Acreage in a road.

[Munus]

How can I calculate the amount of acres in a section of road? The at the east end is slightly wider then the west end. I know the length is feet on both the south and north sides. MUNUS

[Ken Chevy]

1 acre = 43,560 sqft

Example: driveway is 15 feet wide and 1200 feet long.

15x1200=18,000 sqft

43560/18000= .413 of and acre

say it is 15 feet wide at the narrow end and 18 feet wide at the other end. Just take a strip 3 feet wide x 1200 feet = 3600 sqft and divide that into 2 pieces giving you another 1800 sqft to go with the 18000 sqft of the driveway.

19,800 sqft of driveway would be .4545 of an acre, not quite 1/2 acre.

[Munus]

Thanks Ken.

I'm involved in a legal action and need know the correct acrea of a road in my subdivision.

So, this is what I did: The north side of the road is 1628.27 and the south side of the road is 1679.95. I added these two figures together and divided that by 2 to get 1653.61.

The west end of the road is 47.97 and the east end is 50.78. Subtract 47.97 from 50.78 = 2.81 x 1653.61 = 4646.6441 divide that by 2 = 2323.322 the divide again by 43560 = .05333

Then 1653.61 x 47.97 = 79323.671 divided by 43560 = 1.82 + .053 = 1.8743 acres in the road.

Did I do this properly?

You have been most helpful.

Munus

[Ken Chevy]

Munus,
The only way you can get the correct acreage is to have it surveyed. But the surveyer is going to be real close to what you have figured out for square footage/acreage.

What you are doing when you do the divide for the small piece is make 2 triangles... makes it easy to figure. I came up with about the same numbers, I think you were off in your add/divide by a little on the main one.

1,628.2700 ENT
1,679.9500 +
3,308.2200
2.0000 /
1,654.1100
50.78 *
83,995.7058

50.78 ENT
47.97 -
2.81
2 /
1.4050
1654.11 *
2324.0246

83995.7058 ENT
2324.0246 -
81671.6813
43560 /

1.8749 acres ... but I think it would survey out to a little more than that because of such a big difference in length on the sides.

How big are "they" saying it is?

Question: How can one side of a 50 foot wide road be 51.5 feet longer than the other side?

[Guest]

Hi Ken,

The road arches around, making the south side longer then the north side.

Okay, I understand what you did and corrected accordingly.

The developer is saying they have 1.784, but the calculations were done by a forester and not a surveryor. We are both using the subdivision map from the registry. I filed a complaint against an unscrupulous developers who arbitrarily amended the covenants my subdivision in order to turn a large parcel of commonland back to the corp. They claim they have the 2/3 majority vote to do this and I'm trying to figure if, in fact, they do have the acreage to meet the 2/3 majority.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get there yet. Close but no cigar.

Thanks for the help. I may be back.
Mary Ellen

[Dirtman]

Hi Mary:

You need a copy of the original survey. Subdivision maps usually don't have all the information needed to correctly calculate square footage / acreage. The actual survey will have all the bearings, distances and curve data needed.

Ask the developer for a copy of the complete subdivision survey and any amendments. If they have nothing to hide, they should give you one although refusing will not mean they're actually guilty of being unscrupulous.

If they refuse, you can call the surveyor of record listed on the subdivision map. You may be able to purchase a copy of the survey, with any amendments, seeing that you have property in the subdivision they surveyed. I doubt they'll recalculate any acreage but they should be able to tell you the original acreage or square feet of any roads in question.

Another option would be the county, city or other entity that the roads in the subdivision may have been dedicated to. If that was done, they will have the acreage for you.

The most accurate way would be to have the road surveyed by a third party boundary surveyor. Of course, if they’re calculations match the original survey and subsequent amendments, you would be out the money.

If I were you, I would try to get other interested parties involved and talk to an attorney that specializes in property law. If you retain one, everyone could contribute to the cost (although that's harder to actually do than to type). An attorney will know the best course of action in the state and locale you are in.

Again, good luck to you,
George

[Ken Chevy]

Hello Mary Ellen,

Yes, like I said, and George said too: the only way to do it correctly is see the actual survey numbers.
George has given you several good leads on things to do before you should think about hiring a surveyor. Why pay a lot of money for something that already has been done. I think like George, that you should be able to get those figures from some entity for a reasonable amount of money. With that much curve in the road, it is quite possible the number they gave you is the actual acreage.

Go down George's list and I too wish you luck in dealing with the bureaucracy. Let us know how it goes if you don't mind.

[Guest]

Thanks Guys, I really appreciate the input, really I do. You can't imagine how stressful this had been for me.

Because you have been so helpful I will give you a few details. This has been going on for 4 years. We retained an attorney who is learning with us as we proceed and has taken the case because he finds it challenging. The properties here keep changing hands and with each new neighbor comes the period of revelation. "Gee, why didn't my broker or attorney tell me about this problem?" Like, HELLO, it's about commissions and fees.

The surveyor of record was part of the original development team, lived here for years and knows the road was never built to code, since he built it, I don't think he'd give me much help. I figured the acreage and I'm afraid the opposition gets the brass ring by about 2.75 of an acrea. BUMMER!

Oh well, onward and upward. The acreage is only part of the complaint, just have to be possitive.

Be well, be there and may the force be with you.
Mary Ellen