Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
When performing a boundary survey, the surveyor shall be
responsible for accomplishing all of the following.
A. Obtain copies of relevant documents
necessary to perform the survey.
B.
Review recorded plats and plats known to and available to the surveyor that are
germane to the tract being surveyed.
C. Make a site visit and inspect the subject
property and look for evidence of existing monuments and for evidence of
possession and usage.
D. Determine
the relative location on the ground of all found existing monuments which
pertain to the survey using procedures which achieve the minimum accuracy
standards in
12.8.2.16
NMAC.
E. Tag found monuments which
are accepted by the surveyor and pertain to the boundary being surveyed with a
metal tag, bearing the surveyor's license number, attached to the monument with
a metal wire or strap; monuments set by a government agency which are clearly
identified by their markings need not be tagged.
F. Set new monuments in conformance with
12.8.2.17
NMAC at all corners of the tract being surveyed using procedures which achieve
the minimum accuracy standards in
12.8.2.16
NMAC, unless a permanent monument already exists.
G. Follow the rules and procedures, except
for the accuracy and monumentation standards, in the applicable manual
of surveying instructions for the survey of the public lands of the
U.S., prepared by the United States bureau of land management, if the tract
being surveyed pertains to the United States survey of public lands in any way
including the following:
(1) is a section or
an aliquot part of a section;
(2)
is a small holding claim, private claim, land grant, mining claim or any other
tract described in the manual of instructions for the survey of the public
lands of the United States (manual of surveying
instructions);
(3)
has a boundary which is a boundary of a tract described in Paragraph (1) and
(2) of Subsection G of 12.8.2.9 NMAC;
(4) prior surveys and physical evidence
within and adjacent to the section being surveyed should be carefully
considered as evidence of original corner locations.
H. Never move, remove nor obscure an existing
monument unless it is first properly referenced and all dimensions necessary to
preserve its location are reported on a recorded plat.
I. Updating a prior survey - If an existing
survey is updated for any reason, the surveyor shall comply with the minimum
standards in effect at the time of the update unless the update is only to
correct a minor scrivener's error. If the update is solely to bring the survey
into compliance with the minimum standards and the location of the boundary has
not changed, remonumentation is not required unless the original monumentation
was not in compliance with the minimum standards in effect at the time the
original survey was performed.
J.
Prepare a plat of the survey, unless the survey is only the re-monumentation of
corners of a tract, shown on a recorded plat, where some of the existing
corners of the tract are recovered, whose measured dimensions on the ground are
reasonably close to the record dimensions. A plat of survey must be recorded
only if it is a survey of a parcel for which no previously recorded plat exists
or, in the case of remonumentation, the surveyor finds that field measurements
are significantly different from record dimensions. The plat may contain as
many sheets as required, which meet the size and material requirements of the
state statute and shall contain at least the following:
(1) the name, address and registration number
of the surveyor responsible for the survey;
(2) a certificate followed by the dated
signature and seal of the surveyor responsible for the survey stating that the
surveyor conducted an actual survey on the ground and is responsible for the
survey and that the survey and plat meet the minimum standards for surveying in
New Mexico; only one surveyor's signature and seal shall appear on a plat; and
the following model certification is considered to be an example of the minimum
that the surveyor should certify to:
I,______(surveyor's name)________, New Mexico Professional
Surveyor No. (surveyors' license number), do hereby certify that this Boundary
Survey Plat and the actual survey on the ground upon which it is based were
performed by me or under my direct supervision; that I am responsible for this
survey; that this survey meets the Minimum Standards for Surveying in New
Mexico; and that it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
I further certify that this survey is not a land division or subdivision as
defined in the New Mexico Subdivision Act and that this instrument is a
Boundary Survey Plat of an existing tract or tracts.
(Surveyor's Name) _____________ PS No. ______________ Date
______________;
(3) a title
which shall include the county in which the survey is located and at least the
following:
(a) the lot, block or tract number
and subdivision or district name if the survey is within a subdivision or
conservancy district;
(b) the city,
grant, small holding, mining or private claim, or similar area in which the
survey is located;
(c) if neither
subparagraph (a) nor (b) applies, then the section(s), township(s) and range(s)
in which the survey is located; if the survey is not within a section, then the
projected section(s) shall be stated and designated as such if required by the
county clerk;
(4) a north
arrow, equivalent scale and graphic scale for each sheet of the main
drawing;
(5) a description of all
monuments found or set, which shall include identifying characteristics such as
the material, shape and all pertinent information stamped or printed on any cap
or tag and the diameter (or the equivalent if other than round) when possible;
a found monument which the surveyor has rejected as a true property corner
shall be designated as such;
(6)
the basis of bearings used in the survey;
(7) a description of pertinent documents,
including filing information as applicable, used to determine the boundaries
and to prepare the plat of survey; if a particular document is not of record,
this fact shall be so stated and all information used from the document shall
be shown on the plat; if significant discrepancies exist between the documents
used to determine the boundaries, the surveyor shall disclose the same and
shall disclose which document was ultimately relied upon to determine the
boundaries;
(8) the boundary being
surveyed including the dimensions as measured on the ground and the record
dimensions unless the two are equivalent in which case it shall be so stated;
all dimensions which pertain to the determination of the tract boundaries, and
a tie to a suitable, permanent, existing monument;
(9) all dimensions which pertain to the
restoration of a lost or obliterated corner or the subdividing of a section
under Subsection G of 12.8.2.9 NMAC;
(10) the location and description of any
evidence of a boundary or line of occupation including such things as a fence,
building, wall or the remains thereof which is on a boundary or close enough to
a boundary to be confused with the boundary;
(11) the location and description of all
easements known or disclosed to the surveyor which cross, adjoin or serve a
surveyed tract together with the recording data for the document that created
the easement and the location and description of any visible structures which
encroach upon said easement;
(12)
the radius, central angle, length and chord dimensions for all
curves;
(13) the lot number, tract
number, other designation or the apparent owner of all adjoining tracts with
the recording data of the last recorded plat;
(14) the relationship of the boundaries of
the surveyed property (i.e. contiguity, gaps, or overlaps) with its adjoiners,
where ascertainable from record documents and from field evidence gathered
during the process of conducting the survey of the property being surveyed; if
the surveyed property is composed of multiple parcels, the extent of any gaps
or overlaps between those parcels shall be identified;
(15) the location and description of any
evidence of use by a nonowner of the surveyed tract including such things as a
road, trail, path, pipeline or utility which crosses a boundary of the
tract;
(16) a letter or number
providing a unique designation of each surveyed tract on a plat with more than
one tract;
(17) access easement; if
the surveyed tract is not contiguous to a public right-of-way, any access
easement of record which is known to the surveyor shall be described on the
plat and its location shall be determined; if no easement is known to the
surveyor, a note prominently shown shall disclose that fact;
(18) the area of each surveyed
tract.
K. Record the plat
prepared under Subsection J of 12.8.2.9 NMAC with the county clerk of the
county or counties in which the survey is located. A plat of survey must be
recorded only if it is a survey of a parcel for which no previously recorded
plat exists or, in the case of remonumentation, the surveyor finds that field
measurements are significantly different from record dimensions. The plat shall
be recorded within sixty days of completion. A plat which requires the approval
of a government agency is complete upon final approval. Any other plat is
complete when the surveyor signs or seals it.
