Recommended Guidelines for the Practice of Surveying in South Dakota
This
document was prepared by the South Dakota Society of Professional Land
Surveyors and is intended to provide
recommended guidelines for the practice of land surveying in the State
of South Dakota. Adopted December 1999
Table of Contents
Section 4 Technical Specifications
Section 5 Technical Outline for Boundary
Surveys
Section 6 Standards for
Classification of LIS/GIS Surveys
Section 7 GPS Survey
Guidelines
Section 8 Graphic Representation of
Survey Results
Section 11 Land Surveys, ROW
Plats and Subdivision Plats
Section 12 Legal Land
Descriptions
In order to promote
safeguards for property, and to promote public welfare, a manual of Recommended Guidelines for the Practice of
Surveying in the State of South Dakota is hereby adopted.
All persons, in either
public or private capacity, practicing or offering to practice Land Surveying
as defined in South Dakota Codified Law Chapters 36-18 are charged with having
knowledge of the existence of these recommended guidelines, and shall be deemed
to be familiar with the provisions thereof and to understand them.
The standards for surveying
contained herein are recommended for all surveys relating to the establishment or
retracement of property boundaries in the State of South Dakota, whether on
public or private lands. These recommended guidelines shall apply to every survey performed
in this state.
It is anticipated that these
standards will assist in meeting public needs as follows:
1.
That
the property be mapped in a manner that can be understood by the user.
2.
That
the newly created parcels be properly described.
3.
That,
if a retracement survey, the client be made aware of gaps and/or overlaps, and
encroachments with adjoining properties that are known to the surveyor.
4.
That
the monuments placed can be readily located for a reasonable period of time by
the land owner and other surveyors.
5.
That
the precision and resulting accuracy of the survey be such that if a monument
is destroyed it may be replaced within the standards prescribed herein.
This document intends to
provide the licensed surveyor and the users of land surveys with a realistic
and prudent standard of adequate surveying performance. The licensed Land Surveyor will continue to
exercise individual skill, discretion and judgment in each specific task he or
she performs.
The Surveyor should refer to
South Dakota Codified Laws, Definitions
of Surveying and Associated Terms by the American Congress on Surveying and
Mapping and the American Society of Civil Engineers, latest edition thereof,
and the BLM Manual of Surveying
Instructions, 1973.
3.1)
Determine the Scope of the
Job
1.
The
Land Surveyor serves the client faithfully.
The Land Surveyor should question the client in sufficient detail to
obtain an understanding of the client’s need and requirements. If it is necessary to obtain additional information
the client has not supplied, the Land Surveyor should advise the client that
such information must be furnished or obtained prior to determining the
necessary services.
3.2) Evidence of Land Descriptions
1.
Tax
statements are usually inadequate evidence of a proper land description. Abstracts, deeds, Certificates of Title,
title opinions, title binders or combinations thereof are better evidence of
proper land descriptions. The Land
Surveyor should request additional information that may be available on such
matters as prior surveys, easements, or other encumbrances.
2.
It
may be necessary for the Land Surveyor to obtain legal descriptions of
adjoiners in the area. Prior to commencing the survey, Land Surveyors can be expected to exercise reasonable
care during record research, but cannot be held liable for errors or omissions
caused by defects in the chain of title for the property being surveyed, or
that of the adjoiners. Title defects
may be revealed through an examination of title by those professionals trained
and experienced in this area.
3.3) Evaluation of Capabilities
1.
It
is the Land Surveyor’s responsibility to determine whether he or she is
properly qualified, or has the proper knowledge, experience, personnel,
equipment and resources available to undertake the contemplated project. Having appraised the problem and evaluated
the foregoing criteria, the Land Surveyor should plan a method of operation to
accomplish the intended purpose of the land survey.
3.4)
Acceptance of the Project
1.
For
the mutual protection of both client and Land Surveyor, the Land Surveyor
should prepare and supply the client or his agent with a memorandum, letter of
confirmation of work ordered, or contract for the project. The Land Surveyor should also establish with
the client the extent of any known limitations to the Surveyor’s professional
liability and responsibility.
Section 4 Technical Specifications
1.
When
a land survey is to be conducted, it is incumbent upon the client to provide a
land description of the property to be surveyed. A tax statement or a purchase agreement is usually not adequate. Also the Land Surveyor should consult other
sources of information in order to assemble the best possible written evidence
of the corners and lines of the property being surveyed. Important records include, but are not
limited to:
records of previous surveys;
land descriptions of adjoining properties; records of nearby highways,
railroads and utilities; records of all applicable public agencies, e.g.,
subdivision plats, section mapping, aerial photographs, quadrangle and other
topographic maps, and other private sources as may be available.
After all written documents have been analyzed, the Land
Surveyor shall conduct a field investigation of the property. The Land Surveyor shall make a thorough
search for all monumentation, note evidence of occupation and obtain parole testimony
as he deems it necessary to substantiate unrecorded historical evidence
recovered at the site.
4.2) Accuracy Standards for Property
Boundary Surveys
1.
The
surveyor shall select the proper equipment and method necessary to achieve
either the required relative position tolerance, required radial survey
measurement tolerance or required traverse closure.
