At Moon Meeks and Associates, we frequently receive questions about the nature of our land surveying and land planning in Muscogee County, GA. Here are some examples of those questions and more information about the work we perform in our area.
Q: What does a land planner do?
Land planning is the practice of setting the location of buildings, walkways, streets, open spaces and other elements of planned communities. These tasks often require a background in land surveying or civil engineering, so land planners are either people who have been trained in those areas or are people who work closely alongside those professionals. A land planner might, for instance, design a type of utility that will be built across a vacant undeveloped property.
Q: Why is land planning a service offered by surveyors and engineers?
Land planning is one of the first steps you’ll take in any type of land development work—in many cases it occurs even before there’s an official survey of the property. Many surveyors and engineers include land planning services with their other services as a way to bring additional value to the kinds of work they can do with their clients. If their clients do not get land planning services from them, they almost certainly will get them elsewhere.
Q: Is a land planner different than a city planner?
Yes. City planners generally do not do any design work—not in most circumstances, anyway. They are more focused on regulating land use. Land planners do the actual design work that they then submit to the city planner for recommendation for approval.
Q: Are there different types of land planners?
There is some variance in the field of land planning. For example, there are both architectural and engineering land planners, each of which have slightly different focuses. An engineering land planner will focus more on the site itself, and architecture will be a secondary focus. While they will consider the buildings as part of their planning, it’s the overall use of the land and the positioning of the structures they’re concerned about to prevent grading issues or drainage problems.
An architectural land planner, meanwhile, will use the plan developed for the site to focus on framing the structures and architectural components themselves. They will not focus on grading, drainage and utilities—their job is to develop buildings and architectural features in accordance with the approved plans.
Q: Why is it so important to seek the help of land planners?
It is simply not possible to create a sustainable, well-designed neighborhood without the efforts of consultants who cover all of a property’s needs. It takes a collaborative effort among various land use professionals to get the job done correctly and efficiently.
For more information about land planning and what a professional land planner actually does on the job, we encourage you to contact the land planners in Muscogee County, GA at Moon, Meeks, Mason & Vinson, Inc. today with any questions you have. We look forward to working with you on your upcoming project.