Murphy Partners Share Stories From and Recommendations For Site Plan Application Submissions

Is this familiar? You just got comments to your Site Plan Agreement (SPA) application from the local Planning Department. What you thought was a straightforward development now appears to be bogged down by technical details. You asked the consultants to cover everything, and it took them so much time to prepare the submission, but apparently, not everything is covered. Engineering is asking lots of questions about stormwater management. Urban Design says portions of the building are too high. Urban Forestry refuses to even look at the submission because the landscape drawings do not locate existing utilities. Planners are asking for more studies with the resubmission - expensive studies. How did this happen? Someone dropped the ball. Was it the consultants? Was it yourself? Or is there something you are missing?

Each Site Plan Application Is Unique

At Murphy Partners Seniors Housing Architects, we have made many SPA applications. Not one is the same as the other. Each site brings new challenges. One site may be held up because of environmental concerns, another because of stormwater capacity, and yet another because of noise issues.

Here is an example of concerned neighbors. I worked on the schematic design and SPA of a mid-rise Life Lease project near an existing factory. The factory’s lawyers demanded our client (the owner) sign an agreement that forced certain noise-reducing features to be implemented in the design. The agreement was written to protect the factory from lawsuits by future residents. The developer was in a rush and signed the agreement without heeding my warnings about clauses I thought were too demanding and my requests for a full review by the consultants' team. When we had that conversation later, we found some clauses were written in a manner that was technically impossible or financially unfeasible to implement. This of course led to further delays.

You never predict every challenge in your site plan application, but there are steps you can take to get prepared and actions you can try to avoid.  

Not only is each site different. Each municipality has different general Zoning By-laws. Parking rates, Gross Floor Area calculations (for Toronto sites there are sometimes two GFA definitions!), and the definitions of Building Height vary between different cities and towns. What’s worse, these By-laws may change from time to time. Consultants must do their best to prepare for each SPA submission - the above-mentioned By-laws are some of the basics you can expect your consultants to know. But consultants cannot be expected to catch everything, sometimes there is fine print that needs to be explained by the Planning Staff.  

Finally, each Planning Reviewer is different. After working on several SPA submissions in the GTA, I learned there are some By-laws that different people in the same Planning Department interpret differently. This is especially true in the case of site-specific zoning By-laws that may have been written with vague language. In addition, some Planners are more open to working with developers while others stick to their books. I had one site in Toronto where there was a disagreement among Planning Staff on whether the site-specific definition of Building Height included storeys below grade. Our team eventually resolved the issue in a Committee of Adjustment – apparently, we were not the only site to have this problem. However, the process took time and effort.

What is a developer to do? What are some mistakes to avoid?

Site Plan Application Mistake #1 - Trying to Predict the Unpredictable.

The first mistake some Developers make that delays Site Plan Agreements is to delay the SPA submission. Developers sometimes think that following the Pre-Application Meeting (or whatever a particular municipality calls it), they know everything they need for a successful submission. You, the developer, may think - it is better to get everything ready and get it over in one submission.

This is rarely the case.

Submitting Site Plan Applications Without All of the Reports

I recall an SPA submission my team made without the required hydrogeological study. The company providing the study needed more time to complete it. We made a note in our cover letter that this study is ongoing and will be submitted in a month or two. We started getting circulation comments from the Engineering Department and many of those stated “. . . pending hydrogeological study”.

Other comments, however, allowed our Civil consultant to move further with their design. Comments from other Planning Reviewers such as Urban Forestry and Urban Design allowed the rest of the team to keep working. This meant that by the time the Hydro-G was completed and sent to the city, many other SPA comments were already resolved.

The decision to submit without all of the required information ended up saving valuable time. The SPA was awarded and the building was constructed and occupied.

Site Plan Application Changing Requirements

Here is another related story. A couple of months after submission, the Urban Forestry (UF) Department deemed our application “incomplete”. This was because utility locates information was not shown on the landscape drawings. Everyone on the design team scratched their heads - did we miss something this significant when getting the submission ready? How come the Planning Coordinator at the City did not advise us on this requirement? How did the consultants not know this is needed?

