Farewell Land Admin I! This will be my last post on my blog and I would like to thank everyone who has been following along this semester. We haven’t really covered any new material since the last reflective entry, and therefore this will be more of a general reflection on the whole semester.

This course was my first introduction to land administration as a whole and has really broadened my perspective on the different values, uses, and regulations around land. I even enjoyed the labs that focused on subjects that can be applied outside of the course such as finding and evaluating sources, effective presentations, and arguments and debates. These were simple yet important concepts to cover for not only land administration but other classes and future work placements. This course carries a large amount of information and detail which really pushed me to take an interest in the subject matter and do research on my own time outside of the classroom to aid in my understanding of concepts covered.

I now catch myself taking things I have learned in class and noticing them in the real world. For example, I went home last weekend and stumbled across the subdivision plan for my family’s property and was really excited to see and understand where my property lines were and where the easement for the telephone poles was. There was just something about actually seeing a plan I can relate to and it commenced a very exciting conversation between myself and my parents. In fact, we discovered that our neighbour’s property wasn’t in the shape of a pentagon like she had thought and was actually a simple rectangle. There may be an interesting situation arising from that once she talks to the other adjoining neighbours who may be trespassing!

I really enjoyed the different ways of learning in this course as there aren’t a lot of courses deviate far from the typical Q&A assignments. First of all, this blog was a lot of fun to create and maintain and allowed me to see what my fellow classmates were up to throughout the semester. This was an interesting way of learning and even motivated me more to put more effort into my work as others would be looking at it. The debate was also another great measure of learning as it really pushed us to dig into the details of a certain topic in order to debate counter-arguments from another well-educated group of students. I listened to all of the debates and think everyone could agree that it was a great way of understanding a topic. The individual case review was probably my favourite aspect to the course and I found a lot of interesting cases that were directly applicable to what we’ve been learning in class all semester such as boundary disputes, adverse possession, and the responsibilities/importance of a surveyor. The subdivision plan has also been a good way to get familiar with AutoCAD Civil3D in addition to one of our blog responses, and helped in me understanding my own subdivision plan when I went home! I think having all of these different measures of learning makes the course a lot more fun and interesting.

I have enjoyed my time in this course and am looking forward to Land Administration II next school year. I’ve learned a great deal this semester and am excited to apply my knowledge to the real world when I am finished with school. Thank you again for everyone who has followed my blog and good luck on exams!

QUESTION 1: Using Google Earth to find images different types of survey systems in Canada.

a) Seigneurial System

b) Nova Scotia / New Brunswick Township System

c) Ontario Township System

d) Dominion Land Survey System

e) British Columbia Survey System other than DLS

f) Unsystematic settlement in Newfoundland

g) Block and Lot Survey System

QUESTION 2: Chosen area is Parkside, Australia

a) The land allocation appears to be systematic for this area.

b) This area appears to be similar to the Township System in Canada as there appear to be regular grids/rows with plots and road allowances.

c) This area is very densely settled and this can be seen by the homes being built so close to one another.

d) Specifically in Parkside, the land use appears to be mostly residential.

e) This is the best use of the land as Adelaide’s population is almost 1.3 million! Having residential areas like Parkside are essential and according to the above photo, well used.

Where I’m from, I live in a suburban area about 14 kilometres from Halifax, Nova Scotia. When I was a kid I didn’t understand why businesses were all located in the same area, and more specifically, why the Freak Lunchbox (a huge candy store) and Walmart (for toys, of course) couldn’t be just a couple houses down the street from me. I’ve obviously realized that living next door to a large store such as Walmart would be horrible due to the high amount of activity and traffic, but never really thought too much about regulations that are actually put in place to prevent zoning issues such as over zoning. In saying this, a topic that has caught my interest in class is zoning and I wanted to do some research on it!

Zoning is the most common form of land-use regulation and is used by municipalities to control property development. Zoning attempts to influence how spatial organization will occur and typically divides an area (municipality) into different zones: residential, commercial, industrial. In doing this, land use is controlled, and it helps guide future developments.  The motive behind zoning is that it promotes the good of the entire community in accordance with a plan.

