Why hand-drawn site plans no longer cut it (and what to use instead)

I used to hand draw site plans for clients to get through initial concept planning and a pre-application meeting. You can still go through a pre-application meeting with a simple hand sketch, depending on the jurisdiction.

The idea is, you want to balance what you’re spending on having a site plan created to get through the initial feedback from the jurisdiction. For many developers and property owners, they haven’t selected a civil engineer, architect or designer at this stage. And it makes sense. For feasibility clients who have properties under contract, you want to keep expenses small until you’re sure if you want to proceed.

I don’t do hand drawings anymore. Why, and what should you do instead?

I recommend my clients have someone prepare a site plan in AutoCAD. For my clients who have not selected or hired a design team yet, someone like Alia Holland, owner of Expedition Drafting & Design Services, is a great fit for a site plan. AutoCAD is a premier computer-aided design software application developed by used for creating, editing, and annotating precise 2D and 3D technical drawings and models. This is the tool that civil engineers, surveyors, designers and architects use to build plans.

Could you use Sketchup? Sure. Will it look professional? No. While you can draw to scale, its 2D linework isn’t as robust or standardized and can tend to look cartoony. City staff and developers may take your project more seriously if the plan is crisp, clean, and professional—qualities CAD excels at.

For a very reasonable price point, hiring someone to prepare a site plan not only delivers the professionalism and detail you need to elevate how you present your project, but enables you to get better feedback in your pre-application meeting. The more detail you provide, the more accurate guidance you will receive from staff about which permits will be required and which code requirements you’ll need to meet to get permit approval.