Do you have a site plan of your property? If you haven’t had one professionally done, have you sketched something out?
The purpose of a site plan is to communicate what you want or need to happen with your property. Typically, a formal site plan is done by a civil engineer. The plans include roads, telephone poles, bodies of water, setbacks etc. that mark the pins or corners of your property. You have paid a lot of money for your property and it is important that you know legally what you can do with it, the site plan will assist you with this.
If it is a larger commercial project like the one in this photo, the site plan tells the Planning Board a great deal… setbacks, noise and light buffers, wetlands, curb cuts for parking lot, lighting, where the proposed building sits on the property, how the property will function and be used and the overall impact on the site as well as neighborhood.
Each town has different requirements for site plans so I recommend going into your city or town hall and find out what they require prior to starting your project. Sometimes I work directly with the civil engineer and tell them what we want to create architecturally on the site. Other times, I am able to draw out the site according to city accessor records and provide setbacks and building information in order to get the permitting process going.
Typically, the site plan flips into a landscaping plan as we locate planting beds, hardscape and specify plants. I highly recommend that you spend some time looking at your site plan when you are undergoing a project. Please contact my office if you have questions or concerns about your site plan. It is so very important to be educated about the process and importance of this plan. Here is some more information on the subject.