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Seminars & Workshops       Updated: April 12, 2009

WISCORS  (CANCELED)

Descriptions
A Workshop Sponsored by:  
The Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors

Descriptions

Friday, June 5, 2009
Quality Inn Conference Center
“America’s Best Value Inn- Campus View”
809 W. Clairemont Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54701

Instructor: Jerry Mahun
Six (6) Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for full participation
Download a Brochure (.pdf)
In order to write an effective description the surveyor should know something about why they are needed and how they will be interpreted in the context of missing or confl icting physical evidence. Seemingly simple terms can cause diffi culty determining original intent and create confl icting boundary issues. What are ambiguities in descriptions and how do they come about? What are common law interpretations of deed terms? What are statutory requirements for descriptions in Wisconsin? What role does a map have? What about my GPS coordinates?
While we can’t cram an entire legal dissertation into the context of a single-day workshop, we can look at a number of framework issues and discuss some things to avoid. The workshop will cover the following topics:
  1. I. Legal Background
    1. A. Deeds and Descriptions
      1. 1. Statute of Frauds
      2. 2. Constructive Notice
      3. 3. Ambiguities
    2. B. Wis Admin A-E 7.04 Descriptions
    3. C. Boundary Re-establishment Perspective
      1. 1. Rules of construction
      2. 2. Informative and Controlling terms
  2. II. Metes and Bounds Descriptions - General
    1. A. Types of M&B Descriptions
    2. B. Parts of a Description
    3. C. Straight Line Transitions
    4. D. Geometric Curves
    5. E. Maps, Monuments, Adjoiners, PLS lines
    6. H. Coordinates? Area?
    7. I. Problematic terms; Short cut terms
  3. III. Descriptions on Maps and Plats
    1. A. Wis Statutory/Admin Code Requirements
      1. 1. Subdiv/CSM, etc.
      2. 2. A-E 7
    2. B. Best Practices
Participants will be given “homework” to do beforehand which will be discussed during the workshop. Anyone having a novel description is asked to submit it ahead of time so it can be discussed during the workshop, the stranger the better.

About our speaker:
Jerry Mahun is a Wisconsin licensed land surveyor and teaches surveying and civil engineering classes at Madison Area Technical College. He has taught previously at Penn State – Wilkes Barre, Purdue University, and UW-Platteville. Jerry has worked for the Bureau of Land Management, National Geodetic Survey, WisDOT, and has done consulting and workshop presentations. Long ago he was a member of the United States Army but both parties eventually decided on an amicable separation. The workshop is a compilation of material he has used for his land surveying classes.

Schedule of events: Continental breakfast (8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.), Workshop begins at 9:00 a.m., refreshment break at 10:30 a.m. noon luncheon, resume at 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.