Michael J. Pallamary, President of La Jolla based Pallamary and Associates announced the launch of WWW.TIEPOINTS.COM. The web portal serves as a research and resource center for California Land Surveyors interested in obtaining copies of recorded Subdivision maps, Record of Survey Maps, Corner Records and other land survey related records.

Under California law, Licensed Land Surveyors are required to file an 8-1/2 inch X 11 inch "Corner Record" whenever they set a boundary marker or when they establish a boundary corner providing there are no conflicts or, where the new survey is a retracement of a previously recorded map. The Record of Survey Map, the higher class of survey documents, is recorded whenever a surveyor retraces a metes and bounds deed or whenever the surveyor discovers a conflict with other maps or monuments. Under the state’s subdivision map act, surveyors are also responsible for preparing Parcel Maps and Subdivision Maps along with other documents such as Encroachment Permits. According to Pallamary, "Although the practice of land surveying is governed by state law, there is no uniformity in the manner in which land surveys are indexed and filed. State law dictates the size and form of the maps along with general indexing, but does not control how the records are accessed or retrieved. With the advent of electronic imaging, various methods are being employed across the state. As an example, Corner Records are filed with the County Engineer/Surveyor while recorded document such as ROS maps are stored differently. Consequently, some of the surveyor’s records are available online while others require a physical visit to the County Surveyor or City Engineer’s office. Many are not available online. In addition, a large number of counties maintain county surveyor/city survey notes in traditional bound field books, necessitating a manual inspection of the records. Needless to say, if land surveying records can be obtained online or through a similar process, considerable time and money can be saved.

WWW.TIEPOINTS.COM provides a link to the municipality as well as providing the names of companies that will perform the manual research work."

WWW.TIEPOINTS.COM also serves as a link to municipal GIS files. In California, access to GIS data has historically been a thorny issue. A challenge in Santa Clara County led to a recent appellate court decision wherein the court ruled that public municipalities have to release their GIS data to the public for the cost of reproduction. (CFAC v. Santa Clara County, No. 1-06-CV-072630.) As a result of the ruling, GIS data is now being released across the state. According to Pallamary, given the diversity of information available to the Professional Land Surveyor, "The land surveying community has expressed a need for a statewide resource center so that information retrieval methods can be documented and explained. With the launch of WWW.TIEPOINTS.COM, that need has been fulfilled. As part of our business model, we are offering firms the opportunity to sponsor a city or county webpage. Under this sponsorship program, the research specialist will provide a list of step by step instructions as to how to research survey records as well as how the material is indexed."

For further information visit WWW.TIEPOINTS.COM or email administrator@tiepoints