MARIN COUNTY

PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYORS

Man’s knowledge in itself does not make a profession; man must use knowledge to aid, assist, teach or benefit others. Application of knowledge to the affairs of others is an essential part of the definition of a profession.”

 

The Professional Status of Land Surveyors by CURTIS M. BROWN 

Marin CLSA meets on a monthly basis on the third wednesday of each month upstairs at Las Guitarras in Novato, California. All are welcome to attend our meetings that are interested in the History and current practice of Land Surveying within the County of Marin. 

Las Guitarras
1017 Reichert Ave, Novato, CA 94945

Future Joint Meeting in February or March 2025 with Sonoma, Marin and Napa CLSA in Petaluma

A joint meeting with Sonoma, Marin and Napa is in the works. Details are still being ironed out on schedule, venue and topics of discussion. 

Stay tuned. 

January 2025 Meeting

Our first 2025 meeting will be held on January 15th at 6pm at Las Guitarras in Novato. Hope to see you there!

No November or December 2024 Meeting

There will be no more meetings in 2024. See you on the third Wednesday in January 2025!! Happy New Year!!!!

October Joint Meeting with 5 CLSA Chapters over Zoom

A Joint meeting between multiple CLSA Chapters including San Francisco Chapter, East Bay Chapter, Sonoma Chapter, Santa Clara Chapter and Marin Chapter is occuring over zoom on October 9, 2024.

Please reach out to a Marin Chapter officer for Zoom information and details. We do not post that information on our website for security reasons.

Hope to see you there!

Marin Chapter 2025 Officers!

The ballot results are in and our 2025 Officers are as follows:

  2025 President                       Josh Woelbing  

      2025 Secretary                    Dominic Sanfilippo

         2025 Treasurer                      Bryan Hughes         

          2025 Director                         Dominic Sanfilippo

    2025 Alternate Director      Josh Woelbing 

A big thank you to everyone who served in 2024! 

September 2024 Meeting

Our September meeting was held on the night of September 18th at 6pm. We discussed future joint meetings with other CLSA Chapters and ACEC, scholarships, and our 2025 officer positions.

No July 2024 Meeting, August 2024 Meeting

August meeting was held on the 21st. Thanks for attending!

June 2024 Meeting

Our June 2024 meeting was held on the 19th. Please only RSVP yes if you plan on attending, so we can get an accurate count for the restaurant.

thank you!!!

May 2024 Meeting

Our May meeting was held on May 15, 2024 at Las Guitarras Restaurant. Great turn out and good conversations were had! 

April 2024 Meeting

Marin CLSA’s April meeting will be on the third wednesday of the month on April 17, 2024 at las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA.

If you are not on our monthly evite list please reach out to a 2024 officer with your contact information and we will add you to the distribution list. 

March 2024 Joint Meeting with SF Chapter over Zoom
No in person Marin Chapter meeting in March

Marin CLSA will NOT be hosting an inperson meeting this month. We will be meeting over Zoom with the SF Chapter and other chapters around the Bay Area for a guest speaker. 

SF CLSA Chapter is leading a five Bay Area chapter combined Zoom meeting with Jerry Mahun as the guest speaker.

 

Title: Measurement Errors & Effects

Description: While we understand that all measurements are subject to errors, their effect on

final positions can be confusing. Not all typically used software yield the same results. We’ll

identify different error propagation methods and their effect on final positions. 

 

Check your email for zoom information to join.

 

Feeling like a challenge? Jerry has your homework! See here: 

To access the seminar web page go to my website at www.jerrymahun.com , then select 

Home | Recent Seminars | CLSA Chapters Seminar

February 2024

Marin CLSA’s February meeting will be on the third wednesday of the month on February 21, 2024 at las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA.

We hope to see you and our 2023 scholarship recipients there!

If you are not on our monthly evite list please reach out to a 2024 officer with your contact information and we will add you to the distribution list. 

No December 2023 Meeting

Next Meeting January 2024

Marin CLSA does not typically hold a December meeting due to the busy Holiday season. There is no December 2023 Marin CLSA meeting.

Our January meeting was held on January 17th at 6pm upstairs at Las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA. 

