Title
a. Approve the County GIS Data Sharing Policy; and
b. Authorize Information Technology staff to implement the Policy as a County Service.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve the County GIS Data Sharing Policy; and
b. Authorize Information Technology staff to implement the Policy as a County Service.
SUMMARY:
It has been recommended by the County Department Heads' GIS Subcommittee that County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) repository data be made available to the public and other public entities. Much of the data pertains specifically to Monterey County and is either unique to the County's GIS data repository and could not be found elsewhere, or could only be found in disparate locations across the Internet or elsewhere in less useful formats. At a modest cost to the County, this valuable data collection could be shared with the citizens of Monterey County. In addition, by making this data available to the public as recommended, access to the data could be obtained on-line as a greater convenience to those utilizing it, and County staff would no longer be required to provide the information in response to individual requests, saving valuable staff time and resources for other purposes.
DISCUSSION:
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data is used to create informational data bases and maps that can provide basic geographic information, as well as detailed attributes and multi-dimensional views of parcels and geographic areas. Among other uses, GIS data can describe individual parcels, inform regional marketing decisions, facilitate planning for community services, and aid in multiple areas of research as described in Attachment 1. In response to an increasing demand from the general public, members of the local business community and local service providers for GIS data in the possession of the County, County Department Heads with an interest in the GIS data have met to consider an equitable, efficient, and appropriate course of action. The County Department Heads propose hosting a Data Download Service website co-located with, and complementary to, Monterey County's Internet Mapping Service web site within the existing Monterey County Internet Site framework. This would allow interested parties to download many of the datasets, or feature classes, stored within the County GIS data repository.
Feature classes to be made available would include various land records, as well as civic locations and transportation infrastructure, addressing, political boundaries, planning data, hydrology, and geology. Feature classes would typically be made available free of charge for download via the Internet Mapping Service web site.
Other feature classes, such aerial imagery and digital terrain models, can also be made available to the public. However, due to the very large size of these types of data, it is not currently practical to make these data available for download. Instead, interested parties will need to arrangements with County staff to create copies of these data onto data storage media such as external hard drives.
Some specific feature classes contain only geometry, with minimal attribute data included. Users of the Internet Data Sharing Service will be provided with instructions to obtain attribute tables specific to those feature classes. This type of feature class would include, for example, the Assessor's parcel data; other feature classes in this category may be identified or created in the future.
Privacy issues, network security precautions, and network bandwidth conservation are areas of concern that have been addressed by the Department Heads' GIS Subcommittee (Attachment 2). Access to the data download page will be gained through the County GIS Data Disclaimer page in order to educate the consumer as well as protect the County from issues of liability (Attachment 3). In addition, to the extent that some data may have a need for confidentiality or limited disclosure, or may be subject to restriction due to security or privacy reasons, that data may not be made available to the general public as part of this policy.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Staff of the Information Technology Department worked with the Department Heads GIS Subcommittee to develop this proposal. The Office of the County Counsel assisted with development of this proposal, and has approved the proposal as to form and legality. This proposal was reviewed and approved by the Auditor and by the Department Heads. Staff of the Information Technology Department assisted with preparation of this Board Report.
FINANCING:
There will be a onetime estimated cost in the amount of $2,200 for the initial website development and a recurring cost in the estimated amount of $1440 yearly for data updates. This cost will be offset by the funds received for special GIS data requests or custom GIS services.
Prepared by: Darryl Tyler, GIS Analyst II, x6958
Approved by:
__________________________________________
Dianah Neff, Director of Information Technology
Dated: April 21, 2014
Attachments:
GIS Data Distribution Policy - Draft
Attachment 1 - GeoDatabase Layer Publication Determination
Attachment 2 - Response to Areas of Concern
Attachment 3 - Monterey County GIS Data Disclaimer