Services
Civil Engineering & Site Design
Site plans, grading, utilities, septic systems, and foundations drawn to your agency's standards, so your project reaches plan check as one coordinated set.
What is civil site engineering?
Civil site engineering is the branch of civil engineering that designs how a property is developed: where buildings, driveways, and parking go, how the ground is graded and drained, how wastewater and utilities are handled, and what foundations carry the buildings.
Often called site civil or site development engineering, it turns a concept or an architect's layout into sealed plans that a city or county can approve and a contractor can build. Parcel and subdivision maps, lot line adjustments, and entitlements are a separate track, covered under Land Development & Mapping.
Design starts from measured ground: a topographic survey for grades and utilities, and a boundary survey for property lines and easements.
Civil Engineering & Site Design services
Each service page explains what's included, when you need it, and the California rules that apply.
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Site Layout
Permit site plans that place buildings, parking, fire access, and utilities within setbacks, dimensioned to your planning or building department's checklist.
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Improvement Plans
Sealed construction drawings for streets, frontage, storm drains, and sewer main extensions, with calculations and an engineer's estimate for agency plan check.
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Grading Plans
Finished grades, drainage, slopes, and earthwork quantities on sealed sheets, ready to submit for a grading permit from your city or county.
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Septic System Design
Septic design for lots without public sewer: soil and perc testing, tank and leach field sizing, and plans prepared to your county's program rules.
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Metal Building Foundation Design
Sealed footing, slab, and anchor rod embedment designs for pre-engineered steel buildings, sized to the manufacturer's column reactions and the soil at your site.
Process
How we work
On most projects the plans build on one another, all tied to the same survey control.
Start from the survey
Topographic and boundary surveys give the design measured grades, property lines, easements, and existing utilities to work from.
Lay out the site
The site layout fits buildings, parking, fire access, and any septic system within setbacks, and becomes the base sheet for everything after it.
Engineer grades, utilities, and foundations
Grading plans shape pads and drainage, improvement plans design streets and pipes, stormwater calculations size basins, and foundation plans carry any steel buildings.
Permit and build
Sealed plans go through agency plan check and are revised to its comments. The same survey control then guides construction staking in the field.
Civil Engineering & Site Design FAQs
Do I need a civil engineer for my project?
A civil engineer is usually needed when a project reshapes the ground, changes drainage, or builds or connects to streets, storm drains, or sewer mains. Septic designs are prepared by whichever licensed or registered professional your local septic program allows. Your city or county decides what a permit requires, often through a submittal checklist or conditions of approval.
Who can prepare civil engineering plans in California?
Civil engineering plans in California must be prepared by, or under the responsible charge of, a licensed civil engineer, who signs and seals the plans and final calculations (Business and Professions Code §6735). Licensed architects practicing architecture are exempt from engineering registration (§6737). Septic designs follow local rules: each county or local agency program decides which licensed or registered professionals may prepare them.
What is the difference between a civil engineer and a land surveyor?
A civil engineer designs how a site will be built: grades, drainage, pipes, streets, and foundations. A land surveyor measures existing conditions and locates property lines. California law says land surveying does not include designing civil engineering works (§8728), and property-line work is limited to licensed land surveyors and civil engineers licensed before 1982 (§8731). Most site projects need both.
Which civil plans will my project need?
The civil plans a project needs depend on its scope and the agency's conditions. A building on a developed lot may need a site plan and a grading and drainage plan. Subdivisions and apartment projects add improvement plans for streets, storm drains, and sewer mains. Rural lots without public sewer add a septic design, and pre-engineered steel buildings need a foundation design.
What affects the cost and schedule of civil engineering design?
The cost and schedule of civil engineering design depend on site size and terrain, how many plan types the project needs, whether a current survey and soils report exist, any off-site street or utility work, and the agency's standards and review cycles. Share the address, any concept or architectural plans, and agency conditions; the proposal then sets scope and timing.
Further reading
Sources & references
- Business and Professions Code §6735, civil engineering documents signed and sealed (California Legislative Information)
- Business and Professions Code §6737, architects exempt from engineering registration (California Legislative Information)
- Business and Professions Code §8728, land surveying does not include design (California Legislative Information)
- Business and Professions Code §8731, civil engineers and land surveying (California Legislative Information)
Last reviewed .