This one is so stunningly stupid...
I did a topographic survey on a residential lot, showing the boundary, the house, drive, fences, utilities, elevations around the house and in the surrounding yard, and the finished floor in two places (they match). I used two NAVD88 county benchmarks and they matched. What's the problem? The reviewer has seen the survey drawing, has acknowledged the information on the survey drawing, but has to have the information on an elevation certificate. A topographic survey drawing just won't do.
What on Earth does that have to do with a basic topo survey? No need for the elevation certificate unless: Number 1 it is in a flood zone and Number 2 it involves either correcting misinformation or involving flood insurance.
Is the reviewing entity also the floodplain manager for the jurisdiction you are working in?
"Elevation Certificate" doesn't always mean one of those FEMA forms. Sometimes it just means a letter, signed and stamped, saying that such and such a point has an elevation of.....
Bruce Small, post: 363103, member: 1201 wrote: A topographic survey drawing just won't do.
FEMA periodically audits the entities responsible for managing the floodplains in which FEMA underwrites insurance. In my experience, the auditor requires that everything pertaining to the assessment of flood risk be documented via FEMA forms. Given the size and scope of the flood insurance program, standardization seems like a reasonable requirement to me.
Oh, goodness, another humbling experience that I earned. Turns out that form was a blessing. I started filling it out and quickly realized I had biased my data collection file to match the county benchmarks, but I went down instead of up. That's good news, because the house elevation is 0.82 feet higher than my first drawing showed. I sent out a corrected drawing with a humble apology. I'll do the elevation certificate tonight. Sometimes I need a sharp poke to remind me I'm human after all.
Is the property in a designated flood plain?
