5 Barriers to Building GIS Programs in Small Governments in New York State

Some barriers instead might be considered missed opportunities but there continues to be specific issues which stifle geospatial growth

Over my 30+ years of managing the Westchester County GIS program, I worked extensively with local governments across the County.  Forty-three in all, ranging from Yonkers, now the third largest city in New York State to several villages which are little more than one-square mile in size such as Buchanan along the Hudson River with a population of 2,302 (2020 Census). All uniquely different in their attempts – and interests – to build geospatial capacity.  Some have been successful while many others have struggled for a myriad of reasons.  This is particularly true among the 23 villages.

Now “on the other side of the firewall” (thanks, Sue Knauss) and working for myself, I’ve been able to see and work further into the organizational framework of these smaller governments.  Confirming many of the observations I made while working with Westchester County that I believe inhibit the development of building geospatial programs at this level of government. Admittedly, the small Westchester County village just north of the Bronx is different in many ways from a small village in Chemung County and one could argue the sample size is too small to be reflective of the entire state of New York, but I would suggest these obstacles to geospatial development are conceptually very similar across the state.   Furthermore, the term “Village” is not necessarily synonymous with small government as the Village of Port Chester 2020 population here in Westchester County was 31,581 – larger than many towns across the state.  So as a point of reference for this article small governments generally mean those with a population of less than 5,000.  Plus or minus.

GIS implementation “how-to” articles, management and primer books, and cautionary experiences shared by software vendors and consultants often include recognized issues such as budget constraints, limited technical expertise, or the lack of a realistic, phased implementation plan, as major culprits in initiating geospatial efforts.   I experienced and witnessed many of these same reasons, though the following are five specific barriers which I believe have a major impact in building GIS programs in small governments across New York State. 

In no particular order:

  1.  Staff Continuity: On the urban fringes, professional staff, particularly in the front offices, turn over at an amazing rate.  Assistants to Village Administrators, Managers, and department heads/commissioners – those who are often tasked to coordinate or serve as a liaison to special projects covering several departments such as GIS implementation – are often on the move.    And it’s not just in the administrative offices where staff turnover is impactful, but also throughout key program offices and departments which touch on GIS implementation such as planning, assessment, public works, and water departments, among others.     Any successful GIS Manager will tell you one of the most important factors in building the program, or any new government initiative, is staff continuity.  Including those who are in charge of managing consultants involved in helping build the GIS program.  Losses in these areas are often a major setback and derail any progress that may have been made in the GIS effort.  In some cases, losing years of work.  It doesn’t matter how good the implementation plan was or the technology being deployed.  

2.  IT Support:  Many small governments often do not have full-time IT staff and normally contract out for this support.  And with it, much of the focus is on infrastructure items such as the network, desktop and peripheral hardware components, client software installations/upgrades and as is the case in all governments and businesses now – maintaining the firewall and supporting cyber security efforts. These contracts, which are often with smaller IT firms, rarely include the support or guidance on multi-department applications such as geospatial programs which increasingly include mobile applications and its peripheral components.  This is not to say smaller IT firms cannot support GIS, it’s just not normally in their wheelhouse.   In small governments, needed GIS support from IT resources for a “government-wide perspective” is often extremely limited.

3.  Software Application Silos:    In small governments where there is often an absence of an overarching “IT committee” and/or the like, as well as combined with the lack of full-time IT staff as noted above, it is not uncommon for individual departments to be left to themselves to make their own business software decisionsAnd as software vendors continue to push for and offer cloud-based/browser only solutions for their software products, it is even easier for individual departments and programs to go rogue and operate further in obscurity from the primary or seemingly “adopted” computing environments in the organizationIn fact, it’s not uncommon for IT support in small governments (I’ve even seen this at the City level) to not even know what browser-based business solutions some departments are using on a day-to-day basis.

What makes this difficult in the GIS space is that practically all business software solutions now include some kind of “mapping” component –  if only to render the application data on some form of generic base map.  Most often Google Maps.   Often the user interface even includes the term “GIS” when simply viewing program data on a map – this being the extent of the “GIS” functionality.  And if and when the broader discussion of a GIS for the government is ever started, these same departments are slow, if ever, to join the effort.  Not knowing the larger intricacies and benefits of a shared, multi-department GIS program – the response is normally  “We already have a GIS“.  Little interest in the shared data model, to say the least of a common address file which most business software products normally ship  to support geocoding.  This cloud-only software application delivery model (mobile apps, too) is very common now in local government permitting, code enforcement, inspections, and even public safety disciplines to name just a few.

If it’s not broken, they are not going to try and fix it.  Let alone spend more money.  Making it very difficult to garner interest for a government-wide discussion on a unified GIS solution.  

4.  VIPs with an Attitude:    That may sound a little harsh, but the fact of the matter is that  just one dominant personality in small governments can impact the  decision making process over a wide range of internal technology issues – not just GIS.  Such individuals exist in all levels of government, but in smaller ones, where staff are few in numbers and  VIPs normally being senior staffers – frequently with decades of service – his or her opinion is often unquestioned.  Your first onsite meeting with folks who are genuinely interested in the GIS goes well – that’s why you’re there in the first place.  But during the second or third on-site meeting which is held to take a deeper dive into the concept – the VIP with an Attitude shows up out of nowhere acting like Lord Vadar.  Often packing a lightsaber.

Because of their decades of institutional knowledge, they have been ordained to know what is best for the good of the order.   Even if he or she isn’t even directly involved in geospatial.  Like a good defense lawyer, raising just an iota of doubt on what is deemed such a good idea by so many others.

Magically the VIPs have the ear of the Budget Director, Comptroller, Finance Director, fellow high ranking directors, or highest elected official.  Or the Town Board.  And so forth.  Across the municipal landscape they can be found in one of many program areas:  Public Works, Finance, Building Department, maybe a small Planning office, or even a long standing consultant who isn’t even on the payroll.  For whatever reason, he or she feels threatened by the technology which is being considered and increasingly adopted elsewhere.    Particularly if the VIP has not taken the time to understand the benefits that geospatial programs can bring.

But it’s not going to happen while they are still around and/or have something to say about it.  In my hometown, early GIS efforts were thwarted by the Receiver of Taxes.  Yes, Receiver of Taxes.  Largely because this office was responsible for “computer related” expenditures.  And nothing was going to compromise his/her annual computer software and hardware needs.  To this day, the program has never gotten on track.

There is really no good solution for the VIP with an Attitude problem in small governments. Sometimes retirement and attrition takes care of the problem though this may take years.  A change in administration sometimes helps, but in small governments new administrators rarely question long standing, senior staff members.  If anything they embrace the input and advice of VIPers.

And the beat goes on.  

5,  Consulting Engineers: Small governments often do not have a professional engineer on staff and normally contract out needed engineering services.  Engineering firms, whether small or large, which secure these services can have a profound impact on the use and development of GIS in small governments.  Though many small governments today do not see or consider their consulting engineers in this capacity.  Most aren’t even aware of the possible connection.

