Visualization of Geospatial Visualization of Geospatial RegulationsRegulations

N. Adam, V. Atluri, F. Artigas, P. Mazzoleni, S. Chun Customized Visualization of GeoSpatial Government RegulationsCustomized Visualization of GeoSpatial Government Regulations (to be submitted to The Second National Conference on Digital Government, May 2002)

Problem StatementProblem Statement

• What are the possible locations for my business (in accordance with all zoning regulation)?

• How can I identify the appropriate permits I have to obtain?

ExampleExample

An entrepreneur wants to open an Autobody shop in a vacant lot on the bank of the Hackensack River.

(1)(1) USER PROFILE USER PROFILE:

• Bigger than 1000 square feet • In an area with high volume of traffic• Not Closer than 2000 feet to a competitor

ExampleExample

(2)(2) ZONING REQUIREMENTS ZONING REQUIREMENTS:• Autobody is permitted only in

• Neighborhood commercial zone• Light industrial• …• Highway commercial Zone as exceptional Use

• The minimum lot area shall be 10000 square feet• If closer to a residential area, the rear yard distance has to be at least 25 feet instead of the usual 20 feet.• In Neighborhood commercial zone an autobody cannot be built closer than 1000 feet to a competitor

Current StatusCurrent Status

• Zoning Regulations– Rules are divided by Zone area

• GIS Products– Information about the Area (zone-name, lot dimension)…

– Information about the competitors

WHAT IS LACKING:WHAT IS LACKING:

Zoning Regulations that apply to the area

WHAT IS LACKING:WHAT IS LACKING:

Information organized by type of Business

Proposed SolutionProposed Solution

• Develop zoning rules database• Visualization of the permitted zones for a

particular business• Dynamic Evaluation of Buffer and Lot-size

requirements

Automatic extraction of the relevant permits and the sequence for completing the procedure

Customized selection of zoning Customized selection of zoning regulationsregulations

Regulations based on the USER PROFILE requirements

Show me ALL the Rules that apply if I want to Open an Autobody shop in a High-way Commercial Zone, and I would also like to sell retail products.

Customized selection of zoning regulationsCustomized selection of zoning regulations

Autobody shop

Neighbor commercial

Visualization of potential Visualization of potential Business LocationsBusiness Locations

Geographical Map Customized according to the user’s preferences

and the zoning rules

Show me the zones in the map where I can open an Autobody shop according to the zoning rules; in two cases: (1) With no special permit requirement and (2) Where some special permits such as variance are required

Visualization of potential Business LocationsVisualization of potential Business Locations

Autobody shop

Size and Buffer RegulationSize and Buffer Regulation

Visualization of the lots that satisfy dimension and distance-based

requirements

• Lots bigger enough to include my business• Distance from a competitor• Other rules specific for an area like Waterfront Distance Requirements

Size and Buffer RegulationSize and Buffer Regulation

Autobody shop

Neighbor commercial

Waterfront RegulationWaterfront Regulation

Autobody shop

Neighbor commercial

Passaic River

Tools Tools

• Oracle DBMS– Rules database and profile session info

• ESRI ARC IMS (Internet Map Application Server)– Map Data server

• Perl and JavaScripts– Back end database/GIS/Web connectivity

• Client Web Browser interface + Javascripts

Future WorkFuture Work

Integrate into geospatial workflow system and MyNJbusiness system

• Extension of the Zoning Regulation database for increasing the portability

• Build a concept model for regulatory rules using a knowledge modeling tool

• Enhance the visualization with additional funcionalities• Building regulations and elevation related features