Retracement of Lot 8: Original Block Corners, a 1998 Rebar, and a 30-Year Fence
A 1908 subdivision plat of Block 3, Lots 1-12, records 50.00-ft lot widths and a block length of 600.00 ft. You are retracing Lot 8, an interior lot whose south and north lines are 350.00 ft and 400.00 ft, respectively, from the south block corner. At both block corners you find the original 1908 sandstone posts, undisturbed, with chiseled crosses. No original lot-corner monument survives. At Lot 8's northeast corner there is a 5/8-inch rebar with a 1998 survey cap; it lies 398.60 ft from the south block corner when measured along the line. A cedar fence, apparently 30 years old, runs 1.2 ft west of the line from that rebar to the north block corner. The measured bearing between the original block corners is N 0°08' E over 599.96 ft; the plat bearing is N 0°12' E over 600.00 ft. The owner wants the fence line held because 'that is where the yard has always been' and asks you to set the new corner at the rebar to avoid a dispute.
1. Which evidence controls the location of Lot 8's lost lot corners, and how do the 1998 rebar, the cedar fence, and the 4-minute bearing difference affect your retracement? Explain the hierarchy you would use.
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Original 1908 block corners control because they are the only undisturbed original monuments and they define the block. Lot 8's corners are lost; reestablish them by proportionate measurement between the two original block corners, not by holding the 1998 rebar. The rebar is a later survey monument: it is evidence of a prior survey, but it cannot override original monuments unless the evidence shows it is the original corner or has been accepted through a valid boundary agreement. The fence is occupation, not title; a 30-year fence may support an adverse-possession or boundary-line claim, but that is a legal question, not a surveyor's unilateral relocation. The plat bearing is record evidence; the line between the original posts controls, so the measured bearing N 0°08' E is the basis for the retracement, not a reason to rotate the block to N 0°12' E. A 4-minute rotation over 600 ft would move the line about 0.70 ft. Set the lot corners on the proportional block line and show the conflicting rebar and fence.
2. Compute the proportionate positions of Lot 8's south and north lines and evaluate whether the 1998 rebar is a defensible retracement of the northeast corner. Show the numbers.
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Proportion factor = measured block length / record block length = 599.96 / 600.00 = 0.9999333.
- South line: 350.00 x 0.9999333 = 349.9767 ft.
- North line: 400.00 x 0.9999333 = 399.9733 ft.
- Proportional lot width: 50.00 x 0.9999333 = 49.9967 ft. The rebar at 398.60 ft is 1.373 ft south of the proportionate north line. That is about 2.7 percent of the lot width and far outside normal retracement uncertainty for a 600-ft block with original monuments; it is not defensible as the original corner on measurement alone. It could be a later monument set from the fence, from an assumed bearing, or from an erroneous record distance. Do not hold it merely because it is iron. Show it as found, label its cap and offset, and set the new corner at the proportionate position unless additional evidence, such as an original record, undisturbed accessory, or valid agreement, proves the rebar is the true corner.
3. What should the land survey plat show, and what should you tell the owner about using the fence as the boundary?
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Show the two original block corners, the proportional block line, the rebar with its cap and 1.37-ft offset, the cedar fence with its 1.2-ft offset, and the record and measured distances and bearings. Label the basis of bearings and state that the lot corners were reestablished by proportionate measurement between original monuments. Do not show the fence as the boundary unless a legal instrument or agreement supports it. Tell the owner that the fence is evidence of occupation and may be relevant to a boundary dispute, but a surveyor cannot move a deed boundary to match a fence. If the owner and neighbor want the fence to become the boundary, they need legal advice and a written boundary agreement or conveyance, and the plat can then depict the resulting record boundary. Also advise that a 30-year fence may raise adverse-possession issues, but those are for counsel and the court, not for the surveyor to decide. Document the client's request and your refusal to set the corner at the rebar.