Civil Engineering Plan Submittal Process

Schedule a Pre-Application Meeting

A pre-application meeting is a preliminary informational meeting between an applicant and staff. This meeting is used to help the applicant prepare a development application for submission to the Planning Division, and/or identify any major issues that the proposed project may encounter after submission.  A pre-application meeting is recommended when submitting for any site plans or specific use permits, but is not a mandatory part of the development process.

Due to the high demand for these meetings, pre-application meetings are being scheduled weeks in advance. Please plan accordingly.

Schedule a Pre-Application Meeting

All necessary City of Grand Prairie development applications must be submitted prior to construction plan review. Please call the Planning Division at 972-237-8255 for more information.

Obtain Record Drawings

The Engineer of Record or licensed professional is responsible for obtaining and reviewing record drawings of all existing improvements and shall verify information related to paving and underground utilities within, adjacent to, and associated with the project area. Record Drawings may be obtained from the Engineering Department. Please contact Erik Peters at epeters@gptx.org for information.

Obtain and Review Design Manuals

The Engineer of Record is responsible for obtaining and reviewing all City of Grand Prairie design manuals and related documents as well as Federal, State, and local project specific associated documents.

• Drainage Design Manual
• Wastewater Criteria
• General Notes for Private Development and Standard Detail Sheets

All civil engineering plans and related reports submitted for review and approval must be prepared under the direct supervision of a licensed Professional Engineer registered in the State of Texas, and shall bear the seal of the Engineer of Record. All plans shall include minimum site specific civil sheets (per the Unified Development Code (UDC) Article 12(PDF, 690KB) , Article 14(PDF, 202KB) , and Article 15(PDF, 283KB) ) in addition to the following mandatory sheets:

• Cover Sheet
• Plat (recorded or pending version)
• General Notes and Sheet Index
• Right-of-way Strip map (if applicable)
• Dimensional Control Plan
• Grading
• Paving
• Drainage/Detention
• Utility
• Erosion Control Plan
• Lighting
• Landscape for required detention
• Site Specific Detail Sheet(s)
• City Standard Detail Sheet(s)
• City Standard Testing Notes

All projects shall be tied to the same horizontal and vertical datums utilized by the City of Grand Prairie’s GPS monuments (Horizontal: TX State Plane NAD83 North Central Zone, US Foot; Vertical: NAVD88).  Note the horizontal and vertical datums used by the project on the Dimensional Control Plan, along with the grid to surface scale factor if surface coordinates were used.  Show and label local survey control points clearly on the plans, along with corresponding northing, easting, and Z (elevation) coordinates.

All work and materials shall be in accordance with the City of Grand Prairie Construction Standards and Specifications and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Public Works Construction Standards. Should a conflict be found between publications, the City of Grand Prairie Standards and Specifications shall take precedence. In the event that an item is not covered by the City of Grand Prairie Construction Standards and Specifications, the most current edition of NCTCOG Public Works Construction Standards shall apply. Reference to any other documents contained in the project specifications shall be made to the latest edition of such documents, and shall include the referenced specification in its entirety.

• Note that if civil engineering plans are submitted for review prior to site plan/plat approval, changes to the plans may be required as a result of site plan/plat approval conditions.
• Beginning October 1, 2017, should a construction project require the interruption of traffic on any existing roadway, or the closure of any shoulder or alley, a detailed traffic control plan shall be provided in accordance with the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (TMUTCD). This should be submitted to the Transportation Services department and released by them prior to the release of the Public Works Construction permit.
• Development projects requiring off-site extensions of public utilities may be eligible for pro-rata reimbursements or impact fee credits as detailed in Article 22 of the Unified Development Code (UDC)(PDF, 318KB) , in accordance with Article 12(PDF, 690KB) of the UDC, at the option of the City.
• It is the Developer’s responsibility to establish any pro-rata prior to project completion and acceptance.
• Easements by Separate Instrument (Offsite Easements) – All easements by separate instrument, as necessary for the completion of all improvements shown in the construction drawings, must be submitted to the City for review prior to filing at the County, and prior to release of construction. All offsite easements must be executed prior to the release of a construction permit.

Every attempt by the Engineer of Record shall be made to ensure that all civil engineering plans are complete and comprehensible. Clean and concise plans are necessary for and efficient review, and to minimize construction delays.

All Civil Engineering Plans must be submitted online through our Customer Self-Service Portal, CSS . Paper plans will not be accepted.

If required, applications for the following permits should be submitted to the City's Stormwater Inspections group prior to the City's release of the civil engineering plans:

• Floodplain Development Permit
• Clearing, Grubbing, and Earthwork Permit
•  Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) 

The City of Grand Prairies requests that agreements with other agencies or property owners that support the development be completed prior to releasing civil engineering plans. This reduces the risk of construction without permission from other affected parties.

Examples of permits and agreements requested prior to the release of the civil plans:

• TxDOT Utility Installation or Pavement/Storm Connection Permit
  • TxDOT Dallas District Permit Process(PDF, 108KB)
  • TxDOT Fort Worth District Permit Process(PDF, 109KB)
• USACE 404 Permit
• TRA Point of Entry Permit
• Property Easements

Copies of these permits shall be submitted to the City for review and record retention.

When City markups have been incorporated or resolved, city staff will notify the design engineer to coordinate with the developer to sign their portion of the City release stamp located on the cover sheet. The cover sheet is to be sealed and signed/dated by the Engineer of Record also. At this time, city staff will also issue a City File number.  This number is different than the X number and is usually in the format of P-, SD-, W-, or SS- following by a number, for example "P-1692."  The City File number should be placed near the lower right-hand corner of each sheet.  The City File number is normally placed in two different places on the cover sheet.

The release of plans by city staff is based on general compliance, and does not approve or warrant the design, and does not relieve the Owner/Developer from any items discovered during construction which are deemed necessary to comply with Federal, State, or City ordinances and standards. The current City Standard Details at the time of release of the Public Works construction permit shall be used to ensure continuity of construction of public improvements.

Once city staff has signed the cover sheet, the selected Contractor may schedule a pre-construction meeting. A pre-construction meeting with Engineering staff is a required step for projects that include public improvements (i.e. facilities that will eventually be owned and maintained by the City of Grand Prairie).

These meetings are held virtually through Microsoft Teams on Thursdays at either 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m.

Schedule Pre-construction Meeting

After the pre-construction meeting is scheduled, submit the following applications, which will be reviewed by staff prior to the meeting: 

• Public Works Construction – Paving Permit Application
• Public Works Construction – Utilities Permit Application
• Traffic Control Plan

Once the required applications are received and the pre-construction meeting is complete, the permit is issued and the project is released for construction. 

If you have questions, please contact Nestor Ramirez, Development Construction Coordinator, at nramirez@gptx.org.

Each contractor or subcontractor must possess a copy of the Final Submittal, and a copy of the Public Works Construction Permit with supporting documentation at the project site. At least one (1) copy of the City of Grand Prairie Clearing, Grubbing, and Earthwork permit, SWPPP, the NOI, and TxDOT Permit(s) as applicable shall be onsite at all times.

The Developer/Contractor must confirm completion of the project once the stabilization thresholds have been met, all erosion control BMPs associated with the project removed, and provide a copy of the SWP3 Notice of Termination (NOT). After confirmation, the Stormwater Department or designee will sign off on the final check list.

Refer to the Final Project Acceptance page for information on submitting record drawings and final acceptance.