2023 Guest Speaker List

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 – 6pm at Las Guitarras Restaurant at 1017 Reichert Ave in Novato, CA 94945

 Kevin Nehring, PLS

Mr. Nehring is a deputy County Surveyor for Fresno County, Planning Commissioner for the City of Kerman and a Board member for Kerman Chamber of Commerce. Kevin has been working in the Survey, Civil, & Environmental Engineering fields since 1987 as a draftsman (both board drafting & CAD), chainman, CAD manager, crew chief, field engineer, and project engineer & manager. Specialties include: ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys, Record of Surveys, As-Built Mapping, Boundary Surveying, Construction Staking, Design Surveys, Geological Surveying and Mapping, GPS Surveys, Horizontal and Vertical Control Surveys, Legal Description Preparation, Legal Description Review & Analysis, Lot Line Adjustments, Parcel Map Design & Preparation, Right-of-Way Surveys, Subdivision Map Preparation & Processing, Title Report Review & Analysis, Topographic Surveying, Tract Map Design & Preparation, CAD Management.

 Mr. Nehring has been a member of the California Land Surveyors Association for over 16 years and moved through the state chair positions.

 Kevin will be joining us during our September meeting and will discuss the direction of State CLSA under his presidency.

 

 OCTOBER 18, 2023 – 6pm at Las Guitarras Restaurant at 1017 Reichert Ave in Novato, CA 94945

 Paul Mabry, Attorney, Land Surveyor

Mr. Mabry runs Land & Law that offers legal services, dispute resolution & neutral evaluation, boundary surveys, topographic surveys, and specialty surveys based out of San Francisco, CA.

 He graduated with honors from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2013 where he received the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in Real Estate Law among other honors.  Prior to law school, Paul worked for more than a decade as a partner or department manager at several nationally recognized engineering design firms.  Paul received his Bachelors degree in Land Surveying from the College of Engineering at the University of Florida.  Since 2013, Paul has worked in both public and private capacities representing a range of clients from government agencies and local municipalities to individual land owners and business start-ups.

 Paul will be giving a presentation/discussion regarding boundary disputes. I have personally been to a seminar from Mr. Mabry and it was very informative. I highly recommend all Land Surveyors in the area to attend.

November 2023 Meeting

Marin CLSA will be hosting a November meeting this year. We will be meeting on November 15, 2023 at 6pm at Las Guitarras in Novato, CA. We will be covering chapter business that has been suspended the last couple months when we had guest speakers.

We hope to see you there!

October 2023 Meeting - Guest Speaker Paul Mabry

Marin CLSA held its October meeting on the 18th at 6pm. We were thankful to have Paul Mabry (Attorney and PLS) speak to us regarding boundary disputes and looking at a possible way for future boundary disputes to involve Land Surveyors more on being a mediator level and potentially providing boundary survey services for each party in the dispute versus each property owner hiring their own surveyor. There was a good turn out and the presentation was well recieved, we hope the same presentation can be shown to other Chapters to spark additional ideas in the realm of boundary disputes.

Thank you Paul for taking the time to present to us out of your busy schedule it was much appreciated. 

September 2023 Meeting - Guest Speaker Kevin Nehring

Marin Chapters September meeting was held on September 20, 2023 at Las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA.

We were excited to have Kevin Nehring, PLS, president elect, at our in person meeting in Novato. As many of you know Mr Nehring joined us for many of our Zoom meetings through 2020-2022 while we were going through the COVID plandemic. 

Thank you Kevin Nehring for making the long drive out to visit us in Marin County!

August 2023 Meeting

Marin Chapters August meeting was held on August 16, 2023 at Las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA.

We discussed new officer positions for 2024, monument preservation efforts, the recent board meeting and other topics. We hope to see you at our next meeting!

Ballots for 2024 officers will be released soon!

July 2023 Meeting

Marin Chapters July meeting was held on July 19, 2023 at Las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA. 

We had another meeting with great attendance and sat outside this time!

Also, those who work in the Sonoma County area may be interested in the Title plant documents that now live at Ray Carlson and Associates. Some of our members went up to Sonoma County to attend and the amount of available information is amazing for running your own chain of title.

June 2023 Meeting

Marin Chapters June meeting was held on June 21, 2023 at Las Guitarras mexican restaurant in Novato, CA. 

We had a good showing with 13 people in attendance.

May 2023 Meeting

Marin California Land Surveyors Association’s April meeting will be on May 17, 2023 at Las Guitarras Restaurant in Novato, CA.

We will be discussing the results of the recent TrigStar event at Bronson School, a complex survey that a surveyor wishes to get an opinion on and other matters. We hope to see you there! 

TrigStar Event at Branson School

Marin CLSA hosted a TrigStar event at Branson School in Marin County. David Kendall took the lead and both Phil Danskin and Bryan Hughes met with the students to discuss the land surveying profession. 

Congratulations to Owen as our first place winner and Ryder as the second place winner! 

A big thank you to Branson School teachers and students for attending this event. Thank you David, Phil and Bryan for taking the time out of your busy work week to help with awareness of the Surveying Profession!

April 2023 Meeting

Marin California Land Surveyors Association’s April meeting was on April 19, 2023 at Las Guitarras Restaurant in Novato, CA.

