Land Planning

Land Use
Land use issues should be the landowners or the developers first consideration in the site selection process. Before proceeding with a land development project there are a number of questions that need to be asked, investigated and answered.

• Compatibility with existing comprehensive plans.
• Compatibility with existing zoning.
• Requirements for zoning changes, community unit plans or planned unit developments.
• Availability of public facilities and services, such as private and public utilities, with emphasis on the health issue utilities such as sanitary sewer and municipal water, with additional consideration being given to police and fire protection.
• Drainage considerations for both local drainage and flood issues as the consideration for any FEMA drainage and flood zone issues.

Sketch Plat
A sketch plat can be developed based on the decisions developed as a result of the Land Use investigation. The sketch plat should be to scale, but can be hand sketched. The purpose of the sketch plat is to establish the developers' intentions for utilizing the site, indicating areas to be used for drainage purposes, open space, common community space, access to the site, and delineate areas for residential and commercial uses.

Subdivision Design
Once the developer and the local zoning and subdivision authorities have agreed with the general concept of the sketch plat the next step is to acquire an accurate topographic survey of the site. The topographic survey will allow the subdivision designer to take into consideration the specifics of any drainage concerns, points of connection with utilities and site access issues. Together with the considerations that need to be made in regards to the infrastructure of a subdivision, the type of construction and marketing strategies play a very important role in the design of a subdivision whether it is a residential, commercial, industrial or a mixed use subdivision.

Preliminary Plat
Once it has been determined that the subdivision design is functional and will meet the requirements of the developer, the preparation of the preliminary plat may proceed. At this time it becomes necessary to make detailed considerations for site grading to insure that appropriate drainage considerations are being made in conjunction with the requirements for the underground infrastructure, such as the depth and grade of the sanitary sewer system. Once the design and infrastructure issues have been resolved and the requirements of the local subdivision regulations can be met, the preliminary plat can be submitted for consideration.

Final Plat
Upon approval of the preliminary plat the final plat is prepared and submitted for approval by the various approving authorities. Upon completion of the approval process for the subdivision, including meeting all of the requirements and making all of the required guarantees, the plat is forwarded to the Register of Deeds for recording and the construction process may begin.

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