Ordinance on Official Cadastral Surveying in Grisons (KVAV) - Purpose (KVAV)

1. This Ordinance serves the implementation of the Federal Act on Geoinformation and establishes the implementing provisions for the cantonal Geoinformation Act in the field of official surveying. It aims to ensure uniform marking, surveying, and updating of the components of official surveying.

1. The authority responsible for the supervision of official surveying (Survey Supervision) is the Office for Agriculture and Geoinformation. The Survey Supervision executes the tasks of official surveying in accordance with Article 19 of the Cantonal Geoinformation Act (KGeoIG) and this Ordinance.

**1. In Areas Without Recognized Surveying**

In areas without recognized surveying, the engineer-surveyor or engineer-surveyor sets the property boundaries in the presence of the involved landowners or their authorized representatives. They may also involve the boundary commission appointed by the municipality.

**2. Invitation to Landowners**

The involved landowners must be invited to the boundary establishment at least 14 days in advance. If they do not comply with the invitation, the boundaries will be determined by the engineer-surveyor in cooperation with the neighboring parties present. Absent landowners are responsible for any additional costs incurred due to objections if they cannot justify their absence.

1. In agricultural and forestry areas in mountainous and seasonal grazing regions according to the agricultural production register, as well as in unproductive areas, boundary determination may be based on maps, aerial photographs, or other suitable foundations.

1. In determining property boundaries, the ownership conditions recorded in the land register must not be altered.

1. Survey marks are considered to be

a) Stones and bolts along with their backups, shafts, erected poles, pyramids, and similar items for marking location and elevation reference points;

b) Boundary stones as well as other permissible markers such as crosses, bolts, plastic markers, stakes, etc., for designating national, cantonal, municipal, and property boundaries;

c) Stakes for the provisional designation of survey points;

d) Gauges.

1. The Surveying Authority issues directives regarding the requirements for boundary marking and designates the approved boundary markers.

1. The installation of permanent boundary markers can be omitted

a) in areas requiring consolidation;

b) in areas where the boundary markers are continually at risk due to agricultural use or other influences;

c) in agricultural and forestry areas within mountain and summering regions according to the agricultural production register, as well as in unproductive areas;

d) on field and forest paths, except for adjoining property boundaries;

e) in the case of independent and permanent rights;

f) if it would cause damage to structures;

g) at clear structural demarcations and in inaccessible places.

1. Property owners are required to have the boundaries of their properties marked with regulatory boundary markers, and to tolerate surveying and boundary markers on their property. Any alterations or damage to these markers must be reported immediately to the municipality or the responsible licensed surveyor.

1. Official Survey Markers such as fixed survey points and boundary markers may only be placed or restored under the direction and supervision of the cadastral surveyor. Survey markers removed during construction work must be reported to the responsible cadastral surveyor.

2. Actions and measures that jeopardize the security of survey markers are prohibited. Exceptions are made for the provisions of the Swiss Criminal Code (Articles 145, 256, 257, 268, 286).

1. Liability for Damages to Survey Marks

The person responsible for causing damages to survey marks shall be liable.

1. The municipalities are obliged to have the verification of the positional and elevation benchmarks of category 3 within village and construction areas periodically checked and, if necessary, reconstructed by the cadastral surveyor.

2. The surveying supervision reports any identified damages or threats to benchmarks of category 1, as well as changes to positional benchmarks of category 2, to the Federal Office of Topography.

1. The boundaries of the properties along the national border follow its course.

2. The surveying authority issues an order to the land registry office and the updating surveyor, respectively, to amend property boundaries along the national border based on international treaties.

3. The surveying authority reports any identified damage or risks to boundary markers along the national border to the Federal Office of Topography.

4. The maintenance of municipal boundary markers is the responsibility of the municipalities.

1. The initial survey and the renewal of the official survey can be carried out in stages. The timing of the execution of the individual surveys shall be determined according to the program agreements with the federal government.

1. After the completion of the public display of the survey and the first-instance resolution of objections, the government approves the plan for the land register, the data from the official survey, and the other extracts prepared for the purpose of maintaining the land register, and acknowledges their evidentiary value as a public document.

1. The data from the official cadastral survey serve as a basis for the development and operation of geographic information systems and must be made available to the cantonal geodata hub free of charge.

1. The engineer surveyor is obligated to hand over to the surveying authority, upon their request, the components of the official survey designated for verification, free of charge.

2. The components of the official survey retained by the surveying authority shall be made available free of charge to the appointed engineer surveyor for the purposes of initial survey, renewal, and updating.

1. The surveying authority is responsible for registering the reference points of categories 1 and 2 as public-law property restrictions for annotation in the land register.

1. Easement boundaries can be shown on the cadastral map upon request of the parties involved, provided they are clearly defined in terms of location.

1. The municipality commissions a geomatics engineer registered in the geomatics register to continuously update and manage the official surveying. For this purpose, a public-law contract (maintenance contract) is concluded.

