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set at the resulting boundary corners in order to establish the evidence (buildings, fences, walls, curb splits, etc.), public
corner positions “on the ground”. These Original Monuments land records, and rely heavily on proprietary survey records,
are said to hold and perpetuate the intent of the parties and then purposefully not replace the corners to keep the
creating the new parcels, and as such, held an elevated stature locations proprietary for the purpose of financial gain and to
in the hierarchy of boundary evidence. This principle and the put themselves in a position to suppress their competition,
importance of boundary markers can be traced to antiquity. In while claiming to save their client money. This practice also
Deuteronomy it states: serves to enable the so called “drive by” surveys that plague the

“Thou shall not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they in old profession. At this point, a couple of generations of surveyors
times have set” (Deut. 19:14) and “Cursed be he that removeth his have come to believe that the situation is natural and just “the
neighbor’s landmark” (Deut. 27:17). way it’s always been done around here”. It has been shown that
real damage has been and is being done to the public and the
Unfortunately, as with all works of man, time has a negative profession. It is long past time for this practice to come to an
effect on Original Monuments, with many becoming lost or end. It is our duty as professionals to do better for our clients
obliterated. In these cases, it falls to the retracing surveyor to and our fellow surveyors.
collect boundary evidence beyond the original corners and make
a determination as to the most likely position of the original While doing research for this article, I came across Boundaries
monuments based on the preponderance of evidence, and then and Landmarks - A Practical Manual written by A.C. Mulford,
replace them. When there is sufficient monumentation within originally published in 1912. Mr. Mulford goes into great detail
the area, the retracing surveyor’s ability to replace missing about the importance of boundary evidence and the methods
corners in their proper locations is greatly enhanced. to retrace surveys in the eastern colonial states. Mr. Mulford
lived and practiced throughout the downstate NY region
The act of replacing the lost markers is critical, not only to (Long Island specifically). This, along with other historical and
the property owner, but to retracing surveyors in the future. venerated survey writings, shows that the current situation is
Without corner monuments to rely on, retracing surveyors are not the way it’s always been done and that there is wisdom in
forced to use lower forms of, and in most cases less precise, these historical practices.
boundary evidence. The more time that passes since the original
corners are lost, the more difficult it becomes to re-establish It is one of the key tenants of the proposed Minimum Technical
those positions. Standards for Practicing Land Surveying in the State of New
York (MTS) that it will become required for all surveyors
Another more modern enhancement to the setting of performing Boundary Surveys in the state of New York to show
monuments has come in the form of caps and disks with on their maps found monuments and to replace any missing
identification stampings. This practice allows for retracing monuments with caps identifying the surveyor as part of the
surveyors to better and more easily understand the provenance survey. For some time, the New York State Association of
of the monuments they find. By identifying the monumenting Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS) Code of Practice and
surveyor several benefits can be realized, such as: the New York State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying
• Positively identifying original corners in newer subdivisions. & Geology (SBELSG) Land Surveying Practice Guidelines
• Evaluation of the quality of the corner based on the history state that missing corners “should” be set. Unfortunately, this
of the surveyor. language has largely been ignored in certain regions as the
guidelines are not binding. The new Standards will seek to
• Provides accountability for surveyors performing poor work. level the playing field by making it required for all surveyors to

• Different caps (colors, markings, etc.) can be used to identify perform at the same minimum level.
witness corners and control points. This is a good practice to Many surveyors refuse to do boundary work in these areas due
help solve confusing these other types of points with actual to the difficulty of reestablishing property corners without the
boundary corners. benefit of proper evidence (thus fulfilling one of the goals of

The are many areas in New York where property corners are the anti-competitive practitioners). Others accept work and
largely non-existent. This has been a long-standing problem are unable or unwilling to perform to the proper level, feeling
in some of the state’s more urban areas. The reasons for the protected by the fact that no points are set on the ground making
problem are many, with the most common being the difficulty retracement of their surveys nearly impossible. In both cases,
inherent to the highly urbanized nature of our larger cities and the public and the profession is harmed by inaccurate surveys,
the surrounding areas where zero lot lines allow for buildings to and/or non-competitive fees. In most states there are state laws
fully occupy the parcels. and statues in place to combat this sort of anti-competitive
Unfortunately, in many of these areas it has become general behavior and poor practice to ensure that corner positions are
practice for local surveyors in many cases to make their perpetuated for the well-being of the public and the profession.
boundary determinations based on less precise occupational continued on page 19

EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 58 • NO 6/ 2022 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 17