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Monumenting subdivision lots – Texas
Posted by kkw_archer on January 6, 2020 at 7:03 pmI need help resolving a disagreement on if lot corners need to be monumented when the Final Plat is signed and sealed.
According to Texas Administrative Code 663.17(b), “When delineating a property or boundary line as an integral portion of a survey (survey being defined in the Act, ??1071.002(6) or (8)), the land surveyor shall set, or leave as found, an adequate quantity of monuments of a stable and reasonably permanent nature to represent or reference the property or boundary corners. All survey markers shall be shown and described with sufficient evidence of the location of such markers on the land surveyors’ drawing, written description or report.” and Act ??1071.002(6) reads:
“Professional surveying” means the practice of land, boundary, or property surveying or other similar professional practices. The term includes:
(A) performing any service or work the adequate performance of which involves applying special knowledge of the principles of geodesy, mathematics, related applied and physical sciences, and relevant laws to the measurement or location of sites, points, lines, angles, elevations, natural features, and existing man-made works in the air, on the earth’s surface, within underground workings, and on the beds of bodies of water to determine areas and volumes for:
(i) locating real property boundaries;
(ii) platting and laying out land and subdivisions of land; or
(iii) preparing and perpetuating maps, record plats, field note records, easements, and real property descriptions that represent those surveys; and
(B) consulting, investigating, evaluating, analyzing, planning, providing an expert surveying opinion or testimony, acquiring survey data, preparing technical reports, and mapping to the extent those acts are performed in connection with acts described by this subdivision.
In your opinon, does the above rule & act require lot corners to be monumented when preparing a final plat?
Thank you for your input.
a-harris replied 4 years, 2 months ago 12 Members · 14 Replies- 14 Replies
Well, one could argue that two monuments and a basis of bearing between (or for that matter, a single monument in a defined coordinate system) with ties to every corner of each lot is technically an “adequate quantity”. But only for someone like us with the knowledge and ability to lay out from the reference mons.
I would read “a property or boundary line” as meaning each and every separate line (or arc) comprising the boundary of a parcel. And each and every boundary line comprising a new subdivision is most likely considered “an integral part of [the] survey”, seeing as how they were not in existence prior to the subdivision.
Finally, it doesn’t serve the landowners, either before or after lots are sold off, to have no way of seeing the physical extent of their ownership. If the licensed surveyor in responsible charge of the work should not be the one to set those monuments, than who should be?
I worked on quite a few subdivisions in Texas in the late 2000s as a crew member and office tech, and I can’t remember a single lot corner going unmonumented.
“…people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” -Neil PostmanRegardless of the code, why would you leave a lot corner unmonumented? The purpose of the monument is so the land owners know where their boundaries are, not to provide future work for surveyors.
I am going to try to be nice and just say that they must not have put it in their budget, but to me that is like saying that you didn’t put time in the budget for a field survey.
There is an exception here for construction, the newer subdivisions get stripped, often the entire site, utilities installed, roads built and after that corners are set. Of course construction won’t start until the plat is approved, so there isn’t much point in setting monuments that will be removed. So far it’s working, but it’s also a mess waiting to happen.
I’ve had lot corners knocked out two times already on a current townhome subdivision. I know the TBPLS had been discussing the requirements over the last year or two, but I don’t recall if they issued a ruling before they were absorbed by the TBPELS.
There has been an understanding that the developer is responsible for having monuments in place after construction of utilities is completed and in a timely manner to satisfy the rule that monuments be set.
At some point, the utility contractors should be responsible to replace what they destroy.
Water companies charge telephone company for what they must replace and electric companies charge for what must be replaced.
Surveyors should use caution in scheduling when monuments are set.
IMVHO, there should be a separate design that would designate and include the location of every pole, meter, power box, valve, and every part of every utility placed on every development before construction begins.
Texas Board Rule 663.20: “When submitting a subdivision plat to a Political Subdivision of this state for review and recording, the surveyor shall apply and adhere to the rules of the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying when establishing or delineating the perimeter boundary of the purposed subdivision. The surveyor shall abide by, and conform to the provisions of the state code and any local codes and ordinances as to any other platting requirements.”