It turned out that this requirement was the result of recent changes to the City’s SPA submission requirements. The technical complexity of the issue was such that I needed to spend 30 minutes on the phone with the Locates Investigation third party just to understand what UF staff wanted. None of the consultants knew about it because it was never required before and the details were buried in the City’s website.

On the other hand, we did get circulation comments from other departments like Urban Design, Engineering, and Zoning. Getting the Locates investigation done took months, but since we already sent in the first submission, we were able to work on these other comments in the meantime. Once the Locates information was incorporated in the landscaping drawings, comments from Urban Forestry were minimal and did not cause further delay. Submitting the SPA without this information, even though not by choice, proved to be the faster route.

“Complete” Site Plan Application

Different Planners and different Planning Departments will make different determinations of the “completeness” of an SPA application. It is always worth asking - can we get by on the first application without this or that report or study? Once the minimum “complete application” requirements are agreed upon (in writing) and ready to submit, my advice is that you submit your first SPA package as soon as possible. Missing information can be submitted in between or in the following resubmissions.

Follow up with the municipal Planning Coordinator after 30 days and request a Notice of Complete Application.

Site Plan Application Mistake #2 - Underestimating How Long Studies and Reports Take

Geotechnical, Hydrogeological, Slope Stability, Traffic, Noise and Vibration, Air Quality, Wind, Sun and Shadows, Environmental Site Assessment, Utility Locates, Downstream Analysis, Water Quality, Hydrant Flow Test, Construction Management Plan, and Waste Management Plan are some of the studies that may be required in an SPA. These studies cost money - thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. But if they are required by a Planning Department, the Developer must spend that money to get SPA approval. The important question is - when?

Before you scold me for forgetting Functional Servicing Reports (FSR) and Stormwater Management Reports (SWM), hold on! I am getting there.

Find Out Which Reports are Needed for Your Site Plan Agreement

When I run a SPA kick off meeting, I always ask the consultants - will we need a downstream analysis? Will we need Utility Locates and at what level of detail? Do we need a wind study or a noise study? Can I get a full list of studies and reports required for this project? This list is often given after a Pre-Application Meeting by the Planning Coordinator at the City, but the sooner the Client’s team has it, the better. I also like to ask consultants to review the list and confirm with their specific counterparts at the Municipality that no further reports are needed. Sometimes the Planning Coordinator at the City doesn’t fully understand the information required by Engineering.

Some of these studies take a very long time to complete. A full downstream analysis might require testing during multiple seasons, and so does an Environmental Site Assessment. If a test during the summer is required and it is now autumn, a significant delay may occur. A Utilities Locates company may advise the study will only take one month from start to report, but it may take several months for the City to permit conducting the study, significantly delaying the process. In other cases, companies get very busy and while a study or report may take only 3 or 4 weeks, they may only start work in a couple of months. After confirming which studies are needed, I always ask for estimated times to complete them. A forward-thinking Developer may commission an expensive study at earlier stages, knowing this will avoid delays 6 months in the future.

But wait, didn’t I just say in Mistake #1 that the SPA should be submitted even if not all studies are complete? I did, and it depends on the situation. This is where we get back to FSRs and SWM.

Site Plan Agreement Reports Impacting The Functional Servicing Report (FSR) / Stormwater Management Report (SWM)

Civil Engineers are responsible for Functional Servicing Reports (FSR) and drawings showing Site Servicing, Site Grading, Erosion Control, and details. Sometimes a Stormwater Management (SWM) Report is required separately and sometimes it is included in the FSR. The FSR uses information about the site to determine things like the size of service connections (pipes) going in (potable water, firefighting water) and out (wastewater, stormwater) of the site. The FSR and/or SWM also state how much surface water needs to be retained on site during a storm event, how groundwater is managed, how much wastewater is estimated to be generated on-site, etc. Some of this information is derived from the design. For example, the number and size of units translate to the amount of wastewater through established formulas. But some of the information requires external studies, notably Hydrogeological (sometimes part of a Geotechnical), Downstream Analysis, Hydrant Flow Test, and sometimes Slope Stability and/or Water Quality Reports.

