CHAPTER 16 
CORNER PERPETUATION AND FILING
55-1601.SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the "Corner Perpetuation and Filing Law."
 [55-1601, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 1, p. 647; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 1, p. 564.] 
55-1602.DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is the purpose of this chapter to protect and perpetuate public land survey corners and information concerning the location of such corners by requiring the systematic establishment of monuments and filing of information concerning the marking of the location of such public land survey corners and to allow the systematic location of other property corners, thereby providing for property security and a coherent system of property location and identification; and thereby eliminating the repeated necessity for reestablishment and relocations of such corners once they are established and located.
 [55-1602, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 2, p. 647; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 2, p. 564.] 
55-1603.DEFINITIONS. Except where the context indicates a different meaning, terms used in this chapter shall be defined as follows:
(1)  "Accessory to a corner" means any exclusively identifiable physical object whose spatial relationship to the corner is recorded. Accessories may be bearing trees, bearing objects, monuments, reference monuments, line trees, pits, mounds, charcoal-filled bottles, steel or wooden stakes, or other objects.
(2)  "Board" means the board of licensure of professional engineers and professional land surveyors.
(3)  "Corner," unless otherwise defined, means a property corner, or a property controlling corner, or a public land survey corner, or any combination of these.
(4)  "Establish" means to determine the position of a corner either physically or mathematically.
(5)  "Monument" means a physical structure that occupies the exact position of a corner.
(6)  "Professional land surveyor" means any person who is authorized by the laws of this state to practice land surveying.
(7)  "Property controlling corner" for a property means a public land survey corner, or any property corner, which does not lie on a property line of the property in question, but which controls the location of one (1) or more of the property corners of the property in question.
(8)  "Property corner" means a geographic point on the surface of the earth, and is on, a part of, and controls a property line.
(9)  "Public land survey corner" means any point actually established and monumented in an original survey or resurvey that determines the boundaries of remaining public lands, or public lands patented, represented on an official plat and in the field notes thereof, accepted and approved under authority delegated by congress to the U.S. general land office and the U.S. department of interior, bureau of land management.
(10) "Reference monument" means a special monument that does not occupy the same geographical position as the corner itself, but whose spatial relationship to the corner is recorded, and which serves to witness the corner.
 [55-1603, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 3, p. 647; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 3, p. 565; am. 1997, ch. 190, sec. 13, p. 526; am. 2008, ch. 378, sec. 27, p. 1046.] 
55-1604.FILING REQUIREMENTS. A professional land surveyor shall complete, sign, and file with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the corner is situated, a written record of the establishment or restoration of a corner. This record shall be known as a "corner record" and such a filing shall be made for every public land survey corner and accessory to such corner which is established, reestablished, monumented, remonumented, restored, rehabilitated, perpetuated or used as control in any survey. The survey information shall be filed within ninety (90) days after the survey is completed, unless the corner and its accessories are substantially as described in an existing corner record filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
In lieu of filing as heretofore provided, corner records may be recorded by photographic process in those counties which have such facilities.
 [55-1604, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 4, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 1, p. 363; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 4, p. 565.] 
55-1605.FILING OR RECORDING. A professional land surveyor may file or record any corner record as to any property corner, property controlling corner, reference monument or accessory to a corner.
 [55-1605, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 5, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 2, p. 363; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 5, p. 566.] 
55-1606.FILING OR RECORDING INFORMATION. The board shall, by regulation, provide and prescribe the information which shall be necessary to be included in the corner record and the board shall prescribe the form in which such corner record shall be presented and filed or recorded.
 [55-1606, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 6, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 3, p. 363.] 
55-1607.COUNTY CLERK TO KEEP RECORD -- FEES. (a) The county clerk and recorder of the county containing the corner shall receive the completed corner record and preserve it in the same manner as any other recorded instruments. Proper indexes shall be kept of such corner records by section, township and range.
(b)  The county clerk and recorder shall make these records available for public inspection during all usual office hours.
