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The Florida Senate

2012 Florida Statutes

Title XII MUNICIPALITIES
Chapter 177 LAND BOUNDARIES Entire Chapter
SECTION 031
Definitions.
F.S. 177.031
177.031 Definitions.—As used in this part:
(1) “Alley” means a right-of-way providing a secondary means of access and service to abutting property.
(2) “Block” includes “tier” or “group” and means a group of lots existing within well-defined and fixed boundaries, usually being an area surrounded by streets or other physical barriers and having an assigned number, letter, or other name through which it may be identified.
(3) “Board” means any board appointed by a municipality, county commission, or state agency, such as the planning and zoning board, area planning board, or the governing board of a drainage district.
(4) “Governing body” means the board of county commissioners or the legal governing body of a county, municipality, town, or village of this state.
(5) “Cul-de-sac” means a street terminated at the end by a vehicular turnaround.
(6) “Developer” means the owners of record executing the dedication required by s. 177.081 and applying for approval of a plat of a subdivision pursuant to this part.
(7)(a) “Easement” means any strip of land created by a subdivider for public or private utilities, drainage, sanitation, or other specified uses having limitations, the title to which shall remain in the name of the property owner, subject to the right of use designated in the reservation of the servitude.
(b) “Public utility” includes any public or private utility, such as, but not limited to, storm drainage, sanitary sewers, electric power, water service, gas service, or telephone line, whether underground or overhead.
(8) “Survey data” means all information shown on the face of a plat that would delineate the physical boundaries of the subdivision and any parts thereof.
(9) “Improvements” may include, but are not limited to, street pavements, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, alley pavements, walkway pavements, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers or drains, street names, signs, landscaping, permanent reference monuments (P.R.M.s), permanent control points (P.C.P.s), monuments, or any other improvement required by a governing body.
(10) “Professional surveyor and mapper” means a surveyor and mapper registered under chapter 472 who is in good standing with the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers.
(11) “Lot” includes tract or parcel and means the least fractional part of subdivided lands having limited fixed boundaries, and an assigned number, letter, or other name through which it may be identified.
(12) “Municipality” means any incorporated city, town, or village.
(13) “P.C.P.” means permanent control point and shall be considered a reference monument.
(a) “P.C.P.s” set in impervious surfaces must:
1. Be composed of a metal marker with a point of reference.
2. Have a metal cap or disk bearing either the Florida registration number of the professional surveyor and mapper in responsible charge or the certificate of authorization number of the legal entity, which number shall be preceded by LS or LB as applicable and the letters “P.C.P.”
(b) “P.C.P.s” set in pervious surfaces must:
1. Consist of a metal rod having a minimum length of 18 inches and a minimum cross-section area of material of 0.2 square inches. In certain materials, encasement in concrete is optional for stability of the rod. When used, the concrete shall have a minimum cross-section area of 12.25 square inches and be a minimum of 24 inches long.
2. Be identified with a durable marker or cap with the point of reference marked thereon bearing either the Florida registration number of the professional surveyor and mapper in responsible charge or the certificate of authorization number of the legal entity, which number shall be preceded by LS or LB as applicable and the letters “P.C.P.”
(c) “P.C.P.s” must be detectable with conventional instruments for locating ferrous or magnetic objects.
(14) “Plat or replat” means a map or delineated representation of the subdivision of lands, being a complete exact representation of the subdivision and other information in compliance with the requirement of all applicable sections of this part and of any local ordinances.
(15) “P.R.M.” means a permanent reference monument which must:
(a) Consist of a metal rod having a minimum length of 18 inches and a minimum cross-section area of material of 0.2 square inches. In certain materials, encasement in concrete is optional for stability of the rod. When used, the concrete shall have a minimum cross-section area of 12.25 square inches and be a minimum of 24 inches long.
(b) Be identified with a durable marker or cap with the point of reference marked thereon bearing either the Florida registration number of the professional surveyor and mapper in responsible charge or the certificate of authorization number of the legal entity, which number shall be preceded by LS or LB as applicable and the letters “P.R.M.”
(c) Be detectable with conventional instruments for locating ferrous or magnetic objects.

If the location of the “P.R.M.” falls in a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, alternate monumentation may be used that is durable and identifiable.

(16) “Right-of-way” means land dedicated, deeded, used, or to be used for a street, alley, walkway, boulevard, drainage facility, access for ingress and egress, or other purpose by the public, certain designated individuals, or governing bodies.
(17) “Street” includes any access way such as a street, road, lane, highway, avenue, boulevard, alley, parkway, viaduct, circle, court, terrace, place, or cul-de-sac, and also includes all of the land lying between the right-of-way lines as delineated on a plat showing such streets, whether improved or unimproved, but shall not include those access ways such as easements and rights-of-way intended solely for limited utility purposes, such as for electric power lines, gas lines, telephone lines, water lines, drainage and sanitary sewers, and easements of ingress and egress.
(18) “Subdivision” means the division of land into three or more lots, parcels, tracts, tiers, blocks, sites, units, or any other division of land; and includes establishment of new streets and alleys, additions, and resubdivisions; and, when appropriate to the context, relates to the process of subdividing or to the lands or area subdivided.
(19) “State plane coordinates” means the system of plane coordinates which has been established by the National Ocean Service for defining and stating the positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the state and shall hereinafter be known and designated as the “Florida State Plane Coordinate System.” For the purpose of the use of this system, the zones established by the National Ocean Service in NOAA Manual NOS NGS 5, State Plane Coordinate System of 1983, shall be used, and the appropriate projection and zone designation shall be indicated and included in any description using the Florida State Plane Coordinate System.
(20) Surveying data:
(a) “Point of curvature,” written “P.C.,” means the point where a tangent circular curve begins.
(b) “Point of tangency,” written “P.T.,” means the point where a tangent circular curve ends and becomes tangent.
(c) “Point of compound curvature,” written “P.C.C.,” means the point where two circular curves have a common point of tangency, the curves lying on the same side of the common tangent.
(d) “Point of reverse curvature,” written “P.R.C.,” means the point where two circular curves have a common point of tangency, the curves lying on opposite sides of the common tangent.
(21) “Legal entity” means an entity that holds a certificate of authorization issued under chapter 472, whether the entity is a corporation, partnership, association, or person practicing under a fictitious name.
(22) “Monument” means a survey marker which must:
(a) Be composed of a durable material.
(b) Have a minimum length of 18 inches.
(c) Have a minimum cross-section area of material of 0.2 square inches.
(d) Be identified with a durable marker or cap bearing either the Florida registration number of the professional surveyor and mapper in responsible charge or the certificate of authorization number of the legal entity, which number shall be preceded by LS or LB as applicable.
(e) Be detectable with conventional instruments for locating ferrous or magnetic objects.

If the location of the monument falls in a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, alternate monumentation may be used that is durable and identifiable.

History.—s. 1, ch. 71-339; s. 2, ch. 72-29; s. 49, ch. 73-333; s. 6, ch. 82-179; s. 49, ch. 83-217; s. 42, ch. 91-45; s. 101, ch. 94-119; s. 1452, ch. 95-147; s. 2, ch. 98-20; s. 3, ch. 2004-366.