Article 2. Survey Markers of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 3. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 11. >> Article 2.

If in the performance of his official duties any surveyor finds a government corner which has been marked by a government surveyor by placing charcoal in the ground or a wooden stake, earth mound, or other perishable monument, he shall remark the corner by placing therein a monument of heavily galvanized iron pipe or galvanized iron stake not less than two inches in diameter and not less than two feet long, or other monument not less in size and equally imperishable.

All monuments located in public highways shall be placed with the top not less than 12 inches below the surface of the ground, but when not located in public highways, they shall be placed with the top six inches above the surface of the ground. If the top of the monument is placed above the ground and is of metal, it shall be not less than four feet long.

The surveyor shall note witness objects that are within a reasonable distance of any corner, and state distance and course from the corner. He shall record the note in a properly indexed record book in the county surveyor's office. The book is a public record.

The board of supervisors shall furnish all necessary pipes or stakes for monuments in the county on demand and without cost.

The board may establish a survey monument preservation fund to pay the necessary expenses incurred or authorized by the county surveyor in any retracement or remonument survey of major historical land division lines upon which later surveys are based, such as, but not limited to, government section lines, rancho lines, grant lines, rancho section lines, acreage subdivision lot lines, and subdivision boundary lines within such county. The county surveyor may authorize a city engineer to perform such surveys within subject city or may contract with any surveyor in private practice to perform such surveys. When a city engineer or contract surveyor performs such surveys, he shall submit notes of such surveys to the county surveyor. Such notes shall be of the quality and size as may be necessary to conform to the standardized office records of the county surveyor. The county surveyor shall prepare a map of the survey and make such map a part of his public records within 90 days after completion of his fieldwork.

(a) For the limited purpose of financing the survey monument preservation fund pursuant to Section 27584, the board may impose a user fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10), or an amount set pursuant to Section 54985, which shall be charged and collected by the county recorder, over and above any other fees required by law, as a condition precedent to the filing or recording of any grant deed conveying real property. Grant deeds conveying lots created by recorded tract maps shall be exempt from the user fee. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), the fees shall be forwarded monthly by the county recorder to the county treasurer for deposit to the county survey monument preservation fund. Following the establishment of the fund, the board of supervisors may extinguish the fund if a finding is made by the board that the need for the fund no longer exists.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or (c), if a city engineer of a city with a population of more than 1,500,000 persons conducts the survey pursuant to Section 27584, any user fees collected pursuant to subdivision (a) on and after January 1, 1987, with respect to any grant deed conveying real property located wholly within the city shall be transferred monthly by the county recorder to the city treasurer of the city to reimburse the city for the expenses incurred by the city engineer in conducting that survey.
  (c) Notwithstanding Section 2231 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no funds collected by the county recorder for the survey monument preservation fund shall be transferred to, or deposited in, any other fund or used for any other purpose.