Bonds Released, Street Mons Never Set?

[PLS7393]

Have any surveyors, or County Surveyors, been involved in a situation were street monuments were shown to be set, but the city released the bonds without verifying that the street monuments were set?

I know what the law says, and we all know what the city is going to say in attempt to get them to set their street monuments, per their approved subdivision map. Even if the map was relatively recent, say 10 or 15 years old. Who is responsible when the surveyor defers the setting of monuments, for the developers benefit, but the developer never sets them, and the surveyor never gets called back to punch the discs.

Did stradlers ever get set, good question.

We all know (most) city planning departments are insufiently educated on surveying issues, like the SMA.

Any success or helpful court cases, for future issues? (I think I'll stop here, but could keep going.)

[Steve Martin]

Keith,

In the County I used to work for, we required a letter from the Surveyor stating that all of the monuments had been set and he had been paid for his services before we released the monument bond. We also did a field inspection to verify that the monuments were set.

It sounds like the City you mentioned is bypassing the part about having the Suerveyor certify that all of the monuments have been set and he has been paid. That check in the process usually prevents the developer from getting the bond money back before the monuments have been set.

[PLS7393]

Steve, I know the law and how to control what I can control within appropriate jurisdictions, but as I said this is a city issue, and thus that's how I presented it.

I'm on vacation and won't see any posts till 1-19-09

[Jim Frame]

The responsibility for setting the monuments rests with the surveyor who signed the map. It's too bad that the city neglected to ensure compliance while it had a financial hammer to wield, but once the bonds are released the city has no formal enforcement power. What the city -- or you, or anyone else -- can do is contact the surveyor and point out that he seems to have forgotten to set what he said he'd set. If he declines to comply he becomes fair game for a complaint against his license and enforcement action by BPELS.

.

[dmi]

Correct, its the same argument that does not work when trying to get of of a filing a record of survey. "The client would not pay for a record of survey because they did not think they needed it because they were just building a fence." Nope, Nope, that will never fly. The surveyor of record is responsible for monumenting the subdivision. The leverage the survey has to get paid is terms in their contract and the fact that no map gets recorded till they stamp and sign the mylars. So here is a cautionary tale, do not sign off on masps until accounts are current. You will be surpised how effective that is.
If there is some snafu, that caused the surveyor not to get paid, then the surveyor will have to set the monuments and they look for a party to sue for payment...... not pretty......

[Dave Karoly, PLS]

that happened in a local City here and the City agreed to pay the Surveyor to set the monuments. The City admitted they messed up and agreed to pay the bill. The sleazy developer had already skipped town.

[Gary O]

Hmmmmm.....maybe we have more honest surveyors up here but that's not been much of a problem. The developer has to put up bonding unless we have a letter from the surveyor saying the monuments are set and he/she has been paid. We don't go out and check for the monuments though. The county crews used to do that when I first started here 20+ years ago but they stopped shortly thereafter.

Our bigger problem, and not really a big one, is unfinished records of survey where the surveyor is gone or dead and there are no pipes in the ground.

[goodgps]

about 25 years ago, it was discovered that a surveyor wrote a monument bond release letter stating that all monuments were set and he was paid for the job. The bond was released, however, The centerline monuments were never set.
The city engineer gave the surveyor the option to set the monuments on that very week or he would notify the board (this was after the surveyor had put up some resistence)
The monuments were set that week.

I hope things like this are few a far between. It seems to me, that one of the essence of surveying is to set your monument !

Ty D. Corner