ALTA/ACSM SURVEYS. Larrie C. Hindman Morrison & Hecker L.L.P Grand Avenue Kansas City, Missouri

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1 ALTA/ACSM SURVEYS Larrie C. Hindman Morrison & Hecker L.L.P Grand Avenue Kansas City, Missouri I. Introduction: Problems associated with property boundaries have existed for generations. Even the Old Testament contains references to boundaries. For example, Moses added one new law relating to property to the ten commandments he received on Mount Sinai: You must not move back the boundary marks of your fellow-man, when the ancestors have set the boundaries of your inheritance.... Deuteronomy 19:14 And talk about social pressure. The Levites apparently stood on mountain tops and shouted: Cursed is he who moveth his landmark and all of the people will say amen. Deuteronomy 27:17. II. Evolution of the ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey Requirements. A. Prior to Prior to 1962, the only national survey standards were the Technical Standards for Property Surveys adopted by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping ( ACSM ) in B. The 1962 Survey Standards. In 1960, the President of the American Land Title Association ( ALTA, then the American Title Association) appointed a committee to establish a standard surveyors certification. Recognizing that before a standard surveyor s certificate could be prepared that it was necessary to establish standards or requirements for surveys, this committee held several meetings with ACSM regarding survey standards. As a result of such meetings, the Minimum Standard Requirements for Land Title Surveys were adopted by ALTA and ACSM (the Survey Standards ) in (See Attached No. 1.) C. The 1986 Minimum Standards. While the 1986 standards were principally a reformatting of the 1962 standards, the following changes and additions were made: (i) The allowable positional tolerance and closure requirement sections of the 1962 Survey Standards were deleted and the Classification and Specifications for Cadestral Surveys. (The Classification and Specifications ) were adopted as a part of the 1986 Survey Standards. These are customarily called the "Accuracy Standards". Copyright 1998

2 (ii) Four survey classes were specified in the Classification and Specifications: 1. CLASS A-Urban Survey 2. CLASS B-Suburban Survey 3. CLASS C-Rural Survey 4. CLASS D-Mountain and Marshland Survey D. The 1988 Survey Standards. The major revision in the 1988 Survey Standards was the adoption of Table A, Additional Survey Requirements for larger and more complex transactions. Table A was and continues to be a list of optional survey requirements which must be checked before the surveyor is obligated to show such matters. E. The 1992 Survey Standards. The 1992 Survey Standards included two principal changes: (i) (ii) The survey classes were changed to Urban, Suburban, Rural or Mountain or Marshland Groups; and Due to changes in technology of surveying instruments, the Classification and Specifications were no longer published as part of the Survey Standards, but are published as adopted from time to time by ACSM and ALTA. F. The 1997 Survey Standards and 1997 Classifications and Specifications. (See Attached No. 2 and No. 3.) The principal changes effected by the 1997 Survey Standards were as follows: (i) the land surveyors of ACSM incorporated under the name of National Society of Professional Surveyors Inc. ( NSPS ). All references in the Survey Standards, except the title caption, are now to ALTA, ACSM and NSPS and the standards are adopted by ALTA, NSPS, and ACSM. (ii) The following items were added to the Table A: 14. Observable evidence of earth moving work, building construction or building additions during recent months. 15. Any changes in street right of way lines either completed or proposed, and available from the controlling jurisdiction. Observable evidence of recent street or sidewalk construction or repairs. 16. Observable evidence of site use as a solid waste dump, primary or sanitary land fill. 2