March 2023 Meeting

Marin California Land Surveyors Association’s March meeting is schedule for March 15, 2023. This meeting will be in person at Las Guitarras Restaurant in Novato, CA.

This Month we will be celebrating our two 2022 scholarship recipients!!!!

The Marin Chapter of CLSA is honored to award two scholarships to individuals enrolled in the SRJC Surveying Certificate program!!! The SRJC Surveying/Civil Engineering/GIS program at SRJC has produced some amazing professionals that are working throughout the Bay Area and we hope that these funds can allow students to continue on their path towards becoming Professional Land Surveyors.

Thank you to those that RSVP. If you can please RSVP with the evite link in our monthly email we would greatly appreciate it in order to make sure the restaurant provides us with adequate seating to accommodate us all.

February 2023 Meeting

Marin California Land Surveyors Association’s February meeting is schedule for February 15, 2023. This meeting will be in person as well as over Zoom. An email will be sent at the beginning of each month with Zoom information, meeting location and an evite to RSVP. 

Thank you to those that RSVP. If you can please RSVP with the evite link in our monthly email we would greatly appreciate it in order to make sure the restaurant provides us with adequate seating to accommodate us all.

January 2023 Meeting

We Are Back to In Person Meetings wooohoooo!!!!
...but fear not those that can only attend over Zoom we plan on running hybrid meetings.

Thank you everyone for coming. It was a great meeting and was exciting to see everyone after so long. It’s been 3 years since we have met in person!

We met at Las Guitarras in Novato, CA on January 18, 2023 at 5:30pm for drinks with a meeting start at 6pm. We discussed new officer roles, motions to cover new 2023 expenses, and caught up with our surveyor pals with good Mexican food and a cerveza.

We hosted the meeting over Zoom, but none attended. I will resend the Zoom link and make sure I include it in the monthly Chapter meeting emails.

No December Meeting. See you in 2023!

Historical Marin CLSA has not had a December meeting due to the Holidays. We will see you at our January in person meeting at Los Guitarras. More information on that to come! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka and Happy New Year!!!

November Meeting (Happy Thanksgiving!)

The Marin Chapter CLSA November meeting is scheduled for November 16, 2022 at 6pm over Zoom. This will likely be our last meeting of the year with the Holiday season starting. We hope to see you there!

Elected 2023 Officers!

The ballot results are in and our 2023 Officers are as follows:

  2023 President                       Josh Woelbing  

 2023 Vice President             David Kendall   

      2023 Secretary                    Dominic Sanfilippo

         2023 Treasurer                      Bryan Hughes         

2023 Director                         David Kendall 

         2023 Alternate Director      Dominic Sanfilippo 

A big thank you to everyone who served in 2022! 

October Joint Meeting with Sonoma County
Happy Halloween!

In October we met with Sonoma Chapter to meet CLSA State President Elect Kevin Hills. The meeting was the second wednesday of the month on October 12, 2022 at 6:30pm at Union Hotel in Santa Rosa, CA.

Its time to vote for 2023 Marin Chapter Officer Positions!

Are you interested in helping the Marin Chapter by volunteering for an officer position in 2023? Even if you do not wish to serve next year, we would love for all Marin Chapter members to vote for our 2023 Officers. Ballots are currently being made by our nomination committee and will be sent out via email shortly to all members. 

Please contact an officer or nomination committee member (Phil Danskin and Josh Woelbing) if you have any questions.

September 2022 Meeting

The September 2022 meeting was held on September 21st at 6pm. 

August 2022 Meeting

Our August 2022 meeting was held on 17th. We went through all our committees, re-arranged members, so only active participants are in committees and then went over old and new business Marin Chapter business. In addition, we discussed the topic of removing monuments and if there are ever scenarios where that is acceptable or not. It was a great conversation amongst surveyor peers and very informative. Hearing different perspectives, scenarios and examples that other surveyors have experienced really helps all members and is the best part about Marin CLSA.

July Meeting Cancelled
Next Meeting August 17th

Due to the busy summer months we have cancelled the July Marin Chapter meeting. See you in August on the 17th at 6pm over Zoom.

If you would like to attend and you do not have our Zoom information please reach out to a 2022 Officer.

June 2022 Meeting

Our June meeting was on Wednesday, June 15th at 6pm over Zoom.

Please contact a Marin Chapter officer for Zoom information.

May 2022 Meeting

Marin CLSA Chapter met on May 18, 2022 at 6pm over Zoom and were joined by Dr Yehuda Bock of UCSD with us to discuss the California Real Time Network (CRTN). It was a very informative meeting. Thank you Dr Yehuda for your time it was greatly appreciated.

