Plan notes

Plan notes, or plan notları in Turkish zoning, are the written part of a zoning plan. They set out, clause by clause, the rules that lines and colours on a drawing cannot express: which uses are allowed in a zone, how basements are treated, special conditions for projections or roof use, and so on. When a plan is approved, its notes are approved with it and are just as binding as the drawings.

Why they deserve a careful read

A plot’s zoning conditions are more than a handful of numbers. Two areas with identical TAKS and floor area ratio values can produce very different buildings because of their plan notes. The notes may introduce area-specific rules that differ from the general regulation; where the plan and its notes are silent, the regulation applies. When the meaning of a note is unclear, a written opinion from the authority is the safest route.

In practice

Design teams often turn plan notes into a checklist. Items such as storey height, eaves, attic use, parking, green space, materials and facade requirements are ticked off and checked again at every revision. The list is useful even at visualization stage: showing a rooftop volume the notes do not allow, or a facade material they rule out, sets an expectation the client will never see built.