Supplemental wireless site design drawings and reports are work products of the A&E firm that are not necessary for every facility development project. Nevertheless, the need for supplemental work can be anticipated in most cases. This chapter is not intended to cover every possible type of supplemental drawing or report that may be appropriate, but it does present many of the typical supplemental drawings and reports that get developed. The supplemental drawings discussed below include drawings for submittal in the zoning process, such as general site plans, elevations, setback characterizations, site-line profiles, landscaping plans, parking plans, and enhanced approach or driveway plans required for submittal with approach or highway permit applications. Supplemental reports may include photo simulations, storm water plans, and pollution management plans.
Zoning ordinance provisions, which vary widely across jurisdictions, specify drawing details required with permit applications. These are part of a jurisdiction’s design standards or criteria. Design criteria are guidance details that jurisdictions suggest or impose for requested improvements on real property. The extent of adherence to a jurisdiction’s design guidelines incorporated into a developer’s plans can impact whether or not local permit rights are granted.
The function of zoning drawings is to demonstrate the planning undertaken to comply with local regulations and design guidelines for the proposed land use in the zoning district where the real property is located. Professional drawings and reports also communicate to jurisdictions that sound engineering principles are applied to a development proposal. Unfortunately, not all permit applications made by site acquisition consultants on behalf of wireless facility developers meet the high standards of presentation community planners expect and appreciate. Planning officials notice quickly.
In Module 9 Zone-ability and Module 10 Constructability, I discussed how setback regulations may disqualify potential candidate sites with respect to local jurisdiction requirements and space planning for facilities. Setback requirements are reported for the selected candidate location in the SCIP (Module 15) and are reiterated to the A&E firm at the site visit during project initiation (Module 16).
Zoning drawings need to confirm that the pertinent zoning district regulations are incorporated into the plan.
Many jurisdictions require or reserve the right to request that wireless facility applicants submit photograph simulations of how the proposed structure and associated equipment configuration will look. Typically, several views are expected from the most prominent vantage points. The A&E firm helps develop photographic simulations based on information provided by the site acquisition consultant handling the project.
Site-line profiles are foundational engineering graphics that an A&E firm uses to document and verify the validity of photographic simulations.1 A site-line diagram is a cross-section, elevation, or side view of the line-of-sight path through the air between two points. One end of the view is at the location from where the structure will be simulated at six feet above ground level (to represent the approximate eye level of a six-foot human). Lines are projected from the six-foot level at given locations to the lowest (ground) and highest elevations of the proposed structure that are visible.
A landscaping plan may be necessary for permit approval. In this case, the jurisdiction may suggest guidelines regarding the location, quantity, and types of plants recommended. Work with the A&E firm to generate a plan for landscaping that will satisfy the local permit authorities. It’s not normally a requirement to hire a landscape architect. The project surveyor is likely to know which plants are normally sustainable in the given climate.
As a standard matter, the development of each site plan takes into consideration where site technicians will park vehicles. The site plan will include parking, as feasible. It may be within the leased area or space in an attached parking garage. However, this is not always the only parking plan that is needed. A supplemental drawing may be required if the site proposed is on a property upon which a parking plan was previously required to accommodate multiple vehicles, such as a shopping center, an office development, or a retail business.
To establish or improve site accessibility from the public right-of-way, a highway approach or a driveway permit may need to be obtained. As stated in Module 10 Constructability, jurisdictions establish requirements and restrictions that apply to new highway approaches and driveways. Jurisdictional requirements may exceed the standard road design of a wireless facility developer for technicians to access a wireless facility in some aspects. Drawings for new access roads are a normal component of construction drawings.
As vacant land is improved by development, jurisdictions have reason to ensure that the terrain is contoured to efficiently handle storm drainage. The goal is to manage water flow during big storms. When requested by the jurisdiction, the project A&E firm prepares storm drainage plans for inclusion in the CDs and for site-plan review per jurisdiction standards.
As construction plans develop from early iterations to final packages they become the documentation that jurisdiction building departments review for the issuance of building permits. CDs used for building permit applications are signed and stamped with the seal of a licensed, state-registered PE qualified to review and approve the engineered details. More than one set of original CDs may need to be submitted. The PE provides an original signature with blue ink and a stamped seal, also known as a wet stamp. Building permits are discussed further in Module 28 Local Permit Applications and Module 31 Local Governing Bodies, Public Hearings, and Final Documentation.
© 2024 · John M. Rowe/Communications Real Estate, Inc./Telecom Birddogs, LLC