2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 46, No. 5 From the PLSO Chair MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR This year’s past state of Oregon legislative session was at least interesting to watch but it was also very frustrating for our organization. My view of the proceedings was like watching two kids in one sandbox with one who didn’t want to share and wanted the other kid out of the sand box. Not wanting to share has been and always will be an issue, but not sharing also hurts others that are depending on others to share. Watching this session reminded me of how important it is to “hunker down” and work through different views on an issue and come to a reasonable compromise. We surveyors, like so many others, have learned and practice this every day. I believe this is called “professionalism.” We as land surveyors are tasked with working with many other professions when working for our clients. Hardly a day will pass when someone doesn’t seemingly try to put up a roadblock on the project you are working on with no good reason in your mind. If it isn’t a neighboring landowner trying to deny you entry onto their land, it’s the planning department saying “you can’t do that” for your land use application. As much as you wish to voice your displeasure to those people, you Tim Fassbender, PLS PLSO Board Chair Every day, we need to let others know we are professionals and what kind of mess there would be if we weren’t there to take care of the problems that come up. have to hold yourself back and calmly as possible work through the problem. That is what our job really boils down to: conflict resolution to obtain a completion of the project. Land surveyors are not technicians, as many other people wish to classify us as. I would estimate that only 30% of our work is truly technical in nature. The remainder of our time and efforts is devoted to understanding and applying all the laws, codes, ordinances, policies, and procedures we need to use in our work. Webster defines this activity as “professionalism.” The professional challenge for land surveyors is having a working knowledge, not just on resolving boundaries but on what each county and city requires for their plats. We have 36 counties in Oregon with plat standards and how many cities with their own standards? We surveyors have the pleasure (if you wish to call it that) to practice in any part of the state. Just that alone gives you a variety of venues, but also a mountain of needed knowledge to practice in these counties and cities. My experiences have been that not one county and city have the same standards or requirements for what your survey map or plat needs to have for recording. That means we reach out to the county surveyors or city surveyors and work with them to submit what is necessary for recording. Getting to know the county or city surveyor and developing a working relationship is necessary. Why, you ask? Because that is what a professional is supposed to do. I have had the benefit of working in the private sector and in the public sector. Out of my 49 years in the survey profession (no, I didn’t witness the original setting of the Willamette Stone), I was city surveyor for Eugene for 20 years. When I took on this job, I understood that there would be times conflicts would arise between the surveyor submitting a plat and my review comments. I also understood that I didn’t have any special schooling, classes, or any other education that any other surveyor could have. That goes also for county surveyors—both county and city surveyors are licensed surveyors that were hired to the position to administer the laws and policies of their jurisdiction. What I did understand is that I needed to listen, understand, and communicate with the surveyors. If issues came up, you worked them out where both sides came out feeling good. My hope was always to be professional about my relationship with the surveyor and understand they are merely trying to complete their project and materials that meet the legal requirements—no more, no less. Once again, being a professional and not requiring “how I want it” but requiring what the laws cite. Recently, the Governor of Oregon has put together a commission to help in developing more than 18,000 additional buildable lots in Oregon in the very near future. One item in the Executive Order stated that if a conflict between the city surveyor and the county surveyor occurred during the plat review process
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