Zoning laws exist to maintain a level of order and efficiency within a given municipality by optimizing each zone for its intended purpose. These zoning laws ensure that home owners won’t have the Freak Lunchbox or Walmart being built across the street from them! Zoning laws also regulate specific requirements such as the heights of buildings permitted in each zone as well as parking requirements. Zoning regulations are considered permissible if they are reasonable and not arbitrary. In other words, they are permissible if they bear a substantial relation to the public health, safety, comfort, morals, and general welfare; and if their application is necessary for the accomplishment of its purpose.

In class we went over an example of “over-zoning”. Brasilia was designed in the 1950’s and was planned to be an ideal city; the idea was to build a new capital to bring progress to the interior of Brazil. From a birds-eye view it was shaped like an airplane! The problem was that there was a massive reliance on automobiles to access the services within Brasilia and with the growing population traffic was extremely heavy. It was a very inorganic area. The solution to Brasilia is to have mixed-use areas.

Overall, zoning is great for municipalities and for the most part promotes the good of the entire community as long as situations such as Brasilia are carefully avoided.

Resources:

https://realestate.findlaw.com/land-use-laws/land-use-and-zoning-basics.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20632277

My chosen parcel of land from the previous response entry was the parcel with PID 75195073 on Carriage Hill Drive in Fredericton, NB. This current parcel (1.03 acres) is compared with its original parcel (750 acres) below. This comparison was plotted using AutoCAD Civil 3D.

I decided to choose the parcel of land with PID 75195073 on Carriage Hill Drive in Fredericton, NB. The current owners are Gregory Martin Hunt and Leah Marie Hunt. The Hunts have owned this parcel of land since 2009. Prior to the Hunts ownership, David Michael Rautio and Shelley Suzanne Rautio owned the land since 2003. Previous to the Rautios, the parcel was owned by Milan Dusan Ozegovich and Jane Woehrle-Ozegovich. The original Crown grant holder is Allen Isaac, with grant date 10/3/1799.

Something that we have discussed in class that peaked my interest were party walls as I have seen many and have recognized they divide space but never put much thought into them. Party walls serve as a boundary between two parcels and are most common in condominiums, apartments, and office complexes. I was curious to see how effective these walls were.

Party walls are used in places where different tenants share a common structure and therefore there must be pros and cons to this, right? Do they really provide separation if you can hear your neighbours? It turns out the physical party walls are sometimes built with additional insulation so that noise from an adjoining unit does not travel through the wall and disturb neighbours. These party walls could also be built to prevent a fire from spreading to an adjacent space so only one unit is damaged instantly as opposed to its adjacent units too. Having these walls built as fire walls affects adjacent units less as well as reduces the overall property damage in the case of a fire.

As discussed in class, sometimes each owner of the party wall acquires title to one-half of the wall. However, this does not mean one owner can rip down their half of the wall or damage it in some way. Typically in this case each owner also is granted an easement for the support of the structure.

The main reason this type of boundary appealed to me was because I have lived in a house my whole life and not an apartment where party walls exist, and I wanted more information on how they work.

2.

Kingston v. Highland (1919), 47 N.B.R. 324.

3.

Property description of Part 1 of Lot 26 Concession 7 in the Township of East Hawkesbury, County of of Prescott:

Outlined by the post and wire fence beginning at a point 13.06 feet and a bearing of S16°51’30″W from the northeasterly corner of Lot 26 Con. 7; thence 220.00 feet in the same direction or along the western side of Lot 25; thence 209 feet northwesterly at a bearing of 67°29’30”; thence 220.00 feet in the N16°51’30″E direction; thence 209.00 feet with a bearing of S67°29’30″E back to the point of beginning, or along the side of Part 2 of Lot 26 Con. 7.

We have covered a lot of interesting material since the last reflective entry but what peaked my interest was a deed registration versus a title registry system and if one was better than the other. I discovered that a lot of jurisdictions have switched to a Title Registry System and wondered why this was.

