# Complete Site Plan Walkthrough: Every Step in One Place
This is the full sequence, start to finish, based on the actual video walkthrough on our support page. If you'd rather watch it than read it, the video covers the same ground in about 12 minutes.
The Full Sequence
1. Enter your address. Your parcel loads with property lines, bearings, and distances already labeled, plus the adjoining property on either side.
2. Generate setbacks. Pick your front property line, click Generate Setbacks, and adjust the values — front, side, rear — to match your city's actual requirements. If the setback line collides with your existing building outline in the aerial image, your values are too large; bring them down.
3. Generate right-of-way. Pick your front line again, generate ROW, and adjust the interval to match the real edge of the road.
4. Place existing trees. Add any trees relevant to your project, placed outside the lot first, then dragged into position.
5. Add existing topography. Utility symbols — water valves, meters, poles — placed based on what's actually on your property.
6. Turn layers on and off as needed to manage visual clutter while you work.
7. Add your structures. Pool, deck, shed, garage, ADU — whatever your project is. Place outside the lot first, then drag into position, resize, and rotate.
8. Add dimension lines for any specific measurement your permit needs shown beyond automatic labels.
9. Generate buildings. This populates existing building outlines in red — click Generate again if it doesn't fully populate the first time.
10. Generate contours. Default 1 ft minor / 5 ft major intervals — the standard most cities expect.
11. Add fences and driveways. Fence tool for proposed fence lines with height set first; ingress-egress easement tool for driveways, traced against the satellite image.
12. Clean up labels and export. Use Fix Labels or the PL Table Creator for cluttered lots, adjust label positions for readability, fill in your title block notes, and export your final PDF.
Why This Order Matters
Setbacks and right-of-way come early because everything else — structure placement, dimension checks — depends on knowing where those boundaries actually are. Label cleanup comes last because it's easiest to judge what needs fixing once every other element is already on the plan.
FAQ
How long does this whole process take?
Most users finish in around 10-12 minutes once they're familiar with the workflow — closer to the video's runtime.
Do I need to follow every step for every project?
No — a simple fence plan might only need steps 1, 2, 3, 11, and 12. Use what your specific project and city actually require.
Where's the full video?
On the support page — the same walkthrough this article is based on.
Related Tools
Every step above links to its own detailed article — see the support center for the full list.
Start Here
Create My Site Plan — Need help? [Get support from our help desk →](support@siteplans.ai)