With reference to the deposit of plans as required by the above byelaw, the following suggestions as to the best manner of effecting this may be of some use:
(1.) The town surveyor should see that the person, or his agent, intending to carry out the work, deposits tracings of the proposed street or building signed by himself, so that there should be no after dispute as to what really has been deposited; these tracings should be on good paper properly inked in and coloured so as to be indelible. In some towns it is the practice for original plans to be deposited temporarily with the surveyor, who is expected to have them traced and then returned to the owner, but this not only tends to the possibility of dispute as to the correctness of the tracings, but it also takes up a large amount of the surveyor’s time, or of such other officer as may have charge of this branch of the duties.
In order to insure that the plans deposited shall not be afterwards claimed by the person making the deposit, it might be well to add these words to the clause of the byelaws which I have quoted:
“All such plans and sections so left at the office of the urban authority or of their surveyor, shall remain the property of the urban authority.”
(2.) It is advisable for the town surveyor to have in his possession a number of printed forms on which application should be made by the person intending to erect a new building and filled in and signed by him or his duly authorised agent. The following is given as a specimen form for this purpose:
To the Surveyor of the Urban Authority of
I hereby give you notice that it is my intention to erect certain buildings in street, and that the following particulars relate thereto:
| No. | Questions. | No. | Answers. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian and Surname in full, Address and Occupation of persons for whom buildings to be erected. | 1 | |
| 2 | Number of drawings deposited. | 2 | |
| 3 | Name of architect, if any. | 3 | |
| 4 | Description of buildings and of the materials to be used in construction of same. | 4 | |
| 5 | Situation of buildings. | 5 | |
| 6 | Level, or intended level of cellar, or ground floor, with reference to surface of street. | 6 | |
| 7 | Thickness of walls. | 7 | |
| 8 | Height of building in stories. | 8 | |
| 9 | Area of clear open space at rear or side of buildings exclusively belonging thereto. | 9 | |
| 10 | Distance across such open space. | 10 | |
| 11 | Description of ventilation. | 11 | |
| 12 | Width of street or open space opposite buildings. | 12 | |
| 13 | Size and description of drains, and traps, and if ventilated. | 13 | |
| 14 | Inclination of drains. | 14 | |
| 15 | Description of outlet to drains. | 15 | |
| 16 | How supplied with water. | 16 | |
| 17 | Situation, dimensions, and particulars of apparatus of w.c.’s. | 17 |
And I herewith leave detail plans and sections of every floor of such intended new buildings, drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every 8 feet, showing the position, form, and dimensions of the several parts of such buildings, and of the watercloset, privy, cesspool, earthcloset, ashpit, well, and all other appurtenances; and also, a block plan drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every 44 feet, showing the position of the buildings and appurtenances of the properties immediately adjoining, the width and level of the street, the level of the lowest floor of the intended building, and of the yard or ground belonging thereto.
Dated this day of 18