3 III. Can the Accuracy Requirements of the Classifications and Specifications be Achieved by Surveyors? A. Definitions 1. Accuracy description of exactness or trueness 2. Precision the closeness to one or other of several measurements. 3. Positional Tolerance an allowable variance of measurement from a specified condition, description, or point. 4. The 1997 Classifications and Specifications contain the following definitions: (a) (b) Positional Uncertainty is the uncertainty in location, due to random errors in measurement, of any physical point on a property survey, based on the 95% confidence level ; and Positional Tolerance for a specified Class of Survey is the maximum acceptable amount of Positional Uncertainty for any physical point on a property survey relative to any other physical point on the survey, including lead-in courses." B. In the late 1980's surveyors began to question whether the accuracy requirements of the Classifications and Specifications could be met. Robert E. Meyers, then the Missouri State Surveyor, published an article (See Attached No. 4) explaining surveyors concerns which are based on the following matters. (i) Minimum distance specifications (65 feet for calibrated steel tape and 266 feet for EDM); (ii) A confidence level of 99% (expected precision is computed at a confidence level of three standard deviations or the probability that 99% of the observations lie within three standard deviations from the mean). C. The 1997 Classifications and Specifications do not completely resolve such concerns of surveyors, but a positional tolerance table for each class of survey is now included and to meet the accuracy requirements, the surveyor may either: 3

4 (i) Apply the within table of Minimum Angle, Distance and Closure Requirement for Survey Measurements Which Control Land Boundaries for ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys to the measurements made in the Survey; or (ii) Compute the Positional Uncertainty for physical points on the survey to assure that those uncertainties do not exceed the Positional Tolerance for the specified Class of Survey. IV. Summary of 1997 Survey Standards: A. Paragraph 1. Ordering the survey: The request for a survey shall: provide written authorization to proceed specify that an Urban, Suburban, Rural, or Mountain and Marshland ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey is required designate optional items in Table A to be included set forth the record description of property provide to the surveyor copies of: description record of the property B. Paragraphs 2. The survey shall: recorded easements benefiting the property recorded easements, servitudes and covenants affecting the property documents of record referred to in recorded documents include other appropriate documentation affecting the property bear the name, address, telephone number and signature of surveyor bear official seal and registration number bear the date of survey and dates of all revisions be captioned ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey contain the certification as set forth in Paragraph 8 4

5 C. Paragraph 3. The ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey shall be an Urban, Suburban, Rural or Mountain and Marshland Survey in accordance with the Classifications then adopted by ALTA and ACSM. D. Paragraph 4. Boundaries drawn to a convenient scale with scale clearly indicated and show: graphic scale in feet or meters north arrow a legend identifying all symbols and abbreviations if necessary for clarity, supplemental or exaggerated diagrams The plat or map shall be a minimum of 8 ½ inches by 11 inches E. Paragraph 5. The survey shall be performed on the ground and contain: (a) data necessary to indicate dimensions and directions angles given directly or by bearings length and radius of each curve, with elements necessary to define each curve point of beginning bearing basis with reference to well fixed bearing line boundaries bearings shall read in a clockwise direction (b) If recorded bearings, angles or distances vary from those measured, both record and measured bearing, angles and distances If the record description fails to mathematically close, the survey shall so indicate (c) distance from corners of property to nearest right-of-way lines of streets in urban and suburban areas distances to nearest intersecting streets names and widths of abutting streets and highways observable evidence of access (or lack thereof) 5

6 observable evidence of private roads evidence of abutting streets not physically opened (d) identifying titles of all recorded plats, filed maps, right-of-way maps and similar documents with recording data, filing dates and map numbers with lot, block and section numbers or letters names of adjoining lot owners and lot numbers platted setback or building restriction lines in plats or other recorded documents delivered to the Surveyor parcel lines shall indicate contiguity, gores or overlaps if only a partial lot or parcel, balance of lot or parcel shall be indicated (e) (f) (g) monuments shown and noted (including monuments outside property on which establishment of corners are dependent) character and evidence of possession (absence of notation on survey shall be presumptive of no observable evidence of possession) location of all buildings with measurements perpendicular to boundaries if no buildings, a statement No building street numbers where available (h) all recorded easements delivered to surveyor with recording information notations regarding easements that can t be located observable evidence of easements and/or servitudes of all kinds such as roads, rights-of-way, water courses, drains, telephone, telegraph or electric lines, water, sewer, oil or gas pipe lines notation of lack of observable evidence of easements and/or servitudes known to surveyor surface indications of underground easements and/or servitudes (i) character and location of all walls, buildings, fences and other visible improvements within five (5) feet of each side of boundary lines physical evidence of all encroaching structural appurtenances and projections (j) driveways and alleys on or crossing the property 6

