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| Hawaiʻi State Survey Office | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hawaiʻi State Survey Office |
| Formed | 19th century (territorial period) |
| Jurisdiction | State of Hawaiʻi |
| Headquarters | Honolulu, Oʻahu |
| Chief1 position | Surveyor-General (or equivalent) |
| Parent agency | Department of Land and Natural Resources |
Hawaiʻi State Survey Office is the principal cadastral and geodetic mapping authority for the State of Hawaiʻi, responsible for property boundaries, parcel mapping, and spatial reference frameworks across the Hawaiian Islands. It interfaces with federal agencies, county departments, academic institutions, and private firms to maintain public land records, implement surveying statutes, and support land use planning, resource management, and infrastructure projects.
The office traces its origins to the Kingdom of Hawaii land divisions and royal land commissions, evolving through the Proclamation of 1848 and the Mahele into a territorial survey function under the Territory of Hawaii and later the State of Hawaii after 1959. Early surveying was influenced by figures and institutions such as King Kamehameha III, the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, and missionary-era mapmakers who produced early plats used in sugar and pineapple plantation expansion. During the 19th and 20th centuries the office coordinated with federal entities including the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to adopt geodetic datums and triangulation networks that underpin contemporary cadastral records. Legal and administrative developments—such as decisions by the Hawaii Supreme Court, statutes enacted by the Hawaii State Legislature, and reforms following landmark cases involving ʻāina and land tenure—shaped survey policy and the office’s regulatory authority.
The office operates within the Department of Land and Natural Resources and reports to state leadership and statutory offices like the Governor of Hawaii and the Hawaii State Legislature through statutory roles including a Surveyor-General or Chief Surveyor appointed under state law. It interfaces with county-level agencies in Honolulu County, Maui County, Hawaii County, and Kauai County and works with municipal planning commissions, the Land Use Commission (Hawaii), and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on matters implicating land rights. Internal divisions commonly mirror national models used by the National Geodetic Survey and include cadastral mapping, geodetic control, records management, and legal affairs to ensure compliance with statutes such as the Hawaii Revised Statutes pertaining to land records and surveying practice.
Primary responsibilities include maintaining the statewide cadastral fabric, certifying land boundary surveys, recording plats and metes-and-bounds descriptions, and providing geodetic control tied to national reference frames like the North American Datum and NAD83. The office issues licensure guidance consistent with the National Society of Professional Surveyors model and enforces standards referenced by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. It supports infrastructure programs undertaken by the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, environmental assessments for agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency in regional offices, and cultural resource mapping used by the State Historic Preservation Division. Public services include offering access to land records, parcel maps, and survey plats used by entities such as title companies, the Hawaii State Bar Association members engaged in real estate law, and academic researchers from institutions like the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The office promulgates technical standards and administrative rules governing boundary determination, monumentation, subdivision plats, and recordation consistent with statutory provisions in the Hawaii Revised Statutes and judicial precedents from the Hawaii Supreme Court. It adopts or references model specifications from professional bodies including the American Land Title Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers for geospatial accuracy, and aligns with federal directives from the National Geodetic Survey on reference frames and coordinate systems. Regulatory processes encompass review of subdivision maps submitted under county ordinances, certification of legal descriptions used in conveyancing before the Hawaii Land Court or Bureau of Conveyances, and adherence to licensing rules enforced by state boards that mirror the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying exam pathways.
Contemporary methods integrate global navigation satellite systems such as Global Positioning System and real-time kinematic processing, airborne LiDAR collected for coastal and topographic mapping, and photogrammetric products provided by contractors working with the office and the United States Geological Survey. Geographic information system platforms supported by partners at the University of Hawaii and software vendors used across the field—often aligned with standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium and the Federal Geographic Data Committee—facilitate parcel datasets, orthophotos, and web mapping services. Historic triangulation sheets, spirit leveling records, and planimetric surveys are reconciled with modern control using transformation parameters maintained in coordination with the National Geodetic Survey and regional datums like NAD27 and NAD83.
The office has contributed to island-scale mapping initiatives such as statewide orthophoto mosaics used in hazard planning alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency, statewide LiDAR collections supporting coastal resiliency with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and cadastral integration projects aiding the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in land entitlement and restorative land programs. Collaboration with the University of Hawaii Sea Grant and the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System produced geospatial datasets for shoreline change analyses, while partnership with county surveyors modernized parcel base maps used in property tax assessment by county treasurers. The office’s archival plats and monument records have supported litigation and title resolution in cases heard by the Hawaii Supreme Court and administrative adjudications before the Land Use Commission (Hawaii).
Training programs and certification pathways align with continuing education requirements modeled on the National Society of Professional Surveyors and examination standards from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. The office sponsors workshops, collaborates with academic programs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and community colleges, and engages professional associations including the Hawaii Land Surveyors Association (or equivalent) for seminars on legal descriptions, GIS integration, and monument preservation. Public outreach includes providing access to cadastral datasets for community planners, presentations to county councils and the Hawaii State Legislature, and participation in cultural consultations with Native Hawaiian organizations such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and various iwi and ahupuaʻa stewardship groups.
Category:State agencies of Hawaii Category:Surveying organizations