I am having a conversation with a potential client who wants to rebuild a garage on an existing foundation. The town wants to know the measurement from the foundation to a nearby brook.
It is possible that the client??s garage project will not require a Request for Determination of Applicability under the Wetlands Protection Act if the project is not 200 feet or more from the brook. The town would like the client to hire a surveyor to make the measurements and the client contacted me.
If I take a preliminary look at the town??s GIS database I can easily see that there is no way there can be 200 feet between the brook and the project. Looking through the database there are many layers of information and even some historic aerial photographs that show the old structure.
Further the client??s deed indicates there was a survey to determine the boundary long ago. Each course is described as a bearing to the nearest minute of arc (implying a transit was used) and distances are to the hundredth of a foot with some being to the tenth of one foot. The description is also very precise and closes to within one foot.
I presented a plot of the deed superimposed on the town??s GIS and it shows that the project would be approximately 120 feet from the brook. Even with resolution errors there is no way the project would be 200 or greater from the brook and the town needs to advise what erosion control measures need to be taken and either let the client build the garage or deny it.
I would like to spare my client from what I believe to be the unnecessary expense of a survey to make this determination. I also think the town should be able to use their own software tools, and that using the GIS, in terms of this project is more than adequate for that determination.
The city may or may not accept anything from you unless you sign, stamp and swear to defend said client against wrongful actions or some such wording.?ÿ Red tape exists to protect ourselves from ourselves.?ÿ The city doesn't care what it costs the client just as long as they have something to put in their file and someone to blame if problems ever arise.
I can't count the number of times I have prepared an elevation certificate or LOMA for a site that is very clearly NOT below the official BFE.?ÿ A recent one is eleven feet higher than the magic number.?ÿ FEMA isn't going to accept anything other than the official form signed and stamped to transfer any liability to me instead of them.
He wants to build the garage.?ÿ Find out what the town requires. Give him a number.?ÿ He'll tell you if it's to much.
Oh, the irony. With all the time we spent around here harping about how GIS stands for "Get it Surveyed", now we have complaint that the city won't just accept that the GIS is correct. Sometimes you just can't win for losing.?ÿ?ÿ
What does the city want??ÿ A site plan?
Just to clarify my original post, there is a concrete foundation from a previous structure on the site. The client wants to rebuild it for a garage. The town wants a 200 feet minimum buffer from a brook that flows on the property.
After looking at the town's GIS database, which I think they could easily do themselves, I see that the garage would be more like 100 feet from the brook. Even with the inherent errors in the GIS database that are bound to occur because of the compilation of maps with varying scales and accuracy it is apparent that the project will require review by the Conservation Commission.
It is simply a question of whether a distance is 200 feet or not. In this case I would be willing to say assuredly that it is not and the town should possess the minimum capability to determine that as well. Otherwise we may expect that every measurement made needs to be by a licensed surveyor.?ÿ
GIS stands for Geographic Information System. It is a little more nuanced than what you imply. The town did not bring up the subject at all. They are suggesting that my client hire a surveyor to measure a distance from an existing concrete foundation to a brook and to determine if it is more than 200 feet. Do you really think that is necessarily a surveyor's responsibility??ÿ
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They want to know if the concrete foundation is 200 feet or more from a brook on the property. It is not a site plan. Just a question to determine the applicability of their wetland protection bylaw.
I'm curious what town has a 200' buffer zone to a wetland?
Or is this a Rivers Act question?
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I helped someone get a variance by assembling screen shots of distances measured off the local GIS.?ÿ?ÿ
What is preventing you from writing a brief report that states the garage is within 200' of the brook?
Won't you eventually have to locate the brook as part of the permit application anyway?
That is what I did. I don't know about the permit application yet, but I sent the client to the town with a map I made from the GIS. When I tried to post the map it failed, but you get the idea. Thank you.
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Thank you. I did prepare a map and noted the source of the information is the town's GIS. It is signed, sealed and delivered. Let's see what happens.
@holy-cow we had a client that built a house that sat up on top of the highest point within a few miles. However since it was located near a draw and shown on the FIRM map to be within the flood hazard area (Zone A, no BFE.) FEMA wanted us to do a full study of the draw in order for them to remove the house from the flood zone. My letter of reply to them was that if this house flooded then the entire town nearest to him would be 5' underwater and none of that town is shown to be in a flood zone. Received a letter back from them several weeks later stating the house had been removed.
If it were my pad, and I measured it myself, I'd get 201.3 feet.
