Expert Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineers in Pleasanton, CA

Survey control is the monuments (Public and Private) and records (Public and Private) used by a surveyor to establish street Right of Way lines, block lines, and property lines.

A fence does not officially designate a property line. Only points set by a Licensed Land Surveyor represent your property line, however, this doesn't mean that your fence isn't built on the property line. There are many cases where fences are built based upon a surveyor's stakes, but also many cases where a fence is built without the benefit of a survey. If you have some evidence that the fence was built right on the property line (a copy of an old survey, perhaps), then you may be able to make that assumption, but you are just as likely to be wrong.

You, personally, cannot. However, if you have doubts that the survey in question is correct, you can hire another surveyor to review that survey and give you his/her opinion. Fortunately, most of these cases are resolved by consultation between the two surveyors.

If a surveyor sets boundary points in the ground, then yes, you must have the survey recorded. This is a requirement of State Law and is intended to benefit the general public by keeping a record of all the Right of Way lines and property lines that surveyors establish. There are many areas where surveys have not been filed in years. This makes it very difficult to establish boundaries if you cannot find any control points or find a record of how other surveyors have perpetuated the boundaries.

There are many reasons to have your property surveyed. The main reason is because you are going to build something and you need to know where the boundaries of your property are, and possibly also the physical and topographic features of your property. Other reasons include refinancing (lenders sometimes need to know what they are lending on), arguments with neighbors, adjusting property lines, or subdividing your property (either splitting your lot into multiple lots or subdividing into Condominiums).