Wasatch County, Utah Digitally Transforms to Restore Confidence in Parcel Data

Home to the 2002 and upcoming 2034 Winter Olympics, Wasatch County, Utah is a leading destination for winter sports and natural beauty, boasting three rivers—the Provo, Duchesne, and White—plus the Salt Lake and Uinta Basins. With its stunning mountains, excellent snow conditions, and some of the largest ski slopes in the state, the county’s normal population of 39,000 swells up to 575,000 on weekends.

Lately, Wasatch County is experiencing rapid growth and, as a result, its parcel data is in high demand by developers, the public, and government staff. But for over 20 years, county staff had been held back in mapping efforts by outdated technology and a disconnect between numerous departments, which resulted in a lack of confidence in its very own parcel data.

Without the ability to quickly track data history or sources, establishing ground accuracy was difficult. Over time, this resulted in multiple surveys, presenting huge challenges such as confusion and disputes over accuracy for the Assessor’s Office. Additionally, multiple departments were involved in parcel mapping but were not working together. For instance, the Recorder’s Office was responsible for parcel mapping, but IT managed geographic information system (GIS) data. Parcels were mapped exactly as described in the deed, without consideration of intent, occupation, multiple corner locations, gaps, or overlaps. Over time, a lack of quality survey control resulted in data inconsistencies.

County leaders knew a parcel-specific GIS solution was needed to ensure the best data possible and to restore confidence among its users.

“Many of our issues were caused by disconnection between the departments working with parcel data,” said Don Wood, Wasatch County IT executive. “So we knew that finding a solution that would work for everyone would mean involving those departments and individuals from the start.”

County leadership began by bringing together all departments involved in parcel management to form a Land Records Coordination team, which included the Recorder’s Office, Surveyor’s Office, IT, and management. County staff also sought support from a trusted Esri partner, Pro-West & Associates, to evaluate its needs and identify the right solution. Together, they selected ArcGIS Parcel Fabric in ArcGIS Pro as the ideal parcel management solution. The teams would begin their project by migrating existing data to Parcel Fabric, while training editors and users to maintain and work with data in this environment.

With the import to Parcel Fabric complete, the migrated parcels were assessed for accuracy. The results revealed a lower-than-desired level of accuracy and based on a pilot study, the decision was made to remap all of Wasatch County’s parcels. This approach would be far more efficient than correcting errors in the existing data.

Prior to kicking off the countywide remap, the establishment of standards, policies, and procedures for the county’s parcel mapping was critical. With numerous departments involved in parcel mapping and each using different methods to maintain parcels, a standardized approach across all departments was needed. The departments collaborated to develop workflows that would meet each team’s needs, and a comprehensive manual was produced with new procedures thoroughly tested across four sample areas.

“We knew that the success of the project hinged on developing standardized, documented parcel mapping procedures across all of those involved with the system—Recorder’s Office, IT, Assessor’s Office, and Surveyor’s Office,” said Wood. “This may have been the most fundamental part of the whole project.”

Next, Wasatch County’s remap is on the horizon with plans for building a modern parcel mapping system. Wasatch County will continue to leverage geospatial technology by implementing 3D parcel mapping to provide even better visualization to users and to continue taking advantage of modern GIS technology.

A long-term plan for continuous evaluation, testing, and improvement of the new system will also be deployed, including monthly meetings of the Land Records Coordination team and annual reviews of all policies, procedures, and standards.

Wood emphasized how this focus on digital transformation would ensure that staff is supporting the county’s needs. “Our ultimate goal is to never require our taxpayers to ever have to pay again for the remapping of their parcels. We’re en route to reach that goal by instituting a quality-focused mapping system that grows with the county, technology, and legislation.”