Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-1

site Fingerprinting utilizing gis/gPs technology

1.1 What is Site Fingerprinting?

Sitefingerprintingisaplanningtoolusedtodesigncommunitieswhereprotection

ofnaturalresourcesistheprimaryfocus.Thisprocessenablestheusertoview,identify,

andanalyzethenatural,built,economic,andsocialaspectsofaprospectivesite.

Sitefingerprintinghasfivekeyobjectives:

u Identifygeneralsitefeatures,

uDetermineandlocateprimaryandsecondaryconservationareas,

uConsidertheimpactofotherimportantfactorssuchasadjacentlanduses,

accessibility,transportationandinfrastructureavailability,

uUsecollectedinformationtoderivetheactualbuildablearea,and

uSynthesizethisinformationtocreatevariousdevelopmentscenarioswhich

incorporatethenaturalfeaturesofthesite.

Landplanners,communityofficials,environmentalscientists,engineers,and

developerscanprotectnaturalresourcesusingthisecology-basedplanningapproach.

Builtontraditionalprinciples,sitefingerprintingusestechnologyGeographic

InformationSystems(“GIS”)andGlobalPositioningSystems(“GPS)”]toavoidand

minimizeenvironmentalimpactsaswellasfacilitateintegrationofthenaturalfeatures

andexistingenvironmentalconditionsofthesiteintothedevelopmentconcept.

1.2 Site Fingerprinting using GIS and GPS

Sitefingerprintingismadedramaticallymoreefficientandaccuratethroughuse

ofGISandGPS.Theseremarkablyversatilemappingtoolshavegreatutilityinland

planninganddevelopment.GISisusedtoquery,analyze,andclearlydisplayinformation

intheformofgeneratedmapsandaccompanyingreports.GPSisusedtolocatenew

featuresortoverify,validate,andupdateexistinginformationwithaccuratesurveydata

collectedfromthesite.

TheresultsofsitefingerprintingusingGISandGPScanbecommunicatedwith

maps,reports,orboth.Amapmaydisplaygeographicrelationshipsbest,whileareport

maybemostappropriateforsummarizingtabulardataordocumentingcalculatedvalues.

ThevirtualdesktopapplicationofGISandreal-timeapplicationofGPSmake

sitefingerprintingfaster,cost-effectiveandmoreefficient,especiallywhenconsidering

thetimesavedinthefieldidentifyingandmarkingnaturalfeaturesalreadynotedthrough

GISandGPS.Whilenotareplacementforconventionalmethods,GISandGPSimprove

theconventionalprocesswithprecisionandefficiencypreviouslyunattainable.Older

methodscompilethisinformationbyhandusingexpensivephotographicenlargements

tocreateaseriesofoverlaysbywhichthesitecanberead.Thesetime-consuming

sitereconnaissanceandanalyticaltaskscanbeperformedrapidlyusingGISandGPS.

(Figure1.2.a)

Figure 1.2a Traditional Planners Sketch of Site Inventory Image

Image Courtesy of: Pierce County WA and AHBL, Inc.

Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-2 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology

1.2.1 What is GIS?

GISisadigital,visuallibraryofinformation.Inthislibrary, layersarethe

books.Bysimplyaddingthedesiredlayersofinformationsuchasparcels,streets,

utilities,floodplain,soils,andstreams,

asingledigitalmapisproducedthat

simultaneouslydisplaysawealthof

information.Whatpreviouslytookweeks

toresearchnowtakesamatterofhoursor

evenminutestocomplete.

Forexample,soilsurveyswere

previouslyavailableonlyinbooksoffold

outmaps.Organizedbyanindexwithin

thecounty,datedroadsaswellasother

landmarksweretheonlywaytonarrow

thesearchforaparticularsite.WithGIS,

thisinformationissettocoordinates,

digitized,andseamedtogethertoform

countysoillayers.Thesoil

layercanberapidlyoverlain

ontheselectedpropertyfor

analysis.Thismapdepicts

whichsoils,delineated

byseries,arelocatedon

theprojectsite.These

boundariesarethenused

tolocatepotentialbuilding

lots,roads,stormwater,

andsepticsystems.The

sameinformationconveyed

beforeinbookscannowbe

convenientlyaccessedand

efficientlymanipulatedfrom

thedesktop.(Figures1.2.1.a

and1.2.1.b)

Figure 1.2.1a Conventional Soil Map from NRCS

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Figure 1.2.1b Soils Layer Using GIS

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-3

GIS,withitsuniquecapabilitiesofmappingandmodeling,canproduce

invaluableinformationforusein:

uSiteSelectionStudies,

uSiteAnalysisandDevelopmentSuitability,

uDemographic/MarketResearch,

uLandUseStudies,

uAnalysisofDevelopmentPlans,and

uRestorationStudies.

