A grading plan is basically a look at how the topographical contours of the property will need to be shaped. This process will happen before and during development and is required for commercial design standards.
There is definitely some general good that comes from re-shaping the land as it would be undesirable to have water collect around the sides of the building. Unfortunately due to the nature of commercial design standards in Austin, you can also see that the entire NW corner of the property (top right in the picture) will be graded roughly a 2 feet below the rest of the property to serve as a water retention pond in heavy rains.
Also per city requirements, should we exceed 20% of the total land cover with impervious cover, we would also be required to create a water quality pond. This process can be considerably expensive given the engineering costs involved (perhaps an additional $20,000+). Fortunately we have avoided this process thus far.
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