An Environmental Site Assessment is a report prepared by an environmental professional. The assessment gathers historical and other readily available information on site conditions and surroundings to evaluate whether the site poses a potential threat to human health and the environment and whether further investigation is needed. An environmental site assessment is usually associated with entitlement applications that have been approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors (e.g., rezonings and special exceptions) and include proffers or development conditions requiring the submission of an ESA.
ON THIS PAGE
This information is the most common for how to obtain the necessary approval for your project and is not representative of all the conditions you may encounter.
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
Property owners or their duly authorized agents may submit environmental site assessments, however, the assessment must be prepared and certified by an environmental professional licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and meeting the respective code requirements.
PLAN AHEAD
Before submitting, ensure you are aware of all applicable regulations and conditions that could affect your project to avoid surprises during the review process. Some of those factors include:
- Zoning Information
- Design Codes and Standards
- Do I Need to Hire a Design Professional?
- Floodplains
- Resource Protection Areas (RPA)
- Grading/Site Plans
- Parking Tabulation
- Types of Soils and Problem Soils
- Researching Site Conditions
To get a detailed description about each regulation and condition, visit our Plan Ahead page.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY RECORD?
PLUS Application
Apply for your environmental site assessment online in PLUS under the Site tab. If you are a first-time user, you must first register for an account.
Submission Guidelines
Visit our Site-Related Submission Guidelines page for information on how to submit your plan, including strongly encouraged naming conventions.
Tutorial on Uploading Plans and Documents in PLUS
Helpful Instruction Guide:
Requirements
Depending on the scope of your project, one or more of the following may be required:
First Submissions:
- Digital signature - verifiable digital signature of the licensed design professional
- Environmental Site Assessments are generally prepared to meet a proffer or development condition requiring the applicant to submit one or more reports. As applicable, any associated zoning applications must be referenced in the report and listed as a related record in PLUS.
- If related to an approved zoning case, follow and complete the 17-02 Proffer Compliance Narrative Standards to the Facilitation and Addressing Center.
- Review fee
Subsequent Submissions:
- Digital signature - verifiable digital signature of the licensed design professional
- Applicant responses - enter responses to all open issues in the PLUS Digital Plan Room
- Review fee
Helpful Videos:
Upload Corrected Plans - YouTube
Helpful Instruction Guides:
What's Next?
To get a step-by-step guide on PLUS statuses and what they mean, see our What is My PLUS Status? Site Plans Infographic.
Review Process
Staff from the Site Application Center and Site Development and Inspections Division will review your package for completeness and compliance with applicable codes and county ordinances. You will be notified of any deficiencies. Plan corrections, resubmission fees and additional supporting documents may be required.
- Queue times
- Fees
- Common plan comments for site review
- Workflow Routing Slip to track review and plan assignment
For a detailed summary of application progress, to include the name(s) of assigned review staff, click on “Reports” in the top-right corner of the PLUS screen, when you are in a specific record, and select “Workflow Routing Slip Report.”
Plan Issuance
Once all reviews are approved and fees have been paid, your approved environmental site assessment will be available to download from PLUS.
Helpful Video:
Approved Plans - YouTube Video
