Costera Group is the practice of Raaj Amthabhai, a senior advisor on regulated industry permitting and entitlements.
Raaj founded Costera Group as a vehicle for selective senior advisory work across cannabis, alcoholic beverage, and fuel/convenience retail permitting. Active engagements include New Jersey CRC license-holders and applicants, California DCC portfolio license positions, and multi-state retail entitlement work.
His background spans direct license-holding, multi-site portfolio permitting, and ground-up regulatory program management. Since 2018 he has secured and managed more than five thousand licenses and permits across a 500+ site multi-state retail portfolio, won 42 of 45 discretionary approvals pursued, permitted in roughly eighty jurisdictions, delivered alcohol beverage licensing in twelve states, and negotiated $16.5 million in recorded liens down to $300,000 in aggregate. He has personally drafted CRC and DCC applications, sat in California Planning Commission hearings on contested CUPs, and structured cannabis ownership arrangements to satisfy NJ A4151, California DCR, and LAMC 104.20.
Costera Group is the practice; the engagements are the principal’s. There is no junior bench and no offshore back office — even the Document Library is drafted by the principal.
What the practice brings to an engagement.
Direct License-Side Experience
Operator-side experience with New Jersey CRC Class 5 retail and California DCC retail and distribution licenses. Familiarity with the application, post-license, and audit posture from the inside, not from a vendor seat.
Multi-Site Portfolio Permitting
Program management of CUP, ABC, tobacco, environmental, and building review across a 500+ site fuel and convenience retail portfolio spanning multiple states — more than 5,000 licenses and permits secured and managed, including concurrent acquisition licensing transitions totaling nearly 100 stores across two states.
Discretionary Entitlement Record
42 of 45 discretionary approvals won — conditional use permits, variances, and site plans — across roughly eighty jurisdictions. Regulated retail buildouts advised on more than thirty projects; three delivered end-to-end at approximately one-third of market-typical cost.
Cross-Industry Regulatory Architecture
Working knowledge of the discretionary entitlement frameworks that govern cannabis (CRC, DCC), alcoholic beverage licensing in twelve states, and fuel/convenience retail (state and local agencies). The structural similarity across these regimes is the practice.
Languages
English (native), Gujarati (native), Spanish (conversational).
Where the practice is active.
New Jersey
Active CRC license-holder advisory; pipeline development across Atlantic, Sussex, Burlington, Salem, and Somerset counties.
California
Los Angeles County DCC portfolio; statewide ABC and CUP work for fuel, convenience, and hospitality operators.
Texas
Selective regulated-industry advisory engagements.
How the practice operates.
How are engagements structured?
Most engagements are scoped as either a fixed-fee project (an application package, an entitlement workstream, a structuring matter) or a monthly retainer for ongoing compliance and program management. Hourly billing is uncommon and reserved for matters with unpredictable scope.
Is Costera Group a law firm?
No. Costera Group is a regulatory advisory practice, not a law firm. Costera does not provide legal advice and does not represent clients in litigation. Engagements involving transactional documentation or contested matters are coordinated with counsel of the client’s choice or with counsel referred from the practice’s network.
What jurisdictions are active?
The practice maintains active engagements in New Jersey and California, with selective work in Texas and additional jurisdictions on a referral basis.
How long is the typical engagement?
Fixed-scope project engagements run from six weeks (a discrete application or structuring matter) to nine to twelve months (a full ground-up entitlement and buildout). Retainer engagements are open-ended and reviewed quarterly.
Will the principal be doing the work?
Yes. The practice is structured around principal-led engagements. Coordination with counsel, civil engineers, architects, and other specialists is part of the work, but the strategic and documentary work is done by the principal.