Letter of approval from NGS for the Master Plan

CSRC Response to Questions

In response to an increasing demand for dependable spatially-referenced data and the decreasing availability of "up-to-date" control (reference) data from the federal government, the California Spatial Reference Center (CSRC) has developed a "Master Plan" for California. The intent of the master plan is to establish a modern, statewide geodetic control network - its basic policies and scope (funding needs and the type and number of stations). Details of the network, such as the actual station locations, are flexible and will be determined based on user needs during the actual network implementation. This planned network will also achieve the goals of the federal National Height Modernization initiative as determined by the CSRC Coordinating Council in consultation with the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). On March 12, 2003, CSRC received notice that "the Plan is fully acceptable to NGS" (see letter from Charles Challstrom dated March 12, 2003, above).

The Master Plan is the result of work that began in the fall of 2001. In February 2002, an initial draft version was approved by the CSRC Executive Committee and released to users and others for review and comment. The draft was widely distributed and comments were strongly encouraged.

A number of comments were received. Many were informal comments obtained during face-to-face discussions with individuals and at various master plan presentations. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) submitted an extensive compilation of formal comments from various departmental offices. CSRC formally responded to Caltrans (see CSRC's Responses to Technical User Questions on Draft Master Plan). Additional formal comments were received from other individuals and agencies, however most of the comments received regarded general control issues. Comments regarding specific or technical aspects of the proposed statewide geodetic control network were sparse. As a result, the final document does not include significant modifications from the draft, although all comments were thoroughly considered.

The master plan will be updated to meet future technology improvements as these improvements are adopted by the users. Updates and revisions to the master plan will be made through a committee appointed by the CSRC Coordinating Council.