Back in the day of desktop/client GIS solutions, such support by consulting engineers was unrealistic.  But now, with easy-to-use cloud-based offerings such as ArcGIS Online, consulting engineers, along with their arsenal of AutoCAD related products and technologies, can simply envelope this “GIS service” into annual support services contracts.  At many levels of government, and particularly true in smaller ones, consulting engineers come in contact with all types of municipal geospatial data.   While infrastructure data (storm, sanitary, water distribution systems) are often the most obvious, consulting engineers duties also often include staffing local Planning Boards, serving as a liaison to utilities and a myriad of regional, state, and federal programs which include geospatial connections, as well as being involved in a host of local surveying and land/property record issues.    Depending on the in-house GIS resource capacity the consulting engineer maintains and the licensing agreement with the software vendor,  consulting engineers can offer a range of GIS capabilities to get small governments started for minimal investments. 

The reasons are many why this connection is not more common, but this “barrier” is more of a business relationship that more small governments should try and leverage with their consulting engineers.  There are positive and long term benefits for each party.   

Summary

At the end of the day, yes, the scale of small government operations and the scope of the geographical area covered may not seem to justify the investment in a comprehensive geospatial program.  Leading to a perception among the local elected officials, perhaps even department heads, that the benefits may not outweigh the costs.  Though the path I took in and out local government buildings, a basic lack of education and awareness of the geospatial benefits was still always an issue.  Particularly among the highest elected official and governing boards.  But it doesn’t stop there as I believe there still continues to be a significant lack of awareness or understanding of the broad spectrum of geospatial technologies among elected state representatives as well.    

For years, I’ve passively monitored the websites of New York State Association of Towns and New York Conference of Mayors as a source of ideas for articles for this blog.  Both organizations represent elected officials (including council members, boards, clerks and other municipal staff members as well) and are an excellent source of advocacy for small government programs and funding where geospatial technologies can be applied (i.e., transportation, infrastructure, public safety, environmental protection, etc).   Even New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) for the most rural of our state counties serves in this capacity as well.  If one takes the time to drive around and research each of the association websites, including using key word search tools, there is little reference to GIS or geospatial technologies.  Or for that matter, little of the technologies that geospatial is wrapped into. 

These organizations would be an excellent source of geospatial awareness at their newly elected training programs or annual conferences – which are extensive.  Helping connect geospatial to the programs they fund and how the tools are applied locally.   (For this article I looked for similar training sessions for newly elected New York Assembly members but could not find any specific programs).  Perhaps an opportunity for organizations like the NYS GIS Association or our emerging academic programs to provide training session/seminars to these associations.

There will continue to be exceptions, but until the opportunities and awareness of geospatial technologies are better understood, small government GIS programs in New York State will continue to struggle.

Mesonet Collects High-Accuracy Weather Data for Mapping and Data Visualization Applications

University at Albany Program Hosts Third Annual Symposium September 13-14

Background

In April 2014, the State of New York in collaboration with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services funded the University at Albany to design, install, and operate the NYS Early Warning Weather Detection System. The centerpiece of the system is the New York State Mesonet (NYSM) network of 126 weather stations across the state, with at least one site in every county and borough. Each of the Mesonet’s 126 weather stations collects observations of surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, snow depth, and soil moisture and temperature at three depths (5, 25, and 50 cm). Each site is also outfitted with a camera that collects still images.

In addition, several sub-networks of specialty sites have been deployed. A Profiler Network of 17 sites, which leverages LiDAR technology, provides additional atmospheric data in the vertical (up to 6 miles above ground); a Flux Network of 17 stations monitors the surface energy and a Snow Network of 20 sites which measures snow water content. Operated by the University at  Albany, the New York State Mesonet collects, archives, and processes data in real-time every five minutes, feeding weather prediction models and decision-support tools for users across the greater New York region. The NYS Mesonet implementation is part of the larger National Mesonet Program. NYSM is a cross-disciplinary team supporting a standard of excellence in delivering high-quality weather data across the Empire State.

The Mesonet network includes stations in all 62 New York State counties including the five boroughs of New York City

Metadata is provided for each site including lat/long, local landscape characteristics, pictures, elevation, soil classification, among other items.  Adjacent variables, such as obstructions, are reflected in a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) rating which indicates that the site’s surrounding environment may cause uncertainty in the data.

Detailed metadata is available for each station across the Mesonet network which can be used in supporting local weather-related mapping and analysis applications

Data and Geospatial Products

NYSM utilizes these high quality weather data to create end products designed for use by government, academic, and with commercial partners. NYSM supports solving real-world problems in agriculture, emergency management, energy, transportation and protecting public health. Much of the mapping and data visualization products on the Mesonet site is the responsibility of Nathan Bain, Sr. Software Engineer, NYS Mesonet, University at Albany, SUNY.  “The core set of software products I use in publishing content on the website include OpenLayers, python scripting, REACT for website development, and Highcharts for interactive time-series plots and line graphs.”

According to Bain, frequent users of the data are the National Weather Service, New York State Department of Health, New York State Department of Environment of Environmental Conservation, a variety of forensic meteorological companies, and private citizens.  Forty-four maps are updated every five minutes as presented on this page.

24-hour temp change is one of the many maps which is refreshed every five minutes on the Mesonet website

Mesonet field station data can be requested by completing and agreeing to the terms found in the Data Request Form. Data can be delivered in either NetCDF (network Common Data Form) which is a format for storing multidimensional scientific data (variables) such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and direction. Each of the variables can be displayed through a dimension (such as time) in ArcGIS by making a layer or table view from the netCDF file. Data can also be delivered in normal CVS  format. Today’s weather statistics are available here. One interactive mapping application which Mesonet publishes “live” is its Transportation app showing the weather variables from sites along the NYS Thruway.

While many of the Mesonet Thruway weather stations are located in western New York near Buffalo, real-time data is collected as far east as Oneida.

September 2023 Conference

The Third Annual New York State (NYS) Mesonet Symposium will be held on 13-14 September 2023 at UAlbany’s ETEC building. Similar to previous symposiums, this will be a chance for people from academia, government, and the private sector to present on research and operational applications of the NYS Mesonet data. While in-person participation registration has been closed, those interested in participating via Zoom can use this link and a copy of the September agenda including presenters and participating organizations is available here.

Contact:

Nathan Bain
Software Engineer
NYS Mesonet
University at Albany
nbain@albany.edu

Engage New York Puts Nonprofits and Community-Based Service Providers on the Map

Application identifies similar focused programs across the state which can support funding and philanthropic efforts

While the cost and ease of entry into web mapping has come down significantly over the past several years, many organizations – particularly nonprofits and community based programs – still do not have the capacity to create or support their own web mapping program.  While it’s easy enough to create a basic web presence and business profile with Google,  smaller, more community service focused programs can often gain wider exposure as part of larger, more thematic based web mapping applications.  When carefully assembled and exposed to the right audiences, these same mapping services are now serving to reach philanthropic programs looking to support nonprofit efforts and expand their geographic funding footprint.

The 10 Engage New York regions are consistent with the New York State Economic Development Regions

One such web map is Engage New York.  Launched in 2021, this interactive map is intended to constitute and visually represent  the Empire State nonprofit landscape which is critical to foundations and nonprofit leaders in supporting community-based initiatives  The initial map included over 300 organizations which categorizes their services as well as identifying the geographic area where they’re located and working.   It is intended to be used by nonprofit leaders and funding organizations to build relationships, strengthen interregional networking, identify geographic gaps in the nonprofit ecosystem and aid place-based nonprofits to find peers and colleagues working on similar issues in other regions of the state. The map is the work of the organization of the same name – Engage New York (ENY).

