Nice to meet you all!

[SitePlanCreator]

I work on site plans and permitting support, primarily helping homeowners and contractors put together clear, scale-correct site plans that building departments can actually review without back-and-forth.


Over the years I’ve seen the same issues come up repeatedly: unclear boundaries, mismatched scale, missing setbacks, and plans that technically exist but don’t answer the reviewer’s questions. A lot of delays happen not because of code issues, but because the site plan just isn’t communicating well.


I’m here to learn how different jurisdictions approach review, and to share what I’ve seen work well across a wide range of departments. Happy to help answer questions around site plan requirements, common review comments, and ways to reduce resubmittals.


Looking forward to learning from everyone here.

 

[Eric]

Welcome! This obviously isn't a huge/high-traffic forum but there are a number of building department staff that make appearances here and there. Appreciate any perspective you're able to contribute to help our permitting staff and applicants improve their understanding.

Please also don't be shy educating us on your product (siteplancreator.com) and how it can help with different types of plan review.

Nice having you aboard!

 

[Emily C]

hi! Welcome!
One thing I notice is that people neglect to note on their site plans how they are going to manage stormwater. I realize that jurisdictions are different; some cities handle that in house, while others, like us, require the homeowner to maintain it. It is important to look at the checklist before submitting permits to make sure that everything is shown. I have recently separated Public Works Site Plans and Bldg site plans because they are different enough.

 

[SitePlanCreator]

We see this all the time with our clients.
Most homeowners and many contractors focus on structures and setbacks, but stormwater is often missing from the plan. It is usually not intentional. They just don't realize the reviewer expects to see flow direction, discharge location, or notes about how runoff is handled.
There is also a lot of confusion between Building and Public Works submittals. Public Works often wants more detail around drainage, grading, and in some cases maintenance responsibility. Some projects over an acre require SWPPP. Checklists are gold for this kind of stuff so we can avoid delays. Separating Public Works and Building site plans makes a lot of sense.

 

[Emily C]

We see this all the time with our clients.
Most homeowners and many contractors focus on structures and setbacks, but stormwater is often missing from the plan. It is usually not intentional. They just don't realize the reviewer expects to see flow direction, discharge location, or notes about how runoff is handled.
There is also a lot of confusion between Building and Public Works submittals. Public Works often wants more detail around drainage, grading, and in some cases maintenance responsibility. Some projects over an acre require SWPPP. Checklists are gold for this kind of stuff so we can avoid delays. Separating Public Works and Building site plans makes a lot of sense.

I think what's most frustrating about it is that we list it in the requirements, but people fail to read it or even ask about it....they just leave it out, which then makes us ask them to resubmit and include it, and that's lost time on the project that could have been avoided.

 

[SitePlanCreator]

We see that a lot. Many of the checklists our clients receive have empty boxes next to every item, so it is not always clear what actually applies to their scope. Some assume everything is required. Others assume only the obvious items apply. That ambiguity is where things tend to get missed.

When counter staff checks the applicable boxes up front, it really reduces confusion, especially for smaller projects like sheds or decks where a full stormwater package may be overkill.

We are currently building an AI reviewer where users can upload the jurisdiction’s PDF requirements. It converts them into a project specific checklist and flags likely missing items before submission. The goal is to reduce avoidable resubmittals and save time on both sides.