Cadastral and Legal Aspects of Surveying

Catalog description

Cadastral surveying and law related to land surveying and property rights are the basis of this course. The course provides a review of the evolution of land records systems in the US. The creation and retracement of sectionalized and non-sectionalized boundaries are discussed. U.S. and Pennsylvania statutes and common law related to topics such as boundary retracement, boundary resurvey, adverse possession, easements, and boundary evidence are researched and reported by the students. Boundary retracement principles such as the rules of construction, boundary location procedures, and legal research and collection of written and measured evidence are discussed with a focus on finding a nexus between the two types of evidence. In addition, the course covers the rules of evidence including classification and evaluation. Unwritten rights, easements, and riparian rights are also discussed. The principles of land description composition are provided, and the students apply them in realistic scenarios that are writing intensive. Students perform legal research in real case studies, collect data related to record boundaries (e.g., previous deeds), and make an analysis of the property's history and property survey. Students will have to write extensive reports of their findings and use principles of effective surveying communication to prepare a report to the client including "record of survey" maps. Lectures and assignments address ethical and professional responsibilities of the surveyor, and also discuss DEIB issues in property surveys.