What limits this score
Mapped wetland on the parcel · caps this score at 40
Riverine — building on or filling a mapped wetland triggers Clean Water Act §404 permitting and often state rules on top. A wetland delineation by a qualified professional is the required next step, before any design spend. (USFWS National Wetlands Inventory)
88% of the lot in a flood zone
Most of this parcel sits inside a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area. Building is usually possible with an elevated design, but expect flood insurance, an elevation certificate, and floodplain-development permitting to stack cost onto the build. (FEMA NFHL (parcel-ring analysis))
Soil unit floods frequently
The USDA soil survey classes this map unit’s flooding frequency as "Frequent" — ground-truth observed flooding, independent of FEMA mapping. Treat any FEMA-clear reading here with suspicion and inspect drainage on site. (USDA SSURGO (flodfreqdcd))
Septic limitation not applied — servicing unknown
USDA rates this soil "Very limited" for septic absorption fields, but OpenStreetMap did not answer, so nothing here establishes whether the lot sits on an established street grid with sewer service. The septic constraint is not applied to the Score. If there is no sewer, it applies in full: a standard septic system likely fails here and an engineered system can cost tens of thousands more. Confirm service with the utility, or re-run when the street read is available. (USDA SSURGO (engstafdcd); OpenStreetMap street density did not answer)
Two or more zoning districts cross this lot
The city's zoning layer puts 5 districts across this parcel. Every dimensional standard on this report — height, setbacks, coverage, lot minimum — applies to a PART of the lot, not to all of it, and which part governs a given building is a question for the planning counter. Nothing here is capped for it; the numbers are simply not lot-wide. (Municipal GIS (zoning polygons intersected with the parcel ring))
Computed from public federal sources by the Buildability Score engine (methodology v3) — deterministic and reproducible, not asserted. Records read September 18, 2026. Data sources · Accuracy
Questions about this score
What is the Buildability Score™ for 30.22205, -97.80193?
30.22205, -97.80193 carries a Buildability Score of 40 out of 100 (grade D). The score is composed from 5 weighted factors — each cited to its federal or jurisdictional source and re-runnable live on this page.
What does a grade D mean?
Grade D reads as a difficult site where at least one factor materially caps the buildable envelope. The grade is derived from the numeric score (40/100) on the published Buildability™ scale.
Which factor most affects 30.22205, -97.80193?
The weakest factor at this address is flood — scored 38 out of 100, which reads as high risk (every factor is scored so that higher means fewer constraints). That's the factor most likely to constrain what a design can carry, and the one to inspect first before committing capital.
What's this parcel's strongest attribute?
Soil scores 92 out of 100 — very suitable, and the highest of the 7 factors read for this address. Higher scores mean fewer constraints, not more.
Where does the data come from?
Every factor cites the federal or jurisdictional dataset it came from — FEMA (flood), USGS (seismic), USFS (wildfire), EPA (radon), USDA/NRCS (soil), and the local jurisdiction's own zoning record where available. Sources are queried live and re-run on refresh; the score cannot outrun its data.
Does the Buildability Score account for local zoning in Austin?
When Austin's zoning record is on our roster, the score reads the jurisdiction's own dimensional standards for the district this parcel sits in. When it isn't, the zoning factor drops out rather than being estimated — which is why parcels in un-rostered jurisdictions still return a score, just one that doesn't count zoning.
Is this an official determination?
No. The Buildability Score™ is a preliminary due-diligence read, not an entitlement or permit approval. Governing bodies retain sole authority over binding land-use decisions. The score's role is to make the diligence conversation faster and better-grounded, not to replace it.