Without information found in such studies, Civil Engineers may not be able to deliver a Civil package for submission. Since this is a core part of SPA submissions, failing to provide the Civil engineer with studies in a timely fashion may cause significant delays to the SPA timeline.

As I mentioned above, Engineering Departments may still accept submissions with missing information and deem them “complete”. That is why I keep putting “” around “complete”. A first submission may focus on challenging traffic or zoning conditions and the size of the pipes going in and out of the site can wait for the resubmission.

There is no hard and fast rule. Commission necessary studies and reports as early as possible and submit the SPA as early as the consultant team believes the application will be deemed “complete”.  

Site Plan Application Mistake #3 - Waiting Too Long Before Getting a Digital Survey

You have a survey from 10 years ago, or maybe the Architect did a fine job cobbling together information from Google Maps, the online Zoning Map, and an old site plan you found in the archives. You think - we can get the digital survey just before the submission, no need to spend that money now.

That might work. It might also create a serious delay and additional service notice from all your consultants. Let me share another story.

The Importance of Updated Surveys In Site Plan Applications

Last story for this post.

Our office had been working on the schematic design of a project for more than a year when the client sent us an updated digital survey. Up until then, we were relying, under protest, on PDF scans of surveys conducted 20 years before. The client believed these were accurate enough for the schematic design and wanted to 1) save money on surveyors and 2) focus the conversation on design options before getting into serious conversations about planning.

We had a full schematic design package with colourful plans indicating the names and sizes of dozens of different rooms on every floor. The project involved keeping an existing building so in addition to the Landscape Architect and Civil Engineer, the Mechanical, Electrical, and Structural Engineers were also involved in the conversation. We thought a SPA submission was just around the corner. Then the updated survey arrived.

The first thing we noticed was that there was a big easement under a portion of the proposed building, where construction is not allowed. We then squinted, scratched our heads a little, and noticed the second discrepancy - a portion of the site no longer belonged to the Owner. It must have been conveyed to the municipality or region in the past, perhaps under different ownership. In any case, the entire design we and our consultants spent so much time working on was completely unfeasible. You cannot build on someone else's land.

After the initial shock by all parties involved, our team proposed an entirely new design for this site. This created an odd situation - we delivered the schematic design the Developer originally commissioned us to do, and then we went and did it all over again, spending a significant amount of time. We expected the client to make us whole, and so did our sub-consultants. To the Developer, the effort and costs put into the previous design have been a waste.

Get An Updated Survey As Soon As You Can

Getting an updated digital survey should be the first thing a Developer gets before starting schematic design. A survey will confirm the extent of owned land, existing grade elevations, easements, and visible utilities. It may also reveal updates to neighboring property lines which could help anticipate next steps. For example, on sites adjacent to Right of Ways undergoing street widening, adjacent sites property lines may give an idea of changes to your own property lines.  

Before Starting SPA – Let Us Help You Figure Out Your Site

Your company has a site, and you think 10 storeys of Seniors Apartments could work nicely. You did your due diligence and sketched a proforma on the back of an envelope. Now you need a design expert’s opinion.

Or, perhaps, your company owns several sites. You want to know which one has the best potential for a Long-Term Care Facility or a Retirement Home.

In either case, you are worried about spending too much only to find out it won’t work. Commissioning reports is costly, how can you protect your company from unknowns?

We cannot predict all the challenges you will encounter in your SPA. But we can cost-effectively provide you with the basics:

• Rough idea of the number of suites and average size

• Rough idea of gross construction area

• Rough idea of the number of parking spaces

• Analysis of existing building compliance to code and other mandatory standards

• High-level zoning and code analysis to determine Planning Departments' paths forward

• Preliminary review of which specialty consultants and reports are needed? (e.g. Noise, Environmental)

Murphy Partners can provide a low-commitment Client Needs and Options Review for your site to determine the above. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation to discuss your next project.

If you enjoyed this content and wish to receive notifications of future articles, please subscribe to our newsletter.