Exam 2 Vocabulary

Plot Plan

A drawing showing the location of a building on its plot of land and various details of the land. Also called SITE PLAN.

Property Lines

A line shown on a site plan representing the limits of a plot of land. * Surrounding dotted line on photo

Bearing

A measure of direction expressed as degrees east or west of north or south.

Benchmark

A point of known elevation, such as a mark cut on a permanent stone or plate set in concrete, from which measurements are taken. * Helps when surveying land

Zoning

A system of classifying the use and development of land. * What kinds of buildings can go where

Minute

A unit of angular measure equal to 1/60th of a degree.

True North

Actual North, as opposed to the arbitrary Plan North.

Plan North

An ASSUMED North direction (different from true North) that is aligned with the building orientation. * Same as "project" North in the picture

Assumed Benchmark

An arbitrarily chosen benchmark. * Used in land surveying

Easement

An area of land marked for use and maintenance of utilities.

North Arrow

An arrow shown on a plan view drawing indicated the orientation of the structure.

Tangency

Having contact at a single point or along a line without crossing.

Second

In angular measurement, a unit equal to 1/60th of a minute and 1/3600th of a degree.

Contour Lines

Lines drawn on the site plan to indicate changing elevation of the land. All of the points along a single contour line are the same elevation. * The closer the line intervals are to one another the steeper the landscape

Minute vs Second (As it refers to angular measurement)

Minute : 1/60th of a degree Second : 1/3600th of a degree

Delta

The central angle formed by the radii of a curve meeting the curve at points of tangency.

Setback

The distance from the property boundaries to the building location, required by zoning. This is a restriction imposed on a property owner. * Local governments create setbacks through ordinances and Building Codes, usually for reasons such as safety, privacy, and environmental protection. * Typically how far away from the road you can build the house according to code.

Topography

The locations and details of land features.