Hello William,

To answer your question, let me offer some comments from Gary Kent, integrated services director for The Schneider Corporation. He is chair of the ALTA Liaison Committee with American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, and chair of the NSPS/ACSM committee that deals with the ALTA/ACSM Standards.

Gary says the new survey standards do not require title companies to incorporate zoning into their title search. The requirement in Table A item 6 is optional.

The surveyor need not address zoning and the title company need not provide any related information unless the client elects so. Such an election would typically be driven by the lender's wish that the title company provide a 3.0 or 3.1 zoning endorsement.

When a 3.1 zoning endorsement is requested, title companies determine the applicable requirements outlined in the zoning ordinance (setback, height, floor space area) and apply those requirements to the facts shown on the survey.

The survey will show the actual measured dimensions from the building(s) to the boundary lines, the height, the ground level square footage of the building(s) and the area of the property. With that information the title company determine compliance with the ordinance.

The essence of Table A Item 6 is that IF a zoning endorsement is requested (which is typically the only reason this item would be requested in the first place), the title company will provide a copy of the information that it relies on to make its determination to the surveyor.

You can view the new survey standards here: http://www.alta.org/forms/

I hope this addresses your concern.