Pilot project to ease gathering of cadastral, right-of-way data
Local government could save on resources if it had access to the state’s survey and right-of-way acquisition information. The state, in turn, needs efficient and easy access to cadastral (property boundary and ownership) and right-of-way information developed and managed by local government. Institutional and technological barriers, however, prevent state and local government from exchanging this information in a timely way.
A pilot project by Mn/DOT and the LRRB is now under way to develop a data exchange mechanism. The goals of the “Cadastral and Right-of-Way Data Exchange Pilot Project” are to identify the information to share, collect the information, and create Web-based information access and transportation applications.
The pilot project area is the state’s District 4, the Detroit Lakes District. Guidelines and protocols instituted in the pilot will serve as standards for future data sharing throughout the state, says Clark Moe of Mn/DOT Research Services, the administrative liaison for the project.
The pilot is expected to produce many benefits, both for the state and local government.
- Benefits for the state include:
- Leveraging information collected at the local government level
- Eliminating redundant data creation
- Reducing the cost of acquiring local government cadastral information
- Reducing the time and resources required for the state to provide information to local government
- Benefits for local government include:
- Gaining knowledge of the state’s available data for sharing
- Eliminating redundant data creation
- Having easy and effective access to the state’s survey and right-of-way acquisition information
About 900 state projects each year require cadastral—property boundary and ownership—information. Currently, the state’s personnel must collect cadastral information from local government sources, such as counties and cities, each time a project is identified. Collecting information requires researching records and performing field surveys and then following up with analysis when discrepancies arise. As a result, researching projects requires a large portion of time and funds allocated to projects.
The pilot project will take into account that the plan for data exchange must meet the complex and variable needs of local government, says Moe. Some local government agencies in District 4 have a Webbased method of accessing cadastral data, internal to their departments. Other local government agencies have no digital data or only partial data, and no means of distributing the information.
The Web-based application, scheduled for completion in April 2008, will have multiple interfaces to meet the needs of state and local government’s requests for information. The same application framework can be used for information- sharing for the remainder of the counties and cities within Minnesota at a later date.
The Exchange will provide further details of the Web-based application next year. For further information about the project, contact Moe at 651-366-3772, clark.moe@dot.state.mn.us.