Last couple days I??ve been making calls along a proposed route letting owners know our crews will be staking the proposed RW and answering questions. (ROE was all done last fall). ?ÿ ?ÿLots of nice people- everyone wants the new road.... over on their neighbors place..... 11 more to go then I??m done....
Isn't the client supposed to do that?
It??s in our contract
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One of the fun parts of the job, do you send out "permit to survey" forms to the landowners?
Over 40 years I've operated in right to enter without notice States, seen the evolution to a half-assed serve notice laws, then proceed if no response, now it's a "get permission" scenario.
It's an anathema which we should resist.?ÿ I agree with State Law:
a) The right of entry upon or to real property to investigate and utilize boundary evidence, and to perform surveys, is a right of persons legally authorized to practice land surveying, and it is the responsibility of the owner or tenant who owns or controls property to provide reasonable access without undue delay. The right of entry is not contingent upon the provision of prior notice to the owner or tenant. However, the owner or tenant shall be notified of the proposed time of entry where practicable.
different states, different laws for sure. I've only activated the law here twice and the disputing owner backed off and let me in both times. Some started charging a fee, one even made you show up at his office 25 miles away each morning, get a permit, pay the fee before you could enter.
Surveyors are there by court order in retracement "follow the footsteps".?ÿ So called "right of entry laws" put restrictions on the court order.?ÿ Takings are interesting and should be notification.?ÿ Entry before finalized treaty was the end of more than a few marking out native lands.
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@mightymoe Nope, right of entry for land surveyors is absolute, the owner cannot charge a fee/permit for entry. Sure, post entry damages are recoverable, and without notice the landowner can claim trespass which requires the "surveyor" to immediately exit the property upon actual notice (irate landowner with a gun in your face) by the most expeditious route, just like any other trespasser, which clears you from litigation. Easy to show up with a rental Deputy Sheriff and get the job done a week later.
Think about it, we may range left or right as we stumble around looking for corners, sometimes hundreds or thousands of feet if it's a tough job. I've had private, State & Federal entities try to deny access to me and won every time. except Military sites.
But I'm in recording States where your work counts; maybe you live in a backward State where it's surveys are private and landowners can prevent access by Land Surveyors. Sad.
Georgia has no right of entry laws UNLESS you're DOT or their contractor.?ÿ Over the tears I've called literally thousands of property owners to ask for their permission for our survey crews to cross their property.?ÿ If you treated them with respect and explained what you were doing you generally had no problems.?ÿ I can only remember two "absolutely no's".?ÿ
The worst experience I ever had ended up being a yes, but was NOT a nice experience.?ÿ The client (a County DOT) had held public hearings on a road relocation and we had prepared the aerial photos showing the proposed roadway.?ÿ It took out one house in the relocation.?ÿ I called all the property owners explained what I was asking for and got the go ahead from all but one.?ÿ The lady who owned the home that would be taken.?ÿ She had not heard about the relocation and therefore had not been to the public hearings.?ÿ I was the first she heard of it.?ÿ She agreed to meet me on the site to discuss it.
I brought along the photos showing what was proposed.?ÿ When I showed it to her she broke down.?ÿ All her children had been born in the house.?ÿ Her husband and one of her sons had died in the house.?ÿ You want to talk about feeling lower than a snake's belly, I did.?ÿ She thanked me for showing her and being honest about what was going to happen and gave her permission for the survey work.
I don't drink much, but that night I told my wife to give me two fingers of Scotch.?ÿ That's two fingers in a number nine wash tub.?ÿ My wife did help me get over it though.?ÿ She said at least she had someone tell her who actually cared about her and her feelings.?ÿ Still hurt though.
Andy
I've worked in the over regulated states that you seem to prefer.?ÿ You can have them.?ÿ If you've always carried the yoke of regulatory oppression it might be difficult to conceptualize the benefits of not being a slave to administrators.?ÿ
The recording states I've worked in were less concerned about the cadastre and more concerned that an adjoining property owner might have a new out building that could be taxed.
What do you do in a mandatory recording state when a municipality places an onerous new requirement as a condition of plat approval??ÿ You kneel, kiss their ring, and start telling yourself over and over that it's all the non recording states that have it wrong.?ÿ Do you ever feel bad for the landowner who has to pay you extra money so that you can give municipalities the free data they desire??ÿ?ÿ
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I??ve known at least 1 ??surveyor? who was cheering on implementation of new subdivision regulation because it would mean more work/ money for them... sometimes bureaucracy has (more than) willing accomplices.?ÿ
Mandatory recording is good. It does not have to come with onerous review requirements, if the bureaucracy can be kept in check.
I did get involved with some out-of-state companies that got themselves in a ringer trying to push the laws from one state into this one. I tried to tell them, they didn't listen, the bill was at least $800,000 by the time it was all finished.
It can get expensive.
Right of entry and private property rights are a balancing act. As s Surveyor I need to do my job. As a landowner I want my privacy respected. It makes sense to have a right of entry with notice, even if only to prevent shootings. Permission should not be a requirement.
As for recording, I will never return to a non-recording State to work. I am licensed in 5 recording States and have never had an overbearing administrator hold up my map. I don't miss the days of dirtbags holding everyone hostage with private records, most of which are garbage anyway.
The only review in Pierce County; are the margins correct; is the font the right size and readable; is there any overlapping, line work over text.
To me, if the review is with a fine tooth comb; then the reviewer is responsible if the fecal matter ever hits the blade...
@mike-marks strict reading of this indicates that only licensed individuals, not their assigns or subordinates, are allowed to implement this right to entry. Is this how its practiced?
Finished today- ended up with 3 phones that had been disconnected since last fall. On another note one of the owners I talked with was a famous rocker from the 70-80??s...
You are confusing recording requirements with plat review requirements. They are two different things. I don't doubt that you have experienced things that give you a good reason to not like mandatory reviews, but I have yet to hear a good argument against recording requirements on their own.
Possibly "persons legally authorized to practice land surveying" may be interpreted as including those operating under the supervision of a registrant. Otherwise the word "authorized" would be properly replaced with "registered", or "licensed".
In the70s and early 80s, the company I worked at did many turnkey cross country transmission surveys and I found out that is was always best to go the owner's turf and meet them and let them know that I was just doing my job and wanted them to know that they can ignore everything I am doing on their land and take any course of action they want and that I will comply with their wishes as much as possible.
In many communities, there is a self-appointed mayor that anyone has to talk to before any of the locals will open their doors or let you down their drive.
That got me on their land better than any phone call I ever made.
