Purple Law Mason and Dixon

PURPLE LAW

Please be reminded of the “purple law” , which means "No Trespassing". HB 1772 was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf and is now in effect. While this is used for large parcels of land to discourage hunting, it can also be used for single family dwellings and other smaller properties. Purple paint marks on trees or posts on the property are: (A) vertical lines of not less than eight inches in length and not less than one inch in width; (B) placed so that the bottom of the mark is not less than three feet from the ground nor more than five feet from the ground; and (C) placed at locations that are readily visible to a person approaching the property and no more than 100 feet apart.

PA PLS with experience in Subdivision, LDP, NPDES, PCSM, E&S for Project Management and to assist owner in mentoring young staff. Contact Carl Bert cbert@carlbertassociates.com

President’s Message—continued from page 2 Pete Brothers, PLS, and our Membership Committee are concentrating on members who neglected to renew their membership in the past and on newly licensed Surveyors in Pennsylvania. We should start seeing the fruits of their labors during the later half of 2020 and early 2021. The Budget and Finance Committee, led by our Treasurer, Richard Shewman, PLS, put together a balanced budget for 2020-2021 which was approved at the Board of Directors Meeting on May 29th. Richard will be monitoring our financial status during the coming year, as it will certainly be affected by the aftermath of the pandemic. I'm very impressed by the efforts of the Education Committee under the leadership of Scott Reeser, PLS. They increased the number of webinars during the virus crisis, offering two free webinars for members during the month of May. The Committee has an impressive lineup of course selections, nationally known speakers and activities for our Conference in Hershey, January 24-27, 2021. They are developing contingency plans for the Conference in case our attendance is limited by ongoing virus restrictions. Please respond to the survey you received by email so we can get a better idea of attendance for this event.

Don Groesser, PLS, is Chair of the Standards of Practice Committee. They are finalizing changes to our Standards of Practice, which hasn't been updated in 25 years. We should be able to adopt the revised standards before the end of 2020.

We are on the verge of a legislative triple-play this year, led by our Legislative Committee Chair Robert Nargoski, PLS. At the time I am writing this article, House Bill 2101, long overdue revisions to the Registration Law for Engineers, Land Surveyors & Geologists, has been passed by the House and is awaiting final action from the Senate. We also supported Senate Bill 1030, Revisions to the PA Sewage Facilities Act 537, now known as Act 34 after being signed by the Governor on June 5th. We opposed Senate Bill 790 because it allowed property plats to be prepared without supervision of a licensed Land Surveyor. This bill was passed by the Legislature, but the Governor is expected to veto it. Robert has resigned from his positions as Secretary and Legislative Committee Chair since he will be relocating to Tennessee this summer. Thank you, Robert, for your years of service. Please keep in touch! We will miss you! We have a lot of other activities in the works, including historical certification of Mason-Dixon survey markers (See Mason & Dixon Stone Inventory, page 13) and re-setting of the corner of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Stay tuned for the announcements. So, that sums up the last five months of my life and leads to my announcement. I will be resigning as President of PSLS to represent the Land Surveying profession on the PA Registration Board for Engineers, Land Surveyors & Geologists. My appointment was confirmed by the Senate on June 8, 2020. Looking back at my records, I see it was three years ago that the PSLS Board of Directors recommended me for this position. I really wanted to complete my term as President, but our profession needs another representative on the Registration Board, and it is not an easy task to obtain a political appointment of this nature. I leave the Presidency without regret, knowing that Amy Hopkins, PLS, is ready, willing, and able to lead PSLS into the future. Thank you, Executive Committee, and .... everyone, Lori, Ted and the Wanner staff included, for your help, support, and advice during my service to PSLS. I'll look forward to seeing you on my computer screen and in-person when circumstances allow. Jonathan J. Tabas, PE, PLS acresurvey@hotmail.com