7 evidence of use by other than occupants encroachments of driveways or alleys with measurements (k) (l) cemeteries and burial ground ponds, lakes, springs or rivers bordering on or running through the property F. Paragraph 6. G. Paragraph 7. minimum of two sets of prints if more than one sheet, all sheets numbered, total number of sheets indicated and match lines on each sheet description on plat or map if practical, otherwise attach and incorporate If a natural water boundary, notation regarding date of measurements and that the boundary is subject to change due to natural causes and that such boundaries may or may not represent the actual location or the limit of title. If surveyor is aware of changes in such boundaries, extent of changes to be identified H. Paragraph 8. Form of Certification I. Optional items under Table A required. V. Reviewing the Survey: A. Information required by ALTA/ACSM standards as noted in Item IV above B. Review all notes by surveyor shown on survey C. Compare legal description to title commitment and dimensions and bearings of perimeter boundaries shown on survey. Note obvious description errors (Section 39 or North 96 degrees) Check corner ties (Section Corner) D. Review location and nature of all buildings and improvements E. Check all set-back lines shown on survey F. Verify all easements disclosed by title commitment are shown on survey with recording data 7

8 G. Evaluate: access setbacks encroachments location of fences location of utilities evidence of underground utilities evidence of underground storage tanks VI. Survey Checklist See Attached No. 5. 8

9 ATTACHED NO. 5 Survey Review Checklist Property: Mortgage Equity App. No. Loan No. Location: Reviewer: 1. Certification: Original signature: Surveyor s seal: Date of survey: North arrow: Survey current: Clear legend: 2. Legal Description: Metes and bounds: Lot Block: Street address: Identical to title policy: If no, list discrepancies: Legend relating parcel to plat or map: Surveyor certification for plat or mapped parcel: Ground leased parcel(s) identified: 3. Perimeter property lines identified: Courses and distances shown: Parcel covered by title policy: P. O. B. to monument: Building and setback line(s): Streets abutting parcel: Width of street(s): 4. All exceptions plotted: Non-plottable exception(s) identified: Reason exception(s) is not plottable: 5. Easements affecting the property identified: Recording information of easements shown: Easements outlined in color: Book and page (if created by recorded instrument): Certificate that easement(s) is same as shown on plat or map: Appurtenant easements: Servient easements: 9

10 6. Square footage of parcel(s): Square footage of structure(s): 7. Street(s) adjoining the property: R.O.W. lines: Distance to the nearest intersecting street: Access to adjoining streets: 8. Structures and Improvements: Sidewalks: Stoops: Overhangs: Parking and paved areas: Number of parking spaces: Length of all sides: Distance to boundary lines: Easements on or over property: Established buildings and set-back lines: Curbcuts, driveways and fences: Major trees and shrubbery: 9. Utilities: Above or below grade (if applicable) Size of Service (if applicable) Transformer(s): PCB s: Sewer: Water: Gas: Electric: Telephone: Storm sewer: Other: 10. Encroachment(s): Building(s): Structural: Appurtenances: Other: By or on Adjoining property Known variances granted: Above or Below Surface Size of Encroachment 10

11 11. Floor area: 12. Property appears on a: FEMA flood hazard boundary map: HUD flood hazard boundary map: Other FEMA Maps Flood insurance rate map firm: Flood hazard floodway boundary map FHFMB: Flood boundary and floodway map FBFM: Property in flood hazard area: Flood zone: Community panel number: Map number: 13. Bench marks located: Contourlines: 14. Location and direction of flow of: Streams: Rivers: Surface drainage: 15. Railroad tracks, spur tracks and sidlings: 16. Location of: Underground tanks: Rubbish fills: Sloughs: Springs: Filled in wells or cisterns: Seepholes: 17. Comments: 11

12 Survey approved: Yes No Reviewer Date 12