HomeMy WebLinkAboutGeographic Info System 11/01-03/02FINAL PROJECT SUMMARY REPORT
Southold Town Geographic Information System:
Development Report: November 2001 - March 2002
The design, development and impleme33tation of the Town's Geographic
Information System has been documented with previous requests for payment.
This project was financed by a 50-50 match of local funds and staff resources
with grant monies awarded by the New York State Department of State under
Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund Act.
Proiect Backflround
In 1997, the Town adopted a strategic action plan to position the town to
constructively manage anticipated growth. One of the tools identified as
essential to the implementation of this plan was the creation of a Geographic
Information System. At that time, the Town lacked basic electronic capability to
use information in a geographically-oriented format. While it had access to the
Suffolk County Department of Planning's GIS, that arrangement provided
extremely limited access to vital information in a less than timely fashion.
Therefore, the Town sought this grant in order to enable it to jump-start the
development of its own GiS.
Project Deskln
The Town's GIS was designed with very specific goals in mind. And these were
achieved.
First, created an accurate database. We designed protocols to ensure that the
creation and maintenance of the database met with the highest accepted
cartographic and other professional standards. This included establishing a
Catalogue and Timeline Report, a running log or library reference whereby the
creation of the database could be tracked chronologically.
Second, key types of information pertaining to the Town's natural resources as
well as its man-made infrastructure were entered into the database. A '~Nish list"
of database elements that would be needed by various Town departments was
developed and used as a guide.
Third, the information in the database was created in discrete and separate
layers; a format that would permit a near-infinite layering of different types of
information in graphic format. Every attempt was made to make the layers
correlate to geographically-specific points. As technology improves, costs go
down, and financial resources permit, the spatial specificity of specific elements
of the database can be added or improved.
The Town's GIS reflects the intent of the Project Design. A sound framework
has been established, one that will serve the Town well in the coming years and
in the face of challenges that will result from new growth. The GIS will facilitate
not only growth management, but ongoing stewardship and maintenance of
natural and man-made resoumes.
Southold Town Geographic Information System:
Data Catalo.que and Timeline: November 2000 - March 2002
The development of the GIS database is documented below:
January 2002
Addresses updated.
Underwater lands updated.
Linework updated to reflect new subdivisions.
Protected Lands Map amhived.
February 2002
Updated Agricultural Lands map.
Created 1500' coastal "buffer" map for use by Bay
Constables for enfomement purposes.
March 2002
Created Zoning Map for Town (Editing and Proofing still
underway.)
Updated Sea View Trails (bicycle) map.
Installed New York State aedal map
HTML mapping for Town's Web site started.
Hog's Neck Case Study map started for use by Planning
Department.
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Southold Town Geographic Information System:
Development Report: July 1997 - July 2000
The design, development and implementation of the Town's Geographic
Information System is documented below. This project was financed by a 50-50
match of local funds and staff resoumes with grant monies awarded by the New
York State Department of State under '~itle 11 of the Environmental Protection
Fund Act.
Proiect Background
In 1997, Supervisor Cochran proposed a strategic action plan to position the
town to constructively manage anticipated growth. One of the tools identified as
essential to the implementation of this plan was the creation of a Geographic
Information System. At that time, the Town lacked basic electronic capability to
use information in a geographically-oriented format. While it had access to the
Suffolk County Department of Planning's GIS, that arrangement provided
extremely limited access in a less than timely fashion. Therefore, the Town
sought this grant in order to enable it to jump-start the development of its own
GiS.
Proiect Desi_~n
The Town's GIS was designed with very specific goals in mind.
First, we wanted to create an accurate database. In order to accomplish this, we
decided on protocols to ensure that the creation of the database met with
accepted cartographic and other professional standards. The establishment of
standard protocols was especially critical to ensure accuracy during the
conversion from paper to electronic format. These protocols will ensure timely
updating and revision of the GIS database in the future, as well as ensuring the
documentation of primary sources of information. The aim was to ensure
accuracy within the database and to build-in accountability for maintaining the
accuracy within the system, in addition to the Data Catalogue and Timeline
Report, a running log or library reference was started whereby the creation of the
database could be tracked chronologically.
Second, the system was designed to provide key types of information pertaining
to the Town's natural resources as well as its man-made infrastructure. Meetings
that had been held with other departments prior to July 1997 resulted in a '~,ish
list" of preferred uses of an electronic database within a GIS format. That list
was used to develop the database in such a way that it would provide (to the
extent possible) the desired data in the format most preferred by the potential
users.