With the Deed Registry System, it is a matter of finding out about ownership and possession of land as well as and establishing priority. The registration of all important instruments related to a parcel of land are present and these registered documents have an aspect of physical security in a government agency or department. Title is derived from the deeds relating to the property and is not guaranteed by Government. Someone purchasing property may not be certain that he/she is dealing with the owner of the property and if they aren’t, they could have to return the property to a person who successfully proves himself to be the former owner.

A Title Registry System does not require a title search and is now computerized for easy access. Title means you have ownership of estate (the Title Register is conclusive evidence of title in law) and is guaranteed by Government. In contrary to a Deed Registry System, someone who is purchasing property in good faith will have his title protected by law once he has registered himself as the owner. It is no longer necessary to review old title deeds as the title can be easily established and this is a lot quicker and follows the curtain principle learned in class: there is no need to look beyond the current register to establish title.

Our world is moving towards a more digital era and seeking quicker access to information, so it makes sense to me that a lot of jurisdictions have switched or are switching to the Title Registry System.

1.

Research Question: “What is the best way to perform a hydrographic survey along Nova Scotia’s coastline?”

2.

Article:

Clarke, J. E., Mayer, L. A., & Wells, D. E. (1996). Shallow-water imaging multibeam sonars: A new tool for investigating seafloor processes in the coastal zone and on the continental shelf. Marine Geophysical Researches,18(6), 607-629. doi:10.1007/bf00313877

Book:

Lillesand, T. M., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. W. (2015). Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Website:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hydrographic Surveying. Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/navigation/hydro/

3.

The chosen website provides a good and basic understanding of the different kinds of hydrographic surveying in deep waters as well as coastlines. This would be a good starting point to do some research and have a general idea of how to go about surveying a coastline before writing the research paper. This website shouldn’t be used as the sole resource when researching this topic as it does not go into much depth. This website is bias towards NOAA and could make it seem as though their processes are the right way to go about a hydrographic survey. Overall, this is a good resource to get started.

The chosen article provides an in-depth description of multibeam sonar specifically for coastal or shallow areas. An issue in using this source is that it is from 1996 and a lot has changed since then in terms of hydrographic surveying (e.g. LiDAR is also a very good option now for coastlines). Contrarily, because this article focuses on multibeam sonar as if it is a “new tool” it will give an extensive amount of detailed information without the influence of alternative surveying methods such as LiDAR and explanations for people just discovering its existence. Also, the article was written by members of the Ocean Mapping Group from the University of New Brunswick so it may be biased in their interpretation and application of multibeam sonar and seabed backscatter but UNB is in the Maritimes and a lot of their geographic issues would also apply to Nova Scotia. Overall, this is a good source in terms of retrieving information about multibeam but does not provide a great overview of the best and current way to survey a coastline as LiDAR is now used.

The chosen book provides a good understand of remote sensing and LiDAR, which ties nicely with the chosen article and website described above to answer the research question in depth. The disadvantage of this book is that it does not provide any information of multibeam sonar. Therefore, it provides information on the LiDAR aspect to my research question but is not ideal for the big picture. This book is a reliable source as the publishing company provides a lot off recognized academic publishing and instructional materials.

This is my first introduction to land administration so everything talked about has essentially been new to me. Something talked about in class that peaked my interest were the different types of land tenure systems. I found it interesting how different places in the world had different land tenure systems and the reasoning behind this. I started to recall personal travel experiences and did some research on what land tenure system Jamaica uses, compared to our formal land tenure system in Canada.

When I was younger I travelled to Ochos Rios, Jamaica. Almost half of the country’s population are living in rural areas and depend on the land for its natural resources for livelihood. In the 1980s, government policies toward land tenure/use shifted in favor of privatization, commercialization, and modernization of agriculture. Jamaica’s rural population (almost half of Jamaica’s population as mentioned above) suffers from insecure tenure and the unequal distribution of agricultural land. Registered land is governed by the 1889 Registration of Titles Act and the 1969 Registration (Strata Titles) Act, however a lot of Jamaican farmers occupy their land without any formal documentation of their rights, and rights to family land are also informal. In saying this, most local communities recognize farmers’ rights even though they have not been formalized under registration laws.

Having an insight on different land tenure systems has given me a new outlook on places I have travelled and places I want to travel, and a new aspect on the way different places function!