Land planning & rezoning
Before anything gets engineered, someone has to understand the site, its constraints and the local review path. We help organize the planning information needed to make informed next steps.
Land planning in Central Virginia
Consulting civil engineers, land planners & surveyors in Richmond, VA
We know Richmond.
Three generations of the Lewis family have planned, engineered and surveyed land across the greater Richmond area since 1972.
From raw acreage to recorded plat, under one roof
Owners, builders and development teams call us to ask what a property can hold. As consulting engineers, planners and surveyors, we answer that question and then carry the project through the plans and the survey work it needs.
Keeping planning, engineering and surveying in one office means the information that moves between site analysis, plan preparation and field work never has to be re-explained to a new firm.
Most projects arrive here in one of two states. Either nobody has yet worked out what the land will actually hold under the current ordinance, or a plan already exists and it keeps coming back from review with comments. Both are solvable: know the jurisdiction before you draw, not after.
The firm in numbers
1972
Year the firm was founded
50+
Years working across the greater Richmond area
3
Generations of the Lewis family
4
Licensed Professional Engineers on staff
Three ways to get your land ready to build
Land planning sets the layout, civil engineering designs it, and surveying puts it on the ground. Most projects need more than one.
Civil engineering
Site plans, stormwater, sewer and water design prepared for the specific requirements of a Richmond-area project.
Civil engineering in Central Virginia
Land surveying
Boundary, ALTA and topographic surveys, physical improvement surveys and plot plans, easement plats, and construction stakeout for the crews who build from them.
Land surveying in Central VirginiaTownhomes, subdivisions, condominiums and apartments
Residential communities are a large part of our land planning and civil engineering work. More of it is now townhomes, which put more homes on a parcel and bring density, access, parking, utilities, grading and stormwater together on a tight site. We lay the community out, engineer it, and survey the lots so they can be recorded.
Find a project like yours
A selection of projects we’ve helped bring to life across the greater Richmond area.
“The first company to receive a new award for success in the land development approval process.”
Bill Dupler, deputy county administrator for community development, created the program to “acknowledge firms that have demonstrated their ability to obtain prompt plan approvals, thereby providing excellent customer service to their clients and our partners in the development community.”
That is the part of this work clients actually feel. Not the drawings — the approvals.
Trusted partners
A selection of firms shown in the source portfolio materials. Relationships and current use of these marks require stakeholder approval before launch.
Find your location
We serve the greater Richmond area and Central Virginia. Choose a locality to see the projects we have done there.
- City of Richmond24 projects
- Henrico County39 projects
- Chesterfield County26 projects
- Goochland County
- Hanover County4 projects
- Powhatan County3 projects
- Amelia County
- Louisa County1 project
- New Kent County1 project
- Prince George County
- Spotsylvania County
- City of Petersburg
- Dinwiddie County
- Cumberland County
- King William County
- Caroline County
- Charles City County
- Surry County
- Sussex County
What people ask before they call
What does E.D. Lewis & Associates do?
E.D. Lewis & Associates, P.C. is a firm of consulting engineers, land planners and land surveyors in Henrico County, Virginia. Owners and builders call us to ask what a property can hold, and we carry the answer through concept layouts, rezoning, site plans, stormwater and utility design, and surveying. The firm was founded in 1972 and is now in its third generation of the Lewis family.
Where do you work?
Throughout the greater Richmond area and Central Virginia, including the City of Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Powhatan, Amelia, Louisa, New Kent, Prince George, Spotsylvania, Dinwiddie, Cumberland, King William, Caroline, Charles City, Surry and Sussex Counties, and the City of Petersburg. That list is where we file most often, not a boundary. Every locality publishes its own ordinance and review requirements, and we work from them wherever your property is, so if your site is somewhere else in Virginia, call and ask.
Do I need a survey, a site plan, or both?
If you need to know where your property line runs, that is a survey. If you need county permission to build something, that is a site plan, and it almost always needs a survey underneath it. Most projects need both, which is why the two live in the same office here. Call and describe the parcel and we will tell you which one you actually need.
How long does site-plan approval take in the Richmond area?
Timing depends on the jurisdiction, the complexity of the site and the questions raised during review. Discussing the site and local requirements early can help a project team plan its next steps.
Are you licensed in Virginia?
The firm has four licensed Professional Engineers and one licensed land surveyor on staff. For the professional who will be responsible for your specific project, contact the office with the property and service you need.