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
