FROM:Richard Taylor, Executive Director, UBCM

TO:Chief Administrative Officers

FROM:Richard Taylor, Executive Director, UBCM

Per Kristensen, President, Municipal Information Systems Association of BC

DATE:June 22, 2000

RE:INTEGRATED CADASTRAL INITIATIVE

UBCM, with the support of Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA BC), is participating in a public-private partnership to develop a comprehensive provincial digital map (integrated cadastral base map). We are encouraging all local governments to support this project and are recommending that you share your digital GIS data with this partnership.

This initiative will establish a partnership between local governments, utility companies and the province for the assembly, on-going management and distribution of an integrated data set based on the private and Crown cadastral fabric. The leadership for this partnership will come from a steering committee consisting of 3 representatives from local government, 3 from the province and 5 from the utility companies. More detailed information is provided in the Background Paper.

As it will be an extremely large and complex project to bring together and maintain all the cadastral data from across the province, it has been determined that the first year will be dedicated to a proof of concept phase that will assemble data from a few selected areas, establish the necessary standards and policies. Once this initial phase has been competed, all remaining local governments will be invited to share in this initiative.

There are substantial benefits for local government to participate in this partnership. Importantly, local governments are not being required to provide any of the funding necessary for the start up or early operation of this initiative. Some benefits include:

• Improving the access to land titles and assessment information will provide cost-savings through better utilization of staff time.

• A comprehensive list of all underground services (city utilities plus gas, hydro, telephone and cable) will provide:

• efficiencies in planning future municipal infrastructure upgrades
• enhanced safety for field crews
• inter-agency reporting of infield located infrastructure and
• reduced opening of road surfaces for utility installation due to more integrated operations.
• Cross jurisdictional digital maps will enhance the ability of municipal related agencies to provide services (i.e. 911 and emergency preparedness).
• The availability of cross jurisdictional cadastre will help to encourage economic growth within each jurisdiction and throughout the province.

The next step in this project is to select the jurisdictions to participate in the first year’s proof of concept phase. This will be done in consultation with local government and the utility companies.

You will be contacted by one of the project members within the next few weeks, if your local government is being recommended for this initial phase participation.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact either one of us.

Richard Taylor,
Executive Director
UBCM
Phone: 604-270-8226
Email: / Per Kiristensen,
President
Municipal Information System
Association of BC
Phone: 250-755-4418
Email:

025.10.CLtCM/CAO