Chapter 7 - Property
Chapters
Training Materials
7.1 General
This section contains Government Corner and Property information. This information is used to identify ownership of parcels affected by the project and to prepare legal descriptions for deeds, easements and agreements. Included are recorded Land Corner Recordation Certificates (LCRC's), plats, tax mapping and tax parcel descriptions, recorded and unrecorded surveys by local surveyors, and all measurements and calculations relating property monuments found or set during the survey and tied to the coordinate system of the project.
All existing property corners and monuments from plats and other previous surveys within the project area must be tied into the survey coordinate system by measurements and their positions computed on the project control system. Significant differences between the project measurements and record data must be resolved and explained by the surveyor in the project report.
7.2 Property Corners
The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the basis for most land ownership in Michigan. Most MDOT Right of Way is described from PLSS corners or property controlling corners. For purposes of this document, PLSS corners must also include the center of section, meander corners and any corners of private claims which are considered as property controlling corners.
All PLSS corners as well as any property corners within the Right-of-Way must be recovered or re-established and tied to the coordinate system of the project. If PLSS corners outside the Right of Way are required or used, such corners will also be tied to the coordinate system of the project and a valid LCRCs must be included in the portfolio. Standards for surveying intermediate project control will be applied. The Professional Surveyor in charge must prove the location of existing monuments. Any lost or obliterated corners must be re-established by proper methods when required for purchase of Right of Way.
- All PLSS positions must be processed in accordance with PA 74 of 1970 and all applicable administrative rules. The following MDOT criteria also apply:
- All PLSS corners located in hard surface roads are to be protected by a monument box, regardless of proposed road construction.
- All PLSS corners used in the survey for any purpose must be recorded with the Register of Deeds on the approved form, unless a recent LCRC is on file which accurately documents the corner and at least three valid witnesses remain.
- The recordation form must detail the history of the corner and list all evidence used to prove its location.
- A copy of each recorded LCRC with liber and page clearly stamped on the document must be submitted within the .pdf portfolio.
- If any PLSS corner exists in MDOT Right of Way, the corner must be brought to the attention of the MDOT Survey Consultant Project Manager or MDOT Region Surveyor for a determination of participation with the County’s Remonumentation Plan under Act 345 of 1990, as amended.
If Remonumentation is included in the scope, the Surveyor, MDOT Survey Consultant Project Manager or MDOT Region Surveyor and a County Remonumentation Committee Representative must be contacted before a price proposal is submitted and a time scheduled for their review. All fees for Remonumentation efforts are part of the contract with MDOT. The Remonumentation Committee is not responsible for any costs for this service by the Surveyor. Full payment will be withheld until the PLSS corners are recorded and copies are received and filed in the appropriate Folders in Project Wise.
7.3 PLSS & Land Corner Preservation
- Section 821 of the 2012 Standard Specifications for Construction directs activities relative to the preservation of Public Land Survey Corners, property controlling corners and legal alignment control points. Many of Michigan's roadways intersect or run along section lines, meaning Public Land Survey Corners are often within the roadway or right-of-way. Additionally, geodetic control marks, legal alignment control points and property markers are often in or along the right-of-way. These marks have significant value to Michigan's infrastructure and cadastral system and their position must be preserved or protected regardless of construction impacts.
- Public Land Survey Corners are required, by statute, to be preserved in compliance with PA 74 of 1970, as amended, which includes the preparation and filing of a Land Corner Recordation Certificate. Failure to preserve or protect a corner is punishable by a misdemeanor. Geodetic control, legal alignment control points, and property markers are also used in determining the right-of-way and vertical datum for projects, and should be treated the same as Public Land Survey Corners.