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Aerial view of a Driftwood Hill Country lot with drive approach, raised beds, and a planned layout
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Landscape Site Planning in Austin, TX

Thrive Landscape and Design arranges the house, drive, septic, utilities, grading, and outdoor zones on your parcel before the slab is poured. Site planning is the upstream work that keeps the landscape from being an afterthought on Austin custom builds and Hill Country lots.

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Site planning is the first move on any custom build, addition, casita, or empty Hill Country lot. Before architecture, before the foundation, before a single tree is touched, we map what the parcel can and cannot do. That includes where the house sits, how the driveway approaches, where the septic field and well go, which trees stay, how stormwater leaves the property, and how outdoor zones connect to each other. On a sloped Dripping Springs lot or a constrained Westlake infill, those decisions decide whether the project flows or stalls.

We work upstream of the architect and builder, not after them. On parcels over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone west of MoPac and across western Travis County, our site plan tracks impervious cover from the first sketch so the project does not exceed coverage caps at permit. Inside Austin city limits we identify every heritage tree (19" DBH for protected species under the City of Austin tree ordinance) and draw its critical root zone so the foundation, drive, and utility trenches respect it. See all our landscape design services for the bigger picture this work fits into.

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  • 500+ Projects Completed
  • 19+ Years Experience
  • 5/5 Average Rating
What We Do

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    3D Design

    Photo-real 3D renderings built off the site plan so you can see the finished layout before construction starts.

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    Backyard Design

    Once the site plan is set, we design the backyard layout: patios, shade, planting, and flow from the house out.

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    All Landscape Design Services

    Browse our complete landscape design offering, from consultation and site planning through master plans and full installation.

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Our Site Planning Process

  1. Survey and tree inventory on a Dripping Springs lot with a live oak

    Survey & Inventory

    We start with your boundary and topographic survey, then walk the parcel to inventory what is there. That includes heritage and significant trees with DBH and critical root zone measurements, existing drainage patterns, soil and rock conditions, the viewshed, neighboring structures, and any existing utilities or septic. By the end we have a layered base map that every planning decision will sit on top of.

  2. Constraints & Opportunities

    Next we overlay the rules and realities on the base map. Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone impervious cover caps, City of Austin heritage tree protections, Travis County drainage and floodplain limits, HOA setbacks, septic field requirements, and wildfire defensible space for WUI areas. We also flag the opportunities, such as the spot where the house should sit for the long Hill Country view or where the drive can curve to save a 40-inch live oak.

    Aerial of a Spicewood parcel showing gravel, mulch, and paver zones
  3. Aerial layout of drive, beds, and paver zones on a Driftwood Hill Country lot

    Layout Options

    We draw two or three layout options that arrange the house, drive, garage, septic field, well, future casita or workshop, pool pad, and outdoor zones differently. Each option has tradeoffs we explain in plain language: viewshed versus solar orientation, drive cost versus tree preservation, future expansion versus impervious cover budget. You pick the direction that matches how you want to live on the land.

  4. Final Site Plan

    The chosen option is drawn up as a scaled final site plan with grading and drainage notes, tree protection fencing, impervious cover tally, utility routing, and outdoor zone designations. This is the document we hand to your architect, builder, and civil engineer so everyone is building from the same page. We stay involved through permitting and construction to make sure the plan survives the build.

    Finished Driftwood site with raised beds, stone pavers, and a walkway
Dripping Springs Hill Country lot with a live oak awaiting a site plan
Finished custom home with thoughtful driveway and planter bed placement
Is It Time?

Signs You Need Site Planning

Empty Lots, New Builds, and Major Site Constraints

Most landscape failures on a new build trace back to a decision that should have been made before the foundation. Site planning is how you avoid that, especially on Hill Country parcels where slope, trees, septic, and recharge zone rules all collide.

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  • Parcels in Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Wimberley, Spicewood, and Lago Vista come with their own puzzle: house placement, drive approach, septic field, well, viewshed, and tree preservation all need to be solved together. Site planning is how you avoid putting the foundation in the wrong spot.

  • Additions look simple until you check setbacks, impervious cover budget, and root zones of mature trees. A focused site plan tells you what fits, what does not, and how to phase utilities so Phase 1 does not block Phase 2.

  • Austin clay swells and shrinks with moisture, and water moving toward the slab is a problem that gets worse, not better. A site plan re-grades the parcel for positive drainage and routes stormwater the way the land actually wants to send it.

Aerial site overview of a custom home with flagstone walkway and garden beds
Custom Hill Country home with stone retaining walls and a thoughtful site arrangement

Why Choose Thrive Landscape and Design?

