Making the GIS case to county registries is a fascinating exercise, to be sure. Given the facts on paper, it should be a slam dunk: reams of location-specific data in the form of deeds and registered surveys and easements and all manner of other documents; much of this content already scanned to high quality digital formats; and no existing geospatial linkages permitting this content to be queried and accessed via a GIS front end.
So what to do?
Obvious! Geotag these scanned documents with an x,y reference that makes it easy to expose them to geographic searches.
And yet... Maybe not so obvious. The registers themselves are admirably dedicated to the serioiusness of the job, which is protecting and maintaining the integrity of vital documents. Any technology or procedural change that threatens this process is rightfully suspect. So the concept of potentially contaminating documents with shoddy geographic referencing is no easy sell to make.
It warrants serious consideration though. As information technology increases access to public records, whole new categories of opportunites tend to arise. It would be rewarding to see the County Registries benefit from these opportunities.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
enforced inefficiency
Even if plenty of resources are available to implement a statewide digital land records system; even if a seamless, fault tolerant, all inclusive technical plan is created and implemented; even if all data from all registries and municipalities throughout Maine could be marshalled into a database that allowed querying on any aspect of any parcel and its attributes - even then, the privacy issue would stand in the way.
As I spent some time this week on dirt camp roads and woods paths I wondered a lot about the benefits of not always having access to the straightest line or the widest road to get where one is going. If I do not need to spend time in a town office or deeds registry, to show my face or get to know local officials in the process of prospecting for property or investigating land, I free up resources that I and others would spend searching. So there is an efficiency gain. But is some interaction that may be beneficial from the local perspective, some check and balance of personal introduction and exposure to those keeping the records - is some element of this necessary to protect the land?
As I spent some time this week on dirt camp roads and woods paths I wondered a lot about the benefits of not always having access to the straightest line or the widest road to get where one is going. If I do not need to spend time in a town office or deeds registry, to show my face or get to know local officials in the process of prospecting for property or investigating land, I free up resources that I and others would spend searching. So there is an efficiency gain. But is some interaction that may be beneficial from the local perspective, some check and balance of personal introduction and exposure to those keeping the records - is some element of this necessary to protect the land?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
mma tech + land records
The planning team presented the project to a large and engaged crowd at the Maine Municipal Association Technology Conference on March 18. The Integrated Land Records System slides from that presentation are avaialble here.
public + accessible, circa 1980
In 1980 the National Research Council published a study titled "Need for a Multipurpose Cadastre." Many important studies on the topic have been produced since this one, but it stands as a kind of ur-document for multijurisdictional, large area cadastral planning in this country. From this study, a critical quote:
“The land-transfer process in North America is founded on the principle of publicity, the concept that all information relating to the nature and extent of interests vesting in a legal parcel of land must be available for public inspection” (NRC, 1980, p. 9).
This is by no means universally understood to be true here in America and Maine.
“The land-transfer process in North America is founded on the principle of publicity, the concept that all information relating to the nature and extent of interests vesting in a legal parcel of land must be available for public inspection” (NRC, 1980, p. 9).
This is by no means universally understood to be true here in America and Maine.
Friday, February 29, 2008
business drivers: STATE AGENCIES
A quick review of state agencies reveals many potential beneficiaries of an accessible, uniform statewide parcels resource. Here are the obvious ones:Department of Agriculture | Atlantic Salmon Commission | Coastal Program | Department of Conservation | Drinking Water Program | Department of Economic + Community Development | Department of Education | Emergency Management Agency | Energy Resources Council | Department of Environmental Protection | Maine Forest Service | Maine Geological Survey | Governor's Office | Maine Center for Disease Control | Health + Human Services Department | Historic Preservation Commission | Homeland Security | Infectious Diseases Division | Department of Inland Fisheries + Wildlife | Bureau of Insurance | Bureau of Land + Water Quality | Land Use Regulation Commission | Department of Marine Resources | Natural Areas Program | Bureau of Parks and Lands | State Planning Office | State Police | Office of Policy and Legal Analysis | Public Utilities Commission | Maine Revenue Services | State Treasurer | Surplus Property | Department of Transportation | Unorganized Territory, Fiscal Administrator | Warden Services | Waste Management + Recycling
Click through the slidedeck for agency-specific examples:
Click through the slidedeck for agency-specific examples:
Thursday, February 28, 2008
ILRIS: name change?
The Integrated Land Records Information System (ILRIS) is one of the two components of the Maine Strategic Plan. It has been suggested that this acronym may not be the best way to represent the project as discussions unfold around the state.
Since a large part of this initiative will involve developing organizational and political support, perhaps it would be a good idea to attach a more pleasant and (and memorable ) name. Something that suggests geographic collaboration maybe.
It's easy to waste a lot of time pondering the perfect acronym, but what about the MAP Collaborative?
The acronym part of this, MAP, could be Maine (A*) Parcel Collaborative, where the A* could stand for any or all of:
Active | Addressable | Administrative | Advanced | Affiliated | Aggregated | Analyzable | Annexed | Allied | Applied | Assessing | Associated | Automated
For this undertaking to succeed, there will need to be genuine collaboration. The objective is a map, and all of the other A* stuff can just get bundled in there.
Thoughts?
Since a large part of this initiative will involve developing organizational and political support, perhaps it would be a good idea to attach a more pleasant and (and memorable ) name. Something that suggests geographic collaboration maybe.
It's easy to waste a lot of time pondering the perfect acronym, but what about the MAP Collaborative?
The acronym part of this, MAP, could be Maine (A*) Parcel Collaborative, where the A* could stand for any or all of:
Active | Addressable | Administrative | Advanced | Affiliated | Aggregated | Analyzable | Annexed | Allied | Applied | Assessing | Associated | Automated
For this undertaking to succeed, there will need to be genuine collaboration. The objective is a map, and all of the other A* stuff can just get bundled in there.
Thoughts?
project kickoff
The project: A Strategic and Business Plan Development in Support of the NSDI Future Directions Fifty States Initiative & Property Boundary Data Capture and Integration Framework was awarded on January 16 and kicked off in Augusta last week.
The Sewall Team (Bruce Oswald, Rich Sutton) presented an overview to the Board and solicited some high level input regarding schedule, strategy and tactics. Most discussion revolved around the land records component (presently ILRIS, but anticipating a possible name change shortly). Some other, smaller meetings were held as well, including one with the State CIO, Dick Thompson, and with a subset of the GeoLibrary Board's project team, including Greg Copeland, Bill Hanson, Marilyn Lutz and Dan Walters.
The Sewall Team (Bruce Oswald, Rich Sutton) presented an overview to the Board and solicited some high level input regarding schedule, strategy and tactics. Most discussion revolved around the land records component (presently ILRIS, but anticipating a possible name change shortly). Some other, smaller meetings were held as well, including one with the State CIO, Dick Thompson, and with a subset of the GeoLibrary Board's project team, including Greg Copeland, Bill Hanson, Marilyn Lutz and Dan Walters.
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