sinc
He said above that he was not showing water meters.
sinc
OK, then I guess I'm really confused, as the original post said the problem was the reviewing agency had a problem with the water meter locations...
Whas Up?
sinc
> OK, then I guess I'm really confused, as the original post said the problem was the reviewing agency had a problem with the water meter locations...
>
> Whas Up?
Blackmail
sinc
my point exactly sinc. this isnt a problem with the plat, whatever the problem is, it shouldnt be holding up filing.
sinc
Perhaps they are comparing the subdivision plat (lot lines, R/W, easements, etc.) against the construction plans and have concerns with the placement of the meters. Or like others have said, they wants something additional from whoever is behind the project and are using a bs excuse as leverage.
sinc
I agree. We aren't there, but there could be several things going on. Perhaps they were given the go-ahead to set water lines and then someone changed the subdivision design. They could be saying that they need to fix the waterline problems (not being in the latest proposed easements) before they will give their stage of approval. ?
Whoever they are, someone in the chain decided that their approval is necessary before a plat can be finalized. Since it's a subdivision plat, I would guess that it isn't really the surveyor's problem. It might be the land developer's problem, and I assume it will cost him the money to get the apprval glitch resolved. If the plat needs to be changed, I would assume that is an extra cost that the surveyor can charge for.
sinc
In my neck of the woods, plats are reviewed by by staff from Growth Management, Environmental Protection, Public Works, Public Safety, Health Department, Gainesville Regional Utilities, Clay Electric and the Sheriff’s Office.
And then there is the state platting law that says all plats must be reviewed prior to their approval by a professional surveyor and mapper either employed by or under contract to the local governing body to make sure that the plat meets all of the state platting law requirements. A statement to this effect must be placed on the plat. Naturally, most of the reviewers do their review job correctly but some go well beyond the "letter of the law" and review things that they should not. They let their personal preferences enter into it and make a mess out of the review process.
Everything
Call it blackmail if you want, but what developers have done in the past is to build poor and inexpensive roads, drainage, utilities, etc. and then sell the lots. Then the taxpayer is forced to pay to repair/rebuild these things when they fail very quickly. So regulations have been put in place that require certain things to be built to certain specifications.
The Master plan that was approved requires certain things before a section will be approved for sale to the public. One of those things is apparantly a functioning meter. Probably the utility must repair non-functioning meters for the homeowner once the lot is sold, and the utility is quasi gov. so funded somewhat by taxpayer money.
If a developer wants to open a section of the master plan for sale by way of a subdivision map, then all conditions must be met before the map will be approved.
No mystery here, just business as usual.
Everything
yes Duane, business as usual but the fact is that the water authority can simply not turn the water on until everything is in order. They take blanket easements over the installed facilities. And no, the location of the features was not a question, someone did not like the height of valve...ridiculous. I am amazed how we have allowed these government entities to use a subdivision plat as a punchlist for construction projects.
Everything
rambleon, I feel like we've been "spoon-fed" facts as we try to understand the reasoning. Maybe that's to be expected, though. I guess you can't cover everything that someone might speculate on a site like this.
The fact is, some person in some agency decides they can throw their weight around and they do. It's often one egotistical guy who throws a cog in the whole system. I'm sure that utility company is in the loop to assure that the subdivision can work from their perspective, and not so they can blackmail the whole process for some petty agenda.
Good luck with that.
Everything
If a person buys a lot with utilities they then have a right to have them supplied. The utility would have to turn the water on. The utility could choose to change the height at their own expense within a reasonable time, but would have to pay the expense.
Your contract should not require approval of the plat for payment of the surveyor fee for these reasons. I'm guessing that is the issue because I've seen it happen before. A savvy Developer retains a surveyor not used to working in an area with this kind of scrutiny for just this contractual reason. Or the surveyor has worked for developers that don't squeeze every advantage out of the deal. In either case, One of those business live and learn situations.
You should be flattered and happy. If the surveyors plat did not have that kind of power, people may not need them.
It may seem arbitrary but I would bet that the height of valve is specified and was not complied with. There are many reasons (service and or supply issues) why the height should be at or within a range of a specified vertical location.
I had a situation last year where the County would not approve a parcel split that met all legal and zoning requirements because a previous owner had not paid a contractor for installing a water line. My client had discussed everything with them prior to purchasing the property and this had never been brought up. My client protested that the County had no authority to side with one private party when there were no legal issues involved, but the local water company Nazis exert some type of power over the County. They finally backed down after being threatened with a lawsuit, but it took a long time...during which the owner lost two potential buyers.
...and that's why it works. It's generally cheaper both in money and time to do what they want and go on with life. It is probably that way every where to some extent or another. Every now and then you will get a client who will sue. In my experience almost everytime they have filed suit, they've won. But for most folks it's just too much trouble and too expensive.
Everything
I am glad to provide as much detail as anyone wants, but I tend to not spend much time on the background in a forum like this. I do appreciate everyone's comments. this is not about payment and my client is very happy with my services. I take pride in my clients satisfaction. My concern is that we as surveyors have allowed issues that are not related to map filing to be brought into the map filing process. we have let the subdivision plat become the punchlist for development.
there is no reason why this map needed a two week review process. It is a simple five lot subdivision plat thats is part of a larger already approved master plan, the asbuilts of all the utilities were done months ago, in fact the valve that they told me was a problem, was not even a problem. the inspector just hadnt even looked at the plat yet. To take some positive steps, I emailed the board, explained what the problem was and they are going to take a look at the issues. I hope that maybe they can at keep our approval process in check.
