Why do we need a county surveyor?
The purpose of the public land survey system is “stability of boundaries”. Corollary to that statement of purpose is that the value of property depends largely on the ability for owners to definitively locate the extents of their ownership.
The county surveyor is a player in the process of
maintaining order and stability of property boundaries. Surveying is much more
than the science of making precise measurements, it is perpetuating a system of
corners, lines and monuments as they were originally established. “Nothing is better understood than that few
of our early plats will stand the test of a careful and accurate survey without
disclosing errors. This is as true of the government surveys as of any others,
and if all the lines were now subject to correction on new surveys, the
confusion of lines and titles that would follow would cause consternation in
many communities. Indeed the mischiefs that must
follow would be simply incalculable, and the visitation of the surveyor might
well be set down as a great public calamity.” Michigan
Chief Justice Thomas Cooley in Diehl v. Zanger 39
To carry out the
purpose of the stability of boundaries and harmony of neighboring property
owners, Utah State Code identifies some specific duties of a county surveyor.
From
Section 7: conduct court ordered surveys of
property
Section 12: may take oaths, gather evidence
and establish procedures for electronic submission of maps and plats
Section 13: perpetuate monuments and
accessories
Section 16: conduct surveys in accordance
with the United States Manual of Survey instructions for lost or obliterated
corners.
Section 17: file and index map of surveys
presented
Section 17.5: make a record of spatial
vectors between public land or government corners and
make the same available to the public
Section 18: certify the applicability and validity of affidavits made to
clarify surveys or plats. If the surveyor who prepared the map or plat
is unavailable to make an affidavit due to death, disability or retirement from
active practice, the county surveyor may make an affidavit of correction.
Section 19: establish and maintain a public
corner preservation fund
Section 20: review and approve compliant
annexation and disconnection plats (incorporation into or removal of a property
from a town or city)