(c)  For purposes of determining the filing fee hereunder, the corner record shall be considered as a similar service to the filing or recording of instruments as provided in section 31-3205, Idaho Code. However, all corners, monuments and their accessories established prior to the effective date of this chapter, for which a written record is completed as required herein, and which are offered for filing or recording within six (6) months of the effective date of this chapter, shall be accepted and filed by the county clerk without requiring the payment of fees therefor.
 [55-1607, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 7, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 4, p. 363; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 6, p. 566; am. 1997, ch. 190, sec. 14, p. 527.] 
55-1608.PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR TO RECONSTRUCT MONUMENTS. In every case where a corner record of a survey corner is required to be filed or recorded under the provisions of this chapter, the professional land surveyor must reconstruct or rehabilitate the monument of such corner, and accessories to such corner.
Any monument set shall conform to the provisions of section 54-1227, Idaho Code. If the monument is set by a public officer, it shall be marked by an appropriate official designation.
 [55-1608, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 8, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 5, p. 363, am. 1978, ch. 107, sec. 2, p. 224; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 7, p. 566; am. 2008, ch. 378, sec. 28, p. 1047.] 
55-1609.TO BE SIGNED BY PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR OR GOVERNMENT AGENT. No corner record shall be filed or recorded unless the same is signed by a professional land surveyor as defined herein, or, in the case of an agency of the United States government, the certificate may be signed by the survey party chief making the survey.
 [55-1609, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 9, p. 647; am. 1972, ch. 162, sec. 6, p. 363; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 8, p. 567.] 
55-1611.FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FILINGS WITHOUT FEES. All federal government surveys performed by authorized personnel of agencies of the federal government shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter, except that federal agencies may comply with the provisions of the chapter, and shall be exempt from filing fees required in section 55-1607(c), Idaho Code.
 [55-1611, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 11, p. 647; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 10, p. 567.] 
55-1612.PENALTY. Professional land surveyors failing to comply with the provisions hereof shall be deemed to be within the purview of section 54-1220, Idaho Code, and shall be subject to disciplinary action as in said section provided.
 [55-1612, added 1967, ch. 215, sec. 12, p. 647; am. 1989, ch. 103, sec. 1, p. 236; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 11, p. 567; am. 1997, ch. 190, sec. 15, p. 528; am. 2008, ch. 378, sec. 29, p. 1047.] 
55-1613.MONUMENTS DISTURBED BY CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES -- PROCEDURE -- REQUIREMENTS. When professional engineers prepare construction documents for projects which may disturb land survey monuments, a field search shall be conducted by, or under the direction of, a professional land surveyor to determine whether monuments, reference monuments or accessories to corners physically exist at the location of, or referencing the location of, public land survey corners, property controlling corners or property corners. Such monuments, reference monuments or accessories to corners shall be located and referenced by or under the direction of a professional land surveyor prior to the time when construction or other activities may disturb them. Such monuments, reference monuments or accessories to corners shall be reestablished and remonumented by, or under the direction of, a professional land surveyor at the expense of the agency or person causing such loss or disturbance. Professional engineers who prepare construction documents which do not indicate the existence of corners, monuments, reference monuments and accessories to corners shall be deemed to be within the purview of section 54-1220, Idaho Code, and shall be subject to disciplinary action as provided in said section. Any person shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in section 54-1234, Idaho Code, if they prepare construction documents for the construction of any facility which do not indicate the existence of monuments, reference monuments and accessories to corners and construction of that facility results in the defacing, injury or removal of monuments, reference monuments or accessories to corners.
 [55-1613, added 1978, ch. 107, sec. 3, p. 224; am. 1993, ch. 206, sec. 12, p. 567; am. 1997, ch. 190, sec. 16, p. 528; am. 2008, ch. 378, sec. 30, p. 1047.] 
CHAPTER 17 
COORDINATE SYSTEM OF LAND DESCRIPTION
55-1701.ESTABLISHING COORDINATE SYSTEM -- DESIGNATING ZONES. The system of plane coordinates which has been established by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey, formerly the United States coast and geodetic survey, or its successors, for defining and stating the positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the state of Idaho is to be known and designated as the "Idaho coordinate system of 1983" and the "Idaho coordinate system of 1927." "The Idaho coordinate system of 1927" may be used through December 31, 1995. On and after January 1, 1996, only the "Idaho coordinate system of 1983" shall be used.