After reinvigorating the network in 2018 and focusing on issues including immigration and safe and healthy housing, ENY in 2020 moved to support movements and movement leaders throughout New York State that were organizing communities impacted by injustice. Engage New York Program Manager Lisa Fasolo Frishman comments “We know that all of the issue areas are intersectional and it is more important for us as a network to support leaders and movements that are inclusive of voices that are often excluded from advocacy efforts particularly in underserved and rural areas. Census 2020 and redistricting work has been a pivotal area for us because representation matters, and we are committed to ensuring communities impacted by injustice are seen and heard.”

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March 2023: Tax Parcel Data Sharing in New York State

Half of New York’s Counties now make parcel data available for free through Open Data efforts though barriers in specific governments still need to be overcome before statewide data is available

Not too long ago, I was communicating with a colleague about how some governments still, in 2023, continue to charge or license tax parcel data.  At first, somewhat amazing considering how far the Open Data movement has come over the past 10-15 years across the Empire State.  As recently as late 2022, information from the NYS GIS Program Office, which monitors the availability and sharing of tax parcel data statewide, shows that nearly 50 percent of NYS counties are making tax parcel data available for free through various means.  Great strides being made perhaps suggesting that one day the barriers prohibiting the sharing of parcel data across the entire will finally be nonexistent?   And that the gripes and complaints I was sharing in conversation with my colleague would go away.

Or maybe not.

Since November 2022, this map has been updated and NYS GPO now notes that half of the statewide counties currently share tax parcel data

Issue Was Discussed Early On – What Happened?

In the early days of statewide GIS development (circa 1990s) the GIS community was fortunate to have Bob Freeman, former Executive Director of the New York State Commitee on Open Government (COOG) participating in the growth of the GIS movement.    Bob seemingly recognizing and witnessing the formation of a technology which would have a tremendous impact on government records and data.  Almost knowing that as part of the new technology, digital versions of data would become just as important or even more valuable than hardcopy format.  He was involved in statewide GIS conferences and contributed in many ways.    All said and done, he was a staunch advocate of making GIS data available – largely long before the “Open Data” concept was framed.

I was only able to find a few of his opinions searching the COOG archives and ultimately reached out to the current COOG Executive Director Shoshana Bewlay to both bring to her attention of governments still charging for tax parcel data as well as to see if she, or her staff, might be interested in revisiting the issue.  I heard back promptly from  Kristin O’Neill, Assistant Director who was kind enough to send me a link to all of the COOG opinions (7) which included “GIS”.  The links to all of the GIS-related opinions are below which can either be read through in its entirety or skimmed-over.   There is a lot here some of which is better interpreted by an attorney.  7507, 11230, 13575, 14366, 15058, 15695, 19246.  Looking back, I’m not sure why I thought the issue had gone further along in the legal system and had been resolved to a more definitive degree. But these few opinions suggest otherwise.  

More than once, COOG responded to the question/issue of an individual or organization questioning the basis of a government organization either selling or licensing tax parcel data.  And in general, each time, the COOG response – or opinion – was the same noting that electronic records (digital) records are no different than hardcopy records and should be made available at the cost of duplication.  (Keeping in mind original Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) costs of duplication were originally based on hardcopy records (i.e., for example 25-cents per page) and did not/does not have specific rates for digital data duplication.  Today, staff time, tapes, etc., can be included in the charge. However, since COOG opinions are advisory in nature only in context of FOIL, the early inquiries did not result in any formal legal challenge being launched on any level against any entity with regard to the selling of tax parcel data.   Suffolk County early on became involved in litigation on licensing/copyright issues (referenced in one of the opinions) which is still in place today.  But by the late 1990s, the selling of tax parcel data was in place and had become business as usual.  It seems the geospatial community is no further along in “the challenge” to the selling or licensing of tax parcel data than we were some thirty years ago.

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GeoSpatial Student Spotlight: Collin O’Connor

PhD Candidate/Geography                               June 2025 (Anticipated)
Department of Geography
University at Buffalo                                                                                Buffalo, NY

M.S. Epidemiology                                             May 2020
School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Albany                                                                                 Albany, NY

B.S. Biological Sciences                                    May 2018
Department of Biological Sciences
University at Albany                                                                                 Albany, NY

Research Focus

O’Connor’s doctoral research focuses on the spatial ecology and epidemiology of tick borne diseases in New York State. In particular, his dissertation work examines two genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the pathogen that causes anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis is the second most frequent tick borne disease in New York State behind Lyme disease.  An August 2021 article in Medscape reported Anaplasma cases nearly quadrupled statewide from 2010 to 2018.  On a larger scale, Anaplasmosis became a nationally notifiable disease in the United States during 1999 after nationwide case counts increased significantly. Most of these infections occur in the upper midwestern and northeastern states, with eastern New York and the Hudson River Valley areas being of particular focus and concentration.

It comes as no surprise that confirmed Anaplasmosis are the highest during the summer months when people are active in the outdoors.

Background

O’Connor started his research on anaplasmosis while working on his masters degree at UAlbany with a team of other public health researchers and scientists in both academia and government. Their ongoing and collective research focuses on evaluating human risk of acquiring anaplasmosis (as well as Lyme Disease, babesiosis and other tickborne diseases) at publically accessible lands, based on measures of tick density and pathogen prevalence. Central to the investigation is looking at the relationships between human activity and environmental characteristics of specific land cover types supporting mammalian populations which serve as both transmitters and hosts of the A. phagocytophilum pathogen.

O’Connor’s research involves numerous datasets as part of his research, most notably human case data – which is analyzed at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level –  as reported to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). Data is aggregated by NYS regions (Capital, Central, Metro, and Western) and ZCTA by using patient address and 2010 US Census population data and shapefiles.

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Streamlining the New York City Environmental Quality (CEQR) Review Application with Geospatial Tools

Open source content and tools at the core of automating complex process

City Environmental Quality Review, or CEQR, is the process by which New York City agencies determine what effect, if any, a discretionary action they approve may have upon the environment. CEQR is a disclosure process and not an approval process in and of itself. Completion of an environmental review supports other decisions made by agencies such as approvals of rezoning or variance applications, funding, or issuance of discretionary permits. Ministerial actions, such as the issuance of a building permit, are not subject to environmental review.

Historically, CEQR, along with other government environmental review programs such as the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) have been the subject of much debate – right or wrong – with regard to being overwhelming, complicated, and costly to those individuals and/or organizations involved in projects or “actions” which trigger the application process.

CEQR is precursor to ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure), which, in part, is the approval process that decides the fate of the action.  ULURP cannot start until the environmental review process is complete.

Introducing AutoCEQR

In the New York CEQR space, leave it to a couple seasoned GIS folks to step in and combine  professional experience with geospatial tools and programming skills to offer a cost effective and streamlined process to work through the CEQR application.

