My question is - Do you as a surveyor feel you have more lee-way when it comes to utility easement locations and their definition compared to property boundaries or do you see them as equal or close in ramifications?
Which has more weight in an easement description - “centered on existing” or bearings and distances?
I am currently doing a boundary survey and replat of public borough (counties) property, over the last 30 years the government has been granting utility easements across several lots due to development. Upon researching the easements trying to get them on the plat I have found a couple that have ambiguous descriptions that were not done by a surveyor. These descriptions do not have enough information to plat without making several assumptions or corrections as to their definable location. The borough wants me to make these changes without including the utility as a signer on the plat and I am having a hard time with this. I also am having questions about an easement with a description that includes “centered on existing “ as location but then gives bearing and distances around the exterior. The utility has moved so I am unsure as to which has more weight.
I have no problem working out questionable property boundary descriptions and rendering my opinion as to the location. This type of work, I believe is the basis of why there are surveyors in the first place. This is what everyone wants to know and is high on importance level.
Utility easements in my area are viewed entirely different than property boundaries; they are more of a necessary evil and are given little attention to detail even from the utility companies themselves.
I have approached the utility companies about the problem and they are not interested, they made the comment that if the borough gives them trouble about the descriptions then they can just remove the utility. For whatever reason the borough government and the utilities feel like this is a surveyor's problem and shouldn’t involve them, the borough wants me to “fix” the utility easement descriptions for the new plat. I feel like I am setting myself up for trouble in the future by doing this.