Parcel Analysis Initial Research Tool

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

All discretionary land development projects begin with an Environmental Initial Study, which identifies potential adverse environmental impacts. Discretionary projects are those that are subject to approval or denial by the local planning authority. The California Environmental Quality Act has required County planners to research numerous data sets for each discretionary permit for environmental impacts since 1971. In October 2014, Planning & Development Services developed an automated tool that uses technology to replace the manual research process for these Initial Studies. Members of the public and County staff can simply enter an Assessor’s Parcel Number into the online tool, which compiles data and maps from hundreds of data sources to create a comprehensive parcel report. The tool generates needed reports within minutes, which has completely revolutionized the manual process that previously took hours or days to complete. Using automated reports significantly reduces billable project time. The reduced staff time not only saves applicants money, but also enables County staff to focus on other priority projects. Approximately 19,400 reports have been run to date using the new automated tool. It is available to the public at no cost and may be accessed online from anywhere in the County.