All of us here at Godfrey-Hoffman, Associates and Hodge, LLC thank you for being our valued customers over the years, and feel grateful for the pleasure of serving you and meeting your surveying and engineering needs.
We hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving as much as these two WWI soldiers did when they got home!
With heavy mechanical instruments, surveyors laid out the border between North and South Carolina several hundred years ago. Vast sections of the border went through thick forests or open farm fields. Hence, at the time, it made sense to mark the border with notches in trees made with hatchets and the occasional rock pile. Since that time of course, those trees and even many of the rocks are no longer there.
Not knowing the exact location of the border wasn’t an issue for a long time; the area between the Carolinas was prodominantly rural. But now, with sharp increases in development, the states and property owners need to know; where exactly is the border?
Continue reading “Surveyors to Fix Border between North and South Carolina”
Building is a high-cost investment that has the potential for a great return. However, along with the risks associated with such an investment, issues with the boundary of a property or it’s zoning or deed restrictions are known to cause headaches. Property disputes and unauthorized improvements are an expense that no one wants to bear.
When facing unauthorized improvements and boundary disputes, you require a surveyor’s assistance. The best time to seek this assistance is before you build as to resolve and prevent any issues curtailing the building itself and its profit at completion.
Boundary surveying confirms boundaries of your piece beforehand. Though existing features on your land may convey a boundary (for example, fences or a line of trees), the actual boundary can be quite different. If land is developed based on an assumed boundary, town or city officials will require you to remove the feature at fault or apply for a variance to clear up the issue.
Continue reading “Boundaries, Improvements, and Peace of Mind”
After an earthquake in Mineral, VA, damaged the massive stone obelisk, extensive repairs were needed. Part of that process involved wrapping the structure in scafolding. Some $15 million dollars and a year later, repairs were finally completed this May (2014).
The government office tasked with knowing the exact coordinates and dimensions of the monument took this as an opportunity to have a survey crew resurvey the monument. When last surveyed in 1999, the monument was 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches.
Continue reading “Surveying the Washington Monument: is it sinking?”
A project Godfrey-Hoffman Associates is currently part of is steadily moving forward. The construction is nearly complete on the current phase of work at the future site of the Hamden Business Incubator. This phase includes the removal of old boilers and asbestos, as well as clearing out contaminated materials in the basement. The $200,000 for this phase came from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Hamden Economic Development Corporation (HEDC).
The Hamden Business Incubator is being developed by HEDC at the location of the former Newhall Community Center at 496 Newhall Street, which has been closed since 2002. The incubator will be serve as the location for up to 20 small businesses that specialize in service and technology areas such as light manufacturing, web design and medical office administration. The goal is develop affordable space for entrepreneurs to grow in Hamden to create jobs and increase tax revenue.
Continue reading “Project Spotlight: The Hamden Business Incubator”
Getting control of a piece of land for development is a big first step. However, just because you have the land and you have a vision for the building you want to construct doesn’t mean that you can always put the two together. What you’re going to be able to build — and where you built it — will get determined by what comes up on your survey.
Continue reading “Setbacks, Easements and Density Restrictions… Oh My”
This one caught our attention from a CALS newsletter a few months back (Connecticut Association of Land Surveyors).
Published orginally by NPR, it’s the story of a town that was made and unmade, all because of a drafting company back in the 1930s that set a copyright trap.
You can read the full story here.
A Huffington Post article recently featured in the Connecticut Association of Land Surveyor’s (CALS) weekly newsletter captured the importance of a push for climate change preparedness in Washington called the climate data initiative. The initiative will make public useful and pertinant information in regards to climate change, compiling it at Climate.Data.gov.
The aim of the initiative is to make information regarding climate change more available to foster private-sector action on climate change preparedness.
According to the Obama Administration, “the climate change initiative will help create easy-to-use tools for regional planners, farmers, hospitals, and businesses across the country — and empower America’s communities to prepare themselves for the future.”
Continue reading “Elevation Certificates and the Climate Data Initiative”
For those anticipating the rainy season of Connecticut, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has recently released an updated version of their website, as part of the reforms that took place last month.
Here, you can find a detailed explanation of the amends to the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act, and how they will affect you in the years to come.