Site Plan Examples: 23 Real Permit-Ready Plans

Last verified August 2026·Reviewed by Todd Hartman

Quick answer

These are 12 real site plans we drew for actual permit applications: decks, a detached garage, fences, a paver patio, and a pergola, plus driveway, new-construction, and commercial formats. Every sheet shows the elements reviewers check: property lines with dimensions, the proposed work drawn to scale, setback distances written as numbers, and recorded easements. Click any plan to enlarge it.

Most pages about site plans describe the drawing. This one just shows you the drawings. Every plan below is a real sheet we delivered for a customer's permit application, published with owner and order details redacted, at the standard residential format: an 11 by 17 sheet at 1 inch = 20 feet, drawn from county GIS records and satellite imagery. Click any sheet to enlarge it, where every dimension is readable.

As you look through them, notice how the same anatomy repeats: the north arrow and scale in the corner, the boundary drawn with its dimensions, existing structures labeled, the proposed work in its own color, and setback distances written as numbers. That repetition is the point. Reviewers see hundreds of these, and a plan that follows the format gets read quickly. Our guide to site plans for permits explains each element; this page shows what they look like done.

Deck site plan examples

Deck reviewers check the setbacks to each lot line, the separation from the house where the deck is freestanding, and any easements the footprint could touch. Three variations:

Attached rear deck, Sunbury, Ohio. A proposed 25 × 12 ft deck with 4 ft steps, dimensioned to both side lot lines, with the 30 ft building setback line and both utility easements drawn. The scope-of-work note spells out exactly what the reviewer is approving.
Corner-lot deck, Plain City, Ohio. Two street frontages, a curved right-of-way, and three separate drainage and utility easements. Corner lots get extra review attention, and this sheet shows why the drawing has to carry more information than a mid-block lot. See site plans for unusual lots for corner, flag, sloped, and easement cases.
Deck and above-ground pool, Schenectady, New York. The proposed deck serves an above-ground pool, so the plan dimensions both, plus the distances between structures and the 25 ft and 10 ft building setback lines. Pool projects add barrier and separation checks on top of the usual ones.

Planning one of these? The deck site plan page covers what your city checks, and the deck permit guide covers whether you need a permit at all.

Second-storey deck, Beaverton, Oregon. A deck at first-floor and second-storey level on an irregular, sloping lot. The sheet carries contour lines, a curve table for the road frontage, and the septic tank and approximate leach field, because a deck footing near a drainfield is a rejection waiting to happen. Note the detail inset at a larger scale: when the house fills a small part of a big parcel, that is how you keep the dimensions readable.
Deck between two easements, Beavercreek, Ohio. The buildable space here is defined by what you cannot build on: a 15 ft stormwater easement down one side and a 10 ft utility easement down the other, with the 10 ft rear building setback line closing the box. The deck and its stairs sit in what is left. This is the clearest example on the page of why the easements have to be drawn, not assumed.

Garage site plan examples

Detached garage, Jamestown, North Carolina. A proposed 18 × 25 ft garage placed behind the residence, with the 5 ft utility easement along the street frontage drawn and the existing driveway shown as the access route. Garages get the strictest site-plan review of the common projects; this is the drawing that answers it.

See the garage site plan page for the five checks reviewers run on garage applications.

Detached garage, Dallas, Texas. A proposed garage set behind the house on a long, narrow lot, dimensioned to the 5 ft building setback lines on both sides. Three existing sheds and a drainage ditch along the rear are all drawn, which matters: a reviewer checking lot coverage counts every accessory structure, not just the new one.
Two-car garage, Chunchula, Alabama. A 3 acre rural lot drawn at 1 inch = 100 ft, with two detail insets at 1 inch = 50 ft and 1 inch = 20 ft so the garage dimensions and its distance to the existing residence stay legible. If your lot is large and your project is small, this is the layout to copy.
Metal garage on acreage, Chico, California. A 1,260 sq ft metal garage on 5.76 acres. The sheet locates two road easements, the well, the septic drainfield and the contours, and totals the impervious surface at the bottom left. On rural parcels the well and drainfield set the real constraints long before the setback lines do.
Garage conversion, Carson, California. Converting an attached garage to living space on a 0.09 acre lot. The scope-of-work note is doing the heavy lifting: no change to the footprint, no new construction, no demolition. When nothing moves, the plan's job is to prove exactly that, and to show the two existing sheds and the walls that are staying put.

Fence site plan examples

A fence plan is a route, not a footprint: the drawing follows the fence line along the boundary, with heights and gates marked. Easements matter more here than anywhere, because drainage and utility corridors run along the same lot lines fences do.

Corner-lot fence, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A proposed 6 ft fence on a corner lot threaded around storm-drain, water, and sanitary-sewer easements, all drawn from the recorded plat. This is exactly the situation where an easement left off the drawing earns a correction notice.
Alley-lot fence, Salt Lake City, Utah. Proposed fence runs marked along an alley boundary, with the neighbor's garage located and each run dimensioned. Alley access adds its own placement questions, and the plan answers them in one look.

The fence site plan page covers heights, gates, and the sight-triangle rules corner lots add.

Fence, patio and deck together, Fairborn, Ohio. One application covering a 6 ft white vinyl semi-privacy fence, a stamped concrete patio and a composite deck, on a 7,500 sq ft lot. The reason to study this one is the fence line: it runs inside a 10 ft easement, with the gates and the existing storm drain drawn. Fences in easements are usually allowed only with the easement holder's permission, and this is what showing that looks like.

