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Site Plan Requirements

Site Plan Design

Site plan requirements explain what information a drawing must show for a particular property and application. For site plan review, confirm the local regulations and approval process that apply to the proposal. Start with the site’s survey, existing conditions and proposed work. Then confirm the municipality’s current drawing checklist before preparing the submission.

The nine topics below are common drawing items, not a universal Ontario approval rule. For example, Toronto’s application terms of reference explain that requirements and detail vary by proposal. Identify the survey or base drawing and its date. Show existing and proposed conditions clearly, and coordinate related drawings.

A site drawing is not the same as site plan control approval. For broader application coordination, see Elmid Design Inc.’s site plan approval service. This article stays focused on drawing content.

Property Lines

Show the property limits using the appropriate survey information. Also identify the source and date of the base drawing. If a boundary or dimension is uncertain, resolve it with the relevant qualified professional before relying on it for design.

Site plan requirements: existing and proposed conditions

For city officials and plan reviewers to grasp the full scope of your design, you’ll want to present both existing and proposed conditions. This shows how your design will affect the site and maybe even how the site impacts your design. However, construction inspections must be confirmed separately through the applicable permits and approval conditions.

Site plan dimensions and property-line relationships

Show relevant adjacent conditions and dimensions, and assess the proposal against applicable requirements. For example, label the relationship between proposed buildings, property lines and neighbouring features where the municipal checklist requires it. Adjacent conditions do not, by themselves, determine zoning permissions.

Parking

Where parking information is required, show the proposed layout, dimensions, circulation and signs. Also identify accessible parking and its connection to the building. Confirm the applicable parking requirements for the property and proposed use rather than assuming one standard applies everywhere.

Driveways

There are many code requirements governing the design of access onto your site from the driveway width to curb cut dimensions. Make sure you know the rules and then include all dimensions in your site plan.

Surrounding streets

Understanding how traffic flows through and around your site is crucial. Showing the surrounding streets whether they’re main arteries, avenues or dead ends will help illustrate the impact your design traffic loads around your site. It also provides context for your building. Often times the people reviewing your plans are familiar with the area they live and adding street names makes it easier for them to understand your design and if it’s something that’s appropriate for that particular area.

Traffic Signs and Signals

This one is almost an extension of the last one. You want to tell the whole story of your site. So when you draw your streets, include things like stop signs, highways signs, etc. You’ll even want to include traffic lights, too.

Landscaped areas

Landscaping is not only there for aesthetics but often times it’s part of a fragile ecosystem that must be preserved. Bulldozing all the trees and starting over may seem like a quick fix but often times is not ideal, especially in this day and age of sustainability and reducing site impact. So make sure you include existing and proposed landscaping improvements in your site plans.

Site plan requirements for hydrants and fire access

Where required by the applicable drawing checklist, show existing and proposed hydrants and relevant fire-access information. Confirm fire-protection and access requirements with the responsible designer and reviewing authority. Do not infer compliance from a generic distance or assume renovations are exempt. A clear site plan should explain the proposed work without conflicting labels or unnecessary detail; use the municipality’s current requirements to determine what belongs on each coordinated drawing.

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