Bring a land surveyor into predevelopment before the team commits to a layout that depends on unverified property lines, elevations, access or easements. In Seattle, that can be well before permit intake. A building can fit on a parcel sketch and still fail to fit the measured site.
Start with the decision that could change the project
Consider a proposed driveway between an existing building and a property line. Its feasibility may depend on three different things: the actual boundary, the grade at the street and any recorded rights affecting the access. An aerial image can help the team discuss the idea. It cannot settle those questions.
The first survey conversation should identify which missing information could force a different layout. The planner can identify the approval constraints; the architect and civil engineer can mark the measurements they need; the surveyor can define the research and fieldwork.
Three points to involve the surveyor
- Before the acquisition decision. Resolve the boundary and access questions that could change what the buyer is willing to purchase. Our pre-acquisition due diligence checklist helps organize those questions alongside the other property investigations.
- Before the layout becomes the design base. Confirm the building, retaining walls, trees, street connections and grade relationships the designers are relying on. Include off-site areas when a connection or transition depends on them.
- Before the permit package is assembled. Check that the measured base contains what the actual review path requires. Discovering a missing frontage elevation at this point should prompt a targeted update, not an assumption.
Use Seattle’s checklist for the application at hand
Seattle’s land-use intake checklist distinguishes requirements by decision type and includes plan-set requirements. A lot boundary adjustment and a design review application do not call for identical packages. Have the project team identify the applicable requirements before the survey is priced.
Permit requirements also do not describe every measurement a designer may need. A compliant site plan can still leave an unresolved design question beyond its mapped limits.
Agree on a usable first delivery
Put the next decision, survey limits and required files in the scope. If the team needs a preliminary base before a final signed survey, identify what that earlier file may be used for and what remains unresolved.
Later staking and as-built work can be scoped around the construction sequence. There is no benefit in collecting information months early if the site will change before it is needed. The immediate aim is to give the team enough verified information to make the next commitment. For the design handoff, see what architects need from boundary and topographic surveys.
