The Town of Farmville has recently requested a GIS parcel viewer and Timmons Group, based out of Richmond, VA, was selected to design and host this new website. This website allows users to look up parcel and zoning information as well as the location of public utilities. In addition to a desktop viewer, a mobile version of the site that will work on all smartphones and tablets is available. The screenshots below describe some ways in which users can better interact with the sites to pull pertinent information. Upon entering the site, the user is given the option to search by physical address, owner name, parcel number, or go directly to the site by accepting the disclaimer. These searches along with more advanced searches (Open Advanced Options) are available to the user at all times at the top of the website. In addition, the user is able to double click any parcel to select it. Below will briefly describe different tools and reporting features: Each primary search has an auto-fill that will filter out results as the user continues to type. User is able to perform advanced searches by acres range. User is also able to search by graphical rectangle, circle, polygon, or freehand tool.
Under Change Basemap, the user can toggle between 4 different basemaps including imagery. The navigation tools for the site on the left allow the user to move around the map. Scrolling with the wheel on the mouse will also zoom in/out. Under the Open Tools, the user has 4 options: Draw and Measure, Coordinate Widget, Bookmarks, and Street View. Draw and Measure will allow the user to draw points, lines, and polygons over the map with the ability to enable measurements. Coordinate Widget allows the user to input latitude and longitude coordinates to zoom to a specific area. Bookmarks allow the user to create a bookmark and return to the area of interest later. Finally, Street View will allow the user to click on a street on the map with the ability to change settings for your preferred viewing experience.
The Legend displays all the map layers that are available at that particular scale. As you zoom in more layers will become available. The user has the ability to toggle these on/off at your discretion. The user is able to Print Map, Open Links, and Help. The help page has videos describing in more detail all the functionality of the website.
Finally, the most important piece is the reporting functionality. As a user searches for an address, owner, or parcel number, results will be displayed at the bottom in the search results grid with limited information. The user can select adjoiners, pull up reports, or export the results grid to an Excel. Multiple searches can be completed without losing information or clearing previous search results. Tabs for each search are created in the results grid that users can toggle between.
Each result brings up a report which shows information for each land parcel. The report also has the map picture. There is also the ability to export this information in different formats.
Below are screenshots for the mobile version taken from a Samsung Galaxy S4. This site is purposely designed with less functionality than the desktop site due to limited screen size and mobile computing power. This is the initial mobile landing page and the user must agree to the disclaimer terms below to enter the site. The user is able to touch the disclaimer and drag upwards to view it.
After agreeing to the disclaimer, the user is able to search by address, owner name, or parcel number from this one search box. At any time, the user can toggle between the list and map views. After performing a search, the user is shown results that match their search criteria. To perform another search simply begin typing again. The user is also able to Search Parcels Near Me which displays all parcels that fall within 500 feet of their phone s GPS location. Searching for something too generic like Main Street will bring back too many results and the application will ask the user to refine their search.
Clicking on any result brings up basic parcel information, the world button which will zoom to the parcel on the map view, and the option to view More Details. This is a screenshot of the full parcel report. This information is identical to the desktop GIS site. The user is able to go back by clicking the arrow on the top right.
Clicking the world icon from the basic parcel details brings the user to the map view. The user is able to pan around, zoom in and out, use satellite imagery, go back to the list view, or perform another search. The more details from the pop-up identify window directs the user to the full parcel report.