NEW ROOTS DEVELOPMENT
Home›Tool Guide›VDC Utilities›Drawing Tools

Easement Widths

Computes the required storm / sanitary easement width for every gravity pipe from its depth-to-invert and the controlling jurisdiction rule, reports each pipe to a CSV + the findings palette, and in Generate mode draws a centered easement strip at the required width.

Command VDCEASEMENT · VDC Utilities tab › Drawing Tools panel
Computes the required storm / sanitary easement width for every gravity pipe from its depth-to-invert and the controlling jurisdiction rule, reports each pipe to a CSV + the findings palette, and in Generate mode draws a centered easement strip at the required width.
Section: required easement width sized from depth-to-invert, centered on the pipe. Structure rims / ground surface EASEMENT STRIP (centered) W = 3 × D + OD (Horry) pipe CL OD invert D depth to invert Flagged, size manually open end • no structure → no depth • drainage-area rule • existing esmt undersized Double-click a palette row to zoom to the pipe.
Pipe / structure   Depth to invert (D)   Easement strip C-ESMT-PROP   Rims / ground   Manual flag

What it does, per run

  • Reads the gravity storm + sanitary networks, classified by network-name fragment (whole-word match, like the QC tools).
  • Takes each pipe's depth-to-invert from the connected structure rims and applies the selected jurisdiction rule to get the required width.
  • Flags pipes whose existing easement is undersized/missing, and pipes that can't be sized from depth (open ends, drainage-area rules) as manual.
  • Storm rule and sanitary rule are chosen independently in the dialog.
  • Rules seeded in VDC.Common EasementStandards: Horry (3×D + OD), GSWSA (2×D, centered), BCPU / Georgetown (tiered), Southport (2×D + dia + 12").

Modes & output

  • Report: <drawing> - Easements.csv + findings palette only; draws nothing.
  • Generate: also draws a centered easement strip per pipe on the easement layer (default C-ESMT-PROP, auto-created if missing).
  • Double-click a palette row to zoom to the pipe.
  • Settings: VDC_EASEMENT_SETTINGS, default %APPDATA%\VDC\Easement\settings.json; schema-tolerant load holds rule keys, network prefixes, layer + auto-create, and mode.
  • Scope: open-end pipes and drainage-area-driven rules flag manual; GSWSA centering is noted, verify placement.

Dialog

Easement Widths dialog
Easement Widths, VDCEASEMENT

When to use it

  • Sizing or checking storm/sanitary easements before plat recordation or submittal.
  • Catching undersized easements the utility would reject at dedication.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCEASEMENT; choose the storm rule, sanitary rule, and Report vs Generate.
  2. Confirm the network name prefixes match your pipe networks.
  3. Read the per-pipe required widths in the palette / CSV; in Generate mode, review the drawn strips.

Options

  • Report: CSV + findings palette only.
  • Generate: also draws a centered easement strip per pipe on the easement layer.

Watch out for

  • Depth comes from connected structure rims - a pipe with an open end (no structure) is flagged to size manually.
  • Drainage-area-driven rules (e.g. Leland) can't be sized from depth - they're flagged manual.
  • GSWSA requires the easement centered on the pipe - the result notes it; verify placement.

Related: Pipe QC · Multi-Offset · Lot Table