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Municipal Services:

Municipalities and local government offices utilize GIS in many ways. The following list depicts some of the most common applications of parcel level mapping systems and GIS technology.

Real Property Assessment & Taxation

Local assessing offices at the municipal or county level typically maintain parcel maps. Probably more than any other user group, assessors and assessing offices benefit from the utilization of digital parcel geography. Most significantly, it simplifies the management and maintenance of parcel edits and updates. Edits made to one centralized data system can be instantly distributed to all local users.

Also by integrating parcel geography with assessing data records, discrepancies that may arise from maintaining parcel geography and assessing data separately are eliminated. This creates a more efficient and accurate process for billing and revenue collection from taxable real property.

Using an integrated assessing data and geography system greatly assists in the valuation process for individual properties. Assessing records associated to recent sales through common geography allow assessors to more accurately assign valuations based on changing real estate market conditions. Having an integrated geography and assessing data systems, also allows assessing offices to more fairly and consistently manage and resolve abatement requests.

Public Notification & Variance Process Management

Municipalities are responsible for the issuance and administration of building permits. Part of this involves a fair and efficient variance and appeals process. Digital parcel based mapping can be used to automate and streamline this process. When a property owner seeks a variance, a local community hearing is held to decide to allow or deny the requested modification. Landowners abutting the property requesting the variance must be notified.

A parcel level mapping system can be used to identify all abutting landowners or all landowners within a specified radius of the property requesting the variance. The parcel map system can be designed to automate many of the steps of public notification, generating a list of all property owners and their mailing addresses and formatting reports, which are fully prepared for mailing to the appropriate property owners.

Land Management

Public properties and land can be managed more effectively by using a parcel level geography data system. The acquisition and disposition of public owned real property is better managed by viewing this data from a geographic perspective.

Community leaders and land management officials can identify and more thoroughly analyze sites for new public facilities and other municipal infrastructure. This may involve the acquisition of new properties or the utilization of existing publicly owned locations. These locations may include new sites for: schools, libraries, community centers, recreational open space, police and fire stations, hospitals and health centers, equipment storage warehouse, etc. Dispossession of excess public land can also be analyzed and managed with parcel geography to dispose of under-utilized public properties and get them back into the hands of private property owners.

Open space management is another key application of parcel geographic data. Many municipal leaders and officials are taking active steps to increase and preserve the amount of open space within their communities. Parcel geography can be used to ensure the preservation of existing public open space and to secure through acquisition and/or legislation the protection of existing private open space.

Planning and Development Control

Many communities and other organization use GIS for planning purposes. Parcel level geography creates the ideal platform to perform local GIS planning analysis.

Smart growth and development control are important issues of concern for many planner and community advocates. By combining parcel based land use data and zoning regulation information, researchers can perform build-out analysis to determine the impact of development on transportation infrastructure, city services and general community quality of life. By understanding this, planners, community leaders, and town officials can take measures to control that development or proactively prepare for the development before it happens.

Parcel level maps can be used specifically for transportation planning, deterring new and better locations for bus, rail and other transit modes. Site assessment and property taking analysis can be performed before adding new streets or widening existing roads. Parcel level GIS can be used in studies examining new business and retail developments and how they may impact traffic and existing transportation infrastructure.

Emergency Management

Parcel level geography can be used for emergency management and crisis handling. Dispatchers and first respondents can have immediate access to critical property specific details based on the location of the respondent or the specified location of the emergency incident. These property specific details include building type, location of buildings and building egresses, location of utility feeds, owner name and number of residents, etc.

Parcel level mapping can be used for crisis situation planning in the event of health related incidents and natural disasters. Determining locations and best strategies for evacuation in a crisis scenario can be simulated and planned for using a parcel level GIS.

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