March 2022 Meeting

Our March meeting discuss Chapter business such as the recent Board of Directors meeting, CLSA joining with NSPS, map accessibility and unrecorded surveys at the Marin Free Library

February 2022 Meeting

Marin CLSA’s February meeting was held on Wednesday, February 16th at 6pm pacific over Zoom.

We are pleased to announce that John Briscoe land use attorney and author of “Surveying the Courtroom” will be joining us. We hope to see you there!

https://briscoelaw.net/john-briscoe/

 

January 2022 Zoom Meeting

Marin CLSA’s January meeting was held on Wednesday, January 19 at 6pm pacific over Zoom.

 

October 2021 Zoom Meeting

Marin CLSA’s October meeting was held on Wednesday, October 20th at 6pm pacific time over Zoom. 

Please contact us if you would like to be added to our email distribution list.

September 2021 Zoom Meeting

Marin CLSA’s September meeting was held on Wednesday, September 15th at 6pm pacific time. Thank you to those who attended!

Please contact us if you would like to be added to our email distribution list.

August 2021 Zoom Meeting with the Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists

Marin CLSA’s August meeting was held on Wednesday, August 18 at 6pm pacific time.

Dallas Sweeney, PLS and Rick Moore, PLS from BPELSG gave a presentation on the boards new online system called “Connect”, which will be the place for all future applications, renewals and complaints. Thanks again for the great presentation!

We hope to see you over Zoom. If you do not have the Zoom information please contact Josh Woelbing at JoshW@cswst2.com or Bryan Hughes at BryanH@cswst2.com.

Thank you!

July 2021 Zoom Meeting and Joint Meeting with Central Coast Chapter

Marin CLSA’s July meeting was held on Wednesday, July 21st at 6pm pacific time.

Tim Birch, president elect for NSPS is in the hospital with appendicitis. We wish him a speedy recovery! As such he was not be able to make our Wednesday meeting. With that said, Gary Kent, PLS and the Central Coast chapter were gracious enough to invite us to a joint meeting. 

A big thank you to the Central Coast chapter for accomodating us so quickly.

A big thank you to Gary Kent for the informative meeting regarding the updated standards and a description of why modifications occurred. It was packed full of great information for anyone that provides ALTA land title surveys to their clients. If you missed this meeting and perform ALTA surveys regularly I would recommend you attend one of Gary’s seminars or presentations in the future.

Thanks again everyone!

JUNE 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Our June meeting was held on June 16, 2021 at 6pm over Zoom. Please contact Bryan Hughes at BryanH@cswst2.com or Josh Woelbing at JoshW@cswst2.com if you need the Zoom meeting information.

MAY 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Our May Meeting was held on May 18, 2021 at 6pm over Zoom.

APRIL 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Marin CLSA April Meeting was on April 21, 2021. Warren Smith, PLS County Surveyor of Tuolumne County and State CLSA President-Elect will be joining us on our Zoom meeting. We hope to see you there! 

MARCH 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Marin Chapter CLSA March 2021 Zoom meeting was held on March 17, 2021 at 6pm. If you have not already done so, please submit your 2021 membership forms and fee to our Chapter Treasurer or Secretary.

Please email Bryan Hughes (BryanH@cswst2.com) if you would like to be added to our email distribution list to receive updated meeting info and Zoom information.

FEBRUARY 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Marin Chapter CLSA February 2021 Zoom meeting was held on February 17, 2021 at 6pm. Thanks to all that attended!

JANUARY 2021 ZOOM MEETING

Happy New Year!!!!!

Marin Chapter CLSA January 2021 Zoom meeting was held on January 20, 2021 at 6pm.

 

WELCOME OUR 2021 CLSA OFFICERS!

The ballot results are in and our 2021 Officers are as follows:

  2021 President                       Josh Woelbing  

 2021 Vice President             David Kendall   

2021 Secretary                       Bryan Hughes

        2021 Treasurer                      Dominic Sanfilippo

2021 Director                         David Kendall 

         2021 Alternate Director      Dominic Sanfilippo 

A big thank you to everyone who served in 2020! 

NOVEMBER 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin Chapter CLSA November Zoom meeting was held on November 18, 2020 at 6pm. We had a great group discussion on a variety of topics including title research with guest speaker Randy Fry.

OCTOBER 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin Chapter CLSA October Zoom meeting was held on October 21, 2020 at 6pm. We had a great group discussion on a variety of topics/matters ranging from the Marin Free Library survey records and how to research those records during COVID, CLSA legislation efforts (accuracy statements), and other topics. 

