Read a Site Plan and Locate the Building on the Lot

A. Finished-Package Specification

Deliverable set: one marked site-control sheet showing property lines, setbacks, easements, access, utilities, drainage, elevations, and the documented building footprint; one building-location summary listing baseline, control points, footprint dimensions, setbacks, easements, access, benchmark, utilities, and drainage; one field-verification list; and one RFI-style question list.

B. Deliverable Schedule (Component Schedule)

Component	Quantity	Source	Required Fields	Preparation / Purpose
Site-plan identity confirmation	1	Chapter 1 sheet register	Sheet number, revision, scale, related sheets	Confirms the site plan being interpreted is current
Marked site-control sheet	1	Site, civil, landscape, and utility sheets	Property lines, setbacks, easements, footprint, access, utilities, drainage	The primary field-use document produced by this chapter
Building-location summary	1	Marked site-control sheet	Baseline, control points, footprint dimensions, setbacks, easements, access, benchmark, utilities, drainage	Consolidates the building's documented position on the lot
Field-verification list	1	Discrepancies found while marking the site sheet	Item, description, affected location, verification method	Records dimensions and locations requiring surveyor or field verification
RFI-style question list	1	Unresolved conflicts and missing information	Item, document reference, conflict description, required-by date	Routes unresolved site questions through the document-control process

C. Source Material Takeoff

• Primary source: the site plan, survey, grading plan, and utility plans identified as current in the Chapter 1 sheet register.
• Supporting source: the floor plan, foundation plan, and exterior elevations, used for cross-checking the building footprint.
• Reference tools: one engineer's or architect's scale, one straightedge, and a consistent set of markup colors.
• Recording medium: one document-control log or spreadsheet capable of holding all five deliverable components listed in Section B.

D. Acceptance Standards

Check	Standard
Site-plan currency	The site plan and related sheets marked match the current revision recorded in the Chapter 1 sheet register
Property-line accuracy	Property lines are marked only from surveyed bearings, distances, monuments, and pins, never from occupancy features alone
Setback and easement completeness	Every setback and easement affecting the buildable area is marked, with purpose, width, and holder recorded where documented
Footprint coordination	The building footprint dimensions and orientation match across the site plan, floor plan, and foundation plan, or the mismatch is logged
Scale verification	The site plan's graphic scale is checked against a known dimension before being marked "scale verified"
Field-verification capture	Every dimension or location that cannot be confirmed from written information is logged on the field-verification list, not assumed

E. Preparation — Confirm Site-Plan Identity and Basis

1. Confirm the site-plan sheet number, title, revision, scale, north arrow, survey basis, and relationship to civil, landscape, utility, and architectural sheets. Check each item against the Chapter 1 sheet register before proceeding.
2. Identify the project address, parcel information, legal description, lot number, block, subdivision, and jurisdiction information provided. Record these on the Site and Building-Location Identity Record.

F. Property and Zoning Interpretation

1. Locate property lines, bearings, distances, monuments, pins, corners, and survey control points. Mark each on the site-control sheet using the surveyed information only.
2. Distinguish property lines from fences, walls, curbs, edges of pavement, and approximate occupancy lines. Label any occupancy feature separately from the surveyed property line.
3. Identify required setbacks, buildable area, zoning yards, height controls, and lot-coverage information shown. Mark the buildable area boundary on the site-control sheet.

G. Easements, Footprint, and Access

1. Locate easements, rights-of-way, utility corridors, drainage easements, access easements, and no-build areas. Mark each with a distinct symbol from the markup legend.
2. Record any easement purpose, width, holder, reference document, and field-verification note. Enter each easement's data directly on the building-location summary.
3. Identify existing and proposed buildings, additions, garages, accessory structures, decks, porches, steps, and retaining walls. Distinguish existing from proposed using the markup legend.
4. Trace the proposed building footprint and identify controlling dimensions to property lines, gridlines, baselines, or survey points. Record the controlling dimension chain on the building-location summary.
5. Distinguish dimensions to foundation, wall face, roof projection, deck edge, or other referenced component. Label each footprint dimension with its exact reference point.
6. Identify building orientation, entry, garage, driveway, walks, patios, service areas, and construction access. Mark each on the site-control sheet.
7. Locate street, curb, sidewalk, apron, alley, fire access, emergency access, and delivery constraints. Record any constraint affecting construction access.

H. Elevations, Drainage, and Utilities

1. Identify existing and proposed contours, spot elevations, benchmarks, finished-floor elevations, top-of-foundation elevations, and grade relationships. Record the benchmark and datum on the building-location summary.
2. Locate drainage arrows, swales, catch basins, area drains, culverts, retaining systems, and discharge points. Mark each drainage feature on the site-control sheet.
3. Identify roof-drainage or downspout information that affects the site. Cross-check against the roof plan where available.
4. Locate visible or documented water, sewer, septic, well, gas, electrical, communications, storm, and irrigation services. Mark each utility line by type.
5. Distinguish existing, proposed, abandoned, relocated, and approximate utility lines. Label each utility line's status using the markup legend.
6. Identify utility meters, transformers, poles, pedestals, cleanouts, hydrants, valves, and service-entry points. Mark each service-entry point on the site-control sheet.
7. Record notes requiring utility locating, potholing, survey, testing, easement approval, or authority coordination. Add each note to the field-verification list.

I. Site Constraints and Coordination

1. Identify trees, protected vegetation, root zones, wetlands, slopes, flood information, environmental buffers, and other site constraints shown. Mark each constraint affecting the buildable area.
2. Locate fences, gates, walls, neighboring structures, encroachments, and demolition limits. Mark each on the site-control sheet.
3. Compare the site plan with the floor plan, foundation plan, exterior elevations, grading plan, and utility plans. Confirm the footprint and orientation are consistent across all compared sheets.
4. Verify the building footprint dimensions and orientation are consistent across related drawings. Record any inconsistency by exact location and source sheet.
5. Identify missing dimensions, contradictory setbacks, unresolved elevations, or utility conflicts. Add each to the field-verification list or RFI-style question list as appropriate.

J. Site-Control Sheet Closeout

1. Do not derive a field layout from graphic scale when written dimensions or survey control are missing. Confirm every dimension used on the building-location summary traces to a written source.
2. Mark all dimensions and locations requiring surveyor or field verification. Consolidate these into the field-verification list.
3. Create a site-plan markup legend distinguishing verified document information, field verification, questions, and exclusions. Apply the legend consistently across the site-control sheet.
4. Produce a building-location summary listing baseline, control points, footprint dimensions, setbacks, easements, access, benchmark, utilities, and drainage. Finalize the summary using the data recorded in Sections F through I.
5. Prepare RFI-style questions for incomplete, conflicting, or ambiguous site information. Write each question with document references, the observed conflict, and the required-by date.
6. Review the marked site-control sheet against the current revision and sheet references. Confirm the sheet still matches the Chapter 1 sheet register before closing the chapter.