That said, imaginary lines don’t do the landowner any good–a surveyor should use professional judgment and common sense. If grading and construction will occur after the plat is recorded, don’t waste the client’s money on things that will be destroyed. Set the interior corners as infrastructure construction is completed. Otherwise set the corners before signing/sealing and filing. In either case, budget for doing all the work and make sure the client understands. And finally, don’t lie–don’t say you set the corners if you didn’t.
- Posted by: @a-harris
There has been an understanding that the developer is responsible for having monuments in place after construction of utilities is completed and in a timely manner to satisfy the rule that monuments be set.
At some point, the utility contractors should be responsible to replace what they destroy.
Water companies charge telephone company for what they must replace and electric companies charge for what must be replaced.
Surveyors should use caution in scheduling when monuments are set.
IMVHO, there should be a separate design that would designate and include the location of every pole, meter, power box, valve, and every part of every utility placed on every development before construction begins.
in my experience it’s- in new subdivisions- the fence guys that are enemy #1. they seem to love to play connect-the-dots with iron rods. i’d bet- seriously- some of them are even collecting and selling rebar on craigslist or somewhere else.
we make their job infinitely easier, and in return- at least around here- we get to re-monument entire subdivisions after they get done. that’s why if i sign up to plat a subdivision i make it perfectly clear that interior lot corners will be set when stipulated by the CLIENT (as most local entities have either written or wink-nod policies in place to account for this), with a statement saying anything knocked out by grading, landscaping, construction, or fence guys will be replaced at additional cost. effectively, the developer gets to make that gamble, not me.
- Posted by: @kkw_archer
I need help resolving a disagreement on if lot corners need to be monumented when the Final Plat is signed and sealed.
According to Texas Administrative Code 663.17(b), “When delineating a property or boundary line as an integral portion of a survey (survey being defined in the Act, ??1071.002(6) or (8)), the land surveyor shall set, or leave as found, an adequate quantity of monuments of a stable and reasonably permanent nature to represent or reference the property or boundary corners. All survey markers shall be shown and described with sufficient evidence of the location of such markers on the land surveyors’ drawing, written description or report.” and Act ??1071.002(6) reads:
“Professional surveying” means the practice of land, boundary, or property surveying or other similar professional practices. The term includes:
(A) performing any service or work the adequate performance of which involves applying special knowledge of the principles of geodesy, mathematics, related applied and physical sciences, and relevant laws to the measurement or location of sites, points, lines, angles, elevations, natural features, and existing man-made works in the air, on the earth’s surface, within underground workings, and on the beds of bodies of water to determine areas and volumes for:
(i) locating real property boundaries;
(ii) platting and laying out land and subdivisions of land; or
(iii) preparing and perpetuating maps, record plats, field note records, easements, and real property descriptions that represent those surveys; and
(B) consulting, investigating, evaluating, analyzing, planning, providing an expert surveying opinion or testimony, acquiring survey data, preparing technical reports, and mapping to the extent those acts are performed in connection with acts described by this subdivision.
In your opinon, does the above rule & act require lot corners to be monumented when preparing a final plat?
Thank you for your input.
Yes. If somebody takes fee title to a lot as defined by plat, why is that boundary of any less significance than an acreage tract? The code doesn’t seem to distinguish or delineate strata of boundary lines or corners. “… real property boundaries…” and “…land and subdivisions of land…” would certainly cover lot lines within a platted subdivision.
Unless the operative part of your question regards “when the Final Plat is signed and sealed.” to which there is plenty of good evidence both in this thread and elsewhere to indicate otherwise.
It seems to me, regardless of the state, the essential function of the surveyor is to show people where their boundaries are. Like someone else hinted at above it sounds like this is an issue of someone wanting something they didn’t pay or account for.