SEPTEMBER 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin Chapter CLSA September Zoom meeting was held on September 16, 2020 at 6pm. 

2021 OFFICER BALLOTS ARE OFFICIALLY OUT!

On September 3, 2020 the Nomination Committee Ballot was released to 2020 Marin CLSA Members. Please remember to vote. Instructions on how to vote for 2021 officers is on the Ballot form. If you are a 2020 Marin CLSA member and you did not receive a 2021 Ballot please contact a 2020 Officer for a copy.

A big thank you to our current 2020 officers for all their hard work and time to help the survey profession within Marin County.

AUGUST 2020 ZOOM MEETING WITH GUEST SPEAKER

Marin Chapter CLSA continues to have Zoom meetings due to the Marin Shelter in Place order. Our August meeting was on August 19, 2020 at 6pm

Guest Speaker:Bob Knox, Esq

Bob recently represented a surveyor regarding an alleged failure to file a Record of Survey ten years ago and won the case cleanly after doing some legal research on the topic. Bob Knox believes this information would be VERY interesting to us all. 

 

The following email was released yesterday (7/15/20) regarding the joint APLS-CLSA-NALS conference for 2020:

Dear Conference Attendees:

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the APLS-CLSA-NALS Conference Committee has made the difficult decision to shift our in-person Conference to a virtual platform. The conference, that was previously rescheduled from March to August 21-25, 2020 will now be offered as a virtual event.

We are dedicated to providing our attendees with quality education, access to our exhibitors/sponsors, and networking opportunities. APLS-CLSA-NALS Conference Committee will be working with our speakers, exhibitors and sponsors on the logistics of this change. We are excited to be able to offer this solution and will be providing further details regarding program and registration options as soon as possible.

We thank you for your support and patience during this unprecedented situation!

JULY 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin CLSA July Meeting was on July 15, 2020 at 6pm pacific time.

Great meeting everyone! Good discussion regarding copyright, unrecorded maps, protocols for Marin Free library access during COVID-19, matters our Chapter Directors will bring up at the next BoD meeting, and more. 

CLSA WEBINAR

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES COMMITTEES - HOW THEY WORK AND HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THEM?

Presented live June 19, 2020 Common Professional Practice Problems. What do we need to fix? The Concept of Self-Regulation In Professions How Professional Practice Committees Should Work – In Theory The Challenges Of Running An Effective PPC – How PPCs Work In Practice The Relationships Between PPCs and Licensing Boards Suggestions For More Effective PPCs
 
Presenters: Landon Blake – Redefined Horizons David Kendall – Sonoma Land Services

JUNE 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin CLSA June Meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2020 at 6pm. 

Topic: CLSA Marin Monthly Meeting
Time: June 17, 2020 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

We will no longer be posting Zoom meetings on our website due to Zoom hackers. We will be sending out invites via email only. Please contact us if you wish to be on our email distribution list. 

MARIN RECOVERS

Please stay up to date at www.MarinRecovers.com 

Marin County’s COVID-19 response is divided into three broad phases. Each phase has criteria that must be met before moving to the next phase to continue our successful mitigation of COVID-19 while building the infrastructure needed to move forward. This outlines our process to engage our community as we take steps to rebuild.

The purpose of this website is to provide information and updates about the Marin County reopening plan, share the progress of the Marin Recovers Industry Advisors, and make resources available for local industries planning to reopen.

Download a PDF of the Marin County COVID-19 Recovery Plan 

Phase 1 – Slow the Spread

Slowing the spread of the virus protects all of us, avoids overwhelming our local healthcare capacity, and saves lives. We must be prepared to manage the local COVID-19 burden at all times as the pandemic progresses.

Phase 2 – Sequential Reopening 

As the County of Marin meets the criteria to move beyond phase I, we must implement a framework to safely and progressively reopen with new adaptations for all sectors, where we live, work and play.

Phase 3 – End of Stay at Home Order

To achieve Phase III, enough immunity must be present in the community through natural immunity or immunization to allow unrestricted activity across all domains. Given COVID-19’s prevalence in the community with no immunization in existence, this phase will take time to achieve.

 

MAY 2020 ZOOM MEETING

Marin CLSA May Meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2020 at 6pm. We hope to hear from you on our zoom meeting!

