Site plans

[ddomin4360]

So I'm going to be starting a job doing actual planning work in the next few months and a major part of it will be working with site plans. I have some site plan experience, but it is relatively weak. I'm a quick learner, but I'd like to go in with as much knowledge and ability as I possibly can. Planning school is unfortunately not the best place to learn actual site plan work.

Can anyone recommend any good books that will improve my ability to understand and review a site plan? I working with a $200-$300 budget and wouldn't mind picking up several books.

[mike gurnee]

Kevin Lynch wrote the classic. More important are your jurisdictions' subdivision regulations...and how provisions are interpreted (ignored) locally.
Oh, welcome to our little group.

[jwhitty]

Your reviewing criteria should already exist, things like document signed and dated, correct scale, scale shown, points are shown correctly, etc.

Unless you're the person who puts the applicant's professionally licensed stamp on the document you aren't really doing anything major, just checking boxes. If you go above and beyond what is already codified you start getting into, "we are going to sue you" territory because site plans aren't cheap to make and even ghosting lines (making the lines less bold) can be a headache for some developers. If you don't have anything to work with and you are being required to make industry determinations without any professionally licensed backing, you might want to speak with your jurisdiction's engineer or equivalent to develop the protocol to say exactly what you are going to be reviewing, If that isn't in the cards, and you still have to review these documents, get homeowner's insurance to cover your liability.

[smccutchan1]

Kevin Lynch's book is a classic, but very esoteric in design. I wouldn't suggest it beyond part of a reading list for a college level course.

Here are a few I recommend.

Site Planning and Design Handbook, Second Edition by Thomas Russ.

Site Engineering for Landscape Architects by Steven Strom, Kurt Nathan and Jake Woland (particularly if you haven't had much experience with grading)

[Streck]

Please clarify - are you creating, critiquing, setting regulations, or approving?

[ddomin4360]

Please clarify - are you creating, critiquing, setting regulations, or approving?

Site Plan review.

It seems like it might be mostly low-level planning grunt work. But, you gotta start somewhere. I want to be as knowledgeable as possible going into it.

[dvdneal]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, most of site plan review is OJT. You have to learn your communities regulations and like Mike said, how to...ahem...interpret them. As long as you have a good basic design sense for how a site flows for all kinds of traffic you should be fine. Just remember a lot of times you can ask for improvement, but don't expect it and you can't always require it.

[Streck]

Since you are doing Plan Review, I would recommend a thorough read of your Zoning Ordinance. That is the book that you should be following most closely.

It is my opinion that the applicant should be able to do anything he wants in a Site Plan that is legally allowed in the Zoning Ordinance. It is my opinion that the reviewing staff should be thoroughly knowledgable as to what is permitted and what is not permitted.

For things not covered by the ordinance, it is my opinion that the city planning staff may suggest some things that may work better for the applicant and the city, but must accept whatever the applicant wishes to present, then recommend approval or rejection based on the ordinance.

I hope I have understood your question correctly.