Draw a Site Plan for My Residential Building Project

An accurate, scaled site plan is required for most residential building permit applications for new construction or additions.

What Is a Site Plan?

A site plan is a map of your entire lot, that is drawn to scale, and shows all existing and proposed structures above or below ground. Building setbacks, easement areas, lot dimensions, and other information should be included to help Building and Planning provide a timely review of your project.

See a good YouTube video about how to draw a site plan (7 minutes long).

Why is a Site Plan important?

Site plans help city staff review how your project interacts with its surroundings, and whether it meets Oregon City Municipal Code and Building Code requirements. The site plan image gives a clearer picture of the size, scope, and impact of your project, that words on an application form can’t fully describe. Complete site plans help Building and Planning review your project quickly and efficiently. Incomplete site plans often lead to delays in the review and approval of your project as we must follow up to get the information we need to complete our reviews.

Who can draw a Site Plan?

You may draw your own or have a designer, architect, or other professional prepare one for you. Whether you prepare it yourself or have someone else do it, you are responsible for its accuracy and completeness.

Are there any tools that can help me?

Yes, the City Website has many helpful tools you can use to create a proper site plan for your project, including:

What should a good Site Plan include?

The City will only accept site plans that are drawn to scale. This means that distances in the "real world" correspond to distances on the site plan (e.g. one inch on the page equals twenty feet on the ground). You may use an architect's scape or an engineer's scale. You may also use graph paper for simple site plans. The site plan should show the entire parcel on a single sheet of 8.5-by-11-inch or 11-by-17-inch page at a scale that allows easy reading of all the details on the plan.

In addition, all of the following features should be included on the Site Plan:

  • North arrow and scale indicator
  • Site / parcel address
  • Parcel number
  • Property lines - dimension the length of each line (all sides and segments). Where break lines are used, indicate the length on each side of the break.
  • Property owner
  • Location of sewer, water, and storm service lines
  • Street names adjacent to the property.
  • Easements - indicate location of any private/public easements. These may be shown on the recorded plat of the property, or else are listed in the plat notes.
  • Driveways - indicate location and dimensions.
  • Existing trees - show location of all existing trees on site with drip line and trunk diameter
  • Water and natural features, like streams, wetlands, drainage, and seasonal swales.
  • Footprint of all existing and proposed structures. Label "Existing", "Proposed", or "To be Removed".
  • Dimensions of existing and proposed structures - all sides
  • Setbacks - indicate distances from property lines to structures.
  • Indicate distances between existing and proposed structures
  • Show all decks, patios, retaining walls, bulkheads, etc. Label "Existing", "Proposed", or "To be Removed".

What kinds of residential projects need a site plan?

The easy answer to this question is, anything that needs a building permit! Here are some examples:

Do you have any good examples of a Site Plan?

Absolutely! Here is a link to a Sample Site Plan that you can refer to as a guide to help ensure your site plan has all the necessary information to approve your project.

What if I have Questions?

Feel free to reach out to Building or Planning by email, or call 503-722-3789. You may also ask questions in person at 695 Warner Parrott Road during our Customer Service hours, which are 9am – 4pm, Monday to Thursday.

Documents

  1. Sample Site Plan (PDF)