FEATURE ARTICLE, JULY 2006

SURVEYING: PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS
Knowing your boundaries can help protect your investment.
Martin F. Tirella, PLS, and John Alexander, PLS

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were among our most memorable and historical land surveyors by profession. Our land surveying predecessors used what was considered state-of-the-art technology for their time to establish land boundaries in the original colonial states. This included the use of plane tables, Gunther’s chains, rudimentary compasses, and did not exclude measuring the distance from “that” oak tree to “this” elm tree to “that” stone. This equipment, as simple as it seems now, enabled them to pave their way through our country and build towns, roads and railways. Land surveyors were considered true pioneers.

During the 1800s, while our nation grew and expanded westward, land ownership in the eastern United States was — and continues to be — established based on English common law, while land west of the Mississippi was established using the concept of sectionalized lands, based upon latitude and longitude, townships, and ranges.

Today, as property values rise and the American population expands, it is imperative for property owners of both residential and commercial lands to establish and clearly delineate boundaries with their neighbors. In fact, having a property surveyed before undertaking any project, especially a commercial site, has become one of the most vital aspects of commercial land development that a landowner can do to protect his or her investment. Data collection, asset management, map production, environmental considerations, mapping and subsurface investigations are all elements that must be taken into consideration early on in the commercial development strategy. Thus, the land survey becomes a springboard for future land planning and development.

Here Come the Marines

Land surveyors are not unlike the U.S. Marine Corps — typically on any land development project, they are the first ones in and the last ones out. From the beginning, having a property surveyed saves a landowner the potential headache of lost time and money should there be any dispute in title with neighbors or adjacent owners. The land survey is the foundation for the future, successful development of a project. Land surveyors interact with all professionals in the land development community including engineers, architects, lawyers, title agents, bankers, mortgage company representatives and appraisers in the quantifying and identifying of land boundaries for subsequent commercial transactions. Land surveyors are there to help map out the entire project, and to help keep it within current laws and regulations as the project progresses. They continue to interact with project personnel throughout the project and are back on the scene again at the end, both during and after construction, to make sure that all criteria have been met properly.

Equipment Improvements

Land surveying equipment has come a long way from the days of our notable predecessors. As with every other field, technology has been integrated into land surveying equipment as well. A significant change in the practice of land surveying has been the Internet. Through the use of the Internet, land surveyors can obtain vast amounts of public records and record documentation right on their desktops. Having this capability has given land surveyors the ability to increase productivity significantly. Maps, public records and tax records all are available instantly to practicing professional land surveyors for use in the critical preliminary stages in any land boundary work they perform. Additionally, the land surveyor can now send and receive data and communications with field operations via Wi-Fi-enabled field equipment, cell phones and data collectors, further increasing efficiency and productivity.

This Internet technology plus surveying equipment runs the gamut from electronic total stations that collect, store and transfer electronic data, to high speed processing, Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, robotic total stations and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology. GPS technology has allowed land surveyors to cover much larger areas with much greater accuracy and precision in a significantly shorter period of time, relative to traditional data collection. GPS is extremely reliable, portable and enables a land surveyor access to very precise horizontal and vertical information very quickly. GPS technology is based on a satellite constellation of 24 satellites originally created by the U.S. Department of Defense for the strategic deployment of tactical weapons and troop deployments. With the advancement of this technology, there has blossomed a much wider domestic civilian use that allows land surveyors to accomplish tasks in a greatly abbreviated time frame. Aside from standard surveying practices, these exciting technologies are being used for fleet management, asset management, GIS and personal navigation for both cars and boats. 

As this technology continues to evolve in North America, it is important to note that the European Union is currently developing a similar satellite constellation named Galileo, that will also maintain 24 satellites with two additional satellites in standby mode, greatly complementing the U.S. version of GPS. The greater the number of satellites, the higher the precision and the faster the data collection can be achieved.

Education as Protection

As the value of property has skyrocketed over the last two decades, and as the technology of land surveying has become so advanced, there has been a necessity to elevate the requirements of becoming a licensed professional land surveyor (PLS) in many states. The licensing requirements in numerous states, including most of the tri-state area and others in the Northeast, is a bachelors of science degree. Land surveyors have to be more educated now than ever before due to higher land values, the advancement in geodetic science and the clear understanding of boundary law. Learning about new regulations and legislations that are being created and revised constantly, mathematics, and boundary law are all a part of this broad knowledge base. Having the advantage of this knowledge through retaining the services of a qualified land surveyor can protect both residential and commercial landowners from costly disputes and fraudulent claims over property lines and easements. In the event of a legal dispute, the land surveyor becomes the expert witness.

Money Well Spent

In the scheme of things, especially when a property owner is investing big dollars into a commercial real estate project, the cost of hiring a professional land surveyor is far from prohibitive. In fact, it has potential to save the client money in the long run. Preliminary work, mapping and other site investigations prior to the beginning of the design process can be vital to the overall success of a project. A good land surveyor will stick with the client and work in concert with other professionals to produce a turnkey product for the development of commercial projects from high rises to strip malls, ultimately being part of a team that turns the designer’s dream into reality.

Martin F. Tirella, PLS, is a licensed land surveyor with over 25 years of experience in this field and is the department manager of Survey Services at Schoor DePalma Inc. John Alexander, PLS, is a licensed land surveyor and is a project manager at Schoor DePalma whose expertise is in land development and construction-related projects.

©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.