Monument Preservation in Martinez, CA

Monument preservation matters more in Martinez than almost anywhere else in Contra Costa County, because the monuments here are older and the stakes are higher. The downtown blocks were platted in the 1800s, and the original monuments set along those streets are often the only physical evidence of where the plat lines actually run. Once a paving crew grinds out an old pipe or a trenching contractor pulls a stone from an intersection, that evidence is gone — and every retracement in the neighborhood becomes an exercise in reconciling deeds, occupation, and junior-senior rights instead of simply finding the corner. Business and Professions Code §8771 exists precisely for this situation: before construction that may disturb a monument, the monument must be referenced by a licensed land surveyor and a Corner Record or Record of Survey filed, and after construction the monument must be reset and documented again.

Working in the county seat has a practical advantage: the Contra Costa County Surveyor and the County Recorder are both located in Martinez, so the maps, Corner Records, and field notes we rely on — and the filings we make on your behalf — are handled in the same town as the project. For city street rehabilitation, waterfront utility work near the refinery corridor, or grading in the Alhambra Valley and hillside neighborhoods, we search the record first, locate every monument in the work zone, and set durable reference points well outside the limits of disturbance.

Our Trimble terrestrial laser scanner adds a layer of protection older methods cannot: before the contractor mobilizes, we capture the intersection or corridor as a survey-grade point cloud, preserving each monument’s position within millions of measured points of curb, pavement, and surrounding improvements. If a monument is destroyed despite precautions, that record supports a defensible reset. The cost of a preservation survey is a small fraction of the retracement surveys — and potential boundary disputes — that follow a destroyed original monument. Learn more about our laser scanning services.