Photo of Dave Anderson
Button to Dave Anderson Linkedin
Email Dave Anderson
Call Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson

Director of Land Use & Entitlements

A professional engineer with “a green heart,” Dave joined Drenner Group because of his belief that development and environmental protection can go hand in hand. His experience as both a City of Austin Planning Commissioner and Environmental Commissioner informs his perspective on client development in Austin and Central Texas while strengthening our ability to move zoning and permitting applications forward.

While at Drenner Group, Dave has developed a business line providing public clients with entitlement and permitting support, authoring various interlocal agreements and assisting with entitlement issues related to several bond programs.

Dave has served as an advisor to government officials on a wide range of topics — Federal environmental policies on the U.S.-Mexico border, urban infill issues in Austin, and water supply issues for a wide range of water users throughout Texas. As an engineer, he has managed over a billion dollars in infrastructure projects for public and private clients and has developed and led multidisciplinary teams and offices in the execution of his work. Today, as a Director of Land Use and Entitlements at Drenner Group, Dave consults with public and private entities on infrastructure program implementation, while taking a leadership role in urban planning, urban water use, code and ordinance development, entitlement cases, and various other land development issues.

Dave’s core competencies include:

  • Entitlements
  • Permitting
  • Community and regional planning
  • Strategic planning
  • Urban development
  • Infrastructure design and construction
  • Environmental policy and design
  • Sustainability
  • Land conservation
  • Water resources planning and engineering

A registered Texas Professional Engineer with a master’s degree in water resource planning, Dave can communicate on a peer level with other engineers, and he’s also fluent in the language of architects, landscape architects, our entitlement and transactional attorneys, government officials, and community groups, which helps mitigate risk, optimize design, and streamline development for more cost-efficiency.

When he’s not working, Dave enjoys spending time outdoors, having dinner with friends, running the hike and bike trail, playing soccer, and riding his bike. He has the pleasure of getting up to Seattle a few times a year to visit his step-daughter Mackenzie who is studying Public Health at the University of Washington. He returns to Colorado a few times a year and loves hiking and snowshoeing with his extended family and Bernese Mountain Dog Beatrice. Dave lives in Central Austin.

Experience

  • Director of Land Use — Drenner Group (2014-present)
  • Principal | Founder — The FORM Collaborative
  • Client Services Manager — CDM Smith
  • Client Account Manager | Office Leader — Black & Veatch
  • Independent Consultant — Green Canary Sustainability Consulting
  • Business Development Director/Central Texas Water — URS Corporation
  • Senior Project Manager — URS Corporation
  • Project Engineer — Kellogg, Brown & Root

Professional Certifications and Affiliations

Present

  • Professional Engineer registered in the State of Texas
  • Certified Floodplain Manager in the State of Texas
  • Certified Professional in Erosion and Sedimentation Control
  • Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
  • Austin Area Research Organization

Past

  • Net Zero Water Toolkit Contributor – Texas Water Trade
  • U.S. EPA Federal Advisory Body Appointment (Good Neighbor Environmental Board)
  • National Urban Water Advisory Group — One Water Urban Water Management Initiative
  • National Net Blue Project Advisory Committee — Water Neutral Community Growth Initiative
  • Chairman of the City of Austin Planning Commission
  • Chairman of the City of Austin Environmental Board
  • Vice President on the Board of Directors for Envision Central Texas
  • Board of Directors for the Hill Country Conservancy
  • McBee Fellow with the Austin Area Research Organization

Professional Recognition or Honors

  • American Academy of Water Resources Engineers Diplomate — Water Resources Engineer
  • Austin Under 40 Award recipient: Professional/community leadership in Science and Technology
  • Graduate of Leadership Austin Class of 2004

Education

  • Real Estate Economics and Finance Short Course – London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Master of Science, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering — University of Texas at Austin
  • Bachelor of Science, Engineering, Civil Specialty — Colorado School of Mines