Site Plan Review

Local governments can adopt site plan review regulations to govern the development of individual parcels of land. Site plan review requirements can be adopted in a stand-alone regulation, or can be incorporated into a zoning ordinance.

Since site plan review is concerned with how a parcel is developed, what a development will look like after it is completed, and how it will impact its neighbors, required site plan elements (that are defined by the municipality in the local law) may include: parking, site access (for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles), screening, signs, landscaping, architectural features, location and dimensions of buildings, adjacent land uses, and physical features meant to protect adjacent land uses and the community as a whole.