» continues on page 14 13 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org there was no reference in the deed to the basis of bearing), relying on previous work he’d done in the area to help reduce his price. On the face of it, things look uncluttered. There was one oddity on the copy of the work map: the map showed found iron pipes near each of the fence corner stakes and they varied in distance from the tobestaked fence corners by anywhere from three to fifteen feet away. However, all were galvanized iron and sizes ranged from ½ inch to a full one inch inside diameter. Now that was at least one more red flag! Where did they come from and, once you started thinking about it, a flood of other questions popped into your head when confronted with found monuments in the vicinity of the computed locations of the corners of the aliquot parcel? Now the surveyor in you and all your experience kicks in. It’s called a puzzle, a geospatial and historical research puzzle, but one that just naturally starts you thinking of how to solve this mystery. Using the work map as a basis, you compute the exterior dimensions of the parcel as if the found monuments defined it. Coincidentally or not, the area defined by the found iron pipes is nearly 10 acres! The angular relation ships between these same exteriors, though not entirely conforming to the deed record relationships, seem to indicate that those iron pipes were established by someone with a knowledge of surveying. They could be construed to accurately depict the boundaries of the 10acre parcel if the, as yet unknown, surveyor had performed a boundary survey over 40 years ago using the tools then available and prior to the purchase of the adjoining parcel by the hostile neighbor! The concept of standards of practice in effect at the time of a survey done 40 years ago (or more) can’t help but make you wonder. The puzzle Your first thought after analyzing the deed and dissecting the work map was that talking to the hostile neighbor was necessary, just to find out what he knows. Of course, you couldn’t let the prospective client know what you were up to, but since you don’t have a signed contract as yet, you’re under no “loyalty” agreement to an unknown woman who hasn’t paid you a dime. Contacting a friend who just happened to live a few miles from the property, you ask him if he knows the hostile neighbor and if so, whether he could dredge up a telephone number in hopes of setting up a meeting to discuss the issues. Interestingly, he does and, as a courtesy, he’ll arrange it for you, as his rapport with this particular gentleman may save you from a confrontation that might not help over the course of doing the work. It still wasn’t too late to contact the neighbor and it wasn’t around dinner time, so you take a chance and call. His wife answers the phone and after a brief “cold call” introduction to gain an audience, she yells through the house to her husband that he has a call from some surveyor and please pick up the phone. So much for telephone manners and so much for having to start the conversation in a courteous and respectful manner because based upon the relationship this person has not developed with his Californian neighbor, you are perceived as an enemy before you get a chance to open your mouth! After the expected hostile greeting, you steer the conversation away from the emotions surrounding the issue and state very clearly and forcefully that you are not under contract with this woman. Now, you are merely trying to discern some additional background and would it be possible to come by their home to sit down mantoman and discuss the issues, talk about the history of their ownership and any other salient information that may help you understand this apparent dispute. Reluctantly, the neighbor agrees and you set up a time to meet a couple of days hence. Meanwhile, you take some time the following morning to do further research of the deed and survey records, focusing on the descriptions of the adjoining parcels. The thought occurs to you that all the descriptions were prepared by the same scrivener, as all bearing calls are to the nearest second and distances to the hundredth of a foot. Not surprisingly, adjoining lines all show the same bearings and equal distances, so at the very least, someone had made sure to pay attention to previously recorded instruments, or maybe there was something else, such as an unrecorded rural subdivision! The most puzzling result of the research is a record of survey, filed some 30 years previously, just after the recording act passed in Oregon. It happens to fall in the southwest quarter of the same section and it too is a tenacre tract though nearly onehalf mile away from the parcel you’re researching. You recognize the name of the land surveyor that recorded the map. His name leaves a sinking feeling in your stomach. From personal experience, you know this gentleman was a timber cruiser by trade and worked for a large industrial forestry company in the heyday of the Oregon logging industry. He had a reputed history of borrowing equipment from his employer, primarily consisting of a staff compass and chain! It’s a scary thought, but hey, back in the day when this survey was done, logged over rural land was being auctioned to recover back taxes to the tune of $1.50 per acre, so doing a “top notch” survey apparently wasn’t warranted considering the value of the real estate. As a courtesy, the following morning and armed with your research, you make a call to the fenceline surveyor to let him know what you’re doing and to find out if he has any misgivings. He completely understands and seems a bit relieved to be shed (apparently) of the highly annoying client. You tell him that you still haven’t accepted the job and ask if he would, as a courtesy, not disclose the fact that the two of you have talked about his former client and her situation. The meeting with the hostile neighbor You arrive a few minutes early, project folder tucked under your arm. The hostile neighbor is sitting in an old rocker on the porch waiting for your arrival, requisite hound lying comfortably at his feet. After the customary introductions, you notice this person also has a folder lying beside his rocker. You get right down to business and offer to show him the research you’ve completed so far and to characterize the problem from the context of his neighbor who is trying to retain your services. His response is an odd smile and a gleam in his eye, one that you’ve seen before, that “I know something you don’t” look, as if he’s about to perform some feat of magic that will surely leave you speechless. He’s very interested in the copy of the work map made by the fenceline surveyor (as he hasn’t seen it), particularly with regard to the found iron pipes noted thereon.
PLSO Issue 5 2015 September October
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