Primary service area:

Concord, Massachusetts

Including:
      • Acton
      • Boxborough
      • Lincoln
      • Maynard
      • Stow
      • Sudbury
      • Wayland
and other nearby towns.

Land Surveys...

Who can perform Land Surveys?

Before your property lines can be marked or plans of your property can be drawn, a boundary survey must be performed to determine location of the lines on the ground.  In Massachusetts, only a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) is legally permitted to do this work. Land surveyors are licensed only after accumulating the required amount of education and experience, and  passing a series of examinations.

Research

A surprising amount of research must be done before the survey can even begin. Copies of your deed and record plans must be obtained, as well as other documents that may affect both your property and that of your abutters.

The gathered information is then reviewed for completeness and consistency to ensure that both your records and your neighbors’ describe the same line between your properties.  The surveyor will note the existence and location of any monuments (such as stone or concrete bounds, iron pipes or pins, drill holes in stone walls, etc.) that may control property or street lines.

Field Survey

The surveyor will then perform a field survey, carefully and accurately measuring the locations of those monuments that he is able to find. Frequently, this can be a time consuming task, as monuments may be missing or disturbed, or may be difficult to find if they have become buried underground, overgrown with vegetation  or obscured by improvements.  It may be necessary to locate and measure monuments quite some distance from your property in order to establish street lines or property lines if local monumentation is not available.

Other evidence of property lines such as fences or walls may be located, as well as any apparent evidence of encroachments or easements.

If the survey is being performed for a plan, such as a Certified Plot Plan or an Approval Not Required Plan, the surveyor will also locate and measure any buildings on the property, and possibly other improvements such as driveways.

Boundary Analysis

Having completed the field survey, the surveyor will return to the office to calculate and analyze the gathered data.  The analysis begins by comparing measured locations of monuments to their record locations, determining which evidence supports  and which evidence conflicts with the record information.

In many cases, typically where monuments are abundant and found to accurately reflect the record data, there may be a high degree of certainty in the location of a boundary. The surveyor can be assured that any other surveyor would place the boundary in essentially the same location.

In other cases, monuments may be missing or the record data may be vague or inconsistent. The surveyor will then form a professional opinion as to the location of each relevant boundary line using his expertise to evaluate all the available evidence as to the legal location of the boundary, taking into account the deeds, record plans and monuments, guided by relevant boundary law and court decisions.

Field Staking (if requested by the client)

Only after the boundary analysis is complete can the surveyor return to the site to actually stake the property lines and/or set monuments at the corners. Perley Engineering  usually sets wood stakes at random intervals of  roughly 30  to 70 feet along the property line. Corners can be marked with wood stakes, aluminum-capped steel reinforcing bars (rebar) or iron pipes, as desired by the client.

A survey report will be furnished to the client after completion. The report will show the location of all stakes and monuments, whether found or set, along the relevant boundaries.

Plan Preparation (if requested by the client)

If the survey was performed in order to prepare a plan,  preparation of the plan can proceed after completion of the boundary analysis.

Certified Plot Plans are usually required by the Building Inspector for new construction, whether just an addition or an entire new house.  For an addition, a Certified Plot Plan is usually prepared showing the location of the existing house; this is used as a base plan for preparing a Proposed Plot Plan showing, in addition to the existing house, the proposed addition along with its dimensions and setbacks to the property lines.  For a new house, typically only the Proposed Plot Plan is prepared.

After the foundation has been poured, the Building Department may require another Certified Plot Plan showing the new foundation before the builder can begin framing. This will require the surveyor to take additional measurements on-site. After the building construction is complete, a revision to the Certified Plot Plan may be required by the Building Department in order to show decks, steps, porches, roof overhangs or other structures that did not yet exist at the time of the foundation as-built plan.

Approval Not Required (ANR) Plans are required for lot line changes or the creation of new lots. All lots created must conform to the zoning bylaw, typically including frontage and area requirements. The plan must be endorsed by the Planning Board, then recorded in the Registry of Deeds.

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