You may remember a couple of threads back in June last year:
[msg=77087]interesting article on city inspectors finding pins started by linebender[/msg]
[msg=77992]Bettendorf stalls on issue started by Jerry Penry[/msg]
Well, here's the result of an attempt by the Iowa Licensing Board to put a stop to unlicensed city employees "helping" property owners "locate" their property corners. Now we're in for it.
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House Study Bill 573 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE
ON COMMERCE BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON SODERBERG)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing a definition for the term "locating" as
2 applicable to the practice of land surveying.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. Section 542B.2, Code 2011, is amended by adding
2 the following new subsection:
3 NEW SUBSECTION. 7A. The term "locating" as used in this
4 chapter means the permanent affixing of a marker to the earth
5 for the purpose of establishing a lot or property boundary.
6 The term "locating" does not refer to the physical discovery or
7 observation of existing markers.
8 EXPLANATION
9 This bill provides a definition for the term "locating" as
10 performed in the practice of land surveying.
11 Code chapter 542B defines the practice of "land surveying"
12 to include, among other specified actions and services,
13 locating, relocating, establishing, reestablishing, setting,
14 or resetting of permanent monumentation for any property line
15 or boundary of any tract or parcel of land. The bill provides
16 that the term "locating" as used in that definition means the
17 permanent affixing of a marker to the earth for the purpose
18 of establishing a lot or property boundary. The bill states
19 that "locating" does not refer to the physical discovery or
20 observation of existing markers.
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If "locating" means "permanent affixing of a marker to the earth", why was "setting" (which means the same thing) included in the definition? There are people still living who participated in the creation of the existing code language who can confirm that the original intent for the word "locating" was "finding", not "setting", an existing monument.
If this passes, Iowa will be the only state in the country where any bozo with a shovel can charge a fee to "locate" property corners.
> any bozo with a shovel can charge a fee to "locate" property corners.
Makes me think of the book I am currently reading, Old Jules
Is this about that town where the city employees were "locating" corners for people as part of their building permit? Surveyors tried to stop it ... Seems a better way to go, if they want to legalize this, would be to exempt government employees from needing a licence to do surveying related tasks incidental to city work .... I'm pretty sure Florida has a similar exemption. Not the best solution, but seems a better route than opening the door to anyone and everyone who wants to locate metal objects and call them boundary markers ...
Bozo (in the above post),
"There you go ma'am i've dug up some pins".
Landowner
"Well thank you young man/woman", oh by the way can you make a map and show my house on it".
Bozo
"Sure can.....Here you go"
Landowner
"Thanks again"
later that day.....
Landowner to neighbor
"I'VE HAD A SURVEY DONE AND YOU ARE OVER MY LINE"!!!!!
I could go further but you all know how the story goes.
What about verification. There certainly should be included in that declaration about the bottom line of who is qualified to verify what is and what ain't.
You are right about any bozo can take a shovel and dig something up and it may look like a corner monument.
And it is true that many monuments are labeled what the are.
Most irons and stones in the ground however, are not.
So who is gonna have the right to decide if it is a mere goat stake, tie down stake, horseshoe stake, working point, hub, staab, etc
If someone is going to say they found the monument, then they must be responsible for verifying that it is the actual monument and not something else.
That is what separates the field and makes that a surveyor's responsibility.
my2cents
I try to get the point across to non-surveyors (well, some surveyors, too) by asking the following questions:
You found A monument. Is it THE monument?
You found a MONUMENT. Is it a CORNER?
I also go back to something I posted in one of the previous threads. Looking at the plat below (selected at random and having nothing to do with this discussion except for illustrating my point), suppose the owner of Lot 1 wants to build a garage in the northwest corner of his lot. The city inspector goes out, waves his Schonstedt around, finds the northeast corner of Lot 1, the southwest corner of Lot 1 and the southeast corner of Lot 5 and tells the property owner, "Those are your corners. Stay 3 feet from the side line and 5 feet from the back line." Accordingly, the property owner builds his garage, which is now encroaching 14 feet onto Lot 2.
Who incurs the liability? Can the city attorney fix this with a variance (as proposed by the Bettendorf city attorney)?
Don't see a problem. The arguments seem to be self serving, do not protecting the public nor show much respect for the landowners right to make any mistakes he wants to. A map, a little common sense and some rough measurement is capable of determining if a found marker is within the ballpark and worthy of reliance. Don't need a surveyor for that, but it can provide the knowledge that a survey might be in order. The neighbors will have something to say about anything seeming to be amiss after observing the results of their neighbor measuring anything. Need to let people learn about what they own and solve some of their own problems. Surveyors are people who do surveying work to provide a needed service, they do not exist to control all who might measure something.
jud
Thank you Jud.
CD
You Can Find All The Pins You Want, But...
...only a surveyor can "locate" a property corner.
"Locating" is much more than finding, it is inherent in "finding the location" of something the measurement of it relative to other property corners. "Finding" is only the first step in surveying. "Surveying" encompasses the "whole" and requires all the essential information. It is a "detailed" study.
Paul in PA