RW Davis is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: CLSA Marin Monthly Meeting
Time: May 20, 2020 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the Third Wed, until Dec 16, 2020, 8 occurrence(s)
May 20, 2020 06:00 PM
Jun 17, 2020 06:00 PM
Jul 15, 2020 06:00 PM
Aug 19, 2020 06:00 PM
Sep 16, 2020 06:00 PM
Oct 21, 2020 06:00 PM
Nov 18, 2020 06:00 PM
Dec 16, 2020 06:00 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJEqde2prDooHtSkyAPz74Tl64Y65qBxbW2J/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCtqTkuG9aUsh2HRowMB4joLOvzpn5BgrdulwbEMzoENjf6YLZ7ZOduMsDS

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 957 2412 1240
Password: marinclsa
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MARIN SHELTER IN PLACE EXTENDED THROUGH END OF MAY

Update on Extension and Revisions to Shelter-in-Place Orders

Seven Bay Area Health Officers Issue Joint Statement on Next Steps

San Rafael, CA – Later this week, the Public Health Officers of the counties of Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara as well as the City of Berkeley will issue revised shelter-in-place orders that largely keep the current restrictions in place and extend them through May. The new order will include limited easing of specific restrictions for a small number of lower-risk activities.

The shelter-in-place orders in effect across the seven jurisdictions are set to expire on May 3, 2020. Thanks to the collective effort and sacrifice of the 7 million residents across our jurisdictions, we have made substantial progress in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, ensuring our local hospitals are not overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, and saving lives. At this stage of the pandemic, however, it is critical that our collective efforts continue so that we do not lose the progress we have achieved together. Hospitalizations have leveled, but more work is needed to safely re-open our communities. Prematurely lifting restrictions could easily lead to a large surge in cases.                                                                                  

The Health Officers will also release a set of broad indicators that will be used to track progress in preparedness and response to COVID-19, in alignment with the framework being used by the State of California. Future easing of restrictions requires that each jurisdiction and various sectors continue to rapidly build critical infrastructure and systems to respond to and control the spread of coronavirus infections and to ensure the health care system’s ability to meet demand.

This global pandemic of COVID-19 is still in its early stages. The virus spreads easily, testing capacity is limited and expanding slowly, and vaccine development is just beginning. We expect to be responding to COVID-19 in our communities for a long time. As effective as our efforts have been, if we move too fast to ease restrictions, the potential of exponential spread could have grave impacts to health and wellness of our residents as well as the economy.

The Health Officers of these seven jurisdictions have been working closely together in leading a unified, regional approach, to protect the health and safety of our residents. Details regarding this next phase will be shared later in the week, along with the updated order.

https://www.marincounty.org/main/county-press-releases/press-releases/2020/hhs-covid-shelterinplaceupdate-042720

APRIL CLSA MEETING CANCELLED

Due to the continued shelter in place order extended through the end of April and the closure of restaurants in Marin County, the Marin County Chapter of CLSA has cancelled the April meeting. We are trying to reschedule Neil Kings presentation on “Advantages and Disadvantages of using GPS Networks (RTN/VRS)” to another month when this is behind us.

If you continue to do field work at this time please be safe!

 

IS LAND SURVEYING AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE?

The Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) released the following statement regarding whether or not land surveying is considered an essential service:

The California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists has received inquiries from licensees about whether their work is considered “essential” under Executive Order N-33-20, issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 19. However, the Board does not have the authority to make this determination. The Executive Order provided a stay at home order except as needed to maintain the continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors. The Executive Order referred to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which provides guidance regarding the identification of essential critical infrastructure workers. CISA has prepared a document to provide guidance when determining whether your business provides essential or non-essential services and whether you should remain open. You should also check with your local county health department to determine what activities are also considered essential and non-essential.

The CISA document is available by clicking here

The Shelter in place order by the Marin Health Officer dated March 16, 2020 can be found by clicking here

The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) has received a lot of questions on this topic from Surveyors across the Nation and have made the following posts on their public linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-society-of-professional-surveyors/

Marin Chapter of CLSA will continue to post updates as they become available to the effect of the Corona Virus on land surveying in Marin County. This information is provided for educational purposes only. Marin CLSA encourages the survey community to focus on the safe practice of landing surveying if you choose to continue surveying operations. Marin CLSA has no official opinion on whether or not surveying during the shelter in place is deemed “essential”. This is not legal advise. We are not attorneys.  

Stay safe out there everyone!

MARCH 2020 MEETING CANCELLED

Marin CLSA’s March meeting has been cancelled due to the close proximity to the CLSA Conference in Las Vegas. We hope to see you there!

Our next meeting will be on April 15, 2020 at Las Guitarras Restaurant and Neil King, PLS will be giving a presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of using GPS Networks (RTN/VRS) such as CRTN and CSDS. He will also be covering base station observations. 

If there are any specific questions you would like to hear addressed in Neil’s presentation please email Wayne Davis at rwdavis@rwdavis-survey.com or Josh Woelbing at JoshW@cswst2.com. We are hoping to have a list of specific questions or concerns to Neil ahead of the meeting, so he can properly prepare.