For the purpose of the use of this system the state is divided into an "east zone," a "central zone," and a "west zone."
The area now included in the following counties shall constitute the East Zone: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Caribou, Clark, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Power and Teton.
The area now included in the following counties shall constitute the Central Zone: Blaine, Butte, Camas, Cassia, Custer, Gooding, Jerome, Lemhi, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls.
The area now included in the following counties shall constitute the West Zone: Ada, Adams, Benewah, Boise, Bonner, Boundary, Canyon, Clearwater, Elmore, Gem, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Payette, Shoshone, Valley and Washington.
 [55-1701, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 1, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 1, p. 179.] 
55-1702.ZONE REFERENCES. As established for use in the east zone, the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 or the Idaho coordinate system of 1983 shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used it shall be designated the "Idaho coordinate system of 1927, east zone" or "Idaho coordinate system of 1983, east zone."
As established for use in the central zone, the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 or the Idaho coordinate system of 1983 shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used it shall be designated the "Idaho coordinate system of 1927, central zone" or "Idaho coordinate system of 1983, central zone."
As established for use in the west zone, the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 or the Idaho coordinate system of 1983 shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used it shall be designated the "Idaho coordinate system of 1927, west zone" or "Idaho coordinate system of 1983, west zone." For limitations on the use of the coordinate systems of 1927 and 1983, see section 55-1710 [55-1701], Idaho Code.
 [55-1702, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 2, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 2, p. 179.] 
55-1703.PLANE COORDINATES. The plane coordinates of a point on the earth’s surface, to be used in expressing the position or location of such point in the appropriate zone of this system, shall consist of two (2) distances, expressed in United States survey feet and decimals of a foot when using the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 and expressed in meters and decimals of a meter when using the Idaho coordinate system of 1983. For state plane coordinate system 27 (SPCS 27), one (1) of these distances, to be known as the "x-coordinate," shall give the position in an east-and-west direction; the other, to be known as the "y-coordinate," shall give the position in a north-and-south direction. For state plane coordinate system 83 (SPCS 83), one (1) of these distances, to be known as "northing" or "N" shall give the position in a north-and-south direction; the other, to be known as the "easting" or "E" shall give the position in an east-and-west direction. These coordinates shall be made to depend upon and conform to the plane rectangular coordinate values for the monumented points of the North American national geodetic horizontal network as published by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey or its successors, and such plane coordinates shall have been computed on the systems defined in this chapter. Any such station may be used for establishing a survey connection to either the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 or the Idaho coordinate system of 1983, and after December 31, 1995, only to the Idaho coordinate system of 1983.
 [55-1703, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 3, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 3, p. 180.] 
55-1704.TRACTS EXTENDING INTO TWO ZONES. When any tract of land to be defined by a single description extends from one into another of the above coordinate zones, the position of all points on its boundaries may be referred to either of such zones, the zone which is used being specifically named in the description.
 [55-1704, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 4, p. 771.] 
55-1705.ADOPTION OF NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE/NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY DEFINITION. (1) For the purpose of more precisely defining the Idaho coordinate system of 1927, the following definition by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey is adopted:
The Idaho coordinate system of 1927, east zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866 having a central meridian 112°10’ west of Greenwich, which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 19,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 112°10’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x=500,000 feet and y=0 feet.
The Idaho coordinate system of 1927, central zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having a central meridian 114°00’ west of Greenwich which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 19,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 114°00’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x=500,000 feet and y=0 feet.
The position of the Idaho coordinate system of 1927, west zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having a central meridian 115°45’ west of Greenwich, which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 15,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 115°45’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x=500,000 feet and y=0 feet.
