Site-related Plans
To determine your project’s impact on your property, one of the site-related plan types listed below must be submitted. To learn more, see our Site-Related Plans publication or contact: 703-222-0801, TTY 711.
House Location Surveys
Depending on the disturbed area associated with your pool construction, you may be able to submit a house location survey, or plat, as your site-related submission. To qualify to submit a plat, the project must not disturb more than 2,500 square feet (including pool decking, site access and stockpile areas). The proposed construction must be drawn on a plat to-scale with the dimension from the lot lines to ensure compliance with minimum yard requirements (setbacks). To learn more, see our Site-Related Plans publication.
Why do plats have to be “to-scale”? What exactly does that mean?
A “to-scale” plat is an exact copy of the original plat, with all lines being identical to that of the original. Lines on the original plat are to-scale to reflect, for example, that one-inch on the plat equals 30 feet, rather than one-inch on the plat equaling three feet when it is taken out of scale. A to-scale copy must be on the same sheet size as the original (for instance, if an original plat is printed on an 11” x 17” sheet, then only a copy on that same sheet size is acceptable). Plats that have been photographed, scanned on a phone app, faxed, reduced, enlarged or otherwise altered are not to-scale and cannot be accepted due to poor resolution and lack of detail (loss of accurate measurement).
Where’s my plat?
Search your residential loan closing documents or contact the lending institution from which your mortgage was obtained. If you do not have a copy, submit a request to determine if your plat is located in existing county files. If all these efforts have been exhausted, you will have to hire a private land surveyor to have a new plat prepared.
Conservation Plan
A conservation plan is much like a house location plat, but also shows erosion and sediment control measures. You can use one when your project disturbs 5,000 square feet or less and drainage improvements and water quality controls are not required. If you do not meet these conditions, you must submit a grading plan.
Grading Plan
A grading plan is a drawing of your site which shows topography, new construction and improvements and is required when your project disturbs more than 2,500 square feet, blocks existing drainage patterns or soil is to be cut or filled more than 18 inches.
