Tools & Systems
This page documents the systems, workflows, and documentation practices used to support consistent early-stage development screening. The focus is not on tools themselves, but on ensuring clarity, repeatability, and analytical consistency across screening work.
Regulatory Reference & Mapping
Regulatory information is sourced and referenced through centralized zoning and mapping systems to reduce lookup friction and improve accuracy.
Zoning district identification
Special districts and overlays
Transit zone and parking references
Flood, waterfront, and environmental layers
All regulatory inputs are treated as reference data rather than conclusions. The objective is not interpretation, but reliable context for early-stage judgment.
Lightweight Buildability Checks
Before any architectural or financial modeling, basic buildability constraints are identified through fast, non-design-based checks.
Height, setback, and bulk boundaries
Early envelope feasibility flags
Physical conditions that may introduce design or execution friction
The intent is to surface contradictions between zoning yield and physical reality as early as possible. These checks are intentionally limited in scope and are not substitutes for design development or detailed feasibility work.
Screening Memo Production
Each site is distilled into a concise, one-page screening memo that serves as the primary decision artifact.
The memo captures baseline context, key regulatory conditions, and the single dominant constraint shaping feasibility. Rather than documenting every rule or assumption, it preserves judgment by stating a clear early screening verdict and outlining what would need to change for that verdict to shift.
This format keeps early-stage decisions transparent, defensible, and repeatable across sites.
Knowledge Base & Case Library
All screened sites are archived within a centralized case library to support reference and pattern recognition over time.
The archive supports
Outcome tracking (go / hold / pass)
Reference to comparable sites and recurring constraints
Pattern recognition across screening volume
Over time, the system evolves through accumulated cases rather than isolated analysis. Pattern recognition is treated as a byproduct of volume, not a substitute for judgment.
Tooling Stack
The system is supported by a lightweight, purpose-built tooling stack selected to prioritize speed, clarity, and repeatability over complexity.
This includes
Zoning and GIS reference tools
Structured documentation and database platforms
Lightweight massing or visualization utilities
PDF export and sharing workflows
Tool selection is pragmatic and intentionally avoids overengineering.
Scope & Limitations
This system is intentionally scoped to early-stage development screening.
It supports
Rapid feasibility filtering
Identification of regulatory and execution risk
Go / no-go decision support
It does not replace
Financial underwriting
Architectural design
Legal zoning opinions or formal determinations
Closing Note
The purpose of this system is not precision, but clarity — enabling informed early decisions before time, capital, and momentum are committed.