Tips on Drawings & Plans
Your application must include drawings and plans that clearly illustrate the specific details of your project.
To ensure timely processing, be sure to include all of the drawings and plans that are required by each agency. It’s also important to understand that some agencies have unique format requirements for maps, drawings, and plans.
Core Elements Required by Agencies
1. Site Location Map
This map locates the site of your project on a larger vicinity map. A vicinity map must be from an official mapping source- either a Hagstrom road map, or a Google or Bing map – and must include names of adjacent roads and the latitude and longitude coordinates
- Include NYC Block and Lot Information, if available. (see NYC Dept. of Finance’s digital mapping tools for help with this).
- Acceptable format: 8 ½” x 11” paper, black and white
Sample
Army Corps Applicant Guide, page 25
2. Site Plans
These are birds-eye view drawings, drawn to scale views of your proposed project, as if you were looking straight down on the site from above.
Site plan samples
3. Elevations and/or Cross-section Drawings
An elevation and/or cross-section view is a scale drawing that shows the side, front, or rear of your proposed activity. If a cross-section view is shown, it represents the proposed structure as it would appear if sliced down the middle.
Cross-section view samples
4. Additional Elements required by the NYS DEC
Cover Sheet
The NYS DEC recommends a cover sheet that includes the project title information and a list of drawings with the latest revision dates. (see: DEC’s Waterfront Activities Application Checklist) [link to PDF document on our site until such time as DEC has a copy available on their own site]
Existing Site Conditions Map
This is a drawing that maps the property boundary and identifies ownership information, including adjoining landowners. It should also include existing natural and built features, including boundaries for all wetland and adjacent areas, as well as those for Coastal Erosion Hazard Areas (CEHA), if applicable.
Formatting Differences Between Agencies
Army Corps Format
The Army Corps needs all maps, plans, and drawings created and submitted on 8 ½” x 11” paper. They do not accept large-scale or survey format drawings that have been reduced to fit 8 ½” x 11” paper – such drawings would not be legible for agency review. Army Corps also needs to be able to scan the drawings for publication. Although you may submit large-scale survey format plans and drawings to the Army Corps, it still requires one set of drawings originally designed in the 8 ½” x 11” format. More about the Army Corps formats can be found in its Applicant Guide.
NYS DEC Format
The NYS DEC requires at least two large (full) scale drawings of the Existing Site Conditions Map, Proposed Project Site Plans, and Cross Sections and Details drawing.
- Size: Standard Drawings Sizes, such as 24” x 36” or 36” x 48”
- Scale: Use a legible, standard architect scale (such as 1/16”=1’-0”) or engineering scale (1” = 10’-0”, 1”=20’-0” 1” = 30’-0”)
- Formats and number of copies: Two copies at full-scale; one copy at a reduced size, (11” x 17”); and one digital PDF file of the entire application (documents and drawings) on CD-ROM.
Drawing Guidelines & Checklists
Army Corps Guidelines
Drawing guidelines for Army Corps can be found in:
NYS DEC Checklists
The NYS DEC has developed project-specific drawing checklists for common project types:
