Site Design Manual - Veterans Affairs

1 site Design Manual Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction & Facilities Management Published: February, 2013 Revision 1: April 1st, 2021 Contact: James Symanski, Jr., Facilities Standards Service, Office of Facilities Planning Office of Construction & Facilities Management (CFM) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents i TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 General Requirements .. 1-1 1-1 Responsibility .. 1-1 VA Standards .. 1-1 Design Manuals (PG-18-10) .. 1-1 Design Submission Requirements (PG-18-15) .. 1-1 Master Construction Specifications (PG-18-1) .. 1-2 Design Alerts and Standards Alerts .. 1-2 Design Guides (PG-18-12) .. 1-2 Design and Construction Procedures (PG-18-3) .. 1-2 Standard Details and CAD Standards (PG-18-4) .. 1-2 The VA BIM Guide.

2 1-2 Physical Security and Resiliency Design Manual for VA Facilities (PG-18-10) .. 1-2 Cost Estimating Design Manual (PG-18-10) .. 1-2 Sustainable Design Manual (PG-18-10) .. 1-2 Seismic Design Requirements (H-18-8) .. 1-3 Fire Protection Design Manual (PG-18-10) .. 1-3 Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standard (ABA) .. 1-3 Barrier Free Design Standard (PG-18-13) .. 1-3 Signage Design Manual (PG-18-10) .. 1-3 Parking Design Manual and Demand Model (PG-18-10) .. 1-3 Additional Design Criteria and Standards .. 1-3 Technical Guidance on Implementing the Stormwater Runoff Requirements for Federal Projects under Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security 1-3 FAA Regulations .. 1-4 National Fire Protection Association .. 1-4 American Standards for Nursery Stock .. 1-4 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) .. 1-4 State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

3 1-4 Coordination .. 1-5 Local Codes and Requirements .. 1-5 Stormwater Management .. 1-5 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents ii Local Utility Providers .. 1-5 Criteria Unique to VA .. 1-5 VA-Provided Materials .. 1-5 Parking Requirements .. 1-6 Proprietary Items .. 1-6 Computer Aided Facilities Management Requirements (CAFM) .. 1-6 Sustainability .. 1-6 2 site Selection and Pre- Design .. 2-1 site Selection .. 2-1 site Specific Goals and Objectives .. 2-1 Facility and Land Area Requirements .. 2-1 site Research and Data Collection .. 2-1 site 2-2 Pre- Design Considerations .. 2-2 Opportunities and Constraints .. 2-3 Sustainable site Selection .. 2-3 Greenfields .. 2-3 Climate Resilience .. 2-3 Access to Public Transportation .. 2-4 Soils Investigation .. 2-4 Soils Investigation Scope.

4 2-4 Topographic Surveys .. 2-5 Survey Scope .. 2-5 Utility Surveys .. 2-6 3 site Conceptual Design .. 3-1 Overview .. 3-1 Low Impact Development (LID) .. 3-1 site 3-1 Hydrologic Management .. 3-2 LID Management Practices .. 3-2 Location of Proposed Facility .. 3-2 Existing Conditions .. 3-2 Exterior Layout Parameters .. 3-4 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents iii Dimensional Requirements .. 3-5 Spacing Requirements .. 3-5 Building Orientation .. 3-5 Solar Orientation .. 3-6 Prevailing Winds .. 3-7 Traffic Impact Studies .. 3-7 Traffic Study Documentation .. 3-8 Permitting Requirements .. 3-9 4 site Layout Design .. 4-1 Overview .. 4-1 site Limits & Security Setbacks .. 4-1 Building Functions .. 4-1 Building Entrances .. 4-1 Flagpoles .. 4-2 Number of Flagpoles.

5 4-2 Outdoor Building Uses .. 4-3 Loading Dock Design .. 4-4 Utility Yard Design .. 4-5 Vehicle 4-5 Public Access .. 4-5 site Entrances .. 4-6 Drop-Off at Building Entrances .. 4-7 Emergency Department Access .. 4-8 Fire and Emergency Equipment Access .. 4-8 Public Transportation .. 4-8 Basic Roadway Design Requirements .. 4-9 Parking Lot Layouts .. 4-11 Parking Lot Locations .. 4-11 Number and Type of Parking Stalls .. 4-12 Accessible Parking Spaces .. 4-12 General Parking Lot Design Requirements .. 4-12 Sustainability in Parking Lots .. 4-13 Design of Pedestrian circulation .. 4-14 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents iv Walkway Network Hierarchy .. 4-14 Walkway Configurations .. 4-18 Walkway Design Requirements .. 4-19 Curb Ramps .. 4-19 Ramps and Steps.

