Surveying, schematic design, rezoning applications, public hearings, planning commission presentations — we manage the full entitlement package so you can focus on the deal.
7 Deliverables — All Included
We prepare and submit every required application — rezoning, platting, variances, conditional-use permits — on your behalf. Complete, compliant, and submitted on time. You sign where we tell you to sign. We handle the rest.
We attend and present at every hearing. The project narrative, the technical details, the responses to commission questions — we handle all of it. You don’t have to be in the room unless you want to be.
Pre-application conferences, Technical Review Committee meetings, staff follow-ups — we’re in every meeting, taking notes, asking questions, and documenting comments so nothing slips through the cracks. You get a written summary after every interaction.
Engineering-level schematic drawings with preliminary material and grading quantities your contractor can use for early budgeting. These aren’t concept sketches — they’re detailed enough to start getting real numbers from your sitework contractor.
A formal plat submission prepared for jurisdictional review and approval. Lot layout, easements, right-of-way, and legal descriptions — all compliant with local standards and ready for the review cycle.
We prepare the bore location map so your geotech consultant can mobilize immediately after entitlement. No delays between approval and the next phase of investigation.
Coordinated through our in-house survey team and scheduled to keep the entitlement timeline on track. One team, one schedule, zero coordination gaps.
Timeline: All Scope Completed Prior to Zoning Finalization.
Every deliverable in the Entitlement Package is completed in advance of your zoning finalization date as determined by the Jurisdictional Entitlement Schedule. We work backwards from your hearing date and build the production schedule around it — because missing a planning commission cycle can push your project back 30–60 days.
The timeline depends on hearing schedules and complexity, but a typical rezoning in Auburn takes 60–120 days from application to final approval. This includes staff review, planning commission hearing, and city council vote. Samford Group manages the full process and works backwards from hearing dates to ensure every submission is on time.
Legally, no — a developer can manage their own entitlements. Practically, having your engineer of record present at planning commission and manage agency coordination dramatically improves outcomes. Technical questions from commissioners get answered on the spot. Incomplete applications don’t get submitted. And your entitlement strategy is built by the same team that will design the project.
Denial isn’t the end — it’s a detour. In many cases, denial is based on addressable concerns: density, buffering, traffic, stormwater, or community opposition. Samford Group’s entitlement strategy identifies likely objections before the hearing and prepares preemptive responses. If denial occurs, we work with you to revise the approach and resubmit.
A preliminary plat is a formal subdivision layout submitted to the local jurisdiction for review and approval before final construction drawings are produced. It shows proposed lot lines, roads, easements, right-of-way, and setbacks. In most Alabama jurisdictions, a preliminary plat must be approved before you can proceed to final engineering.
Have a project that needs entitlements in Auburn, Opelika, Lee County, or anywhere in Alabama and Georgia? Tell us where the site is and what you’re trying to build — we’ll tell you what the path to approval looks like.