Buildable Area

Transect’s Buildable Area tool allows you to define buildable area constraints by using map layers to exclude landscape or infrastructure characteristics.

The Buildable Area data is generated in a 30m x 30m grid to evaluate each parcel’s slope, aspect, protected areas, wetlands, etc. These results are then aggregated to create the filters. This should be considered an early-stage buildable area.

In this article, we'll review:

Creating a Buildable Area
Creating and Saving a Custom Template
Defining a Custom Exclusion Area
Hiding Polygons from the Buildable Areas
Exporting the Buildable Area
Running a New Report on the Buildable Area
Important Notes

Creating a Buildable Area

There are two ways to define a buildable area: during your initial site search within the Map or the Parcel Filter, or after creating a Report for a specific project.

To view Buildable Area in the Map:

Click the toggle to enable the Buildable Area layer.
Select Edit Criteria to modify your selections by selecting Allow or Exclude.
When finished, click Save. Your changes will automatically be applied to the map.

The Buildable Area criteria is auto-selected in the map based on common selections for renewable energy projects. You can modify this selection at any time.

To view Buildable Area in a Report:

Once you've created a Transect report, you can create a Buildable Area with the following steps:

Select Create within the Map Layers modal.
Within the pop-out, check the boxes to add constraints or click the caret to populate a dropdown for options within that category.
After adding a constraint, a dialogue box will populate where you can input the buffer (ft).
When you’re finished adding constraints, click Save. It will take 2-5 minutes to generate the buildable area. You’ll receive an email and a bell notification when it’s ready.

Adding a Custom Template

We recommend creating a template if you'll need to apply the same constraints to every report. These templates can be shared across your organization by having your administrator activate the settings in this article, or you can contact support.

You can create a custom template with the following steps:

Within the Buildable Area widget, click the "Select or create a template" dropdown.
Select +Create Template at the bottom of the list.
Check the applicable box to add a constraint, or click the caret to populate options within that category.
Once you’ve selected your preferences, enter a template name and click Save Template.
When finished, select Save to generate your buildable area.

You can edit a custom template with the following steps:

Within the Buildable Area widget, select the template from the dropdown.
Click the pencil next to the template name.
Check or uncheck constraints then choose to either Save (override your existing template) or Save As to create a new template.

To delete a template, click the trashcan next to the template name.

Defining a Custom Exclusion Area

If you’re aware of areas on a parcel that should be excluded from the buildable area, you can create a custom exclusion layer to remove that area.

Within the Buildable Area, modal, click the icon.
Select a constraint from one of the following options:
- : A point
- : A polygon
- : A line
- : A KML upload
After your selection, define the buffer (in ft) (optional) and click Save.
In the pop-out, add a layer name and click Save.
When finished, click Save again to start the buildable area generation.

Hiding Polygons from the Buildable Areas

The Buildable Area layer is often made up of many separate and distinct polygons (shapes) due to the dissecting nature of the exclusion areas. For this reason, you can hide polygons from the buildable area by clicking the acreage dropdown in the upper right-hand corner and selecting the eyeball icon. Alternatively, you can click the polygon directly on the Map.

Please note that all polygons that are less than 1 acre are automatically hidden. These can be unhidden by clicking the acreage dropdown and selecting the eyeball next to that area.

Exporting the Buildable Area

Exporting to PDF:

Click the Export dropdown in the upper right-hand corner.
elect PDF.
Drag and drop the Buildable Area map layer to the right side, including any other layers you’d like to export.
Click Generate PDF.

Your export will begin generating, and you’ll receive an email and notification when it’s ready.

Exporting to KML:

Click the Export dropdown in the upper right-hand corner and select Map Layers.
Drag and drop the Buildable Area map layer to the right side, including any other layers you’d like to export.
Select the Generate Map Layers dropdown and then KML.