Third, the information in the database was created in discrete and separate
layers; a format that would permit a near-infinite layering of different types of
information in graphic format. Every attempt was made to make the layers
correlate to geographically-specific points. However, not all paper-based
information is available in geographic-specific format. As technology improves,
costs lower, and financial resoumes permit, the spatial specificity of specific
elements of the database can be improved as needed.
Fourth, the most user-friendly GIS software available on the market (MAP-INFO)
was chosen so as to facilitate the use of the system by non-technical staff within
Town Hall. The creation of specific layers or aspects of the database will always
require specialized expertise to design and build. However, the use of the
resulting electronic information for the purposes of administration, data analysis,
mapping and graphic presentations should not require the same degree of
specialized staff training. The goal was to enable at least one person in each
Town department so desidng access to manipulate electronic information within
the system relevant to their needs. MAP-INFO was determined to be the best
tool for this purpose. (At some point in the future, it may be advantageous to
add the ARC-INFO package to our software resources. ARC-INFO is used by
the Suffolk County Department of Management Information Services, a key
source of GIS data for the Town. ARC-INFO permits a slightly different range of
applications, some of which are highly useful for planning and infrastructure
management purposes. However, using it requires a higher level of staff training
and expertise than is possible given current levels of staffing and workloads.)
The Town's GIS reflects the intent of the Project Design. A sound framework
has been established, one that will serve the Town well in the coming years and
in the face of challenges that will result from new growth. The GIS will facilitate
not only growth management, but ongoing stewardship and maintenance of
natural and man-made resources.
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Southold Town Geographic Information System:
Data Catalo.que and Timeline: July 1997- July 2000
The development of the GIS database is documented below:
July 1997
October 1997
December 1997
Janua~ 1998 -
June 1998
February 1998
Ap~11998
Purchased workstation, color laser printer & Maplnfo
software.
Obtained data sets from Suffolk County. Data sets included
the following layers: tax map, zoning, roads, State
Agricultural District boundaries, parks, railroad right-of-way
and 1996 digital aerial photographs.
Training in the use of Maplnfo by Conservation Advisors.
Obtained from Conservation ^dvisors the following data
sets: draft soils, landmarks, surface waters and topography,
Obtained from the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation the data sets for Regulatory
Freshwater Wetlands.
Updated and corrected tax map layer received from Suffolk
County. (This data was about 4 years old and significantly
out-of-date.)
Established procedure to obtain tax map updates on regular
basis from Suffolk County.
Developed a Protected Lands map for Planning Department.
Established a procedure to update Protected Lands map.
Obtained from the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation the data sets from the Natural
Heritage Program showing unique flora and fauna habitats.
Purchased large-format plotter. This plotter enables printing
of maps at a scale suitable for presentation and display.
3
May 1998
June 1998 -
August1998
June 1998
August1998
September1998
October 1998
December 1998
Apd11999
Obtained the following data sets from Conservation
Advisors: final soils map and the locations and designs of
pending Peconic Land Trust conservation projects within the
Town of Southold.
Obtained from Suffolk County, the following layers: 911 and
zip codes.
Created current farmland layer; e.g. land in active
agricultural production, based on aerial and field work by
Planning and Data Processing staff with cooperation of local
farmers.
Developed Community Preservation Project Fund Map in
accordance with State legislation authorizing same.
Developed procedure for updating tax map layer based on
changes in Southold Town Tax Assessors' files.
Created Hamlet Detail maps for proposed Flood Mitigation
Project for which Town was soliciting State funds,
Created Flood Insurance Claims layer for proposed Flood
Mitigation Project.
Obtained school and fire district layers from Suffolk County.
Obtained Federal Flood Insurance Rate Maps from Suffolk
County for proposed Flood Mitigation Project.
Created study area maps for Route 48 Upzoning Project, a
Town Board sponsored study to upzone business property
located along County Route 48 within Southold Town.
Began correcting errors in County's zoning map data set.
Created detailed maps itemizing proposed re-zonings along
County Route 48.
Obtained National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands Maps from
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Peconic Estuary
Management Program.
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June 1999 -
September 1999
Augu~ 1999
September 1999
October 1999
November 1999
November 1999 -
March 2000
December 1999
February 2000
Mamh 2000
Updated current farmland inventory with new field data from
Peconic Land Trust staff in conjunction with Farm and
Farmland Protection Strategy project.
Created layers and maps showing lands in active agricultural
production and produced overlay of active lands with
protected lands m{I,p for Farm and Farmland Protection
Strategy report.
Began creating new zoning map that follows tax map
shoreline boundaries to allow for possible future zoning of
underwater lands.
Obtained USGS quadrangle data sets.
