Survey-grade aerial data, stamped by a licensed engineer.
Pacific Intelligence’s operators are FAA Part 107 licensed drone pilots and licensed California civil engineers — with General Contractor Class A and B licenses — flying the terrain, processing the point cloud, and delivering civil engineering documents you can actually build and permit from — under one roof.
The scoping call is free — tell us the site and the document you need. Book a 15-min scoping call →
From flight plan to permit set
Six services, one continuous data pipeline. The terrain we capture is the same model your engineering documents are built on.
Topographic Surveys
Dense LiDAR & photogrammetric capture producing 1-foot contours and bare-earth DTMs of complex, sloped terrain.
Stamped Civil Plans
Grading, drainage and site plans signed and sealed by a California-licensed PE — submittal-ready, not just pretty.
Volumetrics & Earthwork
Cut-and-fill quantities and stockpile measurement accurate enough to settle a haul-off invoice dispute.
Progress Monitoring
Repeatable scheduled flights that document construction against design — a defensible record over the build.
Defensible Space Mapping
Vegetation and structure mapping for WUI fire-hardening compliance and insurer documentation.
ALTA & Boundary Support
Aerial control tied to monuments, supporting our PLS on boundary, ALTA/NSPS and record-of-survey work.
Most drone shops can’t stamp. Most engineers don’t fly.
When survey and engineering live in two different companies, you pay for the gap — re-flights, mismatched datums, finger-pointing when the numbers don’t tie out. We removed the seam. The pilot who captures your site and the engineer who stamps your plans answer to the same project lead.
Talk to the engineer who’ll sign it →Four steps from raw site to sealed set
Scope & control
We set ground control points and confirm deliverables before the props ever spin.
Capture
A single mobilization grabs LiDAR, imagery and oblique detail of the full parcel.
Process
Point clouds are classified into the survey base your CAD and design model run on.
Stamp & deliver
Your PE reviews, seals and hands off a permit set tied to the data we captured.
About Pacific Intelligence
Pacific Intelligence
Licensed California Civil Engineers · FAA Part 107 Remote Pilots · CA General Contractor A & B
Pacific Intelligence is a drone-enabled civil engineering firm serving the post-fire Malibu–Pacific Palisades corridor, with teams in San Diego and Las Vegas. Our operators are FAA Part 107 licensed drone pilots and licensed California civil engineers, and the firm holds California General Contractor Class A and Class B licenses — so the team that flies the terrain also engineers, stamps, and can build from the documents it delivers.
Selected work
What a stamped change-detection deliverable looks like.
From the corridor
FAQ
Questions homeowners and builders ask.
Do I need an engineered grading plan to rebuild my Palisades home?
Almost certainly. Under Los Angeles Municipal Code §91.7004, any grading within a designated Hillside Area counts as “engineered grading” regardless of volume — and virtually all of Pacific Palisades is a designated Hillside Area. That means most rebuilds require an engineered grading plan plus soils and geology reports. We produce and stamp the topographic basis those plans are built on.
Can a drone survey be used for my permit submission?
Only if it’s produced or sealed by a licensed professional. Raw drone data from an operator without an engineering credential isn’t permit-ready on its own. Our deliverables are sealed by a licensed California civil engineer, so they drop straight into your LADBS package.
How is this different from hiring a regular drone operator?
Most drone shops capture data and hand it off — you still have to take it to an engineer to make it usable, adding a vendor, a handoff, and weeks. We fly and seal in one chain of custody: the same credentialed operator plans the flight, clears the airspace, processes the point cloud, and stamps the result.
How accurate is drone LiDAR compared to a ground crew?
With ground control, we deliver 1–3 cm survey-grade accuracy — comparable to conventional methods, captured far faster and more safely on steep, fire-denuded terrain, typically at 40–70% of the cost of a ground crew.
How fast is turnaround?
For a standard hillside topo, typically a few business days from flight to stamped deliverable, depending on site size and the deliverable required. Storm-triggered monitoring re-flights are prioritized.
Do you handle the airspace and permitting near LAX and Santa Monica?
Yes. We operate under FAA Part 107 with LAANC authorization for the LAX Class B / KSMO Class D corridor, and we manage the ground-side permitting — National Park Service, MRCA, State Parks, and City of Malibu — as part of the engagement.
What does post-fire slope monitoring involve?
A baseline survey, then scheduled or storm-triggered re-flights. We co-register each survey against the prior one, difference the surfaces to quantify displacement and erosion, and deliver an engineer-stamped hazard report. It’s offered as a recurring seasonal program, not just a one-off flight.
Can your documentation be used in an insurance dispute or appeal?
Yes — engineer-certified, timestamped, georeferenced 3D documentation is built to hold up for scope-of-loss disputes and Coastal Commission appeals, for either side. Engage us early to capture defensible pre- and post-condition records.
Have a parcel that needs to get moving?
Send us the address. We’ll come back with a flight plan, a deliverables list, and the name of the engineer who’ll sign your set. The scoping call is free — no obligation.