Full Vegetation Clearing
The whole footprint, not just the corners
Brush, trees, and undergrowth removed to create a clean building pad.
Construction Site Preparation & Pad Grading in Central Kentucky
CROWN provides full-service construction site preparation, lot clearing, and rough grading across Central Kentucky. We clear vegetation, excavate roots, and haul all debris off-site so your building pad is clean, level, and ready for foundation work without wood chip piles delaying your construction schedule.
- Build-Ready Pad Handover: All trees and brush leave on our own trucks so your building pad is workable the day we finish.
- Upfront Published Pricing: Transparent site prep rates starting from $800 with firm, written estimates provided in 2 hours.
- Local Permitting Guidance: Clear advice on Fayette County land clearing permits for residential lots under one acre.
5.0 · 56 Google reviews (opens the Google listing in a new tab)
Licensed · Bonded · Insured · EPA compliant
Land Clearing & Site Prep Permit Requirements in Lexington, KY
Many homeowners and builders are surprised to learn that single-lot site preparation and land disturbance in Lexington, KY require local permits. Fayette County enforces low disturbance thresholds for land clearing, grading, and tree removal, but CROWN helps navigate municipal compliance so your project stays on schedule.
5,000
Square feet of disturbance that can trigger a Lexington land disturbance permit, well under half an acre
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Code of Ordinances, Sec. 16-101, land disturbance permits under one acre
For a new building, the trigger is the building, not the acreage. Sec. 16-101 requires that anyone intending to conduct “clearing, grading, excavating, or filling activities associated with construction of a new residential or commercial building that will result in the disturbance of less than one (1) acre” submit an erosion and sediment control plan to the division of engineering and obtain a land disturbance permit.
For everything else, the trigger is five thousand square feet. Other clearing, grading, stripping or filling disturbing 5,000 square feet or more but less than an acre falls under the same section. Five thousand square feet is roughly a 70-foot square, smaller than many back gardens, and far smaller than most people assume.
An acre and above is a separate regime again, under Sec. 16-104, and brings the state and federal construction stormwater requirements with it.
Why it matters to the schedule. A plan has to be prepared to the Engineering Stormwater Manual’s standards and submitted before the permit issues. That is lead time, and it is lead time that sits in front of the clearing rather than after it, which is why we ask at quote stage whether a plan is already in place.
This is a plain-English summary of a Lexington-Fayette ordinance, not legal advice, and it is Fayette’s: the other seven counties we work set their own. Who files the plan and holds the permit varies by project, and the division of engineering is the authority on both. Tell us where yours stands and we will work to it.
What site preparation covers
Crown’s own categories. Most jobs are three or four of them together, sequenced so your next trade is not waiting.
Rough Grading Prep
Rough, not finished; see the scope note below
Basic leveling and surface prep for construction crews.
Home Addition Prep
Working tight to an existing structure
Clearing and prep for room additions, garages, and expansions.
New Construction Sites
The job that has a start date attached
Residential and light commercial sites prepared for building.
Driveway & Access Prep
Before anything else can get on site
Clearing paths for temporary or permanent access roads.
Debris Haul-Away
No burn pile, no spoil heap left behind
All cleared material loaded and removed from the site.
Construction Site Preparation Scope in Central Kentucky
Establishing clear operational boundaries for your construction site preparation prevents project delays and budget surprises. At CROWN, we specialize in full vegetation clearing, access path creation, and rough grading for building pads across Central Kentucky, giving your build team a clean, workable site from day one.
Normally In Scope
- Full vegetation and brush clearing to the building pad footprint
- Rough grading prep: basic site leveling and surface preparation
- Driveway, equipment path, and temporary access route clearing
- Site clearing for home additions, garages, and outbuilding footprints
- Selective tree clearing to preserve designated mature trees
- Complete debris loading and total off-site haul-off
Normally Out of Scope
- Finish grading to surveyed civil engineering elevations
- Topsoil application, lawn seeding, and final landscaping
- Foundation excavation, concrete footings, and slab pouring
- Utility trenching for electrical, water, or sewer lines
- Retaining wall construction, drainage culverts, and asphalt paving
- Stump grinding outside designated build pad boundaries
Defining these boundaries in your upfront quote guarantees clear scope responsibilities between your clearing contractor and building crew.