Updated following tax map information using current
Southold Town Tax Assessors' files: acreage, detailed land
use, and general land use. This work was done for Water
Supply Management and Watershed Protection Strategy.
Created map reference area layer for Police Department
use.
Created creek maps for Trustees to mark locations of
existing and proposed boat moorings.
Created Mattituck Creek Watershed (boundary) layer using
data from EEA Inc., a consulting firm retained by the Town
to complete the Mattituck Creek Stormwater Remediation
Project (pursuant to LWRP Project Agreement # C005800).
Created Land Preservation Segment Layer according to
Southold Town Land Preservation Committee's
specifications to assist in prioritizing potential land and
development right acquisitions.
Obtained 1999 digital aerial photos from Suffolk County.
Began and finished correcting and entering additional
information into the soils layers originally received from
Conservation Advisors.
Updated line work for tax map layer with latest information
from Suffolk County.
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April 2000
April 2000
May 2000
June 2000
July 2000
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Obtained current and proposed future locations of water
main layers from Suffolk County Water Authority.
Digitized locations of Trustees' moodngs on creek maps
prepared from November 1999 through Mamh 2000.
Created new layer pf Agricultural District Parcels using
information from Southold Town Tax Assessors' Real
Property System files.
Generated approximately 300 letters and mailing labels for
Land Preservation Committee's town-wide mailing to current
farm land owners based on Farm and Farmland Protection
Strategy Map adopted by Town Board as part of Farm and
Farmland Protection Strategy in January of 2000.
Created map showing properties Southold Town wants
preserved under the Suffolk County Greenways Program.
Created map showing Protected Lands within Southold
Town along with existing and proposed locations of potential
future public water mains using Water Main Layers obtained
eadier from the Suffolk County Water Authority.
Obtained street right-of-way and general soils layers from
Suffolk County.
Obtained updated version of current water main layer and
additional layer of SCWA-owned parcels from the SCWA.
Reprinted as final map to accompany Water Supply
Management & Watershed Protection Strategy report.
Updated the Protected Lands map with SCWA owned
parcels and added churches/cemeteries that were missing
from first map produced for this project.
Completed Soils layer received from Suffolk County by
coding additional descriptive information as was done for the
agricultural soils layer.
Southold Town Geo.qraphic Information System:
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Status of Projects Currently Underway: AuQust 2000
This section lists the status of specific tasks or projects connected to the
creation, implementation and ongoing maintenance of the GIS database. Work
on these projects will continue as part of GIS Implementation (LWRP Grant
#C005961 ).
New zoning map:
Rough draft ready. Needs to be verified against current official (paper) map
and/or other printed documentation. Zoning boundaries on current official map
that are open to interpretation need to be addressed and the new map modified
to reflect the changes. Finally, the new map needs to be updated with zone
changes approved in October of 1999 as a result of the CR 48 upzoning.
Further proposed upzonings on CR 48 that are slated for this fall also will have to
be added.
Agricultural Soils Map:
Conservation Advisors (CA) only provided us with the soil codes for this layer.
Since then, the descriptions and capability units of each of the soil types have
been added. Recently it became evident that there are errors in the layers
provided by CA, specifically where two different soil types are listed for the same
area. These errors still need to be corrected.
Trustees Moorings:
Digitizing of moorings has been completed. We are waiting on the list of
information that Trustees wish to be tracked for each mooring.
Protected lands Map:
The Southold Town Planning Department needs to determine how to handle or
categorize easements held by the Suffolk County Water Authority on certain
parcels. That is, should those parcels that the SCWA holds easements on (but
does not actually own) be considered protected or not? Also, we need to obtain
and enter updated parcel information on lands held by the Peconic Land Trust
and The Nature Conservancy.
Sales Information:
We are working on the design of a program for creating a sales information layer
based on the New York State Real Property System.
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Southold Town Geographic Information System:
Additional Mapping Needs: August 2000 through 2001
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This listing contains projects considered essential to the completion of the GIS
database as well as to its implementation for use by the Town. Some of the
projects noted below were discussed in the section of this Development Report
entitled Status of Projects Currently Underway: August 2000.
Easements:
Conservation and other easements held by land preservation agencies (e.g.
Peconic Land Trust or The Nature Conservancy) or by utilities (e.g. Suffolk
County Water Authority and LIPA) have to be defined, identified and entered into
the GIS database.
Wetlands:
Many locally-significant wetlands are not on the official DEC Freshwater
Wetlands layer. The general location of these wetlands have been identified on
paper tax maps. These wetlands needs to be mapped at least for internal use
and possibly for future classification by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation.
Street Map:
The County's street layer dataset has to be verified and corrected to match up
with our Police (911 ) and Building Department (street address) records.
