Cadastral Surveys
A Comprehensive Range of Surveying Services

With more than forty years experience and thousands of surveys completed successfully, D. S. Dorland Limited will deliver professional results for your projects and surveying requirements.

Below is a list of the cadastral surveys and services we offer.
Click on the links below for helpful definitions

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Surveyor’s Real Property Report

A Surveyor's Real Property Report, or SRPR, is a plan of survey that is accompanied by a written report and must be prepared by a licensed Ontario Land Surveyor.

It is prepared specifically to illustrate the position of buildings relative to the boundaries of a unit of land and shows other physical features such as driveways or fences located on or near the property limits. It also indicates registered encumbrances, such as easements on or immediately adjacent to the property.

A Surveyor's Real Property Report can be prepared for a dwelling under construction or an existing dwelling. The SRPR is current to the date of the survey, and can only be updated by the Survey Office that prepared the plan and report.

In a Real Estate transaction, a current SRPR provides the purchaser, the seller, the lending institution, the municipality, the realtor and all other parties to the transaction, with an accurate representation of the property prior to the purchase being completed.



Commercial: Surveyor's Real Property Report

A Commercial SRPR is similar to one prepared for a dwelling, with the difference being that every corner and/or bend of the property line must be monumented. A residential survey only requires 2 monuments be planted, or 1 monument if the dwelling is under construction.

A SRPR must be prepared by a licensed Ontario Land Surveyor.

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Boundary Markout Survey

A Boundary Markout Survey is a land survey performed by a field crew which involves locating and/or marking out the limits of a property. This survey can be specific to a particular lot line or lines.

A sketch outlining the boundaries surveyed and indicating the iron survey monuments and/or wooden stake markers found or planted at the property corners and/or along the limits of the property is only prepared upon the client's request. The sketch may also show the location of structures that encroach upon the boundary surveyed.

The sketch would also show any additional marking done with wooden stake markers.

A Boundary Markout Survey is essential prior to any construction. This includes, for example, building a fence, driveway or carport. The surveyor will accurately determine your property limits and can advise of easement locations. Using this information to ensure that you build on your own land can save you time, money and headaches in the future.

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Prestake Survey

A Prestake Survey gathers preliminary geospatial data to help establish and define general parameters for the further development of projects their requirements and specifications.

This may include the establishment on the ground of the proposed boundaries within the context of existing terrain or man made and environmental physical features.

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Design Lot Grading and Drainage Plan Survey

The purpose of this survey is to ensure that water drainage from your lot does not cause damage to your home or your neighbor's properties.

It may be necessary to acquire a Design Lot Grading and Drainage Plan when you apply for a building permit.

Also If you are intending to sever a portion of your property it may be a condition of the Planning Act Approvals that a Lot Grading Agreement be registered on title to your property and the Design Plan will form part of the agreement.

Depending on the specifications of the Municipality or other agency requesting the Design Lot Grading Plan, the survey could be related to a local value or may be tied into a Geodetic datum.

A field crew attends the property to measure the existing elevations and features on the subject and abutting lots. This information is then used to determine the grading of the lot to control water drainage on the property once construction is completed, and this is illustrated on the plan.

There may also be requirements to install culverts, or construct retaining walls, swales and/or other features that will control the drainage.

The plan is forwarded to the Municipality for review and approval prior to final submission.

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Land Development Services

The supply and administration of centralized integrated project development survey services.

This may include Project Management and Coordination with main stakeholders, Site Plan and Topographic Surveys, Environmental Consulting, Archaeological Assessments, Geotechnical Investigation, Drainage and Stormwater Management, By-Law Amendments, Official Plans, Draft Agreements Subdivision Plans and Construction Stage surveys.

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Asbuilt Lot Grading and Drainage Plan Survey

After a building is constructed and lot grading completed municipalities require an As-built Lot Grading Plan and Certification prepared by a Lot Grading Professional to certify that grading on the lot is in general conformance with the registered Lot Grading Plan if available and the As-built Lot Grading Plan.

An Asbuilt Lot Grading and Drainage Plan Survey is used to provide regulating authorities documention to show property owners and developers are in conformance with grading and drainage best practices and local bylaws to avoid liability from damage to any adjacent or downstream properties.

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Description Reference Plan Survey

A Reference Plan Survey is a permanent publicly stored and accessible plan that is deposited in the local Land Registry Office. They are graphical representations of descriptions of land as well as representations of divisions of land under the provincial Planning Act.

A reference plan is necessary for a severance. Each Land Registry Office has a unique number, and the number of the reference plan includes the number of the LRO in which it is deposited.

Reference plans show the surveyed boundary and dimensions and distinct physical or documentary evidence that could affect the title to the property possibly including the location of landscaped features such as fences hedges retaining walls and overhead wires.

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Site Plan

A Site Plan is a set of drawings that define the physical arrangement of existing property improvements such as buildings driveways parking areas sidewalks fences municipal services as well as any proposed improvements.

A Site Plan is a requirement for development under provincial legislation for the issuance of building permits. Municipalities establish a site plan control area in their Zoning By-laws and then designate specific site plan control areas.

Applications are required for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential development within these areas. Detailed drawings must accompany an application for development through approvals and registration of documents in the Land Registry Office. These drawings usually require a plan of survey of the property.

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Mining Claim Reference Plan

A Mining Claim Reference Plan is required to register claims with provincial agencies.

The plan must include the location of all traverses, outcrops investigated rock types, mineralization and trenches, a plan of sampling clearly identifying the location of each sample by number letter or grid coordinate designation, the character of the overburden, including boulders, clay, gravel and sand, the distribution of swamp, muskeg and forest cover areas along all lines traversed, lakes, streams and other topographic features.

They may also include railways, roads, trails, power lines, pipelines and buildings, claim posts and boundary lines, township boundary lines, lot and concession lines, base lines, established survey lines if any and stations the mining claim lease patent or parcel numbers of all mining land covered by the survey.

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Topographical Plan

Topographic surveys are used to identify and map the existing features on the surface of the earth. This includes mapping contours elevations utilities and other common man-made and natural physical features on the ground such as roads railways bodies of water creeks ditches and geographical names.

A topographical plan is a key study used in defining physical features of an area to accommodate for in the design and engineering of further land development landscaping infrastructure and construction.

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Condominium Plan

A Condominium Plan is also a plan of subdivision that creates new parcels of land called Units.

These plans differ from Plans of Subdivision as the divided units are three-dimensional with the boundaries defined being the physical surfaces of the buildings which they are contained.

Units may be located adjacent to above and below each other so the legal description of the parcel must specify the Unit Number, Level Number and Plan Number.

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Plan of Subdivision

M-plan (Registered in the Land Titles system)
Registered Plan (RP) (Registered in Registry system)

A Plan of Subdivision is a survey plan required to subdivide property into two or more new parcels units and define the boundaries of these new lots, numbering and dimensions, the location, width and names of streets, and the sites of future public buildings and areas like schools and parks. These plans do not show specific building locations within the subdivision.

During the development of a subdivision plan surveyors liaison and consult with developers planners engineers municipalities legal representatives and utility regulators to ensure all requirements for final registration are abided by.

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