AutoCEQR cofounder Matt Sloane has worked in the planning field since 2007, working extensively with SEQRA and CEQR.  Over that time Matt developed specialties in both GIS and Data Science.  As Matt learned to program the tools that power ESRI ArcDesktop software, he realized that many of the processes required by CEQR, which are explicitly prescribed by the CEQR Technical Manual, could be automated based on existing data (e.g., MapPLUTO) and several project-specific inputs. He approached Danny Sheehan, a close friend and former classmate at SUNY Geneseo’s planning and geography courses, about the project. Both agreed it would be a great opportunity to put their combined skills to work and build a platform to augment the CEQR application process.  Danny was able to bring geospatial development expertise and software production knowledge he learned at UBS, Carto, and Columbia University to start and evolve the project into a production application.

AutoCEQR leverages a mixture of City, State, and Federal data resources, though primarily relies on NYC Open Data.  Other data sources include:

This 400’ radius buffer around a subject property which requires CEQR shows adjacent parcel land use classifications that are included in the NYC MapPluto file on a regular basis

A. Coding and Software Environments

Python is at the core of the AutoCEQR technology.  For working with data, the AutoCEQR team uses  Pandas, GeoPandas, Shapely, Fiona and ArcPy for generating Map Document files (.mxd’s), and creating custom Python classes for the workloads.  Sheehan notes “With GeoPandas and Shapely it’s phenomenal how close to parity they now are for matching ArcPy functionality.”  In the development environment, PyCharm Community Edition and GitHub are used for code development & versioning.   

AutoCEQR prototyping started with ArcPy for all tasks but it was decided to abstract the high-level functions so the geoprocessing engine could be changed to GeoPandas, the geoprocessing library of choice.  For interacting and communicating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) – the current AutoCEQR Cloud Computing Platform – developers leveraged Boto3 (AWS SDK for Python).  EC2 and S3 is leveraged in the AWS environment for computing, data storage, and distribution which has enabled to keep the application computing bill fairly low per month. In the future, it is anticipated to modify the architecture by leveraging more serverless technology and more scalable architecture for added compute cost savings.   AWS generously provided AutoCEQR with free computing credits for one year through AWS Activate – which was brought to their attention as part of their involvement and experience at the Columbia Startup Lab (CSL).  QGIS is also used to verify results and quick GIS work. 

Interacting with Census data and a whole host of services is made possible by leveraging the many great open-source libraries available on PyPl and GitHub. The storefront is the Squarespace AP which is used to process and deliver orders.

AutoCEQR still uses ArcPy mapping for generating maps, .mxd’s, and map packages but given the high cost of licensing and the technical slowdown it adds to both the production application and ongoing development speed, and it’s unclear if .mxd’s will exist in future iterations. (Both Sheehan and Sloane would like to have more feedback from users if the .mxd deliverable is necessary or if the application should generate static maps with Matplotlib and GeoPandas or if interactive web maps would be more helpful.)

The data engineering ETL process mostly consists of pulling down data with requests, unzipping files, some transformations and projecting data, and API libraries and a scheduler. We download the latest data every night – whether the source is updated daily or not. Data ETL would be a big focus to redesign to improve the platform and save on cloud storage and computing costs.

In addition to being consistent with existing property zoning classifications, projects are also reviewed in context of proximity to a myriad of other special districts and overlay zones.

B.  Application Process

Users input relevant project-specific information (e.g., dwelling units, building height, square footage, etc.) via the AutoCEQR website.  From there the application software ingests  the data and checks it against public data sources – usually with some intermediate geoprocessing steps required – and then references the analysis thresholds stated in the Environmental Assessment Form (EAS) to determine which analysis the proposed project is required to undertake as part of the CEQR environmental review. For certain quantitative calculations,  AutoCEQR has translated all of that logic into functions or classes in the codebase. Users also receive the data and maps for either a CEQR Pre-Screen or a select set of CEQR Full Analysis items. This VIMEO video provides an introduction to accessing the application and illustrates the products generated.

C.  Usage

To date, AutoCEQR has had several dozen environmental professionals targeted from a few key firms to evaluate application and then go on to use AutoCEQR in production. Currently Sheeran and Sloane are allowing users to leverage AutoCEQR freely in order to get helpful product feedback and gain traction.  With the aim of soliciting feedback for refinement, feature expansion, and product evolution,  AutoCEQR has been well received by former director of the NYCDCP Environmental Assessment Review Division, Ms. Olga Abinader.  She comments:

“AutoCEQR is an excellent application – as its title indicates, it automates tedious, time-consuming CEQR documentation that has historically taken consultants dozens of person-hours to complete.  As a longtime NYC environmental review expert and former public service leader, I appreciate that it gathers data points from the City’s publicly available databases and agency websites (MapPLUTO, NYC Parks, NYC LPC, GIS sources), and combines this information with user inputs (i.e., analysis framework details) to generate useful EAS Maps, visuals, and content/data for the EAS Forms in a short turnaround. Given the time savings it offers, I am very enthusiastic about AutoCEQR as a tool and recommend it highly to consultants, public service professionals, the general public, decision-makers and others interested in preparing or reviewing CEQR materials.” 

As the product is currently operating under a freemium model, users don’t need to currently apply the discount.  However, it is important for AutoCEQR to continue this offering to support affordable housing in NYC in the event AutoCEQR ever moves to any kind of fee-based model. 

All AutoCEQR maps included in the project delivery file as both ArcGIS Map Document files (.mxd) and Map Package files (.mpk).

D.  Affordable Housing Development Services Discount

Those working on the development of Affordable Housing or Inclusionary Housing are encouraged to contact the AutoCEQR team.  It is their aim is to provide the AutoCEQR platform and reporting deeply discounted for individuals or companies involved in these types of housing projects.  If the entire development provides 100% Affordable units, the AutoCEQR team intends to provide free reporting and analysis.*

As the product is currently operating under a freemium model, users don’t need to currently apply the discount.  However, it is important for AutoCEQR to continue this offering to support affordable housing in NYC in the event AutoCEQR ever moves to any kind of fee-based model. 

* Free reporting with minimal overhead for costs associated with report processing. 

Summary 

Development and marketing efforts on the AutoCEQR project has slowed down since both Sheehan and Sloane have started new full-time positions.  Nonetheless, both continue to explore interesting options for its future development and continued success.  Individuals and companies interested in the application and/or communicating with Sheehan and Sloane are encouraged to do so via the contact information below.

Contact:

Daniel M. Sheehan
danny@autoceqr.com

Matt Sloane
matt@autoceqr.com

Envisioning the Future of Buffalo’s East Side

AGOL viewer, data HUB, and other geospatial tools used in helping develop WITHIN East Side Plan

Community focused GIS projects are always a favorite of mine to write about.  Highlighting how geospatial tools can be used by community groups – including nonprofits which are often project sponsors – to better help visualize and understand the vast array of environmental, regulatory, business and public health, and cultural data which impacts their daily lives.  One such project located in Buffalo’s east side was brought to my attention in a recent communication with Lisa Matthies-Wiza, Director of Geographic Information Services at Erie County.  

WITHIN East Side

The WITHIN East Side project is one of many projects of LISC Western New York (WNY) and its larger parent organization LISC New York.  program.   WITHIN East Side  focuses on simplifying the neighborhood planning and community development process, and ensures development is driven by resident leaders and community groups.  As an open, inclusive, community-driven initiative, WITHIN East Side brings together neighborhood voices, trusted partners, and supportive funders in an effort to better the wellbeing of residents using their own visions. Together with LISC NY, the WITHIN East Side stakeholders collaboratively identify projects that sustain the positive momentum happening in local neighborhoods.

