Retail, restaurant and pad site engineering in Metro Atlanta
Last updated: November 2026
Quick answer: A pad site is small, expensive per square foot, and surrounded by things it cannot move: a shared access drive, a cross-access easement, a master detention pond sized years ago, a parkway setback and a prototype building the tenant will not change. The civil job is making the prototype fit the lot with the stacking, parking, access and stormwater the county will approve on the first cycle. Mack Engineering provides pad site feasibility, concept plans and full land disturbance plan sets for retail outparcels, restaurants, drive-through, car wash and fuel sites across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Key takeaways
- Most outparcels take access from a shared drive and must honor recorded cross-access easements. State route curb cuts need a GDOT permit.
- Stacking is laid out before parking on any drive-through prototype.
- A master detention pond sized for a lower impervious percentage means the outparcel needs its own detention or a water quality retrofit. Fuel, vehicle service and car wash uses are hotspot uses.
- Typical review is 45 to 90 days after a complete submittal, plus the DOT driveway permit on its own clock.
- Mack Engineering provides pad site feasibility, concept plans and full land disturbance plan sets, with the same engineer from the fit exhibit to the issued permit.
A pad site is small, expensive per square foot, and surrounded by things it cannot move: a shared access drive, a cross-access easement, a master detention pond sized years ago, a parkway setback and a prototype building the tenant will not change.
The civil job is making the prototype fit the lot, with the stacking, parking, access and stormwater the county will approve on the first cycle.
Mack Engineering provides feasibility, concept plans and full land disturbance plan sets for retail outparcels, restaurants, drive-through, car wash and fuel sites across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Who we work with
- Franchisees and operators fitting a quick-service restaurant, car wash or convenience store prototype to a parcel.
- Retail developers and shopping center owners carving outparcels from a larger center.
- Brokers who need a fast written read on whether a prototype fits a pad before the buyer goes hard.
- Architects and general contractors delivering prototype buildings who need a local civil partner.
What makes a pad site different?
Access is usually someone else’s drive
Most outparcels take access from a shared drive, not the road, and must honor cross-access easements recorded on the master plat. Direct curb cuts on a state route need a GDOT permit. County roads need the county’s driveway permit, often with a sight distance exhibit and a turn lane analysis. On parkways in some counties the building setback from the right of way is 100 feet, which on a small outparcel takes a large share of the lot; Dawson County’s commercial setbacks are an example, covered in our Dawson County commercial LDP guide.
Stacking comes before parking
Quick service restaurants, coffee and car wash prototypes live or die on stacking length and the conflict between the drive-through lane, the parking aisles and the shared access drive. We lay out the stacking first, to the tenant’s prototype standard and the county’s minimum, then fit parking around it.
The master pond was sized for someone else
Many outparcels drain to a master detention facility that assumed a certain impervious percentage. If the prototype exceeds it, the site needs its own detention or a water quality retrofit. Fueling, vehicle service and car wash uses are hotspot uses under the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual and require modified water quality practices such as oil and water separators.
These questions are answered in feasibility, before the lease or contract is signed. After that, they are expensive. See commercial due diligence and feasibility.
Grease, sewer and fire flow
Restaurant and car wash uses need grease interceptors or reclaim systems, sewer capacity confirmed with the water and sewer authority, and fire flow confirmed for the building type. Sites without sewer go through environmental health for a commercial septic permit, which can limit seating on its own. See our guide to septic system design in Georgia.
Mack perspective: On a pad site the master plat is the first document we read, before the survey. The cross-access easement, the shared detention note and the recorded setbacks decide what the prototype can do long before the county does. Owners who send us the plat with the parcel number get a fit exhibit back faster, and it is usually the plat, not the zoning, that produces the surprise.
What we do on a pad site
- Pad site feasibility: zoning and use, prototype fit, stacking and parking yield, access and DOT, detention and hotspot requirements, utility and fire flow, buffers.
- Concept site plan with the prototype placed, stacking, parking, circulation and access. See site planning.
- Zoning exhibits, variance and special use support where drive-through or fuel sales are conditional. Read what a zoning exhibit actually includes.
- Land disturbance permit plan set and stormwater and hydrology report, including the master plan compliance exhibit where the outparcel is part of a larger center.
- Grading, utilities, grease interceptor and reclaim coordination, fire protection.
- Driveway permits with county DOT or GDOT.
- NPDES Notice of Intent and erosion control where disturbance reaches one acre, or where the county requires it for outparcels in newer plats. See stormwater permitting and compliance.
- Construction administration through CO.
How long does a pad site take?
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Feasibility and prototype fit | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Concept plan and pre-submittal meeting | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Construction documents | 6 to 10 weeks |
| LDP and site plan review | 45 to 90 days in most North Georgia jurisdictions |
| Building permit | Concurrent or after LDP by jurisdiction |
Engineering fees for a small commercial site under five acres typically run $10,000 to $25,000 or more for the land disturbance plan set, per our LDP cost and timeline guide. A pad site screen for a broker or buyer under contract is priced separately.
Owner tip: Get the approved master stormwater report from the center’s owner before you sign. If the outparcel’s assumed impervious area is on it, your detention question is answered for free. If it is not, you need your own pond or a retrofit, and that belongs in the purchase price.
How we work on pad sites
The pad site questions above, access, stacking, shared detention and hotspot water quality, are the questions we answer in every commercial feasibility report and resolve on the land disturbance plan sets we permit across Cherokee, Forsyth, Dawson, Fulton, Gwinnett and Hall counties. The same engineer who prepares the fit exhibit prepares the plan set, so what the broker or franchisee sees in the screen is what gets permitted.
Our medical office and recreation case studies show the same process on commercial corridors: parking sized to the use before the building is placed, detention fitted inside the buffers, access worked out with the county and GDOT before the first submittal. On a pad site the lot is smaller and the prototype is fixed, which makes that order of operations matter more, not less.
Frequently asked questions
In many districts drive-through service is a conditional or special use requiring a hearing, and fuel sales almost always are. We confirm this in the zoning check before the concept plan.
Only if the pond was sized for your impervious area and the master plan allows it. We pull the approved master stormwater report and compare it to the prototype before you commit.
Usually yes. Most North Georgia counties require an LDP at one acre of disturbance, within 200 feet of state waters, or for any outparcel in a subdivision platted after a set date, and an erosion control permit below that.
Typically 45 to 90 days of county review after a complete submittal, plus the DOT driveway permit, which runs on its own clock on state routes.
Have a pad site under contract?
Send us the parcel, the prototype and the master plat. You get back a fit exhibit with stacking, parking, access and detention before you go hard.
Call (770) 715-7295 or contact Mack Engineering to schedule a feasibility conversation. Our office is at 5745 Stables Wy A-09, Alpharetta, GA 30004, and we serve Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
This page is general information about civil engineering and permitting for retail and pad sites in Georgia. It is not a parcel specific permit determination, legal advice, or a cost estimate. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and change frequently; confirm current rules with the reviewing agencies and your engineer of record.