(2)  For the purpose of more precisely defining the Idaho coordinate system of 1983, the following definition by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey is adopted:
The Idaho coordinate system of 1983, east zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the North American datum of 1983 based on the geodetic reference system of 1980 (GRS 80), having a central meridian 112°10’ west of Greenwich, which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 19,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 112°10’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: N=0 meters and E=200,000 meters.
The Idaho coordinate system of 1983, central zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the North American datum of 1983 based on the geodetic reference system of 1980 (GRS 80), having a central meridian 114°00’ west of Greenwich, which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 19,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 114°00’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: N=0 meters and E=500,000 meters.
The Idaho coordinate system of 1983, west zone, is a transverse mercator projection of the North American datum of 1983 based on the geodetic reference system of 1980 (GRS 80), having a central meridian 115°45’ west of Greenwich, which meridian has a reduced scale of one part in 15,000. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 115°45’ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°40’ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: N=0 meters and E=800,000 meters.
(3)  The position of the Idaho coordinate system shall be as marked on the ground by triangulation, traverse and global positioning satellite system stations established in conformity with the standards adopted by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey for A-order, B-order, first-order and second-order work, whose geodetic positions have been rigidly adjusted on the North American datum of 1927 and further refined on the North American datum of 1983, and whose coordinates have been computed on the system herein defined. Any such station may be used for establishing a survey connection with either the Idaho coordinate system of 1927 or the Idaho coordinate system of 1983, and after December 31, 1995, only to the Idaho coordinate system of 1983.
 [55-1705, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 5, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 4, p. 180.] 
55-1706.FIVE KILOMETER TRIANGULATION LIMITATION. No coordinates based on the Idaho coordinate system, purporting to define the position of a point on a land boundary, shall be presented to be recorded in any public land records or deed records unless such coordinates have been established in conformity with the nationally prescribed standards for third-order, class II horizontal control surveys, and provided that these surveys have been tied to or originated off monumented A-order, B-order, first-order or second-order horizontal control stations which are adjusted to and published in the national network of geodetic control and are within five (5) kilometers of the said boundary points or land corners. The prescribed standards of accuracy for A-order, B-order, first-order or second-order geodetic surveying are prepared and published by the federal geodetic control committee (FGCC) of the United States department of commerce. Standards and specifications of the FGCC or its successor in force on date of said survey shall apply. Publishing existing control stations, or the acceptance with intent to publish the newly established stations, by the national ocean service/national geodetic survey shall constitute evidence of adherence to the FGCC specifications. Limitations specified in this section may be modified by a duly authorized state agency to meet local conditions.
 [55-1706, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 6, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 5, p. 181.] 
55-1707.USE OF TERM. The use of the term "Idaho coordinate system of 1927, east, central, west zone" or "Idaho coordinate system of 1983 east, central, west zone" on any map, report or survey, or other document, shall be limited to coordinates based on the Idaho coordinate system as defined in this chapter.
 [55-1707, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 7, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 6, p. 182.] 
55-1708.COORDINATE DESCRIPTIONS SUPPLEMENTAL. Whenever coordinates based on the Idaho coordinate system are used to describe any tract of land which in the same document is also described by reference to any subdivision, line or corner of the United States public land surveys, the description by coordinates shall be construed as supplemental to the basic description of such subdivision, line or corner contained in the official plats and field notes filed of record, and in the event of any conflict the description by reference to the subdivision, line or corner of the United States public land surveys shall prevail over the description by coordinates unless said coordinates are upheld by adjudication, at which time the coordinate description shall prevail. Every recorded map, survey or conveyance or other instrument affecting title to real property which delineates, describes or refers to such property or any part thereof by reference to coordinates based upon the designated Idaho coordinate system shall also describe the property by reference and tie to either section corner or quarter corner monuments of the United States public land surveys.
 [55-1708, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 8, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 7, p. 182.] 
55-1709.DESCRIPTION BY COORDINATE NOT MANDATORY. Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any purchaser or mortgagee of real property to rely wholly on a land description, any part of which depends exclusively upon the designated Idaho coordinate system.
 [55-1709, added 1967, ch. 275, sec. 9, p. 771; am. 1995, ch. 70, sec. 8, p. 183.]