Ortho-rectified Aerial Photos:
Acquisition of ortho-rectified photos has been requested by the Southold Town
Planning Department in its 2001 capital budget for GIS Implementation. Ortho-
rectified aerial photos will permit expanded and more accurate use of information
in existing GIS layers by enabling the superimposition of aerial photographs onto
other spatial-specific layers. This information will have significant applications for
several Town offices and uses.
General Land Use Map:
This map initially was generated by the Suffolk County Planning Department for
the Brown Tide Comprehensive Assessment and Management Program, which
was conducted by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services during the
early 1990s. The definition of housing density used by the County for the
purposes of that program is not particularly useful for the Town's growth
management purposes. Modification of the density classifications will improve
the accuracy and usefulness of this information at the local level.
Shoreline Hardening Survey:
The management of the Town's extensive shoreline requires a base data set
against which to measure all future requests for shoreline hardening structures
as well as to assess the suitability of existing structures. Although a shoreline
survey was undertaken for the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, it needs
8
to be updated and converted into electronic format. Creation of this layer will
require new field inspections and use of a hand-held geo-positioning system
(GPS).
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Southold Town Geographic Information System
Additional Hardware/Software Needs: Au.qust 2000 throu.qh 2001
Full, integrated completion and implementation of the Town's GIS will require the
acquisition of the following hard- and sOft-ware. These items have been listed in
proposed operating and capital budgets for either the Planning or the Data
Processing department.
GPS Interface:
Needed for field work on natural resources and man-made infrastructure.
Di.qitizin.q Table:
Needed for creating new layers from paper maps, photos or surveys.
CD Burner:
Needed for backup and data sharing with consultants in contract to the Town on
specific projects needing the use of GIS data and with other agencies, whether
data-source agencies or cooperative agencies.
Additional GIS Development Software:
A development software package such as MapBasic is needed to create custom
Maplnfo programs on an as-needed basis for specific projects or ongoing needs.
At some point in the future, we should acquire ARC-INFO software in order to
expand our capabilities to manipulate the GIS database more effectively.
Maplnfo Licenses:
Individual departments need to acquire additional licenses to use Maplnfo
software to allow their staff to access and use the GIS data files.
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Southold Town Geo.qraphic Information System:
Data Catalogue and Timeline: July 1997 - March 2002
The development of the GIS database is documented below:
July 1997
October 1997
December 1997
January 1998 -
June 1998
February 1998
Apd11998
Purchased workstation, color laser printer & Maplnfo
software.
Obtained data sets from Suffolk County. Data sets included
the following layers: tax map, zoning, roads, State
Agricultural District boundaries, parks, railroad right-of-way
and 1996 digital aerial photographs.
Training in the use of Map/nfo by Conservation Advisors.
Obtained from Conservation Advisors the following data
sets: draft soils, landmarks, surface waters and topography.
Obtained from the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation the data sets for Regulatory
Freshwater Wetlands.
Updated and corrected tax map layer received from Suffolk
County. (This data was about 4 years old and significantly
out-of-date.)
Established procedure to obtain tax map updates on regular
basis from Suffolk County.
Developed a Protected Lands map for Planning Department.
Established a procedure to update Protected Lands map.
Obtained from the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation the data sets from the Natural
Heritage Program showing unique flora and fauna habitats.
Purchased large-format plotter. This plotter enables printing
of maps at a scale suitable for presentation and display.
Obtained the following data sets from Conservation
Advisors: final soils map and the locations and designs of
May 1998
June 1998 -
August1998
June 1998
August1998
September1998
October 1998
December 1998
April 1999
pending Peconic Land Trust conservation projects within the
Town of Southold.
Obtained from Suffolk County, the following layers: 911 and
zip codes.
Created current farmland layer; e.g. land in active
agriculturel pmduclion, based on aerial and field work by
Planning and Data Processing staff with cooperetion of local
farmers.
Developed Community Preservation Project Fund Map in
accordance with State legislation authorizing same.
Developed procedure for updating tax map layer based on
changes in Southold Town Tax Assessors' files.
Created Hamlet Detail maps for proposed Flood Mitigation
Project for which Town was soliciting State funds.
Created Flood Insurance Claims layer for proposed Flood
Mitigation Project.
Obtained school and fire district layers from Suffolk County.
Obtained Federal Flood Insurance Rate Maps frem Suffolk
County for proposed Flood Mitigation Project.
Created study area maps for Route 48 Upzoning Project, a
Town Board sponsored study to upzone business property
located along County Route 48 within Southold Town.
Began correcting errors in County's zoning map data set.
Created detailed maps itemizing proposed re-zonings along
County Route 48.
