MPC Launches New Case Mapping Viewer

Several weeks ago MPC asked its website visitors for ideas about the agency's online Case Mapping Viewer. Recent software changes threatened to make the tool obsolete, so before investing in upgrades, MPC wanted to hear from users.

The overwhelming response was that the application was useful but needed improvement, with support for additional browsers and mobile devices being top priorities.

"The software that the mapping tool was built on had become outdated and was not compatible with our computer equipment and many web browsers," said Tim Kuhn, GIS Manager for MPC. "We knew the situation had to change, but we wanted to hear from the public about features they wanted to see, or even if they needed the product at all."

Public feedback revealed that the Case Viewer is important to developers, surveyors, engineers, and citizens wanting to improve property and needing information about the process. Using a web-based map, the application allows users to locate a property within the city or county and see the history of MPC reviews, including rezonings, plan amendments, uses on review, and subdivisions, that have occurred there. Nearly 18,000 MPC cases, dating back to the early 1980s, are included in the map database.

Once MPC determined that the Case Viewer needed to live on, staff began to tackle upgrades requested by users. By the middle of June, a trial product was ready and product testers, as well as visitors to the MPC website, evaluated the new offering to report issues and bugs.

The upgraded Case Mapping Viewer is now live and can be found here. It works on both PCs and Macs and on the latest versions of all major browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari. And, users can retrieve historical MPC data on the go since the application now works on tablets and many smartphones.

As always, MPC welcomes public input. Problems or bugs with the new Case Viewer may be reported to contact@knoxmpc.org.