There are generally two paths that a Construction Site Plan takes to get final approval from the City of Melbourne. Plans that require City Council/Planning and Zoning Board approval prior to Engineering approval and those that just require Engineering approval.

Formal Site Plans are:

• Commercial development over 3 acres
• Industrial development over 5 acres
• Multi-family development over 20 units
• Development in the Downtown Melbourne Redevelopment Area with net building addition of 25% or more
• New Development in the Downtown Melbourne Redevelopment Area
• Subdivisions
• Development needing Conditional Uses due to Zoning requirements
• Require approval from Planning and Zoning Board and/or City Council prior to submittal to the Engineering Department

For plans that do not need Planning and Zoning Board and/or City Council approval there are three classifications:

• Informal Site Construction Plan
  • Commercial development less than 3 acres
  • Industrial development less than 5 acres
  • Redevelopment of existing site
• Redevelopment Site Construction Plan
  • Modifications to existing developed sites that do not include building additions greater than 500 sq. ft.
  • Does not include water and/or sewer changes, except addition of RPZ
• Water Outside City Construction Plan
  • Water or Sewer connection to City of Melbourne’s utility services for projects that are not within the City of Melbourne
    • The City of Melbourne provides water to unincorporated Brevard County, the Town of Palm Shores, Town of Melbourne Village, City of Satellite Beach, City of Indian Harbour Beach, Town of Indialantic, and the Town of Melbourne Beach. Sewer services may be available for sites on the mainland. The City of Melbourne provides no sewer services to areas lying on the barrier island.

Final determination of site plan review categories for specific projects will be made by the Engineering Department. For more information, call (321) 608-7300.

View a diagram of the development review process

Construction Plan Application Review Process

In most cases the procedure for engineering/construction plan approval will take 2-3 weeks. The time frame required for approval will rely mainly on: 1) the size of the project; 2) the quality of the plans submitted; and 3) the time the city awaits re-submittal of plans for corrections. Below is a summary of the informal plan approval process.

Preliminary Conference

The applicant is encouraged but not required to meet at least once prior to application submittal with a representative from the Engineering Department and Planning Division to discuss basic plan requirements, preliminary site features, the proposed development, concurrency, comprehensive plan compliance, a preliminary plan, and site design. At a minimum, it is advised that the applicant bring a proposed layout of the project and a tree survey to the meeting.

Application Submittal

The applicant shall submit plans prepared in accordance with the City’s Plan Design Specifications and Plan Design Guidelines and other submittals that may be required as outlined in Construction Plan Submission.

Staff Review

Once a complete application package is received, plans are routed to necessary departments throughout the city for review and comment. Projects will be reviewed for both general and specific standards along with all applicable federal, state, county, and city regulations that can be reviewed at the City level. Comments will then be consolidated and given to applicant for correction of the engineering/construction plans. Re-submittal and comment by city staff will continue until such time as the plans are correct. At least two revisions to the plans are typical. Additional fees will be assessed if more than three reviews are required.

Outside Agencies

While plan review is occurring within the City of Melbourne, the applicant should submit to all necessary outside agencies with jurisdiction over the project. The City will not sign Florida Department of Environmental Protection or Florida Department of Transportation Permits until after first review and inspection and permit processing fees are paid.

Approval to Begin Construction

Plan Approval will occur once all requirements have been met, which includes the submission of all required document and the payment of all fees and bonds. Approval will be granted by the issuance of a stamped and signed set of plans after the Pre-Construction Conference.

Construction Site Plan Review Forms and Applications