing arrangements for a newly incorporated community, real estate marketability, enforcement of fair housing law, and the function of neighborhood shopping centers in relation to First Amendment access rights to private property for expressive purposes.
Matt earned a BA in Geography from UCLA and an MCP from UC Berkeley. He has been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and a speaker at conferences at the California Downtown Association, CALAFCO, and the Urban Land Institute. He is past Chair of the Davis Downtown Business Association and chaired a task force appointed by the Davis City Council to develop a comprehensive downtown parking management plan.