I hear about fence guys trashing monuments quite a bit but oddly I haven’t had to replace monuments destroyed by fence guys yet. I have re-set monuments in subdivisions where the developer started construction before the plat was even approved. When I asked why I was doing this I was told the developer was looking to sell lots, which I was also told is technically illegal but local governments don’t hire anyone to enforce these rules. Anyway, it sounds like there’s a certain level of rule-bending that goes on with subdivisions so maybe pin setting is just another one of those things…
As of the last meeting of the TBPLS (now extinct), there was a “practical understanding” that if one signed and sealed a plat with verbiage that resembled the following….
I, (name of surveyor), am authorized (or registered) under the laws of the State of Texas to practice the profession of surveying and hereby certify that the above subdivision is true and accurate; was prepared from an actual survey of the property made under my supervision on the ground; that, except as shown, all boundary corners, angle points, points of curvature and other points of reference have been marked with iron (or other objects of a permanent nature) pipes or rods having an outside diameter of not less than five eighths (5/8) inch and a length of not less than three (3) feet; and that the plat boundary corners have been tied to the Texas Coordinate System of 1983, (Central or South Central) Zone.”
it meant that this statement referred only to block corners and exterior boundary corners. I have been told that if an RPLS signed a plat with this certification, he had 1 year from the date on the plat to actually set all corners as shown on the plat, meaning the Board would turn a blind eye to complaints until one year had passed.
As Rover pointed out, one might construe that the block corners were adequate to “reference” a lot corner.
Maybe the TBPELS will issue a clear edict concerning this matter.
Like most things in surveying this is not something that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Per ??663.20 only the perimeter boundary has to be monumented unless the state code, local code or ordinances require the lot corners to be set. In Lubbock the local code allows for us to set them after the construction of the roads and alleys have been completed.
??663.20 Subdivision Plat
When submitting a subdivision plat to a Political Subdivision of this state for review and recording, the
surveyor shall apply and adhere to the rules of the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying when
establishing or delineating the perimeter boundary of the purposed subdivision. The surveyor shall abide
by, and conform to the provisions of the state code and any local codes and ordinances as to any other
platting requirements.- Posted by: @jmdenney
Texas Board Rule 663.20: “When submitting a subdivision plat to a Political Subdivision of this state for review and recording, the surveyor shall apply and adhere to the rules of the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying when establishing or delineating the perimeter boundary of the purposed subdivision. The surveyor shall abide by, and conform to the provisions of the state code and any local codes and ordinances as to any other platting requirements.”
That said, imaginary lines don’t do the landowner any good–a surveyor should use professional judgment and common sense. If grading and construction will occur after the plat is recorded, don’t waste the client’s money on things that will be destroyed. Set the interior corners as infrastructure construction is completed. Otherwise set the corners before signing/sealing and filing. In either case, budget for doing all the work and make sure the client understands. And finally, don’t lie–don’t say you set the corners if you didn’t.
This Rule quote is correct. Prior to the time this was written, the TBPLS (now TBPELS) was wrestling with the idea of how to codify monumentation requirements for the interior lots of subdivisions. Ultimately, they decided to write Rule 663.20 which allowed the Board to stay out of policing the interior of a subdivision and only police the requirements of the boundary. You must follow any Code or Ordinance the governing body (County or Municipality) has in place for lot monumentation within subdivision plats. Having said that, historically the Board was mainly concerned with registrants that “mislead” the public, with those that said they set corners on the face of the survey but never did.
To avoid setting lot corners multiple times due to grading and franchise utility work, you could place a statement on your subdivision plat that says something similar to:
“Notwithstanding any subdivision boundary corner shown and described as found or set, all interior lot corners shown and described shall be set within XX days of plat recording with the County Clerk, or prior to acceptance of the subdivision infrastructure by the City of XXXXX“.
Using this type of statement, you are not misleading the public since you are stating exactly what you are going to do and when you’re going to do it. Again, as long as this doesn’t violate the municipality or County code or ordinances, it shouldn’t be a problem. I currently can’t recall any local municipal ordinances that state when interior lot monumentation must be set.
One of the other left open requirements was “How many existing monuments does it take to retrace and monument a subdivision block?”
Having the ability to reset missing monuments is surely a requirement by expectation.
0.02
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