Landowner wants me to survey the property to build a new house, then asks me if we should wait until spring.?ÿ I said; no best to start now, why did you think about waiting. He said he is removing the 900ft long Stonewall between his property and the town park. I said Wow! You can't do that without written permission.?ÿ
He has no written permission but did ask the town board and got verbal permission,?ÿ supposedly!?ÿ
Not sure what I should do here?
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I'm having a very hard time trying to come up with a good reason to remove such a stone wall
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
Sounds like a metes and bounds state, which I've never worked in, but I would assume the wall should be mapped so pins could be set at the relevant points once it's been removed.?ÿ?ÿ
Land owner wants me to survey property to build a new house, then asking me if we should wait until spring.?ÿ I said, no best to start now, why did you think about waiting. He said he is removing the 900ft long Stonewall between his property and the town park. I said Wow! You can't do that without written permission.?ÿ
He has no written permission but did ask the town board and got verbal permission,?ÿ supposedly!?ÿ
Not sure what I should here?
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It isn't your job to defend every boundary. That said, it is unlikely that his removal would erase the record of it. I am sure it appears in google earth and probably countless other places.?ÿ
I would probably recommend he get the agreement in writing, but that is just me.
Yes, seems very stupid.?ÿ
The town is most likely uninformed and/or your client didn't explain things clearly.
Get out there and locate it before it's gone, what else can you do.
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Practical reasons where I have seen wall removed was when two separate parcels were combined into one, and then again when neighbors significantly straightened their shared boundary and moved the wall to reflect their agreement.
The only other times I have seen a stone wall removed was when a neighbor decided it would look better as a patio rather than just laying on the ground in the woods.
Wow!?ÿ That just doesn't happen short of some major highway project.?ÿ The number of tons involved and where do you send the rock are two excellent questions before starting.?ÿ As for me, I believe in honoring our forebearers and those of similar antiquity who put in an outrageous effort to construct such things.
Some towns have an ordinance preserving old stonewalls. You even need a permit to dismantle the wall for where you want a driveway, like it's a guardrail or curb cut, etc.
I'd definitely locate the wall pretty accurately, since you now know that the monument may be destroyed.?ÿ Who knows, the town may hire you later on to stake the wall out, when they're having this guy restore the wall to its former location
Another concern is if there is a prohibition against disturbing surveying monuments. (I know they are mostly observed in the breach.) "Called out in the deed" tends strongly to make the wall a monument.
I don't have an answer beyond this caution.
I wonder how many residents know about the decision by the town board.?ÿ It should appear in the minutes.?ÿ If not somebody is exceeding their authority.
My own convictions would result in suggesting he find a different surveyor for his goals.?ÿ Then I would gladly investigate how to put a stop to it.
"Landowner wants me to survey the property to build a new house", do you have a signed contract??ÿ If not, there's not much you can do about it but locate the wall now and wait to get paid for it when you do the actual survey.