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17 <br />wording of the certificate is up to the surveyor. All of these are <br />objective things which do not require giving a professional opinion. <br />In the case of other certificates, there is always the option of given <br />a qualified professional opinion or saying "I cannot make this deter- <br />mination in this case." This is in keeping with good professional <br />practice. <br />The G.S. 47 -30 rewrite recognized the necessity of a professional <br />saying "I don't know in this case" by providing option (e) in Section <br />(f)(11). I do not believe our Board of Registration would have <br />approved the rewrite without this option. <br />Fourth, the proposal to require a surveyor to certify that a plat <br />submitted for subdivision approval is a subdivision is the same. In <br />most cases, a surveyor can and will easily certify that the plat he <br />submits for subdivision approval is a subdivision. It is conceivable <br />in some cases that he may not be sure. This would probably be when one <br />owner has several adjacent tracts and is only having one surveyed. <br />Think of the situation where several 25' wide lots were bought. The <br />surveyor can ask the Planning Department if the survey is a sub- <br />division. He can submit the survey for subdivision approval based on <br />the Planning Department opinion. He cannot certify that the survey is <br />a subdivision unless he is of that professional opinion from his own <br />knowledge. The option of saying lie does not know must be kept open. <br />Fifth, we do not understand what the overriding interest to the <br />public welfare or to Orange County is in forcing the surveyor to <br />certify jurisdiction and that a survey is a subdivision. The N. C. <br />Legislature has said the owner is the one to state the jurisdiction <br />(G.S. 153A -332). If the owner has signed a statement saying he wants <br />Orange County's subdivision approval, what liability does the County <br />have? This is the system we have used since the Subdivision Regula- <br />tions Ordinance was adopted, and we are not aware of any problems it <br />has caused. <br />I believe with these two changes, the Amendment to the Subdivision <br />Regulations Ordinance will be a needed tool to let us work together in <br />the future. <br />Respectfully, <br />?err Davis, RLS <br />s ent, Northwestern Chapter of <br />North Carolina Society of Surveyors <br />cc: Mary Scearbo <br />Beverly Blythe <br />Page 4 <br />