2. The maintenance contract can be terminated at the end of a calendar year with a notice period of twelve months. The contracts expire at the latest in the year in which the maintenance engineer reaches the standard retirement age. The representation of the maintenance engineer must be ensured.

3. The maintenance contract must be approved by the surveying authority.

1. In municipalities with their own office for official surveying, the leading engineer-surveyor, who is registered in the surveyor register, assumes the role of update surveyor. The provision of a deputy must be ensured.

1. If property boundaries are altered, properties are divided or merged, independent and permanent rights or easements, which are to be depicted in the land registry plans, are established, modified, or deleted, the land registry administrator shall immediately instruct the cadastral surveyor to update the components of the official surveying. This also applies to road, canal, and railway constructions, provided that property boundaries are changed, as well as in the preparation of district plans and the implementation of land reallocation.

1. The Cadastral Surveyor prepares a mutation deed with a mutation plan and property description for submission to the Land Registry Office for

a) boundary modifications;

b) the establishment, modification, and deletion of independent and permanent rights, as well as easements, that are delineated spatially.

2. After the mutation is executed by the Land Registry Office, the data and other documents of the official survey are updated.

1. The construction permit authorities must report approved buildings, new constructions of roads and paths, the demolition of buildings, as well as all new and changed building addresses to the appointed cadastral surveyor immediately after the building permit is granted.

2. The office responsible for assigning building numbers shall report all changes in building numbers to the appointed cadastral surveyor within a month in an appropriate manner. It may provide this information through a retrieval process.

1. Documents concerning boundary changes and changes of independent and permanent rights must generally be submitted to the land registry office within two months of receiving the assignment.

2. If boundary changes cannot be registered in the land registry within one year from the submission of the mutation certificate, the land registry office shall set a deadline of no more than three months for completion, under threat of reversion. After the expiration of this deadline without compliance, the land registry office instructs the cadastral surveyor to revert the boundary change. The costs of the reversion are borne by the party responsible.

3. Planned constructions must be updated within one month from the granting of the building permit.

4. Completed buildings and infrastructure facilities must be updated within twelve months from the completion of construction.

5. All data for which organized reporting cannot be arranged, such as data regarding natural changes in land cover, must be updated within the framework of periodic maintenance within twelve years.

1. The responsible cadastral surveyor shall provide the canton and the cantonal geodata hub with the data in electronic form within one day after any changes to the information layers of control points, land parcels, and land cover. Following changes to the other information layers, the data must be transmitted at least on a monthly basis.

1. For the authentication of excerpts from the official surveying in analog or digital form, the maintenance surveyor appointed by the municipality and their deputy are responsible.

1. The updating surveyor issues an invoice for the costs of the updating work and handles the collection. For extensive updating work, an advance payment may be required.

2. If invoices are not settled, the local authority is responsible for demanding payment of the invoice amount after an unsuccessful reminder from the updating surveyor. The authority issues an appealable invoice order for this purpose.

3. The cost calculation for updating work is based on a tariff approved by the government.

4. The costs of the ongoing updating are borne by the party responsible or the property owner to whom the property belongs at the time the invoice is issued; the claim expires five years after the conclusion of the mutation.

1. Errors of a factual nature that have no legal effect shall be corrected ex officio by the cadastral surveyor.

2. The department is responsible for resolving discrepancies pursuant to Article 14a of the Ordinance on Official Surveying.

1. The municipalities participate in the collection of geographical names for official surveying through the appointed geodetic engineer.

2. They may apply for changes to already approved geographical names or the new inclusion of geographical names for official surveying to be submitted to the cantonal nomenclature commission.

1. The Cantonal Nomenclature Commission reviews the geographical names of the official survey and determines their spelling.

2. Against decisions of the Cantonal Nomenclature Commission, the municipality can lodge a complaint with the government. The government may seek an opinion from the Federal Surveying Directorate. The government's decision is final.

1. The Cantonal Nomenclature Commission reviews applications from municipalities for name changes of municipalities, localities, and stations. In the case of name changes of municipalities and localities, it conducts the preliminary examination procedure with the federal authorities if necessary.

2. The government conducts the approval procedure for the determination and change of names of municipalities, localities, or stations with the federal authorities.

3. The Surveying Supervision coordinates the determination of the perimeter of localities with the affected municipalities and the postal service, establishes the changes spatially, and reports them to the Federal Office of Topography.

1. The Survey Supervision Authority is responsible for reporting to the Federal Office of Topography in accordance with Article 18 of the Ordinance on Geographical Names.

1. The municipalities are obligated to report the designation and changes of street names to the office.

2. The surveying authority coordinates the communication of the designated street names to the Federal Statistical Office as well as to universal service providers according to Articles 2 to 4 of the Postal Act.

1. All existing legally binding updating contracts must be adjusted within six years of the entry into force of this regulation.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on February 15, 2012.