Layout Generator: Search Land, Mix Single-Family & Townhomes, See True Site Yield

Matt: Hello everyone, thank you for joining us. I'm Matt with the Customer Success team, and I'm joined here by Mary from our New Products team with Layout Generator. Layout Generator was first launched last summer and was very well received by the industry. There was a lot of excitement around this new tool that could better understand potential lot yield early on and help land teams move faster when it matters most. Since then, the product has evolved significantly. Today, Layout Generator remains an early feasibility and scenario testing tool to help teams make no-go decisions faster when budget and speed are critical to the deal. Mary has worked with a lot of early users since the launch of Layout Generator and today will be guiding us through the workflows that land teams have been using, from finding parcels to validating lot yield. She'll be highlighting what's new along the way, but if you have any questions, please feel free to toss them in the Q&A box at the bottom of your screen. So, hey Mary, welcome in. I'm excited to see what you have for us. Would you start us off with one of the biggest workflow updates to Layout Generator?

Mary: Hey everyone, for sure, and happy to be back here talking about Layout Generator. So, we at the New Products team, working with all of our product developers, really wanted to follow the natural order of land acquisition—not just due diligence or early feasibility, but even before that, by sourcing and searching for land. So now, you can research, evaluate, and iterate different scenarios all within Layout Generator. I'll go ahead and start us off with some examples.

Right here, you'll see a few extra sections. We have this parcel search button. If I'm looking for land, maybe in the area of Weddington, I can draw a custom area, then start adding different filters like zoning types (e.g., residential) or area size (e.g., 100 to 150 acres). When I apply those filters, I can click on a parcel and view owner details, zoning, school districts, county records, valuation tax, and building areas—all the information you need for a quick yes/no decision. You can also save these filter criteria as a template. Once you select a parcel, you can click "Create Tract." You can also select multiple parcels and combine them into a single tract.

Matt: That's really cool search features there. Once you've identified your parcel, what is typically the next step when evaluating a tract for a deal?

Mary: Right now, I've named my tract "MU - Wilson Rd Webinar." Something you might want to do is organize using folders. You can move tracts into specific user or project folders, or select multiple tracts and batch-delete them to keep your workspace clean. Once organized, we move to evaluating site constraints. Under the layers menu, we can toggle flood zones, wetlands, slope, and contour lines.

Next, I draw restricted areas like floodplains or wetlands using the polygon tool. We've also added a ruler tool that calculates line footage, perimeter, and total square footage. In the "Site Info" tab, you can see live metrics updating—like showing that floodplains cover 10.72% of this parcel. We've also introduced a line-buffer tool: you can trace a linear feature (like a stream) with a straight line, specify a padding width (e.g., 30 ft from center), and it automatically creates a buffered restriction zone.

Matt: That's very cool. If you created an open space polygon, could you just move that shape around the platform to test different locations?

Mary: Yes! You can drag existing restricted area polygons—like an open space park or clubhouse area—around the site to experiment with placement.

Matt: What are the next steps for drawing a layout for your project?

Mary: Before drawing roads, I set up my zoning rules and lot types. Under lot types, you can define minimum lot dimensions (e.g., 60' x 110'), setbacks (front, rear, side, corner), and building footprint dimensions (width and depth). The preview diagram dynamically updates as you change values. Next, I set my road right-of-way width (e.g., 50 ft), turning radius, cul-de-sac size, or alley widths. Once set, I draw my primary road layout across the parcel.

Matt: While you're drawing those out, I'll give a quick recap on Layout Generator for those who haven't seen it before. Layout Generator is a quick early-stage planning tool that lets you evaluate parcels on your own in minutes. It directly replaces back-of-napkin sketches and spreadsheets so land acquisition teams can align on prospective deals before submitting an LOI or spending budget on engineering drafts. It's not meant to replace engineers or land planners, but to help you align on context and vision before the first engineering draft. How's it going, Mary?

Mary: Great! After sketching the basic road framework, I click "Generate Layout." Purple lot outlines appear across the site. Opening the "Site Info" tab shows we currently have 249 lots and displays the buildable footprint area for individual lots. Now, to add product mix, I click "Add Type." I can configure a second single-family lot size (e.g., premium 80' x 110' lots), draw a polygon over a section of the site, and hit "Generate Layout" to reassign those lots. The UI color-codes the different lot types on the map.

I can also add townhomes. For townhomes, you configure building separation, unit dimensions (e.g., 20' x 100'), and min/max unit counts per building (e.g., 2 to 6 units per block). After drawing a polygon over a section and generating the layout, the Site Info updates instantly—showing, for example, 201 standard lots, 15 premium lots, and 64 townhome units.

Matt: Seeing that change in color gives a great visual representation of the lot mix.

Mary: Exactly. You can also add dedicated Open Space polygons between lots to create park entrances or trail access, which automatically removes lots in those locations.

Matt: What other tools are available to help build an estimate for project cost?

Mary: In the Site Info panel, we provide total road length, allowing you to multiply linear footage by your average cost per foot. We also feature a "Grading Quantities" tool that calculates rough-magnitude dirt cut and fill numbers, topsoil removal, and net import/export estimates based on elevation data. This gives an early indicator of whether a site will be a small, medium, or large dirt move so you can catch deal-killers before committing weeks and dollars to formal engineering. You can also hover over individual lot numbers to see exact lot elevation figures.

Matt: Where is this elevation data pulled from? Is it publicly available?

Mary: Yes, standard elevation and flood data comes from public USGS 3DEP LiDAR and FEMA sources. If you need higher accuracy, you can click "Request More Data" directly in the app to request a high-precision LiDAR topo scan through TraceAir (accurate to a tenth of a foot).

Matt: What is the best way to share a completed layout with internal stakeholders or cities?

Mary: Click the "Export" button. You can export as a DXF (CAD) file or a 1-page PDF summary. The PDF report includes a clean, color-coded layout diagram without editing clutter, alongside a breakdown of total units, acreage, road length, restricted areas, and itemized lot type counts.

Matt: Let's take a quick Q&A question from the chat: Is it possible to create single-loaded roads in the layout?

Mary: Yes! If you draw a road directly adjacent to a restricted area (like a wetland, lake, or open space buffer), Layout Generator will automatically generate lots on only one side of the street. You can also use straight-line restricted area buffers to suppress lot generation along specific road edges.

Matt: Regarding support, we also have our Fin AI assistant built right into the interface to answer quick questions about setbacks, zoning rules, or LiDAR sources. If Fin AI can't answer, our CS and product teams step in directly. You can also book dedicated walk-through time with Customer Success. That wraps up our main content for today. Please fill out the short survey following the session, request a demo, or reach out to us at events@traceair.net. Thank you everyone, and take care!