Obtained National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands Maps from
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Peconic Estuary
Management Progrem.
June 1999 -
2
September 1999
August1999
September1999
O~ober1999
November 1999
November 1999 -
March 2000
December 1999
February 2000
Mamh 2000
Updated current farmland inventory with new field data from
Peconic Land Trust staff in conjunction with Farm and
Farmland Protection Strategy project.
Created layers and maps showing lands in active agricultural
production and produced overlay of active lands with
protected lands map for Farm and Farmland Protection
Strategy report.
Began creating new zoning map that follows tax map
shoreline boundaries to allow for possible future zoning of
underwater lands,
Obtained USGS quadrangle data sets.
Updated following tax map information using current
Southold Town Tax Assessors' files: acreage, detailed land
use, and general land use. This work was done for Water
Supply Management and Watershed Protection Strategy.
Created map reference area layer for Police Department
use.
Created creek maps for Trustees to mark locations of
existing and proposed boat moorings.
Created Mattituck Creek Watershed (boundary) layer using
data from EEA Inc., a consulting firm retained by the Town
to complete the Mattituck Creek Stormwater Remediation
Project (pursuant to LWRP Project Agreement # C005800).
Created Land Preservation Segment Layer according to
Southold Town Land Preservation Committee's
specifications to assist in prioritizing potential land and
development dght acquisitions.
Obtained 1999 digital aerial photos from Suffolk County.
Began and finished correcting and entering additional
information into the soils layers originally received from
Conservation Advisors.
Updated line work for tax map layer with latest information
from Suffolk County.
3
April 2000
April 2000
May 2000
June 2000
July 2000
Obtained current and proposed future locations of water
main layers from Suffolk County Water Authority.
Digitized locations of Trustees' moorings on creek maps
prepared from November 1999 through Mamh 2000.
Created new layer of Agricultural District Parcels using
information from Sguthold Town Tax Assessors' Real
Property System files.
Generated approximately 300 letters and mailing labels for
Land Preservation Committee's town-wide mailing to current
farm land owners based on Farm and Farmland Protection
Strategy Map adopted by Town Board as part of Farm and
Farmland Protection Strategy in January of 2000.
Created map showing properties Southold Town wants
preserved under the Suffolk County Greenways Program.
Created map showing Protected Lands within Southold
Town along with existing and proposed locations of potential
future public water mains using Water Main Layers obtained
eadier from the Suffolk County Water Authority.
Obtained street fight-of-way and general soils layers from
Suffolk County.
Obtained updated version of current water main layer and
additional layer of SCWA-owned parcels from the SCWA.
Reprinted as final map to accompany Water Supply
Management & Watershed Protection Strategy report,
Updated the Protected Lands map with SCWA owned
parcels and added churches/cemeteries that were missing
from first map produced for this project.
Digitized the Suffolk County Water Authority Water Main
Map.
Created Water Protection Zone layer for Ground Watershed
Protection and Management project
Completed Soils layer received from Suffolk County by
coding additional descriptive information as was done for the
agricultural soils layer.
4
January 2001 -
February 2001 -
March 2001 -
April 2001 -
October 2001 -
March 2002 -
Updated tax map linework with latest available from Suffolk
County.
Created "acreages in vineyards" layer to be used with
Farmland Protection Strategy layers.
Began creating Mattituck High School evacuation maps.
Began updating digital zoning layer with 2000 CR48
Moratorium updates.
Began proofing digital zoning layer against previous zoning
map (Van Tuyl pdnt).
Began creating parcel level zoning information.
Purchased street layer with EAL from Maplnfo.
Received SLOSH coverages from Suffolk County.
Received Peconic Estuary Program GIS data from The
Nature Conservancy (Critical Lands Inventory).
Received NYS Digital Ortho-Rectified aerials from spring
2001 flight,
5
FR~M : ¢OUTHOLD TOWN PLANNING BOARD FAX NO. : 631 765 3136 Ma~. 31 2082 82:25PM P1
Project Measurable Results
Geographic Information
Definition:
Projects that involve spatial digital data, soffw~e, or equipment. Projects may
involve setting up a GIS, training staffin GIS, developing spatial data sets, or
implementing GIS projects.
'Number of GIS stafftralned:
GIS stations established or enhanced (number of computers):
Elements mapped (typed and extent): ..... .$g ~ /4-'O-~c.~{ ~
Spatial data created (type and coverage):...~.~..-.~ .,4-'Ti-A~_.,~
Spatial Processes automated [program type and application (emg. building petters)I: tk~7'-
A4~p u ¢~
Kecords accessed digitally [number and type of records, (e.g. tax records)].