Before you buy
What the zoning allows on the site, which boards a project like yours will face, and how long the path has taken for projects like it.
Before you design
The land you can really build on, once wetlands, easements, protected trees and roads are taken out, and how many homes fit by right or on a bonus path.
Before you file
What the boards asked of similar projects, so the answers are in your first submittal rather than your third.
Every finding cites the page it came from. See it on a real site: what a 7-acre lot can really hold.