Test the yield, then take it to entitlement
Land developers carry a parcel through feasibility, constraint review, and a subdivision concept that a planning commission will actually approve. Smart Site Plan puts ownership, zoning, flood, wetlands, and soils on one map so you can test yield and draw a sketch plan in the browser, no desktop GIS and no waiting on a consultant for the first cut.
Real Land development work over Mills River, NC, captured in the product
The old way
The first yield study usually means the assessor's site for the parcel, a separate flood map service for the zones, and a zoning ordinance PDF for the lot-size table, stitched into a slide with a lot count eyeballed on top. Nothing registers to the same boundary, the buildable area is a guess, and diligence is weeks along before anyone draws a real sketch plan.
With Smart Site Plan
Take a raw parcel from due diligence to entitlement
The data, already on the map
Drawn from 20 million open datasets, one click each. No agency portal hunting, no format wrangling.
Workflows
How Land development work gets done
End to end, in the browser, on one map.
Pre-acquisition feasibility
- 1. Property data
Look up the target parcel's owner, acreage, dimensions, valuation, and last sale, plus the adjoining lots for assemblage potential.
- 2. Open Data
Add zoning and overlays for the by-right use and minimum lot size, then FEMA NFHL flood, NWI wetlands, and USDA SSURGO soils so every constraint edge sits against the parcel.
- 3. Draw
Trace a net-buildable polygon by hand around the mapped flood, wetland, and steep-slope edges to enclose only the ground a subdivision can sit on.
- 4. Measure
Measure the polygon you drew for a net acreage and lot-yield density you can put in front of the committee.
- 5. Share
Send a view-only link to the investment committee so they evaluate the deal on the same constraint map.
Subdivision sketch plan
- 1. Draw
Lay out road centerlines and lot lines over the constraints, with live length and area confirming each lot clears minimum size.
- 2. Smart Query
Filter lots under the zoning minimum so undersized parcels flag themselves before the plan goes out.
- 3. Style
Color lots by phase or product type and label each with its area for the concept exhibit.
- 4. Export
Export the layout as DXF for the civil engineer on Pro and as HD PDF for the entitlement narrative.
Entitlement submittal & review
- 1. Import
Import the surveyor's boundary as a Shapefile or DXF, reprojected from State Plane to the map automatically.
- 2. Style
Build the constraint exhibit with labeled flood, wetland, and zoning layers required by the application checklist.
- 3. Export
Export HD PDF exhibits, plus GeoTIFF on Pro, for the rezoning or preliminary plat package.
- 4. Share
Send the planning reviewer a view-only link to the constraint exhibit so every question through the hearing points at the same map.
What you can do
Screen the parcel and its neighbors
Pull ownership, lot dimensions, acreage, assessed value, tax, and last sale on the target and its neighbors with a Property data lookup. Drop the parcel boundary on the map next to zoning and flood so you know what you are buying before the option deadline.
Stack every constraint on one map
Add FEMA NFHL flood zones, NWI wetlands, USDA SSURGO soils, and NHD streams from Open Data, scoped to the parcel view so every layer registers to the same boundary. With the floodway, wetland, and hydric-soil edges visible, you trace a net-buildable polygon by hand around them and Measure reports its area, an acreage that holds up in the option memo because you drew where the line goes.
Draft the subdivision and read the yield live
Draft the layout with Site Plan AI: pick the parcel, choose lots, and a dimensioned concept plan draws roads, lots, buildings, and parking to scale in about a minute, holding the setbacks you set. Sculpt it live to test a higher lot count against minimum lot size and watch lots, density, and coverage move, or draw lot lines by hand over the constraint layers, so the first yield does not wait on a consultant cycle.
Package submittal-ready exhibits
Style the concept with categorical lot colors and labels, then export the sketch plan, constraint map, and parcel exhibit as an HD PDF (Personal and up), or as GeoTIFF and DXF on Pro for the engineer. Reviewers and lenders open a share link and see the layers you saw.
The capabilities Land development teams lean on
Parcel due diligence
Ownership, acreage, valuation, and last-sale on the target and its neighbors tell you whether a parcel is worth tying up before the option clock runs.
Constraint stack
FEMA flood, NWI wetlands, USDA soils, and zoning on one map turn a multi-portal scavenger hunt into a single buildable-area read.
Live subdivision yield
Drawing lots and centerlines with running area lets you test density and prove the lot count without waiting on an outside sketch plan.
Submittal exhibits
HD PDF exports from Personal up, and GeoTIFF and DXF on Pro, hand the engineer a clean base and give the planning department the exhibits its checklist demands.
In practice
From option to sketch plan in a day outside Nashville
An acquisition manager has 30 days to decide on a 42-acre parcel in Williamson County, Tennessee. A Property data lookup covers ownership and acreage, and zoning, NWI wetlands, and USDA SSURGO soils from Open Data stack over the parcel. A wetland fringe and a hydric-soil pocket show on the map, so the net-buildable polygon is traced around them and measures 31 acres, and a 78-lot concept drawn with live area on each lot reaches the committee as a share link before the option deadline meeting.
What changes
- Kill a bad deal in an afternoon, before paying for a full diligence cycle to learn the parcel won't pencil
- Walk into the option decision with a real net-buildable acreage, not a screenshot estimate
- Hand the civil engineer a DXF base instead of a marked-up PDF, saving a redraw
- Give lenders and the committee one share link that always shows the current constraint map
Land development, answered
Yes. You pull the parcel, stack zoning, flood, wetlands, and soils from Open Data, trace a net-buildable polygon around the mapped constraints and measure it, then draw a sketch plan with live lot areas yourself. The engineer comes in later to take the concept, exported as DXF on Pro, to engineered plans.
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