In early 2020, LISC NY began planning with community partners in three geographic focus areas in the East Side under the WITHIN East Side program.  The East Side of Buffalo, which is the heart of Buffalo’s Black community was chosen as it is purposeful to build upon and lift up the long-time visions of residents and community leaders in neighborhoods most impacted by historic disinvestment, environmental, structural, and systemic racism.  The additional impact of the racist mass shooting on May 14, 2022, that killed 10 people, at a local supermarket within the planning area, furthered the importance of amplifying the community’s voice and vision for the future.

The project was designed as a two-pronged approach–integrating economic development and quality-of-life planning.  Closely intertwined, both  economic development and quality-of-life planning require understanding community history and dynamics, collaboratively identifying projects, building relationships with diverse stakeholders, and turning community priorities into progress.

The WITHIN East Side project was broken into three distinct study areas – each of which was studied in more detail for a wide range of demographic, cultural and economic development issues

Background

LISC NY contracted with Prospect Hill Consulting (PHC), a local minority and women owned consulting firm which had responded to a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) which was issued in January 2021.  GIS mapping and analysis was a requirement and the LISC NY team knew GIS services were important to supporting the overall East Side project.  PHC was selected to perform elements A (GIS Mapping [including an online mapping tool request and a data HUB) and B (Scenario Planning).   While LISC NY had a vision of what the final plan might look like,  PHC was instrumental in assisting LISC NY in developing maps and visualizations used in the final plan and in community engagement sessions throughout the process.

Existing 2021 land use is just one of dozens of data layers in the WITHIN East Side AGOL viewer. The rich database consists of local, regional, state and federal datasets.

Leading geospatial development of the East Side project from PHC was Jenny Magovero, President and Co-founder. Ms. Mogavero has been working in the GIS field for 23 years covering geospatial applications in community planning and environmental sciences as well as work in data visualization and  project management.  Mogavero created all of the maps in the East Side plan using the ArcGIS client as well as for spatial analysis and modeling.  The project web map is ArcGIS Online based with the data stored in a Hub Site (to allow for data sharing) and was designed about halfway through the GIS mapping and analysis task to support the WITHIN planning process itself.

One of the many excellent graphics iWITHIN East Side report. The map on the right identities areas within the study area where supermarkets are located – a significant issue for residents with limited transportation options.

LISC NY wanted to be as transparent as possible and allow stakeholders (i.e. the community/public, organizations, etc.) to work with the data and download and use it if they needed.  To this end, the AGOL interactive map was used in community outreach and meetings early in the project and as new data came online (i.e., stakeholders requested to see additional themes) PHC continued to update the AGOL viewer. PHC designed the AGOL viewer to serve as a communication medium that allowed LISC NY to show project progress, survey the community on what themes needed to be covered and/or identify gaps, and to act as a platform to continue engagement with the community in the future. 

Economic Development issues are paramount in the study such as the role of small businesses, inflow of non-residents that work – but do not live – in the area, as well as the concentration(s) and accessibility of employment opportunities.

Data collection and development was specific to the mapping and analysis that the LISC NY team needed for the WITHIN plan itself.  As LISC NY has significant business relationships within the greater Buffalo community, they were able to collect a lot of data from local, state and NGOs. In addition, PHC collected publicly available data from the City of Buffalo, Erie County (parcels, land use, etc.), New York State  (NYSDEC, NYSDOT, etc.) and federal datasets (EPA, Census, etc.).  Additionally, PHC developed data from reports or datasets that were anecdotally described by stakeholders (like the air quality buffer, buried portions of the Scajaquada Creek, key intersections, etc.).  Project data was also obtained from utilities, Google, OpenStreetMaps, and ESRI.  

Most of the project data is made available through the LISC WNY Open Data Hub which was also designed and continues to be supported by PHC.  (Some providers did not want their data to be shared so it is only available for viewing in the application.)   

No AGOL account is necessary to access the HUB and tags help users to easily jump to specific themes of data presented in the final plan for download.

PHC used a bevy of GIS,  statistical packages, and desktop publishing software tools to generate the maps and graphics in the report including: 

  1. ArcGIS Online to collect stats for the neighborhood that were ACS 5yr census based (https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/analyze/enrich-layer.htm)
  2. Geospatial processing tools to buffer, clip, summarize, and run overlay analyses
  3. Spatial Analyst tools to develop walkshed layers (from points provided by Walkscore)
  4. Tableau Desktop and Excel to conduct data exploration to emphasize trends (or data insights) with graphs/visualization on  map layouts
  5. Adobe InDesign for page layouts and other graphics to be consistent with the LISC NY brand book (design guide) including colors, fonts, and logos.
  6. ESRI’s Hexagon sampling tool to visualize parcel data classes (i.e. land use, vacant parcel density, ownership) at the scale of the plan areas. 

Residential ownership type is an important variable in urban studies. Data presented in the figure above suggests there continue to be many opportunities in increasing owner occupied properties in the study area

Summary

While consulting architecture and engineering companies continue to expand their geospatial offerings to governments and regional programs in 2022, particularly in the infrastructure and public works space, planning firms such as PHC serve in a unique space focusing on efforts which include applying geospatial tools as part of important community-based projects which often include significant public input and involvement.  Tools such as AGOL provide a great  framework in which to engage the public with regard to adding and removing data content and visualizing potential scenario outcomes.  A particularly useful tool given the enormity of the data used in the WITHIN East Side plan.

Reflecting on PHC’s involvement in the study, Jenny Mogavero notes:

“LISC NY is an integral part of, and key economic engine within the Western New York region.  Prospect Hill was honored to partner with the LISC NY to use GIS data, visualization tools and spatial analysis methods to not only present the existing conditions of our city’s East Side neighborhoods, but also reveal the deeper insights that occur when we overlap data-driven stories across multiple thematic lanes.  We were thrilled that our work supported the teams’ consensus building goals to develop a vision of a prosperous future for an important part of our City.”

Tyra Johnson Hux, WNY Director of Operations, also reflects on PHC’s work and the use of geospatial tools in the project adding:

“WITHIN East Side amplifies the visions of residents and community leaders in neighborhoods impacted by historic disinvestment, environmental, structural, & systemic racism. Showing their stories through, not only their own words, but also data was critical to helping our stakeholders generate a bold, authentic and comprehensive vision with an emphasis on implementation.  PHC supported the WITHIN East Side Plan by working with the project team to identify, collect and normalize relevant GIS data from neighborhood, government, academic and other partners. Additionally, they worked with us to analyze and visualize the community experience through maps and infographics.  The online interactive map and data warehouse they developed made it possible to share data in a way that breaks down silos, facilitate  strategic planning and continue community conversations.”

