Design & documentation · Nationwide
Land Use and Development Entitlements
Before a project depends on a particular use, density or site arrangement, establish the property rules and the decisions needed. True North organizes feasibility records and application work with the appropriate land, design and legal professionals.
For owners, project teams and delivery partners nationwide. The written scope identifies True North’s work, the responsible professionals and any separately contracted construction.
Request a project reviewWhat the scope can include
Select the work and handoff your project needs. The agreement identifies the included deliverables and responsibilities.
Use and development feasibility
Compare the intended operation and development concept with available zoning, overlays, setbacks, access and recorded restrictions. Track assumptions needing authority confirmation rather than treating a map or mailing address as a complete determination.
Applications and public processes
Coordinate supporting exhibits, narratives, owner authorizations and the applicable review pathway for changes of use, variances, special approvals or development applications. Record meeting, notice and decision dependencies from the actual reviewing body.
Parcels and property rights
Bring surveys, plats, easements, dedications, lot combinations or subdivisions into a coordinated property record. Surveyors and legal advisors address boundaries and rights; an entitlement application does not itself create private access rights.
Prepare for the assignment
You can start with incomplete records. Tell us what is available and what still needs to be established.
Information to bring
The parcel identification, current survey and recorded instruments, intended use, conceptual layout, ownership authorization and any prior decisions or correspondence.
The agreed handoff
A feasibility and dependency register, agreed application exhibits and a record of decisions, conditions and unresolved next steps.
Decisions, fees and timing
Scope and dependencies determine the proposal. No universal price or approval date is assumed.
Confirm the basis and responsibility
Review the available records, intended endpoint and authority to use the information. Assign missing inputs, technical decisions and the parties who can authorize changes.
Coordinate and review the work
Prepare the included documents from agreed inputs, resolve interfaces with responsible specialists and track revisions. Record external decisions and conditions separately from work prepared for review.
Account for project-specific dependencies
Property complexity, additional studies, public review schedules, revisions to the development concept and the time needed for owner and authority decisions.
Deliver the defined milestone
Provide the controlling documents and remaining-action record. Identify what is accepted, what still requires a decision and what belongs to a separately contracted next stage.
Identify the actual land-use application
Conditional use permit (CUP), special use permit (SUP), rezoning and planned development are different possible approval paths. Names, eligibility and review bodies vary by jurisdiction; identify the parcel and proposed operation before choosing one.
Conditional or special use
Where the local ordinance provides a CUP or SUP, the request addresses a specified use and its applicable conditions. Supply the operating narrative, site plan, access/parking information and ownership authorization. Coordinate required exhibits, specialist studies, notice/hearing steps and the decision record. A label used by another city does not establish the process for this property.
Rezoning and planned development
Rezoning seeks a change to the applicable zoning designation where zoning applies. A planned-development path may establish site-specific development standards and an approved concept under the local rules. Compare the proposed use, scale, access, infrastructure and phasing with the existing designation and prior conditions. The deliverables can include an application narrative, concept exhibits and dependency register; approval remains an authority decision.
Subdivision, replats and easement changes
Changing parcel geometry or property rights requires different records from a building permit. Start with the current survey, recorded plat, deeds, easement instruments and an authorized ownership contact.
Lot split, consolidation and subdivision plat
A lot split divides land. Lot consolidation combines parcels. A subdivision plat documents the proposed parcel and infrastructure arrangement through the applicable process. A replat revises an existing recorded plat. The surveyor establishes boundaries and the required plat document. Civil professionals assess access, drainage and utility effects. Coordinate owner signatures, review conditions and recordation requirements. These steps do not replace building approval.
Easement amendment or release
Identify the easement holder, purpose, recorded limits and facilities that rely on it. A relocation or amendment may need replacement geometry, utility/drainage design, survey exhibits and new legal instruments; a release needs the holder’s applicable consent and legal documentation. Coordinate the technical package and decision trail with the surveyor, engineer and legal adviser. A site sketch or permit does not extinguish recorded rights.
Before you begin
Common questions
Does a favorable feasibility review guarantee approval?
No. It identifies the apparent pathway and unresolved matters using the available records. The reviewing authority decides the application, and additional conditions or studies may result.
Can this work start before a site is purchased?
Yes, as a scoped due-diligence engagement using authorized records and agreed assumptions. Identify transaction deadlines and obtain legal advice on commitments that depend on approvals.
Does a replat release an easement or approve my building?
Do not assume either result. Identify the applicable plat process, easement holder’s consent and legal instruments, and separate building approvals. Coordinate the survey, civil implications and decision records with the responsible professionals.
Your next step
A project in mind?
Let’s give it direction.
Start with what you know. We’ll help define the path ahead.