Site plan and permit?

[stangman39]

Hi all,

My county has a 8 page packet on their website with checklist for things needed to submit for a permit to build a detached garage.
They say they want a site plan show set backs, roads, driveways etc. etc.

What have some of you done in the past to put one of these together? Or have you paid someone to do it?

Thanks!

 

[Thorold]

My last site plan ( for the current shop ) was taken from Google Earth ( satellite shot ) and i added some measurements to it.

It worked for my town.

 

[hh76]

My last site plan ( for the current shop ) was taken from Google Earth ( satellite shot ) and i added some measurements to it.

It worked for my town.

I pull a few dozen permits every year. I used to do everything in CAD, now I just go with Google Earth or the county mapping.

Most counties will have a GIS mapping system on their websites, that will show all property lines, along with setbacks. Take a screen shot, then mark up with your proposed project.

 

[JMURiz]

You should have gotten a PLAT when you bought the house. This shows the lot lines and where building are located on them, to scale. For mine i just used that as a baseline and made modifications to scale to show where the new stuff was going. Cost $0 and is what they are looking for.

If you didn't get a PLAT with your house closing packet, you can check with the zoning department in your county and get a copy.

 

[stangman39]

Cool, thanks all.

 

[stangman39]

I found this GIS mapping on my County site...but all I can get it to show is my street. I can't get it to zoom in far enough to show my house or the property lines etc.
Am I not doing something right?

http://maps.forsythco.com/

 

[Falcon67]

I did a Visio layout with the lot lines and building locations., plus a sat photo.

 

[LB-1911]

Have you attempted "Search Parcel" and or "Search Landlot" option?

http://maps.forsythco.com/

 

[Rainking]

I used the county GIS mapping. It showed my property line and was able to use a tool within the map to mark measurements. For my town, it had to be at least 5 feet from property line and other structure. It also had to equal or greater than setback from the main structure.

 

[Highbeam]

I drafted it all using cad. I even shot grades and put contour lines on the site plan. I plan to use this plan in teh future for utilities, garadening, etc.

Once you learn to draft, this is easy stuff.

Good site plans are easier to approve.

 

[nehog]

I transferred a survey map into Visio and added my building and that worked just fine for me. I did make a few minor errors, but no one noticed.

 

[pattenp]

You need to turn on the parcel layer to see the lot boundaries. See Layers down on the right bottom side.

I found this GIS mapping on my County site...but all I can get it to show is my street. I can't get it to zoom in far enough to show my house or the property lines etc.
Am I not doing something right?

http://maps.forsythco.com/

 

[pmiranda]

I drafted it all using cad. I even shot grades and put contour lines on the site plan. I plan to use this plan in teh future for utilities, garadening, etc.

Once you learn to draft, this is easy stuff.

Good site plans are easier to approve.

Any tips for adding contour lines in CAD?

I used to use AutoCAD when I had a student copy but have been noodling around in DraftSight since somebody here suggested it. I haven't found a fast, easy way to add arbitrary curves and shapes like contours and trees. I did a plat map with major tree CRZs earlier in the year for a lot we ended up not buying, but the lot I'm looking at now has a much more complicated profile and greenery.


For the OP, I suggest some graph paper and a straightedge unless you want to do it in CAD for the fun/experience of it. If you're within a few feet of hitting any setback lines or easements, it may be worth getting a real survey if one wasn't done when you bought the place. In my town it only cost ~$500 to get a pro survey of a half acre lot.

 

[Highbeam]

Any tips for adding contour lines in CAD?

I used to use AutoCAD when I had a student copy but have been noodling around in DraftSight since somebody here suggested it. I haven't found a fast, easy way to add arbitrary curves and shapes like contours and trees. I did a plat map with major tree CRZs earlier in the year for a lot we ended up not buying, but the lot I'm looking at now has a much more complicated profile and greenery.

I did it the old fashioned way by shooting grades in a grid interval and transfering the elevations to the drawing. Then you plot points at your contour interval along the gridlines. Connect the points, do a sanity check, and those are your contours.

I am an engineer. If you have the proper software, the program will do it for you once you enter in the grid of known elevation points.

If you are lucky, you can import USGS data.

 

[kert]

I made a rough sketch roughly to scale with setbacks labeled on quad ruled paper. I wasn't sure it was going to be sufficient. When I went to the planning commission, the lady complimented me on what a nice drawing I had.

 

[Blk88GT]

I used a surveyors drawing and drew it to scale with a pencil and ruler. No questions asked.

 

[where2]

I have my boundary survey in digital format (autocad) since the day it was made. I'm the guy who used to make a living doing these things. I've done thousands of these site plans in my lifetime. Everything from proposed mansions to simple site plans showing proposed fences.

Best advice I can give you, follow the 8 pages of instructions. When in doubt, call and ask the county. I worked for a county for a while, and you wouldn't believe the things I saw that would have easily been understood if someone picked up the phone and called to ask. If it is on the checklist and NOT on your application, and it is applicable to your property, expect application failure.

Where I live, if I want to build an out building or a fence, I need to submit a signed and sealed boundary survey performed by a licensed land surveyor, not some google map, or GIS (Get It Surveyed) sketch. Then again, I live in the midst of 10,000 lawyers and ordinances where my grass can be neither too tall, too thin, or too brown. Lots of places are not nearly as formal as my little leave it to beaver 1950's city.

 

[stangman39]

I spoke to my county planning and permit department.
They said I can come in and they will give me a copy of my plat from the original site plan when the neighborhood was built. Then from there I'll have to mock it up to scale with the garage on it etc.