(Figures1.2.1.cand1.2.1.d)

Figure 1.2.1c Desktop Site Selec-tion Using GIS

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Figure 1.2.1d Alternative Analysis of Proposed Waterline

Using GIS

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-4 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology

1.2.2 What is GPS?

GPSisoftenusedincombinationwithGIStofieldverifyexistingsiteconditions

andlocatephysicalfeaturesnotyetmapped.GPSisauniversalutilitycomprisedof

aradio-navigationsystemformedfromaconstellationofsatellitesandtheirground

stations.Thistechnologyusesthese“man-madestars”asreferencepointstocalculate

one’srelativepositionontheground,oftentoalevelofsub-meteraccuracy.Usinghand-

heldandbackpackGPSunits,real-timecoordinatesofcertainphysicalfeaturesofasite

canberecordedandthenimportedintoGIStoformnewlayersofinformationfrom

whichmapsandmodelscanbeproduced.

Forexample,anenvironmentalscientistcanuseGIS/GPStechnologytoperform

awetlandsurveyfasterandmoreefficiently.Inthepast,scientistswouldde-archive

papermapsofthesubjectsitebeforeperformingthewetlanddelineation.Sincewetlands

arebasedonthreecriteria(soils,vegetation,andhydrology),threeseparatemapswith

threedifferentscaleswouldhavetobede-archivedandphotocopiedforfielduse.Then,

oncethewetlanddelineationwascomplete,asurveyteamwouldlocatetheflagged

wetlandboundaryusingconventionalsurveyequipment.Conventionalsurveyinguses

acontrolmonumentorbenchmarktoassigncoordinatestotheflaggedboundary.This

entailsclearingtreesandvegetationinthe“lineofsite”betweenthemonumentandthe

flaggedpoint,whichisoftentime-consumingandexpensive.(Figure1.2.2.a)

Preliminarysitereconnaissancecannow

bedonefromthedesktopusingaGISdatabase.

GIScangenerateonescaledmapthatshowsthe

generallocationofsoils,wetlands,streams,and

vegetationtypesonthesubjecttract.Thescientist

canthentakethismaptothesitetoverifyactual

fieldconditions.Havingonescaledmapismuch

easiertouseinthefieldcomparedtothreemaps

ofdifferentscales.Inaddition,GISmapscannow

beuploadedintotheGPShand-heldunititself,

andviewedontheunit’sscreenduringfieldwork

eliminatingtheneedforapapermapaltogether.

Thisway,thescientistknowstheirpositiononthe

groundrelativetotheparcel,soils,wetlands,and

vegetationboundariessuppliedbyGIS.Oncethe

Figure 1.2.2a Trimble GPS Pack in Use

Image Courtesy of: Tara Merrill

Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-5

scientistconductsthenecessaryfieldwork(i.e.soilborings,vegetationclassification,and

localhydrologystudies),awetlandboundarycanbemarked(usuallybyflaggingtrees)

andlocatedusingGPS.Eachflagonthewetlandboundarycanbecollectedandassigned

arelativeposition(coordinate)usingthehand-heldGPS.

TheGPScommunicateswithsatellitesthatgivethecoordinateassignment,

alleviatingtheneedtocleara“lineofsite”aswithconventionalsurveys.Then,these

pointscanbedownloadedfromtheGPSandmigratedintotheGIStocreateanewlayer

ofinformationontheoriginalmap.Thisnewlinerepresentstheactualwetlandboundary

withinthesubjectpropertyboundary,asflaggedinthefieldbythewetlanddelineator.

(Figure1.2.2.b)ThecompatibilityandversatilityofGISandGPSenablestheuserto

performpre-planningandfieldtasksmoreefficiently,andinsomecases,atalowercost

comparedtoconventionalmethods.

ThevalueofusingGISandGPSasaplanningtoolissignificant.However,

regulatoryagenciesmayneedtoapprovetheuseofGPStoformallydelineatewetland

boundaries.

