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The current balance in the Survey Monument Preservation Fund is projected to be sufficient to meet the need for the next 5-7 years. For this reason, a fee suspension is recommended.
Background
Survey monuments define the land divisions that form the foundation of the County’s economy. Survey monuments were originally set when the County was divided into townships, ranges, and sections in the 1800’s. Most rural county road intersections are township corners marked with a buried survey monument protected by a metal cover. The monuments themselves can range from old horse-drawn buggy axles to more modern replacements, consisting of a concrete cylinder topped by a brass cap inscribed with an “X” and the license number of the land surveyor who set it.
California Government Code Section 27580 provides that the Board of Supervisors may collect a fee to fund activities that perpetuate these markers. The funds may not be used to repair survey monuments damaged or reset in the course of construction, which is a separate obligation under state law.
On July 10, 2001, the Board of Supervisors adopted a $10 fee on each grant deed recorded by the Clerk/Recorder to fund the County’s Survey Monument Preservation Fund. The revenue has allowed completion of two types of improvements to the County’s survey control network. The more significant has been the retracement of all the monuments in each unincorporated community, followed by the filing of a ‘Record of Survey’ with the County Recorder. This compilation of each town’s survey network into one recorded document will serve as a reference for land surveyors into the future. Second, individual monuments found to be damaged have been restored, protected or re-set. The following completed projects are shown geographically in Attachment A.
- 2004 – Record of Survey, Town of Esparto, filed in Recorder’s Book 2004, Pg.164-168
- 2006 – Record of Survey, Town of Yolo, filed in Recorder’s Book 2006, Pg.4-8
- 2006 – Record of Survey, Town of Knights Landing, filed in Recorder’s Book 2006, Pg.102-110
- 2007 – Record of Survey, Town of Clarksburg, filed in Recorder’s Book 2007, Pg.184-188
- 2014 – Record of Survey, Town of Madison, filed in Recorder’s Book 2015, Pg.1-2
- 2006 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 1
- 2007 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 2
- 2007 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 3
- 2009 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 4
- 2012 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 5
- 2014 Monument Restoration Project, Phase 6
As a result of this work, the number of deficient survey monuments has been greatly reduced. Staff continue to add to the list of survey monuments needing attention, but the current fund balance is projected to be sufficient to do this work over the next 5 to 7 years. For this reason, staff recommends suspending the $10 Survey Monument Preservation Fee during the upcoming cycle of the Master Fee Resolution update. |