Prairie Crossing Plat With Easement and Zoning Conflicts
Reviewing a preliminary plat for 'Prairie Crossing,' an 18-lot residential subdivision on 22.4 acres in an Oklahoma city, you notice: the plat shows a 50-ft right-of-way for the internal street, but the city's subdivision regulations require 60 ft; Lots 7 through 11 back onto a 20-ft drainage easement, and the proposed house pad on Lot 7 extends 6 ft into that easement; Lot 10 is 48 ft wide at the front building setback because it is at the cul-de-sac bulb, while the zoning requires 60 ft; and the surveyor's certificate states that 'all easements and rights-of-way are correctly shown' although the drainage easement was described in a 2017 instrument as 'the rear 15 feet of Lots 7-11.' The developer asks you to sign the plat as surveyor and 'let the city catch the rest.'
1. Identify the plat deficiencies and decide whether you can certify the plat as drawn. Explain the surveyor's professional responsibility.
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The plat has at least four independent deficiencies: the 50-ft right-of-way conflicts with the 60-ft subdivision requirement; the drainage easement is shown as 20 ft although the recorded instrument describes 15 ft; the Lot 7 house pad encroaches 6 ft into the drainage easement; and Lot 10 is 48 ft wide at the front setback where zoning requires 60 ft. I cannot certify the plat as drawn. The surveyor's certificate is a professional statement that the plat and the survey information are correct, not a promise to let the city find errors. Signing while knowing that the right-of-way, easement width, and lot width are wrong would be misleading and could violate the licensure statute and Board rules. The developer's instruction to 'let the city catch the rest' is not a defense; the surveyor has an independent duty to the public and to the reviewing authority.
2. What corrections or conditions would you require before signing, and what would you communicate to the developer and city?
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Require the street right-of-way to be widened to 60 ft or a variance obtained; require the drainage easement to be shown at its recorded 15-ft width, or require a new recorded instrument if 20 ft is truly intended; require the Lot 7 house pad to be revised to clear the easement or require a documented easement relocation or variance; and require Lot 10 to be redesigned or granted a zoning variance for the 48-ft width. Recompute lot areas after corrections and revise the certificate to match the corrected plat. Communicate to the developer in writing that the plat cannot be sealed until the conflicts are resolved, and communicate to the city the specific deficiencies and the corrected information. Do not accept a promise that the city will 'catch' the problems; the plat should be correct before it is submitted.
3. If the drainage easement is actually 15 ft, how should the plat and lot areas be corrected, and what effect does the house pad encroachment have?
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The recorded 2017 instrument controls over the plat's 20-ft depiction. Show the easement as the rear 15 ft of Lots 7 through 11, revise the lot area table, and adjust building envelopes accordingly. If the developer intended a 20-ft easement, a new instrument or an amendment must be recorded; the surveyor cannot create the extra 5 ft by drawing it. The Lot 7 house pad encroachment is a separate violation: a structure inside a drainage easement may be prohibited or may require a variance or relocation of the easement. Until that is resolved, the plat should show the actual easement and the encroachment, and the surveyor should not certify a building pad that conflicts with the recorded easement.