Karen Cullen, AICP
Karen Cullen, AICP, Principal Planner, is a highly motivated, creative planner with over 20 years of experience with a track record of successful projects incorporating multiple elements of planning. She has demonstrated competence in analyzing problems, developing and simplifying procedures, and finding innovative solutions. During her work in local and regional government, and as a private consultant, Karen has demonstrated an ability to write plans, bylaws, and regulations that are sensible and understandable to all stakeholders. She is proficient at managing multiple complex projects and communicating effectively with all audiences in both written and verbal format. In addition to typical office software products, Karen utilizes GIS to effectively communicate concepts and facts through mapping. Karen’s goal in any project or position is to help people realize that they have the opportunity and the capacity to help themselves to improve their communities for future generations. Through education, guidance, and mentoring, Karen has succeeded in putting many citizen planners on the right track to improve their community.
Karen has worked in a variety of positions and places, from general consulting services for small New Hampshire towns to lead comprehensive planner for a world renowned resort destination town in the southeast. She has always held a high standard for her own work and prides herself on her communication skills, working closely with stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome.
Karen most recently served as the first town planner and the Director of Development & Inspectional Services for the Town of Spencer, Massachusetts. In her three years there, she completed many assignments, ranging from creation of an integrated department with seven staff members for the major development activities to application review for the land use boards. Her crowning achievement was the complete rewrite of the Zoning Bylaw, which she did with the guidance of an advisory group in 18 months, obtaining Town Meeting approval by an overwhelming majority on the first try. Karen also rewrote the Subdivision Regulations, wrote several general bylaws, and assisted her staff with the update to the Open Space Plan. She was a key member in a partnership with MA Audubon in the preservation of 64 acres of open space adjacent to (and now a part of) the MA Audubon Society’s Burncoat Pond Wildlife Sanctuary. Karen introduced the town to GIS, bringing tremendous value to town planning and development review and helping the land use boards with many of their decisions.
Karen brings a breadth of knowledge and experience in community planning to Concord Square that strengthens the firm’s ability to provide a valuable package of services to our municipal clients. This includes bringing GIS to smaller towns that do not otherwise have the resources to utilize this powerful land use planning tool, in a user friendly format where the client has access to a wealth of data without the responsibility of maintaining it nor the fear of “breaking” anything.
Given her strong municipal background, Karen has a keen understanding of how both “sides of the table” – municipal officials and property owners – can better position themselves as they navigate the planning and permitting process, resulting in a final outcome that provides the compromises and the wins necessary for a truly successful project that can be an asset to the community.
When she is not working, Karen enjoys reading, gardening, taking long walks, and cheering on the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics.