1.3 Synthesize Site Context

Onceathoroughanalysisofexistingconditionsandsurroundingfeaturesis

performedusingGISandGPS,thesite’sphysicalopportunitiesandconstraintsbecome

apparent.(SeeExhibits1-11)Theseindividualgeographic,built,economical,and

environmentalattributesarethenoverlaidtoformacompositemap,whichisusedto

Figure 1.2.2b Wetland Line Surveyed with GPS and Imported to GIS

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-6 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology

synthesizetheoverallcontextofthesite.Thismapshowsallprimaryandsecondary

conservationareascombined,essentiallydefiningtheactualbuildableareaonthesite.

(Figure1.3.a)

Theoverallcompositebecomesthebasemapthatisusedbythesitedesignerto

createasketchlevelplanoftheproposeddevelopment.Theprocessofrefiningtheland

planhashistoricallybeendoneusingtraditionalsurveymethods.Today,wecanrefine

thelandplanusingGISandGPStechnology.Insteadofdevelopingthelandplantoa

detailedlevelbeforesitestakeout,asketchplancanbetakenintothefieldforadjustment

(locatedbyGPS),comparedtotheactualconditionsonthesite(mappedbyGIS),and

adjustedtoavoidimpactsbeforesignificantresourcesarededicatedtodetailedplanning,

surveying,andengineeringservices.Thisprocessrepeatsuntilaconceptplanthatfitsthe

actualcharacterofthesiteisproduced.

1.4 Tupelo Tract, A Model Site in Coastal Georgia

Inthesamewayadevelopermightseektofindaparcelortractoflandfor

acquisitionanddevelopment,GISdatawasutilizedtoidentifyseveralprospective

developmentsiteswithincoastalGeorgia.TheTupeloTractwaschosenbytheauthors

fromseveralexistinglandtractstoserveastheexamplesite.Theactualnameand

namesoffeaturesofthesiteandtheimmediateareawerechanged,astheexactlocation

ofthetract,outsideitsexistenceincoastalGeorgia,isnotrelevanttothepurposes

ofthismanual,whichistodemonstratehowonecanplananddesignlowimpact

residentialdevelopments.Inaddition,theGISdatalayersweremanipulatedtointroduce

Figure 1.3a Geographic Informa-tion Systems Site Inventory Map

Image Created by: Patrice Cook

Green Growth Guidelines:Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology Chapter1-7

environmentalissuestypicalofthisregion,particularlywetlands,streams,buffers,and

thespeciesthatdependontheseareasfortheirexistence.

TheTupeloTractischaracteristicofmanycoastalsitesinGeorgiawithits

relativelyflatterrain,thicknativevegetation,andproximitytofreshwaterandtidal

wetlandsrichwithadiversepopulationofplantandanimalspeciesthatinhabitthese

areas.Thissite,likemanytractsincoastalGeorgia,islocatedalongamainthoroughfare

thatprovidesquickandeasyaccesstothesenaturalresources.Forthesereasons,the

TupeloTractisacandidatesiteforalowimpactresidentialneighborhoodwhereeffective

landplanningandinnovativedesigniscriticaltopreservingthenaturalcharacterand

beautyofthelandbeyonddevelopment.

Exhibits1-11demonstratetheuseofGISmappingtoidentifyandanalyzecertain

notablefeaturesandcharacteristicsoftheTupeloTract.Thefollowingkeyfeatureswere

mappedusingGISandconsideredduringthesitefingerprintingprocess:

uNaturaltopographyandhydrology.uAvailableinfrastructureincludingroads,rails,andutilities.uLandusepatternsandcurrentzoningdesignations.uSignificantlandmarksandnearbysitesofinterest.uLocationofwetlands,streams,andgroundwaterrechargeareas.u100-yearfloodplain,majordrainageways,andcontourelevations.uTypeandextentoftreecover.uSoilseriesandapproximateboundaries.uWildlifehabitatandspeciesofconcern.uHistoricandarcheologicalresources.uAreasofspecialconcernwithprotectivesetbacksandbuffers.uDownstreamcoastalresourcesborderingessentialfishhabitatandshellfishharvest

areasincludingtidalmarshlands,creeks,estuaries,beaches,andhammocks.uCompositeoverlayofprimary/secondaryconservationareasandactualbuildable

area.

1.5 GIS Data Sources

SitedatacaneitherbegatheredbyconventionalorGPSsurveymethodsorcan

beaccessedbyon-linedatabasesandclearinghouses.Therearemanydigitaldatasets

availablefromnational,regional,state,andlocalsourcesthatcanbepurchasedand

downloadedorobtainedonCD-ROM.Alistofcommonlyuseddatelibrariesisprovided

inAppendixB.

Green Growth Guidelines:Chapter1-8 Site Fingerprinting Utilizing GIS/GPS Technology