Site Planning
Site planning decides where a building sits on its land and how it meets everything around it: sun and views, slope and drainage, trees, setbacks, driveways, parking and utility connections. Getting those decisions right early shapes how a building performs and feels for its whole life, and it’s often where the biggest savings in construction cost and energy use are found.
Aligned Architecture plans sites at every scale, from fitting an ADU and its utility connections into an existing backyard, to turning a hillside custom home toward its views and the sun, to laying out affordable housing communities around shared courtyards, gardens and walkable paths, as we did at Rosa Village and the Jeffrey Commons mini home village. Sloped, wooded, narrow and view-constrained lots are where careful site planning matters most, and they make up a large part of our residential work.
Services Include:
- Site analysis: topography, solar orientation, views, drainage and trees
- Building placement and orientation for passive solar design
- Site planning for sloped, wooded or view-constrained lots
- Infill and compact-lot planning
- ADU siting and utility connection coordination
- Access, parking and circulation layout
- Courtyard and community layouts for multifamily and affordable housing
- Setback, lot coverage and zoning compliance
FAQ
What is a site plan?
A drawing of a property that shows its boundaries, existing and proposed buildings, setbacks, driveways, parking, utilities and landscaping. Most building permits require one.
Do I need a site plan for a building permit?
Almost always. Even small projects like ADUs and additions typically need one showing where the work sits relative to property lines and existing structures.
What's the difference between site planning and master planning?
Site planning places a specific project on its land. Master planning sets the long-range layout for a whole property, often with several buildings and phases.
Can you design for a steep or difficult lot?
Yes. Sloped, wooded and view-constrained sites are a specialty, and we design homes to work with those conditions rather than against them.