Except as specifically provided for elsewhere in this chapter with respect to surveying work authorized to be performed by a registered land surveyor, it shall be the duty of the Surveyor to execute any surveying work for the District of Columbia without charge, on the order of the Mayor; and all fees for surveys made by the Surveyor or the Assistant Surveyor shall be paid over to the Collector of Taxes of the District of Columbia under regulations to be prescribed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and be covered into the Treasury of the United States as other revenues of the District are now; and the field notes of the Surveyor and his Assistant shall be preserved and shall be a part of the public property of the District of Columbia, and all records, plats, plans, and other papers or documents now existing, or hereafter made or secured by the Office of the said Surveyor, shall be delivered by each Surveyor to his successor in office, and no plat or survey of land shall be recorded in the Office of the Surveyor of the District of Columbia except it be certified to as correct by the Surveyor of said District, or a registered land surveyor.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1426, ch. 854, § 1591; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-261, § 5005(a), 46 DCR 3142.)
1981 Ed., § 1-916.
1973 Ed., § 1-616.
Office of Collector of Taxes abolished: The Office of the Collector of Taxes was abolished and the functions thereof transferred to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. All functions of the Office of the Collector of Taxes including the functions of all officers, employees and subordinate agencies were transferred to the Director, Department of General Administration by Reorganization Order No. 3, dated August 28, 1952. Reorganization Order No. 20, dated November 10, 1952, transferred the functions of the Collector of Taxes to the Finance Office. The same Order provided for the Office of the Collector of Taxes headed by a Collector in the Finance Office, and abolished the previously existing Office of the Collector of Taxes. Reorganization Order No. 20 was superseded and replaced by Organization Order No. 121, dated December 12, 1957, which provided that the Finance Office (consisting of the Office of the Finance Officer, Property Tax Division, Revenue Division, Treasury Division, Accounting Division, and Data Processing Division) would continue under the direction and control of the Director of General Administration, and that the Treasury Division would perform the function of collecting revenues of the District of Columbia and depositing the same with the Treasurer of the United States. Organization Order No. 121 was revoked by Organization Order No. 3, dated December 13, 1967, Part IVC of which prescribed the functions of the Finance Office within a newly established Department of General Administration. The executive functions of the Board of Commissioners were transferred to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia by § 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967. Functions of the Finance Office as stated in Part IVC of Organization Order No. 3 were transferred to the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue by Commissioner’s Order No. 69-96, dated March 7, 1969. The collection functions of the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue were transferred to the District of Columbia Treasurer by § 47-316 on March 5, 1981.
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.
Structure District of Columbia Code
Title 1 - Government Organization
§ 1–1301. Salary; appointment; term of office
§ 1–1303. Appointment of Assistant Surveyor and other employees
§ 1–1304. Duties of Assistant Surveyor
§ 1–1305. Surveyor’s office to be legal office of record of plats and subdivisions
§ 1–1306. Records, papers, and instruments to be kept and preserved by Surveyor
§ 1–1307. Records of divisions of squares and lots
§ 1–1308. Records deemed property of District; transfer of records upon vacancy in office
§ 1–1309. Typewritten records authorized
§ 1–1311. Transcripts as evidence
§ 1–1312. Subdivision of United States squares
§ 1–1313. Orders regulating platting and subdividing; admission of plats and subdivisions to record
§ 1–1315. Right-of-way through cemeteries
§ 1–1316. Surveys for District
§ 1–1317. Order of survey to be speedily executed
§ 1–1318. Alteration of boundaries; change of surveys
§ 1–1319. Boundaries of lots to be marked
§ 1–1320. Subdivision plat; certification
§ 1–1321. Examination of subdivision dimensions; recording of subdivision
§ 1–1322. Reference to subdivisions
§ 1–1323. Regulation of alleys
§ 1–1324. Deficiency or excess in measurement of square
§ 1–1326. Wall extending over lot line
§ 1–1327. Surveyor to certify and record location of party wall
§ 1–1328. Adjusting lines of buildings; certificate as evidence