Legislation changes effective January 1, 2015
Senate Bill No. 1467, Chapter 400

“SURVEY MONUMENT PRESERVATION”

Section 16: Section 8771 (b) and (d) of the Business and Professions Code (Land Surveyor’s Act):

(b) When monuments exist that control the location of subdivisions, tracts, boundaries, roads, streets, or highways, or provide horizontal or vertical survey control, the monuments shall be located and referenced by or under the direction of a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer legally authorized to practice land surveying prior to the time when any streets, highways, other rights-of-way, or easements are improved, constructed, reconstructed, maintained, resurfaced, or relocated, and a corner record or record of survey of the references shall be filed with the county surveyor.

(d) The governmental agency performing or permitting construction or maintenance work is responsible for ensuring that either the governmental agency or landowner performing the construction or maintenance work provides for monument perpetuation required by this section.

The City of Merced has modified the Encroachment and Grading permit process to ensure that there is an individual in responsible charge of the Land Surveying activities within the bounds of the permitted construction. The individual shall be a Licensed Land Surveyor or a Professional Engineer authorized to perform Land Surveying in the State of California. It shall be at the sole discretion of the City Engineer to determine if the permitted construction activity warrants the need to fulfill this requirement.

• Minor construction activity where there is no potential for jeopardizing monuments would be a situation where the City of Merced would not require the permittee to designate an individual in responsible charge of the Land Surveying activities within the bounds of the permitted construction.

• All other permitted construction activity will require a Certificate of Monument Preservation be signed by an individual in responsible charge of the Land Surveying activities within the bounds of the permitted construction prior to issuance of the permit. Prior to final acceptance of the construction activity, the City of Merced will require another Certificate of Monument Preservation signed by the designated individual in responsible charge of the Land Surveying activities, stating that all monuments within the bounds of the permitted construction have been preserved.