Tough sites are a contemporary fact
of life. But such sites become a problem
only when surprises arise that
require costly remedies.
In Developing
Difficult Sites,
landscape architect
Donald Brandes and
co-author Michael
Luzier, director of
NAHB's Environmental
Regulations
Department, argue
that if you don't
want problems down
the road, do your
homework before
you even purchase a
piece of land. This
means knowing your
objectives, studying
the market, comparing alternative
sites, and preparing a preliminary
plan. And it means assembling a
team, including a surveyor, landscape
planner, civil engineer, and architect,
to aid you in the process. To the
authors, these up-front expenses are a
good investment, even if you discover
it won't pay to go ahead with the
proposed project. At its best, the process
will yield a plan