Phased Strata Surveys in the Sea to Sky

When undertaking a large-scale real estate development in the Sea to Sky, managing capital costs and market absorption is critical to the financial success of the project. Phased strata developments provide developers with the advantage of constructing and registering a single, unified strata community in successive stages over time. Governed by Part 13 of the Strata Property Act, a phased strata plan operates as a series of interim subdivisions; upon the deposit of the first phase, the strata corporation is formed, and title to the strata lots in Phase 1 are created while the remainder of the parent parcel remains under the Land Title Act. As dual-registered British Columbia Land Surveyors (BCLS) and Professional Engineers, our firm delivers the professional geomatics engineering, statutory authority, and professional foresight required to successfully navigate this highly complex legal and spatial process.

The foundation of a phased strata is the Phased Strata Plan Declaration (Form P), which must be approved by an Approving Officer and filed with the first phase. This critical document outlines the schedule for the entire development, the unit entitlements, the maximum number of units, and the construction of common facilities. Because each subsequent phase is excepted from the remainder parcel and consolidated with the previously deposited phases, the phase boundaries act as temporary, yet highly consequential, property lines. As your certifying professionals, our experts must be intensely vigilant in designing these phase boundaries to accommodate encroachments from underground parkades, building overhangs, and utility servicing, ensuring that appropriate easements are registered to protect the structural integrity and access rights of the remainder parcel.

To achieve the high absolute and relative accuracy standards mandated by the Surveyor General and the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors (ABCLS), we deploy an professional suite of state-of-the-art surveying equipment. During the initial site design, we utilize Aerial Drone Photogrammetry and Aerial Drone LiDAR to generate accurate 3D topographic terrain models, allowing our engineers to strategically optimize the phase boundary alignments across the entire development site. We establish a robust geodetic control network by occupying points with Static GNSS Receivers to integrate the site accurately into the provincial active control system. From this framework, our crews utilize Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) GNSS Receivers in open-sky environments, and seamlessly transition to high-precision Robotic Total Stations inside complex building superstructures where satellite signals are obstructed. When defining highly intricate structural interfaces between phases, we deploy Terrestrial LiDAR (3D laser scanning) to capture high-density point clouds of the as-built conditions, guaranteeing that the spatial limits of each phase are defined with absolute perfection.