Construction Site Preparation Costs in Central Kentucky
We publish transparent cost ranges for construction site preparation and pad grading across Central Kentucky. Every quote covers land clearing, rough surface leveling, and complete debris haul-off, giving you a firm upfront figure before work begins.
Small residential site
$800 to $1,800
Compact footprints: a garage pad, an addition, a small outbuilding site.
Medium lot
$1,800 to $3,500
A quarter acre to an acre. Most single-house sites land here.
Large or complex site
Custom quote
An acre or more, heavy vegetation, or staged work across a development.
- Lot size
- How much ground has to be cleared and prepped.
- Density of vegetation
- Open grass and a wooded parcel are different jobs on the same acreage.
- Terrain
- Slope and ground condition change both the method and the time.
- Scope of work
- Clearing alone, or clearing plus rough grading and access.
How site preparation works
Four steps, no obligation, and you only pay for work completed.
Free site assessment
Send the plan or a few photos with the address. Larger sites we walk, and either way the quote is free.
Custom clearing plan
We set out what comes out, what stays, and the order, so it fits around the trades coming after us.
Clearing & prep
Vegetation out, material loaded, rough grading prep where it is in scope.
Final walkthrough
We walk the site with you before we leave, so nothing is discovered after the crew has gone.
What Our Customers Say
Extremely helpful and nice, was hired for land clearing and site preparation they removed pesky honey suckle. Definitely going to hire them in the future.
Very quick from contact to in home to remove some flooring. Once on site they got straight to work and did an outstanding job! Very reasonable price for the work done. Will continue to use them for all future needs.
Very hard workers that cleaned out a whole house that was trashed and filthy. Very polite and considered. Would definitely recommend this company!
Site Preparation across Central Kentucky
Based in Lexington, working the counties around it. Send the address rather than the town: access decides more than distance on most of these jobs.
The questions we get asked
Answered properly rather than deflected to a phone call.
Not sure it’s this job?
Send two or three photos. If it is really a different service we will say so and point you at the right page. It costs you nothing either way.
Send photos insteadDo you do final grading?
Rough grading prep is what is included: basic levelling and surface preparation so a construction crew can work. Finish grading to a surveyed elevation is a different trade with different equipment and different tolerances, and it is normally the builder’s or the excavator’s scope rather than ours. Confirm which one your project needs when you get the quote; it is the single most common scope misunderstanding on a job like this.
Can you clear for a home addition?
Yes, and it is one of the categories above. Additions are usually tighter work than a fresh site: existing structure on one side, a fence or a neighbor on the other, and often no route for full-size equipment. Send a photo that shows the approach as well as the footprint, because access is what decides the method and therefore the price.
Do you haul away all debris?
Yes, and it is priced in rather than added afterwards. We run our own trucks and dumpsters, so cleared material leaves on the day rather than sitting as a spoil heap waiting for a subcontractor. On a site with a schedule attached that is usually the part that matters most.
How long does site preparation take?
It depends on the footprint, the vegetation and how much of the scope is grading rather than clearing, which is why you get a time along with the price rather than an estimate here. If you have a date the next trade needs the site by, say so when you ask: we will tell you plainly whether it is workable rather than find out together later.
How is pricing determined?
Four things: lot size, density of vegetation, terrain and scope of work. A clear grass paddock and a wooded quarter-acre price very differently at the same acreage. Small residential sites run $800 to $1,800, medium lots $1,800 to $3,500, and anything larger or staged is quoted on the plan.
Which areas do you serve?
Lexington and the surrounding counties: Lexington, Georgetown, Nicholasville, Richmond, Frankfort, Winchester, Versailles and Paris. The ZIP codes are listed above. Note that the permit rules described here are Lexington-Fayette’s; other counties set their own.
Get a price on your site prep
Send the plan or a few photos with the address and the date the next trade needs the site. You get a number within two hours, guaranteed, and a straight answer on the schedule.
- Quotes guaranteed within 2 hours, 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday
- Free and no obligation. You only pay for completed work
- View all land clearing services