6 4-22 Furnishings .. 4-23 Bikeway Guidelines .. 4-23 Bikeway Inclusion .. 4-23 Bikeway Classification .. 4-23 Bikeway Pavement Widths and Clearances .. 4-25 Bikeway Paving Materials .. 4-26 Bikeway Gradients and Curvature .. 4-26 Stopping Distances and Street Crossings .. 4-27 Bicycle Parking .. 4-29 site Grading .. 4-29 Grades at Buildings .. 4-30 Turf grades .. 4-30 Pavement Grades .. 4-31 5 site Utility Systems .. 5-1 Overview of Utilities .. 5-1 Local Coordination .. 5-1 Utility Locations .. 5-2 General Utility Design Requirements .. 5-2 Clearances and Crossings .. 5-2 Existing Utility System Demolition .. 5-2 Redundancy .. 5-2 Utility Pipe Design .. 5-2 Design Standards and Details .. 5-2 Minimum Depth of Cover .. 5-3 Utilities Distribution Type .. 5-3 Horizontal Clearance .. 5-4 Vertical Clearance.

7 5-4 Contract Documents .. 5-5 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents v Calculations and Review Submittals .. 5-6 Cathodic Protection .. 5-6 Cathodic Protection Analysis .. 5-6 Corrosion Protection .. 5-6 Existing Cathodic Protection .. 5-6 Water Supply .. 5-7 Potable Water Demands (Average Daily Demand).. 5-8 Potable Water Flow ( Design Flow Rates) .. 5-9 Potable Water Sources .. 5-9 Non-Potable Water Demand .. 5-10 Non-Potable Water Sources .. 5-10 Water Distribution Systems .. 5-10 Water Distribution Design Plans .. 5-12 Water Storage .. 5-13 Mission Critical Facilities for Water Demand .. 5-13 Design of On- site Water Storage Facilities .. 5-14 Domestic Water Pumping Systems .. 5-15 Pump Types .. 5-15 Pump Applications .. 5-15 Irrigation Distribution System .. 5-17 Automatic Irrigation.

8 5-18 Irrigation System Connections .. 5-18 Sanitary Sewer Systems .. 5-18 Sanitary Sewer types .. 5-19 Sanitary Sewer Design Requirements .. 5-19 Mission Critical Facilities for Sanitary Sewer .. 5-21 Sewage Pumping Equipment (Outside) .. 5-22 Storm Sewer Systems .. 5-23 Storm Sewer Design Requirements .. 5-23 Gas Distribution System .. 5-25 Oil and Gasoline Supply Systems .. 5-25 Fuel Storage Facilities .. 5-25 Above-Grade Fuel Storage (AST s) .. 5-25 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents vi Underground Storage Tanks (UST s) .. 5-26 Fuel Storage for Mission Critical Facilities .. 5-27 6 Stormwater Management .. 6-1 Overview .. 6-1 Stormwater Attenuation .. 6-1 Pre-Developed Flow Rates .. 6-1 Post-Developed Flow Rates .. 6-2 Stormwater Quality .. 6-2 Stormwater Management Plan.

9 6-2 Best Management Practices (BMPs) .. 6-3 Green Roofs .. 6-3 Stormwater Ponds .. 6-4 Stormwater Wetlands .. 6-4 Infiltration Practices .. 6-5 Filtering Practices .. 6-5 Treatment Swales .. 6-6 Pre-Treatment Practices .. 6-6 7 Erosion and Sediment Control .. 7-1 Overview .. 7-1 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program (NPDES) .. 7-1 Erosion and Sediment Control Strategies .. 7-1 Erosion and Sediment Control Plans .. 7-2 Erosion Control Best Management Practices (BMPs) .. 7-2 Sediment Control Best Management Practices (BMPs) .. 7-4 8 Landscape Design .. 8-1 Overview .. 8-1 Sustainability .. 8-1 Water .. 8-1 Soils .. 8-1 Vegetation .. 8-2 Human Health and Well-Being .. 8-3 Landscape Plan .. 8-4 Landscape Design Guidelines .. 8-4 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 Table of Contents vii Parking Lot 8-5 Tree Selection Criteria in Parking Lots.

10 8-6 Concentric Plant Zones .. 8-6 Plant Selection .. 8-7 Other Landscape Design Elements .. 8-7 Healing Gardens .. 8-7 Turf Grass .. 8-9 Maintenance .. 8-9 site Security .. 8-9 Existing Trees and Other Vegetation .. 8-9 Xeriscape .. 8-10 Xeriscape Principles .. 8-10 Irrigation Design .. 8-11 Efficient Systems .. 8-11 Water Sources for Irrigation .. 8-11 PG 18-10 site Design Manual February 1, 2013 Revised April 1, 2021 General Requirements 1-1 1 General Requirements Purpose This Manual is a directive for Architect and Engineer (A/E) Design professionals for the planning and Design of the site layout, parking, pedestrian and traffic circulation, grading, stormwater management, building location and orientation, site utilities, landscaping, irrigation, and other related systems at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities.