Menu:

Planning & Development - Development Plan Review

SUBMITTAL & PROCESS

Pre-Requisites for a Building Permit Pre-Requisites for LDP Permit
Fees Site Plan Review Process
(commercial & multi-family)
Building Plan Review Process Grading Plan Review Process
Clearing Plan Review Process Final Plat Review Process
Preliminary Plat Review Process
(residential) 		Clearing & Grubbing Plan Review Process

Site plans of including construction, development, preliminary plats, final plats, re-submittals, any documentation associated with development plans, etc., will be accepted on Fridays of each week between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The Department is in the process of digitizing all previously approved plans and storing those copies of plans in a searchable computer database. Under State Records Retention Laws, the Department is required to retain any plans for the life of the project, plus 20 years. Therefore, the Department has a tremendous inventory of paper records with a lack of storage space. Effective now, the City will require the final approved plans to be submitted in hard copy which will be retained for 3 years after completion of the project for easy access, but we will also require those plans to be submitted on CD in .TIF format for perpetual records retention. Digital plans will not be accepted for review purposes.

Requirements with submittal include:

City Engineers of Record

Non-Residential and Multi-Family Site Plan Review Process
Site plan review takes approximately 7-10 days to complete. The developer, or his designee, must submit four (4) complete sets of a site plan and one (1) copy of the hydrology report to the Department for review along with the required Review Fee. Additional information is listed above.

The site plan must include:

Staff will coordinate review of the plan with the City's Engineer of Record. If requested, Staff will coordinate review of the plan with the Georgia State Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SSWCC - Conyers office: 770-761-3020), or the applicant may deliver the plan to SSWCC themselves in person or by mail. You may elect to pay an additional review of $150.00 for the City Engineer to review the plan for project areas which are five (5) acres or less, which will expedite the process rather than having to go through the State. The City will accept plans for review on Fridays only between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While the Staff is processing your site plan, you may submit utility and site plans to Gwinnett County Water, Sewer and Fire for approval. You may call 770-822-8000 to determine how many sets of plans, fees required and dates for submittal. Each agency will sign off on the City's Route Sheet when they are approved.

If you are seeking a new curb cut on a County maintained roadway, you must submit your plan to Gwinnett County Department of Transportation at 770-822-7400. If you are seeking a new curb cut off of a State roadway, you must submit your plans to the Georgia Department of Transportation at 770-339-2308.

If you are planning to remove any trees classified as "specimen" in the Buffer, Landscape & Tree Ordinance, you must submit a written request along with the Tree Protection/Removal Plan explaining why the specimen trees cannot be preserved and must be removed. A simple explanation of "cut and fill" will not be accepted. You must review the placement of the buildings, parking lots, etc. and determine that there is no other way the site can be configured in develop the site. The Director will review all documentation provided, the City Arborist may be asked to review the request and give an opinion, and Staff may also conduct a site visit in order to determine the validity of the request and if the removal will be approved.

Once review is completed, the applicant will be contacted to pick up comments or approved plans and permit. If you have comments to be addressed, please address all of the comments provided and resubmit four sets of revised plans including the original red lined plans for re-review. Re-submittal fee is $150.00. Once the re-submittal has been reviewed and if the plans are approved, a Land Disturbance Permit may be submitted.

Pre-Construction Conference
Prior to actual approval of the site development plans, a pre-construction conference must take place with Planning Staff to discuss the site and any potential concerns (ie., buffers, conditions of zoning, etc.) there may be. Once this meeting takes place, the Director will sign the plans and the permit may be issued. An Erosion Control Bond in the amount of $3,000 per acre must be submitted prior to issuance of the land disturbance permit. The bond may be in the form of a letter of credit, bond or cashier's check. If a check is submitted, it will be cashed and upon issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the site, the money will be refunded to the applicant. Upon issuance of a land disturbance permit, a second conference must take place with the Development Inspector on site. At this time, the grading contractor, developer and Development Inspector (at a minimum) will walk the site and discuss any concerns on the site. No grading activity shall take place until a site visit is completed. Please call 770-476-1790 to set up the required two-step meetings with Staff.

Final Plat Review Process
The applicant must submit four copies of the final plat for review with the proper review fee. The plat will be reviewed in house and may take up to 7-10m days to complete. The maintenance and performance bonds will be calculated and the Route Sheet should be in process as well.

Once the plat has been reviewed, and comments have been returned to the application for revision to the plat - the engineer may re-submit four sets along with the original mylar (if desired) for approval. Bonds must be submitted for the streets (whether public or private) as well and the appropriate Landscape Warranty and other required documents in the CDC packet.

Once the plat has been signed by all required persons and has been recorded at the Gwinnett County Deed Office, sixteen (16) copies of the plat must be returned to the City of Duluth for distribution. Such agencies as the electric company, gas company, tax office, postmaster, etc. must be provided with copies of the plat so that there will be proper service to the new residents.

Clearing Plan Review Process
Clearing plan review takes approximately five to seven days to complete. The developer, or his designee, must submit four (4) complete sets of a clearing plan to the Department for review along with the required Review Fee.

Clearing & Grubbing Plan Review Process
Clearing & Grubbing plan review takes approximately five to seven days weeks to complete. The developer, or his designee, must submit four (4) complete sets of a site plan to the Department for review along with the required Review Fee.

Grading Plan Review Process
Grading plan review takes approximately seven to ten days to complete. The developer, or his designee, must submit six (6) complete sets of a site plan and two copies of the hydrology report to the Department for review along with the required Review Fee.

Preliminary Plat Review Process
Preliminary Plat review takes approximately seven to ten days to complete. The developer, or his designee, must submit four (4) complete sets of a site plan and one (1) copy of the hydrology report to the Department for review along with the required Review Fee.

The site plan must include:

Staff will coordinate review of the plan with the City's Engineer of Record and Georgia State Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SSWCC - Conyers office, 770-761-3020), if necessary. SSWCC may take up to 45 days to complete the review of your plan. You may elect to pay an additional review of $150.00 for the City Engineer to review the plan for project areas which are five (5) acres or less, which will expedite the process rather than having to go through the State. The City will accept plans for review on Fridays only between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While the Staff is processing your site plan, you may submit utility and site plans to Gwinnett County Water, Sewer and Fire for approval. You may call 770-822-8000 to determine how many sets of plans, fees required and dates for submittal. Each agency will sign off on the City's Route Sheet when they are approved.

If you are seeking a new curb cut on a County roadway, you must submit your plan to Gwinnett County Department of Transportation at 770-822-7400. If you are seeking a new curb cut off of a State roadway, you must submit your plans to Georgia Department of Transportation at 770-339-2308.

Once completed, the applicant will be contacted to pick up your comments or approved plans and permit. If you have comments to address, please address all of the comments provided and resubmit four sets of revised plans including the original red lined plans for re-review. Once approved, you may apply for a land disturbance permit. Re-submittal fee is $150.00.

Plan revisions must be submitted in writing. Verbal revisions are not acceptable. Depending upon the extent of the proposed revisions, other approvals may be required on the revised plans. You may contact the Department at 770-476-1790. Revisions and re-submittals follow the same review and submittal schedule. Re-submittals are $150 review fee and revisions to a previously approved plan are generally $250 or 1/2 the original fee, whichever is greater.

Building Plan Review Process
At the time of submittal, you must submit a minimum of three (3) sets of approved architectural/building plans, Application for Building Permit and Review Fee. The plans MUST be stamped by the Gwinnett County Fire Marshal for consideration (678-518-6100) and Gwinnett County Public Utilities (678-376-7600). Turnaround time is approximately 2-3 days, but may take slightly longer for larger projects. The review fee is based upon the permit fee. Staff can calculate your fees once you have completed an application for the Building Permit. If there is a restaurant or other food preparation involved in your project, the Gwinnett County Environmental Health Department (770-963-5132) must also stamp your plans approved prior to submitting to the City. You must obtain approval stamps from the City Building Inspector and the City Planning Director for any new building in a non-residentially zoned district.

It is recommended to submit exterior building elevation (preferably in color) to the Department prior to submittal of the final architectural plans. This will ensure that the exterior facade and design of the building meets the zoning requirements in Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance. Any building within the Downtown area must follow the exterior facade and design guidelines of Article 13 of the Zoning Ordinance. Exterior building facades within the City of Duluth are required to be of either brick, stone, wood or stucco and a minimum 4:12 pitched roof on all four sides of the building. No exposed metal siding or concrete will be permitted. If you are using architectural masonry, it is recommended that you submit samples of the materials and a color elevation for review as well.

For questions with regards to exterior building improvements within the HSO, CPD-C, CBD, CPD-R districts, please contact the Planning Dept. at 770-476-1790.

Plan revisions must be submitted in writing. Verbal revisions are not acceptable. Depending upon the extent of the proposed revisions, Gwinnett County Fire Marshal, Health Department and/or Public Utilities may be required on the revised plans. You may contact Staff or the Building Inspector directly at 678-386-4585. He will not approved changes over the telephone, they MUST be submitted in writing.

If you have any questions about the building plan review process, please call Rich Atkinson or Carol Hill at 770-476-1790.

*NOTE: While the City adopts certain fees for the processing and review of plans, if the cost incurred by the City exceeds the amount charged by the City to the applicant, the applicant shall be responsible for paying the additional costs. All fees must be paid in full prior to issuance of any type of permit.