How to Draw a Site Plan for a Building Permit

A site plan is often a necessary part of getting a permit for construction.

To draw a site plan for a building permit you will need to show the following drawn to an appropriate scale:

• Property lines
• Zoning limitations such as setback lines
• Improvements proposed for your property
• Changes to the slopes of your property.
• Proposed utility lines and where they connect to the services.
• Any other items required by the authority

To show this information as a drawing you need to have accurate information and an understanding of how that information should be shown. Let’s walk through this.

Getting the information you need

The information you collect will come from a variety of sources.

Your property lines will be established by a site survey. You might already have this information as part of your home’s purchase and title information. You should also have an up-to-date survey of your property to ensure there are not problems that could hold up your permit review. This will require hiring a surveying company.

The surveyor will research any available information about your property to make sure there will be no issues of concern. This information is obtained from local authorities and agencies. Concerns could include any liens against the property or any prior discrepancies from prior surveys or claims.

They will also obtain the legal description of your property that denotes your property’s location in relation to any subdivisions and regional survey references. This information will be the basis of the physical survey they will perform on site.

The survey should include the property lines, their orientation, and their lengths. You should also have site elevations drawn as contour lines across the property to determine changes in elevation that could impact your building design. The location of existing utility trunk lines and service lines to your house should be included, along with any existing water wells, septic tanks, and septic leach fields.

Having existing trees and shrubbery identified on the survey can be beneficial for your construction documents and for any requirements to maintain existing plantings.

Zoning limitations for your site are established in the zoning code and zoning map of your local authority. These documents will show the following:

• The use zone that your project is located in.
• Any use restrictions that might impact your property
• Any setback requirements for your property
• Any square footage restrictions
• Any site coverage limitations
• Any other requirements from your jurisdiction

The use zone will be some sort of residential classification which will determine any requirements for your property.

Use restrictions has to do with what is allowed on your property. This might dictate limits on the number of bedrooms or occupants on the property, what can and cannot be parked on your property, or where certain types of vehicles such as RV’s must be parked.

Setback requirements are the distances from your property line in which you cannot build a structure.

Square footage limitations are a method of maintaining an appropriate building density for your neighborhood.

Site coverage limitations are a means of minimizing the impact of roofed and paved surfaces. This ensures that your property has enough yard space and helps minimize the impact of rain runoff on the local neighborhood.

Other pertinent information could include a height limitation, a maximum number of stories, where garages can be placed, how the site can be accessed, landscaping criteria, and other potential requirements.

You will need to indicate compliance with all zoning restrictions on your site plan and potentially as part of your zoning application.

Improvements on your property include anything that is currently built or proposed to be built or installed on your property. This could include your house, a separate garage or guest house, storage sheds, swimming pools, and all paving such as driveways, walks, and patios. Current and proposed utility services are also often required to be shown.

Changes to slopes of your property include the final placement and elevation of soils for any new improvements and any retaining walls at significant changes of ground elevations. The local authority might have specific requirements for control of soil slippage in areas of extreme slopes.

Other requirements could include numerous things depending on the local authority. Be sure to contact the appropriate officials to obtain all requirements.

Drawing the site plan

The site plan needs to be at an appropriate scale and placed on an acceptable sheet size. Common site plan drawing scales are 1 inch = 40 feet, 1 inch = 20 feet’, and 1/16 inch = 1 foot. Contact your local authority to obtain all drawing and submittal requirements.

Use the site survey to accurately draw the property lines showing their orientations and lengths. Show the street(s), alley(s), public sidewalks, street curb lines, and other public items that abut your site. Note the street name(s), and note the street and alley right-of-way widths.

Show contour lines representing ground elevations if appropriate, and any trees and shrubs to be removed or to keep.

Show all existing below and above ground utility trunk and service lines and any related equipment on the site such as transformers and utility light poles. Also show any existing or proposed water wells and septic systems.

Draw all existing trees and shrubbery. Any that are to be removed should be drawn with dashed lines or have a large ‘x’ drawn over each.

Draw all improvements on or proposed for the property. Show built structures, driveways, walks, porches, patios, swimming pools, and any other such information.

Any slope modifications should show all existing contours as light lines and any proposed contours as heavy lines. Each contour is to have the appropriate elevation height number based upon information provided in the site survey. Note any retaining walls or other structures that will hold the soil at significant elevation changes.

Once you have drawn everything in the accurate locations you will then need to note all of the items clearly and concisely. This includes labeling all structures and paving, noting which are existing and which are to be built. Note all utilities, existing landscaping to be removed or to remain, yard locations, and any other items.

In addition to noting all information you will need to show dimensions. Locate the distance of the house and any other buildings from at least two property lines. Dimension the location of items such as water wills, septic tanks, septic leach fields, and propane tanks. Dimension the length and width of the driveway, patios, and walkways.

Other information to include on your plan

There is non-drawing information you should include or might need to include on your site plan.

Draw a north arrow adjacent to the site plan. This indicates the orientation of your property.

Add the title “Site Plan” in large letters underneath the plan. Also write out the drawing scale. Some jurisdictions might also require a graphic scale showing increments of 1, 5, and 10 foot lengths.

Include on your sheet the address of the property and its legal description.

Include on the sheet the date you will submit the drawing to your local authorities.

Write out all zoning requirements for your site and how they have been met if not shown in your drawing. Show any calculations required for compliance with such things as building size and lot coverage.

Submitting to your local authority

Before you submit to your local authority be sure to review again all information you need to provide. Review your site plan one last time to make sure all required information is on the sheet. In addition to the site plan you might be required to submit the property survey.

In order to submit for building permit you will be required to fill out a permit application form. Look up the form online or obtain a copy from your authority before you submit so that you can review and obtain all information needed for the form.

Once you everything in place you can submit the package to your local authority.

Summary

Drawing a site plan for a building permit requires obtaining a lot of information before you begin. It also requires a lot of information to include in the plan. Being organized and tracking all requirements and how you have fulfilled them is the best way to make this a smooth effort.

Have fun with this effort and good luck on getting your permit!