MI Land Surveyor cheat sheet

Original federal monuments, bearing trees, and GLO plats control over later distances, areas, and coordinates; retracement seeks the original corner position, not a newly chosen position.

Deed call priority is generally natural monuments, then artificial monuments, then courses and distances, then area; Michigan courts interpret the whole deed to determine the parties' intent.

PLSS sections are nominally 1 mile square and 640 acres, numbered 1 through 36 from the northeast corner in a serpentine pattern within each township.

Lost corner rule: restore a lost corner by single proportionate distance along a line between existing original corners, or by double proportionate measurement for a lost interior corner using record distances.

Michigan adverse possession generally requires 15 years of open, notorious, hostile, exclusive, and continuous possession; prescriptive easements use a similar 15-year period without the exclusivity element.

Great Lakes riparian boundary is the ordinary high water mark; the state holds bottomlands in trust, and a meander line is a survey line for area, not a legal boundary.

For inland waters, determine navigability and deed language: non-navigable stream boundaries often run to the thread of the stream, while state-owned navigable lake and stream beds require statutory analysis.

Practical location and acquiescence: Michigan recognizes a boundary established by adjoining owners' long-standing treatment and agreement even when it differs from the deed line, if the location was known and accepted.

The Michigan Coordinate System uses NAD83 State Plane zones North, Central, and South, based on a Lambert conformal conic projection; grid coordinates are not ground coordinates.

Combined factor = grid scale factor times elevation factor; grid distance = ground distance times combined factor; ground distance = grid distance divided by combined factor.

Ellipsoid height h, geoid undulation N, and orthometric height H are related by H = h - N; use the current national geoid model to convert GNSS heights to NAVD88 elevations.

Differential leveling: height of instrument = benchmark elevation + backsight; new elevation = height of instrument - foresight; closure error is distributed around the loop.

Traverse angular misclosure for interior angles = sum of observed angles - (n - 2)180 degrees; linear closure = square root of (latitude misclosure squared + departure misclosure squared).

Compass rule correction per line = total latitude or departure misclosure times line length divided by traverse perimeter, applied opposite the misclosure direction.

Static GNSS and OPUS submissions require dual-frequency observations, good satellite geometry, and independent checks; RTK and real-time networks need a fixed solution and a verified known point.

Triangulation uses the law of sines: a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C; a measured baseline plus observed angles computes inaccessible distances.

Cut or fill = existing ground elevation - design grade; positive values indicate cut, negative values indicate fill, and slope stakes are set where the catch point meets the design side slope.

Horizontal curve formulas: T = R tan(delta/2); L = R times delta in radians = pi R delta/180; LC = 2R sin(delta/2); M = R(1 - cos(delta/2)); E = R(sec(delta/2) - 1).

Vertical curve: K = L/A, where A is the algebraic grade difference in percent; L = KA; the high or low point is where grade equals zero, at x = g1 L/(g1 - g2) from the PVC.

Pipe invert is the inside bottom elevation; crown = invert + diameter; pipe slope in feet per foot = invert drop divided by horizontal length between points.

Construction benchmarks should be stable, outside the work area, tied to the project datum, and checked by a closed loop or independent tie before stakeout.

Total station and machine-control stakeout require calibration, a backsight check, and verification on a known point before setting stakes or grading.

As-built surveys compare constructed features to design and record horizontal and vertical deviations, utility inverts, and monument positions.

The Michigan Land Division Act, MCL 560.101 et seq., governs subdivision plats and land divisions; it sets approval, review, and recording requirements implemented through local ordinances.

A final plat must carry the required certificates, including the governing body's approval and the county treasurer's tax certificate, before the register of deeds records it and creates lots.

Zoning controls lot area, width, frontage, setbacks, height, and use; the surveyor must check current zoning and whether existing improvements are nonconforming.

Detention basins temporarily store stormwater and release it at a controlled rate; retention facilities hold runoff without discharge; Michigan EGLE permits may apply.

Road design standards set right-of-way width, pavement width, cul-de-sac length and radius, intersection spacing, and emergency access under the local road agency.

Sanitary sewer design considers design flow, minimum pipe size and slope, manhole spacing, and separation from water mains; rural lots may require septic approvals.

FEMA FIRM panels identify flood zones; development in floodplains may require elevation certificates and no-rise certification.

Michigan condominium projects are created under the Condominium Act by master deed and condominium documents, not by subdivision plat.

Michigan professional surveyor licensure is administered through LARA; the seal and signature may be applied only to work performed by or under the licensee's responsible charge.

License renewal is biennial; continuing education and ethics requirements are set by the Michigan Board and should be verified with LARA before renewal.

Standard of care is the skill and care ordinarily used by reputable surveyors under similar circumstances; expert testimony commonly establishes the standard in negligence claims.

Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and avoided; a surveyor should not make an undisclosed boundary determination benefiting the surveyor's own property or financial interest.

ALTA/NSPS land title surveys follow the current Minimum Standard Detail Requirements and negotiated Table A items; they support title insurance but are not a title guarantee.

Retain field notes, computations, and correspondence; these records are evidence in boundary disputes and support defensible professional decisions.

Practicing or offering land surveying without a Michigan license is unauthorized practice; unlicensed staff must work under a licensee's responsible charge.

Define contract scope, deliverables, datum, accuracy, exclusions, and fee; a boundary survey is not a title opinion or a warranty of boundary location.