Contact

Jenny Mogavero, GISP
Prospect Hill Consulting LLC | Principal
716.432.9053 | www.prospecthill.co
jmogavero@prospecthill.co

Lashay Young, Director
External Affairs for LISC NY
https://www.lisc.org/
LYoung@lisc.org

Warren County GIS: A Showcase of Geospatial Content for County and Local Government

Program’s modest beginning started in the late 1990s with AutoCAD files and a copy of ArcInfo

Now spending a significant amount of time upstate New York in Essex County, we now find ourselves looking for different routes to take back and forth from southeast New York State instead of the “go-to” I87/Northway option every time.  Just to mix things up – the four-plus hour drive going the normal route can get to be a bit monotonous.

So it was in September I came south out of Ticonderoga headed to Hague (yes, named after The Hague in the Netherlands) on the northern end of Lake George – an area I had never been to.  And it did not disappoint.  Though ultimately to State Route 8 (aka Graphite Mountain Road) to a new Adirondacks trailhead:  Swede Mountain Firetower.  Even though the round-trip hike isn’t that long and relatively easy, it was getting late and I didn’t even get out of the car while in the trailhead parking lot.  Instead, making a note to print out a trail map when I got home.  A couple days later and not having a clue what trail maps were actually available, I Googled “Swede Mountain Firetower trail map” and a candidate list of URLs and image options were immediately returned.  Randomly selecting the one below,  the cartography caught my eye and I quickly looked for the map’s author.  There on the bottom left:  Warren County GIS.  

It was quickly then off to the Warren County GIS website.  Which became the genesis of this article.

Warren County GIS

Just by coincidence, this article coincides with the release of the new Warren County GIS Hub as announced by long-time county GIS Administrator, Sara Frankenfeld.  Overseeing a countywide GIS program judiciously developed over the course of more than two decades – from the days of ARC/INFO coverages to 2022 mobile field apps and interactive online viewing applications.  Also available through the program and Hub is a rich repository of dozens of hardcopy maps available for download covering areas such as countywide outdoor recreation, history, demographics, municipalities, planning and the environment and much more.   An amazing amount of content bundled into three main categories:  Web Maps and Apps | Maps for Print | Download Data.

Background

Originally from the northside of San Francisco Bay in Marin County and earning a degree in Geography from Northern Arizona University, Frankenfeld came to the east coast to initially start work with Dutchess County.  After a short stint with NYSDEC she ultimately made her way to Warren County in 1999 where she got started with a copy of ARC/INFO on a standalone computer in the county building basement.   The county had created a new GIS position in the Planning Department to help convert the tax maps to AutoCAD and then over a period of time converting from AutoCAD to ARC/INFO and then later to geodatabase. 

Over the next four years, she was successful in winning over several other departments on the value and usefulness of GIS technology which she accomplished by focusing on easy, visible “wins” such getting people to use the newly available digital tax parcel data (linked to the RPS data) as quickly as possible and making hardcopy maps.  Lots of maps.  The visibility of the Warren County program also expanded by her working with municipal government zoning administrators and assessors and providing access to the new digital parcel data and including zoning maps,  wetlands data, and FEMA floodplain maps.  A New York State Archives and Administration (SARA) grant enabled the development of a parcel viewer app sby AppliedGIS – where she would later go to work for several years – called the Spatial Data Viewer.  The groundwork was also laid for the implementation of ArcIMS and Imagemate Online.  Somehow she also found time to include outreach programs to local schools and GIS Day.  

After a period in the private sector with (then) AppliedGIS/Fountains Spatial, she returned to Warren County in 2013 where she remains today.  

Today’s Environment

In 2022, the Warren County GIS program is built totally around the ArcGIS Online (AGOL) environment.   Frankenfeld states AGOL has “totally transformed the workplace” and furthers her two main goals of (1) improving public access to data and (2) streamlining/improving processes for county departments and organizations the GIS program supports.  She, along with GIS Specialist Amanda Beck, have embraced StoryMaps, Dashboards, Hubs and Survey123 in ways to make it easy for non-tech users to create and maintain data and access it.  While many of the combo Survey123/dashboard applications are internal facing, others, like the Lake George Milfoil Harvesting real-time app is available to the public.  And so is the Capital Improvement Project Planning viewerBoth respond to GIS requests from local municipalities, local organizations including  the Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council (AGFTC), Lake George Park Commission and the Lake Champlain Lake George Regional Planning Board – all of which have tech support contracts the County.  Projects range from data compilation to hardcopy map preparation to creating and supporting online apps.  Usually these three organizations know exactly what they want, but GIS staff we do often try to suggest ways to streamline or improve their requests.  For example, County GIS staff helped AGFTC come up with a method to inventory sidewalk/crosswalk/curb ramps for ADA transition plans that proved really popular and resulted in a training session for all the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) in the state.

Dashboard for Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council’s Transportation Improvement Program projects.

Having transitioned to ArcGIS Pro to support data editing, cartography and more complex analysis, Warren County GIS staff do a majority of their work in AGOL which includes the mobile pieces Field Maps and Survey123.  They still collect GPS data as needed (usually related to recreation or e911) and support field operations, such as collecting milfoil harvest or infrastructure data, for other users.  They also have Trimble boosters and cell phones which can be checked out to both county staff and municipalities for field data collection along with field worker licenses.   While there are still a few remaining ArcGIS desktop users, most users are using AGOL with named users in Planning, Soil and Water, Public Affairs, the Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Services, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation.  Address and road centerlines are uploaded to the state twice a year and parcel data once a year.  A large current project Sara and Amanda are currently working on is building additional GIS capacity and functionality in County Department of Public Works.

Except for Queensbury which has its own full-time GIS staff person, Warren County GIS supports all municipalities in the County.  At the beginning of the program, Sara had  set up each municipality with desktop GIS as well as providing training and support.  In hindsight and it comes as no surprise this desktop support  was the most time consuming element of her job in the early years.  With the advent of online GIS, County staff has transitioned most of the towns off of desktop GIS, although there are a small number of towns which still use the desktop client.  Most local communities across the County now utilize new AGOL applications.   “We often will take the initiative with projects for the towns that relate to work the County Planning Department is doing such as the Warrensburg buildout analysis“, notes Frankenfeld, “as well advocating the adoption of Field Maps for maintaining water and sewer data.”

New GIS Hub

As noted previously, the new Warren County GIS Hub contains three main areas of content:  Web Maps and Apps | Maps for Print | Download Data.  Each area is then broken down further thematically into categories such as recreation, environment, transportation and infrastructure, planning and zoning, history, citizen reports and more.  With an established user community in County government, most of the time departments and organizations now approach GIS staff directly with applications to develop to support their business needs such as the Safe Pace, Opioid Dashboard, Storm Reporter, TIP viewer, etc).  Other projects have been initiated by GIS staff themselves such as the covid hub and election polling locator.   GIS staff work frequently  with other Planning Department and and apply grant funding to create projects such as History Mapper and the letterboxing challenges (Letterboxing Trail and Historians’ Challenge).

Geospatial viewers are excellent for publishing public transportation systems content. In addition to making time tables and schedules available, ones such as the GGFT also include important public sites such as health care facilities.

Today the COVID Hub is the most popular app though much simplified from early COVID and no longer maintained by the GIS team.   It’s had around 1.5 million views  since its inception in April 2020 – not bad for a county with a population of 64,000   The next most popular is the parcel viewer app (Community Map), which gets about 12k views a month.  After that, the First Wilderness website (about 7k views a month) and the Recreation Mapper which gets a couple hundred views a day, higher in the summer.  Warren County’s primary industry is tourism and is an outdoor recreation destination, so trail maps and recreational resources are popular content and Sara and Amanda spend a substantial amount of time creating and maintaining recreation data and providing access to it.

