What a site plan shows
A site plan is a top-down (bird's-eye) drawing of your property showing where the structure sits relative to:
- Property lines and lot dimensions
- Required setbacks from the street and neighboring properties
- Existing structures on the lot, if any
- Driveways, walkways, and other site features
- Easements, if applicable
It's different from a floor plan, which shows the interior layout of the building itself. A site plan is about placement on the lot; a floor plan is about what's inside the walls.
Why building departments need it
Setback and zoning rules exist to control how close structures can be to property lines, streets, and each other. A site plan is how a plan reviewer confirms your project complies with those rules before issuing a permit—it's typically required for new homes, additions, ADUs, and detached structures like garages, sheds, and gazebos.
What you need to provide us
A property survey (if you have one) makes this step faster and more accurate, since it gives exact lot dimensions and boundaries. If you don't have a survey, we can often work from county parcel records and site measurements, though a formal survey may still be required by your jurisdiction for certain projects.