National Vision for Land Parcels FGDC Steering Committee – June 5, 2008 David Cowen National Research Council Study

Enmark – FIG

Flair Act – Introduced May Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform By Mrs. McCASKILL (for herself and Mr. Hatch): Since 1980, the National Academy of Sciences has been calling for the development of a multipurpose cadastre, or land registry, in its report, ``Need for a Multipurpose Cadastre.'' The report said, ``There is a critical need for a better land-information system in the United States to improve land-conveyance procedures, furnish a basis for equitable taxation, and provide much- needed information for resource management and environmental planning.'' In 2007, the Academy renewed this effort and recommended the idea of the FLAIR Act, in its report, ``National Land Parcel Data: A Vision for the Future.''

Cowen’s Top 10 List 1.A public sector parcel system was proposed in 1980 and ignored 2.Consequently – there is poor response and recovery to disasters, no system to monitor activities in the real estate market, and an inefficient system for conducting the Census, monitoring land use etc. 3.A national parcel data base is feasible, affordable and necessary to serve as “economic and disaster oriented early warning system 4. It will be created by the private sector – maybe in two years Zillow is already an excellent prototype Active competition – who can reach the 100 million parcels first? MicroSoft and Google could pay for it – but don’t know who to write the check to 5. The public will demand that it is operated by the government agencies that must be accountable to voters and taxpayers

Top 10 list continued 6. The federal government has never embraced parcels because: Small scale 1:24,000 mentality Perceived to be a local government / private sector activity It is not a tangible map product It does not create them No single agency has claimed or been funded to be the steward 7. Parcels are the most appropriate geography for many decisions made by federal agencies ie. Census HUD DHS EPA BLM Forest Service Wildfire Department of Agriculture

Top 10 Continued 8. Parcels are the best container for several NSDI Themes Cadastre Land Conveyance Governmental units Public Land Housing 9. The National Map is intended to and already handles parcels 10. The rest of the world can’t understand the status of parcels in the US

What do we know ? The major obstacles in the development of a multipurpose cadastre are the organizational and institutional requirements.

But, of course, we knew that in 1980

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 What benefits do you perceive from having a national multipurpose cadastre? Parcel data is the fundamental building block for all geographic analysis and serves as the raw material for most applications – most geographic analysis is benefit from the ability to understand the result at the parcel level A multipurpose cadastre enables a vast range of location-based services that will improve safety and increase efficiency of current operations Available, critical data for emergency response Local parcel data were still being sought 8 weeks into the response to Hurricane Katrina Impact from most disasters is best understood at the parcel level GIS is becoming the way disasters are managed. A common operating picture depends on an available multipurpose cadastre National response centers such as IMAAC depend on the availability of local data for accurate hazard predictions and health recommendations such as shelter in place Most DHS programs depend on geographic data that is at the parcel scale - for example Critical Infrastructure Program The ability to protect the privacy of individuals is dependent on an accurate parcel-level database

Redlining in Philadelphia

Newsweek June 2, 2008

Reverse Redlining

USA Today

USA Today – Query by location

Parcel Based Early Warning System

Charleston SC Does the Census need parcels ?

Florida Parcels on FTP Site

South Dakota Sales Tax System

Vision & Model The parcel data will continue to be controlled and maintained locally. Only a minimum set of attributes will be available on a state and national level in order to minimize privacy concerns and keep the scope reasonable. The system will operate in the public domain under the existing federal policy Office of Management and Budget OMB Circular A-130.

Vision The vision is a federation of systems, all of which serve as conduits for data aggregated “virtually” at state and national levels. State and federal coordinators will set and enforce standards, provide technical assistance, reconcile boundaries, coordinate and distribute funds, Ultimately, the program should follow a collaborative model and be supported by all parcel producers and users. Development of nationally integrated land parcel data will be an on- going process.

Interpretation of Current Situation

Proposed Organizational Model

Attributes At the national level the need for sufficient parcel attribute information must be balanced with legitimate concerns over personal privacy and confidentiality. From a functional viewpoint the base set of attributes would enable one to: [Feature Level Meta Data] 1. uniquely identify each parcel in the national database; 2. link a parcel uniquely back to its source provider; 3. provide basic information concerning the parcel geometry; 4. locate its street address; and 5. identify the owner type.

The report contains nine recommendations: 1. A panel should decide whether the Bureau of Land Management can be the lead federal agency. 2. The Federal Geographic Data Committee should consider the parcel as a basic resource for various OMB A-16 mandated data themes. 3. A Federal Land Parcel Coordinator should be empowered to develop and maintain a single database of land parcels owned or managed by the federal government.

Recommendations 4. A National Land Parcel Coordinator should be established to develop and oversee a land parcel data business plan for the nation including federal, local, state, and tribal partners. 5. An Indian Lands Parcel Coordinator should be established by the Office of Special Trustee for Tribal Lands. 6. Congress and the Census Bureau should explore modifying Title 13 so that building addresses and coordinates can be made public.

Recommendations: 7. State Coordinators should be established in each state to develop plans and relationships with local government. 8. The National Land Parcel Coordinator should develop an intergovernmental funding program for the development and maintenance of parcel data, including incentives to participate for those counties with fully-developed systems and financial support for those who do not. 9. Local government is expected to put into the public domain both parcel geometry and a very limited set of attributes. This should become a minimum requirement to receive federal funds directly associated with property, such as disaster relief.

“Building a viable NSDI to serve the needs of all levels of government and the private sector requires a solid foundation that is strategic, deliberate, and assembled in discrete, manageable units.” FGDC Mission or Lip service ?