Warren County GIS provides technical support to the Lake Champlain Lake George Regional Planning Board which extends beyond the Warren County footprint. This viewer contains both American Community Survey and 2020 Census data for areas in the five north country counties covered by the Regional Planning Board

Though the application was closed in August, another public facing app focused on the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA).  Survey123 was customized to create an application for those organizations interested in applying for ARPA funding.  The applications were made available to committee members for review through a Dashboard, and scoring was completed using another Survey123 form.

American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) grant monies provides funding for investment in a wide ranges of community programs and services including geospatial efforts in the rehabilitation and mapping of infrastructure systems.

Sara’s Law

There probably aren’t many geospatial professionals working today across the Empire State that are familiar with Sara’s own little piece of New York State GIS history.  The year was 2002 and it was during her first stint with Warren County.  While using a GPS unit to map the locations of fire hydrants in the North Creek area, she was “challenged” by the professional surveying community of mapping features in a manner/way she was not qualified to do so.   Her post to New York State GIS listserve at the time describing the events read:

“In January, I(Sara) was contacted by an investigator from the New York State Education Department’s Office of Professional Discipline.  They had received a complaint from a surveyor stating that I was surveying without a license.  I was using a Trimble Pathfinder Pro XR GPS unit to collect fire hydrant locations and then plot them on a reference map.  Two investigators met with myself, our planning director, and our county attorney.  The investigators were unfamiliar with GPS and GIS and were basically on a fact-finding mission.  The investigation has progressed, and today we met with the two investigators, an attorney from the Office for Professional Discipline and a surveyor from the New York State Board of Licensed Engineers and Land Surveyors.  The state’s attorney told us at the beginning of the meeting that after reviewing the facts in the case, they do feel that we are guilty of practicing surveying without a license.  She then gave our county attorney a chance to state our case, which I thought he did very well. We were informed that the board will make a decision within the next week.”

At the time, it WAS a really big deal in the statewide geospatial and surveying communities – particularly New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS) and the subject of much discussion and debate.  Significant in that it marked, for the first time, the visible intersection of emerging GIS/geospatial technologies and the professional discipline of surveying – and by extension, engineering in New York State.    While legislation (A01927 & S04396) was proposed in the 2007/2008 timeframe looking to “enhance the definition of land surveying with current standards and tools, i.e., GPS”, nothing was ultimately passed.  And along the way over the course of several years, the discussion and the proposed legislation became known as “Sara’s Law”.  

Little did she know the backpack GPS unit she was using in 2001 in North Creek would one day be the beginning of bringing these different, but similar geospatial technologies together as they are today.   Sara’s place in NYS GIS lore is secure.  

Summary

In addition to the broad presence the Warren County GIS program has throughout county government, it also represents the great relationship and guidance county geospatial programs can provide and offer to local governments.   Local governments that often have both limited financial and technical resources can benefit greatly from county GIS which have technical expertise and infrastructure in place.  A model that can be replicated in other areas across New York State.   

Contact

Sara Frankenfeld
GIS Administrator
Warren County GIS
Warren County Municipal Building
Lake George, NY 12845
frankenfelds@warrencountyny.gov
518-761-6410

Summer Reading: The Drones Are Amongst Us

Transformation geospatial technology is emerging as a “must have” in government GIS programs

Last month Governor Kathy Hochul announced the completion of the Skydome facility at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, Oneida County. Located in a former airplane hangar, the indoor facility is the largest indoor drone test facility in the nation and a major investment in New York’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site.  This investment adds to the already impressive UAS and high-tech ecosystem in the Empire State centered along the Syracuse-Rome corridorIts no news at this point that UAS are a transformation technology in the GIS and geospatial space with cutting-edge research and development going on right here in our backyard.  The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR) website provides a great example of this growing technology space which includes government, industry and academia.

The governor’s announcement made me go back looking for my notes on the Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS) 2022 Conference held May  23-25 at SUNY ESF which I wanted to participate in and attend, but the scheduling didn’t work out.   The 2022 show was the fifth STATUS conference which brought together more than 100 professionals from across the United States and Canada.  New York’s geospatial community, including those from a host of academic institutions and local and state governments, was well represented in the nine technical sessions which included both oral and poster presentations covering topics including mapping and surveying, agriculture and forestry, flood and water quality monitoring efforts, hardware and software, and flights and operations. Great homegrown UAS research work coming out of Cornell, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton, Hobart and William Smith College, and SUNY ESF.   One of the keynote speakers was Ken Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of NUAIR who I interviewed as part of a 10 Questions column last fall.  The STRATUS 2022 program guide, including abstracts and presentations can be found here

And for those coming out of college or those looking for a mid-career change – its a great job market.   If not a great job skill to augment any current geospatial position.    Commerical UAV News reports the top five drone pilot industry markets (in order) include:  mapping and modeling, thermal imaging, real estate photography and videography, inspections, and movies and television.  Another publication predicts that by the year 2025, at least 100,000 jobs will be created for drone pilots. (btw – while putting together this article, came across an update on New York State drone laws and regulations as of July 21, 2022).

Seemingly now present in every significant geospatial data collection effort at all levels of accuracy and need, drone usage will grow exponentially throughout government in the years ahead.  As governments continue to remain concerned over drone liability, privacy, and cybersecurity issues,  industry and consulting firms will continue to provide the bulk of drone and UAS operations.  This may change slowly over time, but the near future work will be supported largely by the non-government workforce.  One exception to this will be in the public safety arena where government staff will continue to be aggressively trained and licensed internally.   

In other areas it will be most likely specific drone consulting firms or engineering companies will step-in and provide drone/UAS services.  Many engineering companies have already  positioned themselves well in supporting government geospatial projects by building GIS capacity and offering a wide range of services skillsets – both on the desktop and in the field.  And drones are a perfect fit as part of their surveying and mapping consulting work particularly for smaller to mid-size governments with limited or no technical staff.      These same engineering firms now offering full service GIS programs including the managing of online products such as ArcGIS Online to data warehousing.  Particularly advantageous to local governments as datasets get larger and larger as the televising of infrastructure systems (sanitary, storm, potable water, etc), above ground 3D modeling, building information models (BIM), and high resolution imagery continue to be captured and developed in municipal governments.  Continued advancements by the major software companies such as ESRI and AutoCAD, and their business partners,  on the integration of drone generated data such as lidar only extends the ease of use and accessibility of drone/UAS technology for government organizations.

And with high accuracy mapping and surveying being one of the most common applications of drone/UAS use, particularly in context of the quality of imagery captured and increasingly larger geographic footprints of data being collected, might it lead to  the discussion as to how the emerging drone/UAS technology augments larger publicly – funded efforts such as the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)?  While the 3DEP program covers much larger geographic areas and is plane-based, is there a way to add smaller project areas which are drone/UAS  based and meeting appropriate federal lidar specifications to public data warehouses and inventories such as the U.S. Federal Mapping Coordination website?  Expand the State elevation library to include locally collected data?  There is so much elevation data being collected across the state by so many sources.