CONFERENCE CANCELLED

The Joint Conference with Arizona and Nevada has been cancelled due to the Corona virus. They are currently looking at rescheduling and we should know more soon. Stay safe out there.

FEBRUARY 2020 MEETING

Marin CLSA’s February meeting was held on February 19th at 6pm at Las Guitarras Restaurant located at 1017 Reichert Ave in Novato, CA. 

At this meeting Bill Schroeder, PLS gave a presentation on Grippi’s COGO information that Bill was able to extract from from Grippis projects throughout Marin. This presentation showed us how to take advantage of these ASCII files from over 800 Grippi projects. Bill was also kind enough to donate this database and the time he spent creating it to the Marin Chapter CLSA in hopes of raising more funds for future records preservation. If you’re interested in accessing these Grippi ASCII files we will be working on a formal process/form. Currently, the preliminary plan is a one time access fee of $150 made payable to Marin CLSA. The funds from this will be earmarked for future “records preservation” that the Marin Chapter deems necessary on an ongoing basis such as support for the Marin Free Library, obtaining new unrecorded surveys for the Marin Free Library, scanning field books/maps, etc. 

We were briefed on the recent Board of Directors meeting by Tracy Park, PLS. Topics included legislation such as AB5, future locations of conferences, and the State of California’s pursuit of more taxes (possible tax on professional services, etc.). 

Mike Ford, PLS also introduced his Sonoma County Corner Record Database he has created. Please contact Mike Ford directly if you’re interested in learning more about the Corner Record database he prepared. 

 

Congratulations to Tracy Park, PLS for winning our 2020 Membership raffle!!!!

JANUARY 2020 MEETING

2020 IS HERE!!!!

Our first 2020 meeting was held at Las Guitarras Restaurant located at 1017 Reichert Ave in Novato, CA. 

Topics of discussion:

1. Monument preservation efforts.

2. Scanning Field Books at the Marin Free Library.

3. Planning a 2020 Marin CLSA Seminar (Going over topics, speakers and locations).

4. Resurrecting the Novato EDM Range and adding GPS coordinates.

5. A potential PPC matter.

The new venue seemed well recieved by members. Dinner prices were cut by more than half and the room upstairs offers a projector and increased privacy.

 

APLS-CLSA-NALS Tri-State Conference

Click here to register online!

Click here to download PDF registration form!

NALS is hosting the online registration for this joint conference. APLS & CLSA memers will recieve a code to use in lieu of a member number that will provide member pricing. 

Rooms will sell out! Reserve early for guaranteed pricing! Check out http://www.PLSeducation.org for more information. 

NO NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2019 MEETING

Due to the Holidays and the lack of rain keeping us all waaay too busy (good problem to have) we will not be hosting a Marin CLSA November or December meeting. The next Marin CLSA chapter meeting will be held on January 15, 2020 at a new venue. Come back soon for more information.

The Marin Chapter of CLSA wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

OCTOBER 2019 MEETING

Our October meeting was held at 6pm on October 16, 2019 at Wild Fox Restaurant at 225 Alameda Del Prado in Novato, CA

Guest speaker:

Evan Page, PLS with the State Lands Commission

Presented
Who says the Surveyor Can’t Determine Intent?

Some surveyors say “Intent is King!” while others say that we have no authority to go beyond
the words of the deed when determining boundary locations. There are very experienced and
well-regarded surveyors at both ends of this spectrum. The courts have been and continue to
tell us what our duty is with regard to intent. In this presentation, we look at what the courts
have told us to do, and the results that can happen when we ignore that guidance. We also
define what it means to “determine intent”, and in doing so, find that many of us are not so far
apart in our opinions as we might think.

Thank you Evan for the amazing presentation and taking the time to share with the Marin Chapter of CLSA. We hope to see you again soon! 

 

SEPTEMBER 2019 JOINT MEETING WITH SONOMA

Our September meeting was a joint meeting with the Sonoma Chapter of CLSA at the Washoe House (2840 Roblar Rd, Petaluma, CA) in Sonoma County at 6:30pm on 9/11/2019

Guest speaker:

Keith Spencer, our State CLSA President-Elect. 

Thank you Keith for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit us and let the voices of our Sonoma and Marin Chapter members be heard on various state level issues/topics. Also, thank you to Sonoma and Marin Chapter members for attending the event. We hope this is the start of rekindling more joint meetings/events between our chapters to help spread comradery within the survey profession.

P.S. The food was amazing.