2.
The
relative position tolerance and traverse closure at sixty-eight percent (68%)
confidence level shall be one-tenth of a foot (0.10') or 1:10,000 for distances
greater than one thousand feet (1000').
1.
Every
boundary survey performed in South Dakota shall be monumented, or witness
monumented, at all boundary corner locations.
All corners shall be marked with a physical monument of a permanent and
easily distinguishable type or character, and set in a manner providing a
degree of permanency consistent with that of adjacent terrain and physical
features. Monuments set by a Land Surveyor
shall be made of durable material and should include an element that makes it
possible to detect the monuments by means of some device for finding ferrous or
magnetic objects. Monuments set by a
Land Surveyor shall bear a cap with the identification of the Land Surveyor by
his name and his registration number.
2.
Monuments
may be any of a large assortment of markers including iron pipe, cast concrete,
cast iron, iron rods or pins, chiseled crosses, etc. Wood stakes shall not be
used as monuments. Also, small
rods and masonry nails are to be used only in such cases in which it is
impossible to set a more substantial monument and shall be noted as such on the
Record of Survey.
3.
Examples
of acceptable monuments would be:
a)
Steel
rebar: ½ inch diameter or larger a
minimum of 18” long with properly stamped survey cap.
b)
Steel
pipe: ½ inch inside diameter or larger a minimum of 18” long with properly
stamped survey cap.
c) Concrete markers: minimum of 4 inch diameter or 4 inch square,
a minimum of 18” long and buried in the ground, with a rebar or metal pipe and properly stamped cap encased in the
concrete.
d)
A
drill hole, or a clearly scribed or chiseled mark, in existing concrete or
stone. This shall only be used if it is
totally impractical to set any other type of monument. If it is necessary to
use this type of mark, it must be accompanied by a witness mark or reference
ties to existing features.
e)
A
3" hardened steel spike with a washer properly stamped with the LS number
is acceptable in paved surfaces where other monuments are impractical.
4.
“Witness
Monumentation” refers to the setting of offset corners when it is not possible
or practical to set the actual corner.
For example, in business sections of urban areas, buildings may be
erected upon the property line. In such
cases, chiseled crosses could be set on the extension of the lot lines at a
convenient distance from the true corner.
In such cases where the placement of a required monument at its proper
location is impractical, it shall be permissible to set a reference monument
close by the point, and if such reference monument is set, its location shall
be properly shown on the plat of the survey.
When conditions warrant setting a monument on an offset, the location
shall be selected so the monument lies on a line of the survey or on the
prolongation of such line. Offsets
shall not be in fractional feet unless a physical obstruction affects their
location.
5.
It
is recommended that all monuments be prominently marked by the Land Surveyor in
such a manner as to enable the client to easily find the monument. The markings should be appropriate to the
conditions and vegetative cover, and may range from paint on pavement in urban
areas, to substantial wood stakes. The
Land Surveyor should caution the client on the value and importance of his
boundary monuments and recommend various methods whereby they can be protected
and preserved. Also caution the client
on the legal ramifications of moving or damaging a monument and/or noticing any
disturbance by other parties.
Section 5 Technical Outline for Boundary
Surveys
5.1) Preliminary Record Research and Investigation
5.2) Analysis of Research and Preliminary Conclusions
The Land Surveyor should:
1.
Examine
and analyze data obtained.
2.
Form
preliminary conclusions.
3.
Plan
procedure for performing the field survey.
5.3) Field Investigation
The Land Surveyor should:
1.
Search
for, locate and identify monuments and other real evidence that may affect the
survey.
2.
Investigate
direct and circumstantial parole evidence, identify obliterated control monument
positions and take testimony when possible.
3.
Take
necessary measurements to correlate found evidence.
4.
Where
relevant, locate occupation between adjoiners.
5.
Record
information in appropriate form.
6.
Conduct
the survey in the field with appropriate equipment and procedures. (See Section 4)
5.4) Conclusions
The Land Surveyor should:
1.
Make
computations to verify measurements.
2.
Evaluate
the evidence.
3.
Contact
the other Land Surveyor when his or her work does not agree with that being
done. The disagreement should be
investigated and resolved if possible.
4.
Apply
the proper theory of location in accordance with law or precedent, using the Manual of Surveying Instruction in use
at the time of the original survey as a guide.
5.
Set
appropriate monuments to delineate the boundary lines surveyed. (See Section 4)
6.
Prepare
a Record of Survey showing the results of the boundary survey. The Record of Survey should be accompanied
by a written Survey Report when appropriate.
(See Section 10)
Section 6 Standards for Classification of
LIS/GIS Surveys
6.1) General
Land
Information System / Geographic Information System (LIS/GIS) surveys are
defined as the measurement of existing surface and subsurface features for the
purpose of determining their accurate geospatial location. All LIS/GIS surveys shall be performed under
the direction of a licensed Professional Land Surveyor. For the purpose of specifying minimum
alowable surveying standards, three general classifications LIS/GIS surveys are
established:
1. Urban and Suburban LIS/GIS surveys (Class