Agenda - 01-06-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

16 The point is that if the surveyor certifies (b), the plat does not have to be approved by any Planning Department. The Register of Deeds records it if it meets the requirements of G.S. 47 -30. If the surveyor certifies (a), (d), or (e), the plat must-be aporov d by the_Plannina De art The only reason option (a) mentions jurisdiction is to acknowledge that in some counties subdivision plats do not have to be approved. This does not apply to Orange County. Surveyors who work in Orange County will include the phrase "within the area of a county or municipality that has an ordinance that regulates parcels of land" when they choose option (a). G.S. 47 -30 does not require a surveyor to say hich jurisdiction a survey falls into. Since the stated purpose of this Amendment is to make the Subdivision Regulations consistent with G.S. 47 -30, the Subdivision Regulations should not require the surveyor to state that a survey is within Orange County's jurisdiction, either. Second, there are many situations where a surveyor may not know whose jurisdiction a property is in. Our Chapter's committee has had two cases in the last six months where Orange County Planners initially did not know whether a property was in Orange County's jurisdiction. Different maps showed different things. In another case where a property which straddled the Alamance County line, where the property was did not control who approved the subdivision. The county which had it on their assessment roles controlled the jurisdiction. In some cases where the property is in more than one jurisdiction, the rules for deciding who will approve the subdivision seem informal and unwritten. Please remember that a Registered Land Surveyor is a Professional. Unlike a property owner, he cannot ask the Planning Department whether the property is in their jurisdiction and then certify it. Any cer- tification must be his own conclusions based on appropriate references and evidence he has gathered. He has professional liability for his certifications and opinions just as a doctor has for his diagnoses and an attorney has for his opinions. He puts his professional reputation and his livelihood on the line every time he signs a certificate. For a surveyor to sign a certificate as to jurisdiction, we would need one official jurisdiction map. This map would need to show the dividing boundaries in a way that could be legally described. It would need to be certified by all controlling parties (probably Orange County. Town of Hillsborough, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro. Alamance County, Chatham County, Durham Couhty, Person County, and Caldwell County). This map would need to be recorded in the Register of Deeds office. Third, except for the surveyor's certificate required by G.S. 47- 30, a Registered Land Surveyor is ngver required to certify yes or no about anything. In the case of the G.S. 47 -30 certificate, the sur- veyor is required to certify (1) that he did the survey (or supervised it); (2) the sources he used; (3) the ratio of precision of his tra- verse; and (4) that the plat complies with G.S. 47 -30. The exact Page 3