On Sun, 25 Jun 2017 16:48:09 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 3:08:46 PM UTC-5, rbowman wrote:
On 06/25/2017 11:05 AM, honda.lioness wrote:
I am studying a surveyor's map of the neighborhood where I live. The map is on record at the County Clerk's and is known as "the Plat" for my neighborhood. For some of the patios, it notes coordinates for north (or south) and east (or west), relative to some point but clearly not latitude and longitude GPS coordinates.

Where do you live? You may be looking at SPCS (State Plan Coordinate
System) coordinates widely used in the US.

http://gisgeography.com/state-plane-...e-system-spcs/

Excellent. NI think I understand much better. From the plat, here's a typical notation on what looks schematically like a patio border:

N 88 degrees 15' 13" E
(TYPICAL)
8.3 feet

One boundary of this patio runs in the direction (line of sight) shown, for 8.3 feet. This direction is 76 degrees rotated East from North, or almost due East. The community has around 100 patios. The dimensions for the patios vary a lot.

cl...@snyder: Yes, some owners have encroachments. Some may have been approved by the Declarant 17 years ago, or the subsequent board, consistent with the requirements of the governing documents. Someone complained about one of the seeming encroachments. The board is now stuck with checking about a half dozen patios that seem to be much larger than what the Plat says. All the patios have fences around them, so this is a boundary of sorts that makes measurement easy.

dpb, no, I am not the perp here. I am on the board. Yes, condos have their problems. It is no fun, mostly, but I try to stay cheerful. Fortunately I have done this in the past. The only thing I care about is infrastructure maintenance and do not screw up the finances. If I were not feeling too old to be on the roof, I'd be in a small house. But I have good neighbors; it's economical by my calculations; it's safe. The Board has evolved (knock on wood). It's no longer "The HOA Hunger Games." It is "HOA Survivor." No one is getting harassed the way they were in the past.

I do have the contact info for the surveyor from the Plat. They already answered one question and were great. Before I call again, let me seek one more opinion from readers here. Do people here think the "(TYPICAL)" refers to the 8.3 feet being an approximation? E.g. if I measured this owner's patio and found it was 8.9 feet, this is close enough to say it is consistent with the Plat. If I found it was 20 feet, then this could pose a legal threat in a slip and fall?

All the responses have been helpful. Many thanks. I learned something. It is one of the few benefits of this volunteer gig now and then.

If it was in Ontario I'd ask my brother, a Condo specialist in a land
survey practice for the details and ramifications.