Site Planning
Site planning is where a development project gets made or broken. Before the architect locks a floor plate, before a contractor touches a shovel, the civil site plan determines whether the project is feasible, permittable, and financially viable. At CaliChi Design Group, we provide civil site planning services for developers, architects, and public agencies across the Bay Area, Portland/Hood River, and Maui — from early-stage feasibility through construction document production.
What Civil Site Planning Actually Covers
Civil site planning integrates grading design, stormwater management, parking and circulation layouts, utility connections, ADA compliance, fire access, and entitlement coordination into a single coherent design. Each of those systems influences the others. A grading plan that works for drainage may not work for fire truck access. A parking layout that satisfies code minimums may not satisfy CALGreen or local EV charging mandates. We work through those trade-offs early so they don’t show up as change orders during construction.
Our site planning work spans market sectors: multifamily residential, K-12 and higher education, healthcare, commercial and retail, light industrial and warehouse, and public infrastructure. We’ve designed sites under Oakland’s Specific Plans, San Jose’s ministerial review path, Maui County’s grading ordinance, and Oregon’s land use framework under ORS Chapter 197. The jurisdictional differences are real, and we account for them from the first sketch.
Grading Design
A grading plan does more than move dirt. It controls how water moves across a site, where retaining walls are needed, what the earthwork balance looks like, and whether the finished grades allow the building program to pencil. We size cut and fill volumes to minimize haul-off, design drainage swales and area drains to meet the local stormwater standard (C.3 in the Bay Area, Clean Water Services standards in Washington County, Oregon), and coordinate with the geotechnical engineer on fill compaction specifications and slope stability.
If you’re reviewing plans in-house or working with a contractor who asks questions about what the grading plan is showing, our guide on how to read a grading plan walks through the key elements: contour intervals, spot elevations, drainage arrows, and cut/fill notation.
For projects with constrained topography — hillside infill, tight urban lots, or sites with grade differentials exceeding five feet — driveway and access slope becomes a design constraint early. California’s maximum driveway slope limits under local grading codes typically cap at 20 percent for residential and 10 to 15 percent for commercial uses; we document jurisdiction-specific limits in our article on maximum driveway slope in California.
ADA Compliance and Accessible Site Design
California’s accessibility requirements go beyond federal ADA. CBC Chapter 11B applies to all commercial and publicly funded projects and is enforced independently of federal ADA Title II and Title III. For site planning, this means accessible parking, accessible routes connecting parking to building entries, and compliant cross-slopes throughout the site — not just at the ramp.
Parking count and stall configuration is where we see the most design errors on submitted plans. The number of van-accessible spaces, the required aisle widths, and the signage requirements are all governed by CBC 11B-208 and 11B-502. We’ve put together a detailed breakdown of how to calculate ADA parking requirements and a reference on van-accessible parking stall dimensions that architects and project managers use to cross-check their layouts before submitting to DSA or the local building department.
The accessible path of travel from the public right-of-way through the site to the primary building entry is a separate compliance requirement that’s often underdesigned on early site plans. Cross-slopes must not exceed 2.0 percent, surface materials must be firm and stable, and level changes greater than one-quarter inch require beveling or ramping. Our article on ADA path of travel requirements in California covers the full CBC 11B criteria.
Parking lot drainage design intersects with accessibility in ways that catch projects off guard. A drainage swale routed across an accessible parking space, or a cross-slope that exceeds 2.0 percent at the parking stall, is a DSA or plan check failure. We cover the specific requirements in our guide to ADA compliance for parking lot drainage.
Parking Design: EV, Bicycle, and Code Compliance
Parking design in 2024 and beyond is no longer just about stall count. CALGreen (California Green Building Standards Code) and local amendments layer EV charging, bicycle parking, and short-term bicycle access requirements on top of baseline zoning minimums. Getting these right at the site planning stage avoids late-stage redesigns when the electrical engineer and landscape architect are already coordinating.
CALGreen Section 5.106.5 requires a percentage of parking spaces to be EV-capable (conduit only), EV-ready (conduit plus wiring), or EVSE (fully equipped charging stations), depending on project type and occupancy. The thresholds changed with the 2022 CALGreen update. We’ve documented the current requirements in our article on how to calculate EV parking requirements in California and a deeper dive on CALGreen EV charging tier definitions — EV-ready, EV-capable, and EVSE.
Bicycle parking requirements under CALGreen Section 5.106.4 and CBC Section 11B-228 apply to most commercial, multifamily, and institutional projects. Short-term (inverted U-racks) and long-term (lockers or secured rooms) requirements are calculated separately based on occupancy. For projects with secured long-term storage, our articles on how to calculate bike parking requirements and bike locker requirements in California provide the current code criteria and dimensional standards.
Fire Access Road Design
Fire access is a site planning constraint that frequently conflicts with the architect’s preferred building orientation and the landscape architect’s open space layout. The California Fire Code (CFC Section 503) requires fire apparatus access roads to be within 150 feet of all portions of the building’s first-floor exterior, with a minimum 20-foot clear width and vertical clearance of 13 feet 6 inches. Many jurisdictions adopt local amendments that are more stringent.
