Plat_Requirements.pdf

ATTACHMENT - B

CHARLES COUNTY PLANNING & GROWTH MANAGEMENT

STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR EASEMENT AND RIGHT-OF-WAY PLATS

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

The purpose of these Standard Requirements is to set forth guidelines for the preparation of plats to be used by Charles County Capital Improvement Program.

The plats prepared under these guidelines will be used for legal descriptions of the property rights to be acquired for the subject project and during negotiations with property owners. Therefore, the plats must be technically accurate and complete and at the same time be clear and concise enough to explain to the average layman.

Reasonable divergence from these guidelines will be allowed as long as generally recognized standards of engineering surveying practice are followed and the basic purpose of the plats is not adversely affected. Any substantial divergence from these standards to meet the requirements of special or unusual situations must have the prior written approval of the Right of Way Agent II.

1. General Format

a. Sheet size - The standard plat will be

18" X 24". Any other size must have prior approval from Right of Way Agent II.

b. Title blocks - Title blocks shall include such items as project name, election district, county, state, engineering firm, date, scale, plat sheet number, and number of sheets (Plat 1 of 5.) Additionally, the name of the project must be shown prominently at the top center of the Composite Sheet and labeled to agree with the construction plans.

c. All plats shall exhibit the signature and seal or number of the

ENGINEER or surveyor responsible for the preparation of the plat.

d. A vicinity/project location map shall be shown on all plats in the top right corner. Scale shall be 1 inch equal 2,000 (or less) feet.

e. Scale - Plats will normally be drawn to the same scale as the project plans. In certain instances smaller scales will be allowed in the interest of economy providing the smaller scale will not affect the clarity of the plat. In no case, will a scale smaller than 1" = 100 be allowed. Larger scale drawings or insets at a larger scale will be required as needed for clarity. The scale used shall be shown both graphically and numerically.

f. Dates - All plats will show the date they were originally prepared and the date of any revisions.

g. Limiting statement - All plats shall bear a statement substantially as follows: "This plat has been prepared for the exclusive use of Charles County Planning and Growth Management for the acquisition of the easement(s) and or right(s)-of-way shown hereon."

h. Sources of information, such as deed descriptions and recorded property plats (if applicable) used in preparation of the plat shall be stated on the plat, as well as the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation property identification Tax Map, Grid, Parcel, and if applicable the Subdivision Section and Lot number.

I. The name and deed reference for owners of all properties adjacent and contiguous to the parcel(s) from which the easement or right-of-way is to be obtained shall be stated on the plat, as well as the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation property identification Tax Map, Grid, Parcel, and if applicable the Subdivision Section and Lot number.

j. The number of properties to be shown on each plat will depend on the particular project. Normally, separate plats are prepared for each property for acquisitions through large, undeveloped tracts of land, while plats for the acquisition of road rights-of-way will normally show a given, uniform length of right-of-way on each plat and the abutting properties along that section of right-of-way.

k. Plats shall show existing improvements and major topographical features such as existing paving, buildings, streams, landscaping, wells, septic tanks, drain fields, fences, etc.

l. All easements and/or right-of-way boundary lines, property lines, base lines, etc. shall be clearly labeled. The use of legends to explain symbols is required. Takings are to be described as Fee Area, Public Drainage Easement, Public Storm Water Management Easement, Public Slope Easement, Public Water Easement, Public Sewer Easement, Public Sight Distance Easement, and Temporary Construction Easement, or as otherwise necessary and appropriate combination easements.

m. Surveyor’s Certificate language shall read as “I hereby certify that this plat is correct and was prepared based on documents of record.”

n. An approval block must be provided for signature by the Chief of

Capital Services.

2. Survey Information

a. North arrow - each plat shall have a north arrow, labeled to indicate the reference system being used. The north arrow shall have the same bearing as shown on the project plans, which shall be generally pointing toward the top edge of the plat.

b. Descriptions - Easements and/or rights-of-way shall be defined by bearings and distances around their perimeter. Where appropriate, points on the easements or rights-of-way lines shall be referenced to the state grid system. The area of the property to be acquired will be stated in square feet and acres with four (4) decimal places. Areas may be stated on the plat if three or less properties are shown on the plat. Otherwise a separate listing of the properties and the areas to be acquired will be submitted. Separate narrative legal descriptions are not required unless specified, however an independent description must be provided (duplicate line references are not acceptable) for each easement and or right of way. Bearings and distances for property lines of properties affected by the acquisition do not need to be given on the plat unless they are one of the boundary lines of the area to be acquired. Plus, and minus distances are not acceptable without prior authorization of the Right of Way Agent II. A minimum of three (3) Maryland Coordinate Grid Ticks must be shown on applicable plats establishing easements or right-of-way.

c. Monuments - All apparent markers found in the field, and markers set in the field which are intended to be permanent, shall be indicated on the plat.

d. Stakeout – Provide stakeout when required by Charles County, and in accordance with, the following as it relates to takings and easements added to private property. Stakes and hubs shall be set at all corners and break points.

1. Pink flagging at fee simple right-of-way.

2. White flagging on Public Drainage Easements.

3. Yellow flagging on Temporary Easements.

4. Orange flagging on Public SWM.

5. Blue flagging on Water Easements.

6. Green flagging on Sewer Easements.

7. Red flagging on Slope Easements.

3. Easement Widths

a. The minimum acceptable width for all types of permanent easements is fifteen (15) feet. However, all easements shall be adequate for maintenance purposes, and shall be in accordance with Charles County Ordinances and guidelines.

b. The distances that permanent drainage and or stormwater management easements extend from road rights-of-way will be adequate to maintain the inlet and outlet areas of the drainage structure.

c. The width of temporary or permanent slope easements will be dependent upon the requirements of the proposed construction.

4. The minimum acceptable widths for permanent road rights-of-way will be as stated in the latest edition of the Charles County Road Ordinance.

5. Miscellaneous Provisions

a. Although boundary surveys of each property affected by the proposed easement and/or right-of-way acquisition are not required, it is expected that adequate information will be obtained to allow the easement and/or right-of-way to be located with respect to the property lines of the property affected. In certain instances, an overall plat will be required.

b. Plats will be reviewed for acceptance by the review Consultants and CIP

ROW. Once approval is obtained from the CIP Right of Way Agent II, four (4) sealed Mylar and six (6) sealed paper copies will be submitted for recordation, and an electronic copy of the submittal.

c. All plats will be prepared in a legible manner. Lettering less than 1/8 inch in height will be unacceptable, as will unsuitable line weights that cannot be scanned through the recordation process.

d. All survey data and plats shall be submitted to Charles County in digital format. Plats shall be in no older version than AutoCAD R14 and no more current than the version acceptable by Charles County software.

F:\PGMS1\CS\CIP\ROW Files\ROW Files for Multiple Projects\ROW Logs\ROW Weekly Meeting\ATTACHMENT 3 CIP-Right Of Way Plat Standards - DGS 10-04-16.rtf