 

Marin County Code, Chapter 3.5 Meeting

Marin County hosted a meeting to discuss Marin County Code, Chapter 3.5 (County Surveyor Fees). The County Surveyor and legal counsel were present. Revised draft ordinance documents were sent out via email on 8/23/19 and are available at the links below:

CS Resolution DRAFT pdf 

CS Staff Report DRAFT pdf

CS Survey Fee Ordinance DRAFT pdf

Location and time:

The meeting was held at Marin Civic Center at 9am on Thursday, August 29th, 2019 in room 143D

Thank you for those that attended and offered their opinions and suggestions and thank you to Marin County for giving us a platform to voice our suggestions on the revised ordinance. 

 

AUGUST 2019 MEETING

Our August meeting was held on 8/21/2019 at the Wild Fox restaurant located at 225 Alameda Del Prado in Novato, CA.

The group offered suggestions and concerns on the upcoming revisions amending Marin County Code, Chapter 3.5 (County Surveyor Fees). We also discussed the recent Board meeting, upcoming joint meeting with Sonoma County, scholarship applications, and other topics, which were extremely informative. Great dialogue between professional surveyors to voice their opinion.

 

JULY 2019 MEETING

Our July 2019 meeting was held on July 17 at 225 Alameda Del Prado in Novato, CA

William Lockett reflected on his surveying career within the County of Marin. For those not aware, William Lockett is a retired licensed land surveyor with extensive knowledge and experience within Marin. He shared his perspective of surveying in post WWII Marin and the challenges encountered. He also talked about what led to the creation of CLSA. Professional Land Surveyors begun to finally work with one another for common goals to improve the profession. He also mentioned what other practicing surveyors (Voorhies, Oglesby, etc.) typically set in the field, which is extremely useful to determine origination when you locate an old hub/monument with no LS number. It was a great meeting.

Thank you Bill for attending and sharing your extensive knowledge!

JUNE 2019 MEETING

Our June meeting was held at Wild Fox Restaurant in Novato, CA on the 18th. 

Bob Knox, attorney at law, lead a discussion regarding a recent case involving prescriptive rights and easements. Various other questions were brought up in an open discussion. Thank you Bob for another great meeting!

You can find his website and contact info here: http://robertfknox.com/

 

MAY 2019 MEETING 

Our May meeting was held on at Wild Fox Restaurant located at 225 Alameda Del Prado in Novato, CA on May 15, 2019. Thank you to those who endured treacherous rains to attend our monthly gathering.

 

Randy Fry of Marin Land Title Consulting lead an informative discussion regarding Lot Line Adjustments and answered a variety of questions from our members. The majority of questions and discussion was in regard to lender requirements and reviewing the deed of trust. 

Some helpful links:

1. Click here for typical lender requirements for lot line adjustment approval. Requirements will vary.

2. Some Deeds of Trust contain language that all modifications automatically go into effect such as this example

If you would like to reach out to Randy Fry his contact information is below:

Randy Fry
Marin Land Title Consulting
rfry2@comcast.net
415-847-8542

On behalf of Marin CLSA a big thank you goes out to Randy for his time sharing his unique knowledge of lot line adjustments over his career. 

APRIL 2019 MEETING

On April 17th we met at Wild Fox Restaurant in Novato, CA. 

Guest Speaker:

Neil Sorensen 

https://sorensenlaw.com/

Douglas Scranton invited Neil Sorensen to our April chapter meeting. Neil is an experienced land use attorney, who spoke regarding Civil Procedure 771.010, which deals with easements that are depicted upon maps that were offered for dedication and under what circumstances these easements rights have been extinguished. 

You can access a PDF of the discussion Handout by clicking here.

 

Thank you Neil for an informative discussion

PAST EventS

MARCH 2019 MEETING
GUEST SPEAKER

Phil Danskin gave a wonderful presentation on the history of the Oglesby archive and how to currently perform research at the Marin Free Library online and on location at 1600 Los Gamos Dr., Lobby B, Suite 182, San Rafael.

honorary william LOCKETT
2018 CHRISTMAS PARTY

We gave thanks to William Lockett, who served Marin County community well at an honorary Christmas party for 2018.

Special thanks for Douglas Scranton, Linda Carruthers and Santa Claus for their efforts in planning this cheerful event.

Explore The World of landing surveying

Interested in the Profession? Become a Land Surveyor!

Marin Chapter offers scholarships to students pursuing a career in land surveying. 

If interested please contact our scholarship committee chair Linda Carutthers (solar@pacbell.net) or Josh Woelbing (joshw@cswst2.com). 

rich in history

Recent efforts by Marin Chapter CLSA and Marin County to create a Free Library housing a large archive of unrecorded surveys by Oglesby, Dodge, Richardson, Voorhies, and more. 

http://contentdm.marinlibrary.org/

 

Last website update: 11/1

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