Enlarge / Vizaline owners Scott Dow and Brent Melton (right), standing in front of a sample Viza-plat property outline. (credit: Chuck Cook)
When does drawing a digital line on a satellite map cross an ethereal threshold into the centuries-old practice of licensed land surveying? This is the existential question now before a Mississippi state court.
Since 2014, Vizaline, a startup based in Madison, Mississippi, has provided this very specific service to local banks: drawing polygons on satellite photos. Why would banks want this? Many banks lend money to facilitate real-estate acquisition, and in this way, the bank can gain a better sense of where this land precisely is in relation to other property.
But Mississippi’s Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors says that it should be the state entity solely responsible for land surveying.
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