Challenge

Addresses are a key dataset used by the City of San Mateo to provide essential services.  City agencies and departments (e.g., Public Works, Building Division, Inspections, Police, Fire, Economic Development, Planning, and Finance) rely on addresses to complete their business operations or provide services to area residents. Over time however, different departments had developed their own independent versions of address databases and their own maintenance processes.

No single complete, accurate, and current address list existed within the City that could be used as the authoritative list of business and residential locations. This situation limited the ability for City departments to coordinate efforts and integrate information across business systems. It also meant that the City was spending significant resources on managing redundant address data.

The City needed a Master Address Database (MAD) to be developed, deployed within their existing production GIS database, and made available to staff throughout the City.

Solution

Farallon Geographics designed and deployed a Master Address Database that could be used as a central authoritative service by all authorized City departments. The MAD was deployed using the City’s SQL server database accessible over an Intranet website. It also integrated with the City’s existing Intergraph GeoMedia geodatabase so that point address data could be related to GIS parcel polygons used for property assessment and management. Farallon’s MAD implementation offers the City increased data availability, reduced errors and maintenance, elimination of costly duplicate data, and enhancement of City services.

Using the MAD interface, authorized City staff including non-GIS users can search for addresses by street name and/or number, Assessor Parcel Number (APN) or the owner’s name. In addition to the list of valid addresses, results also include a display of a street-level map showing the location of the address within the City. Simply by clicking on the map, users can mark any address within the MAD as needing review or request the addition of address points.

The site’s web mapping functionality uses Microsoft Virtual Earth which allows high-performance viewing as regular maps, ortho and oblique aerial images, or in 3D. Virtual Earth will also permit display of other non-address data such as ownership name or environmental planning data.

The MAD has provided the City with the ability to verify addresses at the tenant and suite level where this was previously unavailable.  It will be used as a reference for Public Works and many other City operations such as Police and Fire Departments. Referring to the MAD, Patrick Crevelt, GIS Coordinator with the City of San Mateo, notes, “I am very pleased with how it has turned out and am excited about its use throughout our organization.”

Categories: Web Applications, Enterprise Mashups, GIS/IT Integration, Pavement Management, Asset Management Systems