Dead-end access roads exceeding 150 feet in length require a turnaround. The CFC approves several turnaround geometries — hammerhead, Y-turn, and cul-de-sac — but the specific dimensions vary by jurisdiction and are often set by the local fire authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). We’ve compiled the current requirements in our article on fire access road requirements in California and a reference specifically on fire department turnaround dimensions.
Fire access coordination happens with the civil engineer, not the architect. We review turning radii, road grades (CFC limits fire access road grades to 10 percent in most jurisdictions), surface materials, and gate clearance requirements with the local fire department before the site plan is finalized.
Industrial and Warehouse Site Planning
Industrial and warehouse sites have site planning constraints that don’t appear on standard commercial projects: truck turning radii for 65-foot semi-trailers, dock approach grades, heavy vehicle loading on pavements, large impervious footprints that trigger C.3 stormwater requirements, and — in some jurisdictions — industrial stormwater general permit obligations separate from the municipal MS4 permit.
We’ve published dedicated guides for these project types. Warehouse site planning and grading covers dock height, apron grades, pavement sections, and drainage design for high-impervious sites. Our article on industrial site planning civil engineering covers the broader entitlement and infrastructure coordination process for light industrial and flex-space developments.
Entitlements and Agency Coordination
Getting a project through entitlements requires more than good drawings. It requires understanding what each reviewing agency is looking for, knowing which conditions of approval are negotiable, and sequencing submittals to avoid waiting on one agency while another clock runs. We’ve worked through the Bay Area’s C/CAG Countywide Program, the Alameda County Clean Water Program, the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), and Maui County’s Engineering Division requirements enough to know where the friction points are.
We handle pre-application meetings, stormwater management plan preparation, hydraulic calculations, and agency response letters. When a project requires a Conditional Use Permit, a Parcel Map, or a Development Agreement, we prepare the civil exhibits and coordinate with land use counsel and the planning team so all submittals are consistent.
Geographic Coverage
Our primary service areas are the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Marin counties), the Portland metro and Hood River corridor in Oregon, and Maui County in Hawaii. We maintain active licenses in California (Civil Engineer, Surveyor), Oregon, and Hawaii, and we obtain project-specific licenses in other states when the work warrants it.
Each of these jurisdictions has materially different stormwater, grading, and accessibility requirements. Bay Area projects operate under the Phase II MS4 permit C.3 framework. Oregon projects typically fall under Clean Water Services or the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services standards. Maui County has its own grading ordinance and stormwater management requirements that differ from both. We don’t apply a one-size template — we work to the local standard.
Thanks for directing and addressing the site/traffic questions/discussion. The city reps clearly loved the site plan design. Great job!”
JASON SHEETS, MODA4 Design
Market sectors we serve:
[display_market_sectors]Ready to Start?
If you’re in early-stage feasibility on a development project or need civil support for an upcoming entitlement submittal, give us a call at (510) 250-7877 or submit a project inquiry. We’ll tell you quickly whether the site works and what the civil scope looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a civil engineer do during site planning?
During site planning, a civil engineer evaluates site constraints — topography, drainage patterns, setbacks, utility access, and geotechnical conditions — and translates the project program into a feasible site layout. We coordinate with the local jurisdiction on grading, stormwater, street improvements, and utility connections before the architect finalizes the building footprint. Getting civil involved at the pre-application stage typically saves two to four weeks in design coordination later.
How long does the site planning process take?
A preliminary site plan with grading concept and utility layout typically takes three to five weeks for a mid-size commercial project. Full entitlement — including agency comments, revisions, and conditional approval — commonly runs four to twelve months depending on the jurisdiction. Cities like Oakland and San Jose have discretionary review timelines that can extend this significantly; jurisdictions with ministerial review (by-right zoning) move faster.
What permits are typically required for commercial site development in California?
Most commercial site projects in California require a grading permit, an encroachment permit for any work in the public right-of-way, a building permit, and — if the disturbed area exceeds one acre — a Construction General Permit (CGP) with SWPPP under the State Water Board’s NPDES program. Projects over certain thresholds also trigger C.3 stormwater post-construction requirements enforced by the local municipality on behalf of the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
When should I bring a civil engineer into a development project?
Ideally at the site feasibility stage, before you are under contract. We can flag fatal flaws — flood zone encroachment, inadequate sewer capacity, deferred infrastructure obligations — that affect land value and project viability. The cost of a feasibility-level civil review is small compared to the cost of discovering a $400,000 street improvement obligation after escrow closes.
What is the difference between a site plan and a grading plan?
A site plan shows the horizontal layout — building footprint, parking, driveways, setbacks, and utility connections. A grading plan overlays vertical design: proposed contours, cut and fill volumes, drainage swales, retaining walls, and earthwork quantities. Both are typically required for permit submittal, but they serve different review functions. The grading plan is what the Building Department and Public Works use to verify drainage compliance and earthwork quantities.
What site constraints most commonly delay commercial projects in the Bay Area?
The most common delays we see are: (1) undergrounded utilities that require joint trench design with PG&E, which adds three to six months to the schedule; (2) C.3 stormwater compliance that drives significant site area to bioretention, reducing developable area; and (3) deferred infrastructure obligations — particularly curb, gutter, and sidewalk replacements — that municipalities require as a condition of approval. Identifying these early lets you sequence design work and negotiate conditions before they become schedule constraints.