  • We Sit at the Architect’s Table

    We coordinate with your architect, builder, and civil engineer from the first concept meeting so the landscape, drive, and drainage are not retrofitted at the end.

  • Heritage Tree & CRZ Protection

    We measure DBH, draw critical root zones, and arrange foundations and trenches to respect heritage live oaks under the City of Austin tree ordinance.

  • Recharge Zone & Impervious Cover

    For parcels west of MoPac over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, we track impervious cover from concept so the project clears Austin Watershed Protection review.

  • Wildfire Defensible Space Built In

    For WUI parcels in Lago Vista, Spicewood, and other wildfire-prone zones, we orient structures and clearings around Texas A&M Forest Service Firewise defensible space principles.

Our Service Areas

Site Planning Across Greater Austin & The Hill Country

We plan sites across Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties, with a heavy focus on Hill Country parcels in Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Wimberley, Spicewood, and Lago Vista. We coordinate with Austin Watershed Protection on Edwards Aquifer recharge zone properties and with Travis County on floodplain-adjacent parcels.

  • Lakeway
  • Driftwood
  • Westlake Hills
  • Round Rock
  • Lake Point
  • Bee Cave
  • Dripping Springs
  • Spicewood
  • Wimberley
  • Lago Vista
  • Cedar Park
  • & more
Our Portfolio

Site Plans Across The Hill Country

From Dripping Springs empty lots to Westlake infill builds, every project on our boards started with a site plan. We figure out where the house should sit, how the drive approaches, which trees stay, and how the land sheds water — before anyone breaks ground.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Architecture designs the building. Site planning decides where that building sits on the parcel and how everything around it works together. We map driveway approach, garage orientation, septic field, well location, outbuildings, viewshed, tree protection zones, grading, and drainage before the slab is poured. The architect designs the house. We make sure the house, drive, utilities, and outdoor spaces actually fit the land. On most custom Austin builds the two disciplines work side by side.

  • Yes, and we prefer to be brought in early. The cheapest time to move a foundation, redirect a driveway, or save a heritage live oak is on paper. We sit in design meetings with your architect and builder, share grading and tree protection drawings, and flag conflicts before they become change orders. Most of our custom-build clients loop us in right after the site is purchased.

  • Inside Austin city limits, the heritage tree ordinance protects certain species at 19 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) and above, including live oak, pecan, bald cypress, and others. You generally cannot remove a heritage tree without city approval. Site planning identifies every protected tree on the parcel, draws its critical root zone (CRZ), and arranges the house, drive, and utilities to respect those zones. Catching a heritage oak before it shows up in the construction path saves months of review. See the City of Austin trees and development page for the current rules.

  • West of MoPac and across much of western Travis County, parcels sit over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. That triggers strict impervious cover caps on driveways, patios, roof footprints, and pool decks. Site planning quantifies impervious cover at concept stage so the project does not exceed allowable coverage at permit. We coordinate with the Austin Watershed Protection Department and consider pervious paving where it helps the math work.

  • We handle the landscape and grading side of floodplain coordination. If your parcel touches a FEMA flood zone, a creek easement, or a Travis County drainage corridor, we draw the site plan to keep structures, septic, and drives outside the regulated area. For the engineering and permit submittal itself we work with a licensed civil engineer or floodplain administrator, then implement their grading and drainage requirements in the site plan.

  • Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons clients call us. If you might add a casita, pool, workshop, or detached garage later, we plan utility stubs, setbacks, sun exposure, and pad locations now. That keeps Phase 1 from blocking Phase 2. We also factor in the heritage tree footprint and impervious cover budget so the future build does not run into a wall.

  • No. A stamped boundary or topographic survey is produced by a licensed Texas surveyor. We work from your survey, or we recommend a surveyor we trust if you do not have one yet. Our site plan is a scaled landscape and arrangement drawing built on top of that survey. For permit submittal, your engineer or surveyor provides the stamped sheets and we provide the site planning and landscape drawings that sit alongside them.

  • Call (512) 503-1935 or use the contact form. We schedule a site walk at the property, usually within one business week. Bring your survey if you have one, plus any architect concepts or builder estimates. The walk takes about an hour and a half. We map heritage trees, note slope and drainage, check for recharge zone status, and discuss how you want to use the land. After the walk you receive a written scope and flat site planning fee.

Plan The Site Before You Pour The Slab

Start with a site walk. We will map heritage trees, slope, drainage, and recharge zone status, then come back with a flat-fee site planning proposal built around your parcel and how you want to live on it. See all landscape design services or call us to get started.

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