Site plan exemptions
City of Austin Land Development Code § 25-5-2
A site plan exemption lets a qualifying small project skip full site plan review. We confirm eligibility, prepare the application, and track it to approval so your building permit isn't waiting on it.
- Existing building to remain
- Limits of construction, kept small
- New impervious cover
- New water service, filed as a commercial tap plan
What an exemption is
A small-scale review that stands in for a full site plan.
The City describes a site plan exemption as a small-scale development or zoning compliance review completed before a building permit. Approval isn't a building permit, but the building permit can't be approved without it.
Without an exemption, site work on a non-residential site or a change of use needs a full site plan, reviewed for code compliance across Development Services, Austin Energy, Austin Water, Austin Fire, Transportation and Public Works, and Watershed Protection. An exemption keeps a small project out of that process.
Projects that often qualify
- Changes to a site's layout or parking
- A change of use in an existing building
- New or changed utility service connections
- Small additions with limited new impervious cover
A project that exceeds an exemption but is still minor may qualify as a Small Project under LDC 25-5-3, a simplified site plan review. We'll tell you which path fits before you spend money on drawings.
How an exemption moves through the City
Here's how the City handles an exemption, and where we come in at each step.
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1
Check eligibility
We test your scope against each LDC 25-5-2 criterion before anyone pays for drawings.
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2
Prepare the application
The application and exhibits, prepared together with any tap plan the project needs.
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3
City review
Review starts once the City's invoice is paid. If staff return comments, we respond through the City's resubmittal form.
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4
Approved
The approved exemption is posted to your AB+C folder, ready for the building permit.
Exemptions and tap plans together
Commercial tap plans are tied to the site plan exemption. Austin Water needs the exemption's DA case number on the tap plan cover sheet before it will start review, so the two cases have to be opened in the right order.
We prepare both, which means one engineer tracks both reviews and answers both sets of comments.
How Austin Water tap plans work
City of Austin reference
Find out if your project qualifies
Send a short description of the work and a survey or site plan. We'll tell you whether an exemption fits and what it will take.