Surveyor General Branch
Dialog No. 3
December 8, 2004
- Item 1 - Combining private lands and titled Crown land upon a singular plan prepared pursuant to the Land Title Act.
Due to the manner in which the province maintains records of Crown land we strongly urge that plans prepared pursuant to the Land Title Act do not combine private parcels and titled Crown land.
A typical scenario that a land surveyor may encounter is where Land & Water BC Inc. has agreed to sell your client a portion of a titled Crown property and a condition of the purchase is the consolidation of the newly acquired land with property owned by your client. This will require two plans.
Firstly, please prepare the appropriate plan to define only the Crown land which is to be sold.
Upon completion of your plan the original and duplicate mylar and 10 paper prints are to be sent to the Surveyor General Branch. If the plan requires approvals, the appropriate approving authorities must sign the plan prior to submission of the returns to this office. The Surveyor General Branch will deposit the plan(s) into the appropriate land title office.
Once the first plan is deposited into the land title office and the subject land has been granted to your client you will have to prepare a second plan to consolidate the newly granted land with your client's existing property. The deposit of the second plan is a matter for you and your client to arrange and does not involve the Surveyor General Branch.
We recognize that there may be times when it is necessary to both subdivide the Crown land and consolidate the subdivided Crown land with your client's existing property. If such a circumstance exists, please contact us for specific direction.
For reference also see Dialog 1, Item 3
Historical practice of this branch was to cancel portions of plans pursuant to section 136(1) of the Land Title Act. The cancelled area was then generally subdivided into parcels that suited present requirements. The portions of plans cancelled frequently included parcels and roads and lanes.
Under the Community Charter this practice has been strongly affected because roads and lanes within municipalities are now owned by the municipality. Because of this, roads and lanes cannot be included within an area dealt with pursuant to section 136(1) of the Land Title Act unless they are first closed by the municipality and ownership has been transferred to the Crown. Please refer to section 136(1.1) of the Land Title Act for further clarification.
Circular Letter No. 354 requires that the term "Limit of Fill" be affixed to denote the waterward limit of an area of filled foreshore and that the waterward limit be surveyed and fully monumented as a straight line or series of straight lines along the edge of the fill.
Please note that the location of the Limit of Fill must be defined by a straight line or series of straight lines that best approximates what would otherwise be considered as the present natural boundary. The Limit of Fill is not to be defined by the intersection of the toe of the fill with the original ground.
- Item 4 - Definition of Present Natural Boundaries upon applications made pursuant to section 94 and 118 of the Land Title Act
We are striving to provide a response to natural boundary applications in a timelier manner. In order to achieve this goal for the majority of applications, we would appreciate receiving complete application packages that clearly depict the present natural boundary in accordance with the definition of "natural boundary" contained in the Land Act.
Applications where the present natural boundary is undisturbed and the application photographs clearly show the natural boundary are generally easy to adjudicate. There are however, situations where the present natural boundary may by obscured for various reasons, including grooming activities. In order to adjudicate applications where these conditions exist, the land surveyor will need to supply sufficient evidence that conclusively confirms their definition of the location of the natural boundary. It has been our experience that historical ground photographs can provide very strong evidence of the location of obscured natural boundaries. It is generally necessary to relate the natural boundary shown in these photographs to features that exist today, such as trees and buildings.
The burden of proof as to the location of a natural boundary rests with the land surveyor. Conclusive evidence to support the proposed location will be a benefit to our adjudication process and provide certainty to your client in a timely manner.
For reference see Circular Letter 395.
- Item 5 - Circular Letters available on the Surveyor General Branch website
Please note that we have added some of the older circular letters to the Surveyor General Branch website. Circular Letters 196 to 422 are now available online.
Yours sincerely
Jeff Beddoes, B.C.L.S., C.L.S.
Deputy Surveyor General
