Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008 - (Page 39)

that are nominally adjacent are conflicting. To what extent this might occur must be examined in detail. Generally, if there is a deed description overlap, examination of the history of the segregations of the property will sort out the matter. However, in some instances, such discrepancies must be taken care of by actual field observation to determine the intentions of the parties to the conveyance. In some instances, the surveyor cannot possibly determine the actual boundaries, and the matter must be left either to agreement between the ad joining parties, or left to the courts for interpretation. Obviously, the surveyor does not have the power to determine conflicting boundaries, as this would constitute a taking of property without due process of law. Once the title boundaries of the property have been determined by the examination of recorded legal descriptions as described above, the surveyor then sets out to begin the actual physical survey of the property. In order to carry out the ac- tual placement of the property corners, it is obvious that a starting point or points must be found. The surveyor cannot magically set corners. Somehow, a beginning point represented by a physical object on the ground must be related to the survey of the property in question. Another corresponding point must be found to give a direction. Since all of the properties in the western United States have been related in one form or another to the original Government Land Office surveys, it is clear that the parts of that original survey that control the particular parcel in question must be relocated or discovered. The original surveyors set monuments every half-mile around the perimeter of each section. The corners of the section are referred to as “section corners,” and the half-mile markers between them are called “quarter corners,” because they define the boundaries of one quarter of the section. The center of section is determined in most instances by intersecting lines drawn from oppo- site corresponding quarter corners. Unless the original surveyors, under special instructions, actually set the center of section, this method is almost always used. There is a good deal of confusion between landowners and surveyors regarding the center of section. For some reason, many surveyors, when finding a monument (not original) nominally at the center of the section, which has been used as a property corner for many years, will use that monument and call it the center section, whether it is in the proper position or not. This is generally a mistake. While it may make the survey better-fit long continued occupation, it may be very wrong from a technically correct surveying standpoint. If you happen to be involved in the survey of a property dependent on the center of section, it would be good advice to question a survey that holds an old monument as the center of section. It may be right and it may be wrong, but as previously discussed, old monuments are just old mon- THE SOUND SOLUTION A Division of Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc. Your answer to cost-effective noise abatement is our pre-engineered sound barrier, shipped complete and ready to install. I Highways I Shopping Centers I Residential & Commercial Sites I Privacy Screening The FSC logo identitfies products from well-managed forests. www.PLYWALL.com Circle 181 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard I 800.531.5558 www.SLDTonline.com 39 http://www.PLYWALL.com http://www.PLYWALL.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard http://www.SLDTonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008 Contents Our Voice Editorial Board SLDT Resources Where Rubber Meets the Road Integrated Planning: The Key To Developing Sustainable Planned Communities Win-Win For College and Community Industry Spotlight: Transoft Unique Organization, Unique Opportunity New Preferred Provider Comments from the Austin Conference Welcome New Members New Knowledge Project Articles Books Going Green Business Management Risk Management Surveying and Mapping Industry News Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index Classifieds The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - June 2008

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