Patio and pergola site plan examples

Paver patio, Wilmington, North Carolina. The standout element is the impervious-coverage table: lot area, every existing paved surface, and the proposed pavers, totaled to 48.79% against the city's cap. This is the patio check most homeowners have never heard of, computed on the sheet.
Attached pergola, Las Vegas, Nevada. A 20.5 × 13 ft pergola attached to the house beside an existing pool and spa, with building and garage setback lines labeled and a scope-of-work note. A covered structure is reviewed harder than flatwork, so the plan shows the attachment clearly.

The patio site plan page explains the impervious-coverage math and when a cover changes the review.

Paver patio and pool, Iselin, New Jersey. Proposed paver areas wrapping an existing pool and deck on a corner lot. The table at the top left is the part worth copying: it itemises every hard surface and carries the lot from 31.3 percent impervious to 54.7 percent. Many towns cap coverage, so on a paving project that table is often the number the reviewer turns to first.

More formats: driveway, new construction, commercial

The same drawing type covers more than backyard projects. From the product gallery:

Driveway and walkway, Tampa, Florida. Flatwork plans still show setbacks and the right-of-way line, because driveways meet the street.
6-foot fence, Miami, Florida. A compact fence plan: the route along the property lines with lot dimensions.
New construction, Amity, Oregon. A proposed structure placed against setback lines on a rural lot with an existing garage.
Commercial site, Lubbock, Texas. The same discipline at commercial scale: building footprint plus a 74-space parking layout.

Shed site plan examples

Shed reviewers work from two numbers: the footprint, which decides whether a building permit is needed at all, and the distance to each lot line. Both belong on the drawing even when the shed is small enough to be exempt, because the zoning setback applies either way.

Shed on a cul-de-sac lot, Oxon Hill, Maryland. A proposed shed and stone pad at the rear of a pie-shaped lot, dimensioned to the side and rear lines with the 25 ft front, 20 ft rear and 6 ft side building setback lines drawn. Two things make it instructive: the lot narrows toward the street so the setbacks bite differently along each boundary, and there is already a shed on the property, which is what a reviewer checks against an accessory-structure limit.

Carport site plan examples

Carports sit in an awkward category: open on the sides, often attached, and in many codes measured for height differently from a garage. These two show how the structure and its height get called out.

Carport, Smithfield, Kentucky. A carport proposed at 9 ft height on a 2 acre lot, with the existing wood deck, shed and gravel driveway all located. Height is called out on the drawing because many zoning codes cap accessory structure height, and a carport is usually measured to the top of the roof rather than the eave.
Carport and storage building, New Orleans, Louisiana. Two accessory structures on one application: an 11 × 30 ft carport along the driveway and a 12 × 24 ft storage building behind it, on a corner lot of about 5,900 sq ft. The scope-of-work note lists both, which is how you avoid a second trip to the counter when a reviewer spots the structure you did not mention.

What every plan here has in common

Different projects, one anatomy. Each sheet carries:

That list is also the reviewer's checklist. If you want it as a working document, the Pre-Submission Checklist walks the same seven checks in order, and what is a site plan explains each element from zero.

Can you copy one of these for your own permit?

No, and it is worth understanding why: the reviewer is not approving the format, they are approving your parcel. The dimensions, setbacks, and easements on these sheets belong to other properties, so a copied plan fails at the first check. What examples are for is learning the standard so you recognize a complete plan when you see one.

To get one for your own project, there are two honest paths. We draw them from your county's parcel records and satellite imagery: $89 to $259, delivered in 24 to 48 hours, revised free until your city accepts it, and 98% are accepted on first submission. Or draw your own using the six-step walkthrough if your city accepts hand-drawn plans; budget an afternoon, start from the free printable site plan template so the title block and scale are already set up, and gate it with the checklist above before it goes to the counter.

Frequently asked questions

What should a site plan example show?

A complete example shows the property lines with dimensions, a north arrow and stated scale, existing structures labeled, the proposed work drawn to scale in its own color, setback distances written as numbers, any recorded easements, and a title block with the parcel facts. Every plan on this page follows that anatomy, which is also the order reviewers check things in.

Can I copy a site plan example for my own permit application?

No. The reviewer approves your parcel, not the format, so the dimensions, setbacks, and easements have to come from your property's records. A copied plan fails at the first check. Use examples to learn what a complete plan looks like, then have one drawn from your parcel data or draw your own to scale.

What scale and size are these site plan examples?

These are 11 by 17 inch sheets at a scale of 1 inch = 20 feet, the most common residential submission format in the US. Some cities specify a different scale, commonly 1 inch = 10, 30, or 40 feet, so check your application packet before printing.

Are these real site plans?

Yes. Every sheet is a plan we delivered for a real customer permit application, published with owner names and order details redacted. They are drawn from county GIS parcel records and satellite imagery, the same method we use for every order.

What is the difference between a site plan example and a template?

A template is a blank layout you fill in; an example is a finished plan for a specific property. Templates help with the title block and legend, but the substance of a site plan, the boundary, structures, setbacks, and easements, cannot be templated because it must match your parcel's records exactly.

Permit requirements vary by city, county, and state. The information in this guide provides general guidance based on common building codes and practices across the US. Always verify requirements with your local building department before starting your project.