Summary

Government GIS/geospatial practitioners will do well to follow and participate in technology specific conferences and associations such as those represented at STRATUS 2022.  Many of which are becoming more accessible by being available online.   Industry specific conferences in engineering, public works, public safety – even agriculture – now serve as an excellent source of specific applied geospatial technology tools.  And drone/UAS technology is a common thread among them all. 

Coming to a geospatial application close to you soon. 

Hard Copy Maps Still Rule: NYS Agricultural Districts

The art form is still alive as counties design and create maps as part of the Agricultural District Certification process

I’ve written about agriculture in New York State before in context of the farming community continuing to evolve with the adoption of geospatial technologies. With farmland covering nearly 20% of the state’s geographic footprint, its easy to see why geospatial tools are so increasingly important in managing the state’s prime agricultural lands.  And one does not need to look far to see the advancements of new geospatial technologies in New York State agriculture, particularly with the recent Systems and Technologies for Remote Sensing Sensing Applications Through Unmanned Aerial Systems (STRATUS) conference May 23-25, 2022 at SUNY ESF in Syracuse. Several papers and even dedicated tracks of papers and presentations focusing on UAV/drone technology in agriculture.

And it’s big business, too. A November 2021 article published by NY Business Agribusiness Column: Economic Impact of Agriculture in New York State stated that “agriculture in New York State contributed $43.6 billion in total industry output, 160,100 jobs and $12.3 billion in gross domestic product across the state economy.” It’s a rather amazing article with many more figures on how agriculture impacts the statewide economy, The article is based on the work and research of Todd Schmidt, an associate professor with the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics Management at Cornell University.

Which makes it all the more interesting in 2022, even with the fledgling agritech applications and the almost complete conversion and automation of our mapping, cartography, and business/financial systems, the certification of agricultural districts in the state still involves the use of an iconic piece of mapping and cartography: The hardcopy map. Yes, while the digital data/products in producing the hardcopy maps are used and repurposed in many useful and productive ways across the state, it is still the hardcopy map which is used as part of the agriculture district certification process by NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (AgMkts).

Background

Since 1971 , the Agricultural Districts Law, Article 25AA of the Agriculture and Markets Law (AML), as administered through (AgMkts), has reflected state and county level efforts to preserve, protect and encourage the development and improvement of agricultural land for the production of food, fiber and other agricultural products. As districts are created, or modified during renewal, maps are generated, based on tax parcels included in the districts. Each county is responsible for creating maps to meet the requirements of the Agricultural Districts Mapping Program. Supporting AgMkts in this regard is Cornell University’s Institute for Resource Information Sciences (IRIS) has helped facilitate the mapping program since 1977. Its primary responsibility is to support agricultural district mapping efforts by reviewing, distributing, and archiving agricultural district maps, and to provide consultation services. Automation of the statewide district maps began in earnest In 1996 when the entire set of NYS Agricultural District maps in the collection of Cornell IRIS (formally CLEARS) was converted to digital format. This was done by shipping blueprint copies of the maps to the NYS DEC for scanning.

Article 25AA references maps several times in Section 303 as a required deliverable for certification of a district. Specifically the text includes “The district review plan shall include a description of the district, including a map delineating the exterior boundaries of the district which shall conform to tax parcel boundaries”Agricultural districts across New York State are reviewed and certified on an eight-year cycle.

The Map

It’s a real treat anymore to show up at a meeting or discussion and be given the chance to review a traditional, well designed hard copy map. Increasingly becoming rarer and rarer. And just think how much less demand there would be for hardcopy maps if it wasn’t for the ubiquitous use and sharing of the PDF file format? For so many years, the 1:24,000 map was one of the most commonly used map design and layouts following in step with the classic U.S. Geological Survey 2000-scale quadrangle grid series. And yes, it just so happens the required base map standard for the agricultural district maps, as outlined in the Agiriculture Districts Program Mapping Checklist prepared by IRIS, is 1:24,000. According to Diane Ayers, who provides staff support to the mapping program, “IRIS recommends either the NYS DOT 7 ½ minute planimetric map series (available in either raster or vector format) as the base map for individual County mapping products.

The 32-page document consists of written requirements covering topics such as, but not limited to, map content including roads, civil boundaries, and water features, as well as traditional map items such as north arrows, keys and legends, scale bars, and the bounding geographic coordinate grid.  Documentation on the source of base map data, other data layers, year of parcel data, and geographic reference information (datum, projection, etc) is also recommended.   It also includes several pages of examples covering a wide range of other hardcopy cartographic principles including annotation, color selection, and symbology.  Many items which cartographers and map makers have greater flexibility in controlling when using desktop client software vs. web mapping cartographic tools. 

Appendix 1 in the Mapping Checklist document shows examples of how to render the district boundary as the most prominent feature on the map

While counties send all review materials associated with the eight-year review, including tax parcel information, directly to AgMkts, the county produced hardcopy map and shapefiles are sent directly to Ayers.   She reviews the maps for consistency with the mapping checklist and then forwards to AgMkts and uses the shapefiles to maintain a consistent a set of statewide district maps which are available via CUGIR.  The statewide coverage she maintains based on this relationship and data exchange with the counties can be found here.

The 2022 Ontario Agriculture District Map as produced by IRIS. Shapefiles and documentation received from counties enables IRIS to maintain a statewide agricultural district coverage.

Sheri Norton is the GIS Coordinator for Ontario County, located in the Finger Lakes region renown for viticulture and other agricultural products. She has been through three district reviews including a large countywide consolidation in 2021. “Agriculture District mapping is a big effort with partnership between our Planning, Real Property and GIS Program staff”, she says, “but with my previous experience in producing the mapping products for IRIS and becoming more comfortable with ArcGIS Pro, the map series and formal reports are now easily updated for the next review cycles.  The ArcGIS client is all I use.”   Which is quite an accomplishment, as keep in mind many final cartographic products are often “touched up” before final publication with other desktop publishing software such as Adobe Illustrator. The certification also includes generating a list of all tax parcels in the district(s) based on the county assessment roll.

Sheri Norton’s 2021 Ontario County Agriculture District One map designed and produced entirely with desktop GIS software.  This same map was provided to AgMkts as part of the review and certification process

Summary

Hard copy maps are as close to GIS comfort food as we can get.   And here in New York is refreshing to see how this important piece of our cartography past is still being used in a government regulatory program.  Holding its own against all of the advancements – and acceptance of digital web mapping.  Kudos to GIS professionals across the state who are still producing hardcopy maps and helping the product remain relevant as part of the profession.

Agricultural Districts protect and promote the availability of land for farming purposes.  For informative overview of this important Empire State Program review this presentation.

Contact

Diane Ayers
Data Manager and Educator
NYS Agricultural Districts Mapping Program
Cornell IRIS
1015 Bradfield Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
dag10@cornell.edu

Sheri Norton 
GIS Coordinator, GISP
Geographic Information Systems Program
Ontario County Information Technology Department
70 Ontario Street
Canandaigua, NY 14424
Sheri.Norton@ontariocountyny.gov

Jeff Kehoe 
Farmland Protection Specialist
Department of Agriculture and Markets | Division of Land and Water Resources
10B Airline Drive
Albany, New York 12235
jeffrey.kehoe@agriculture.ny.gov