The heart of the Enterprise GIS Program are the eGIS Data Services – establishing a single source of authoritative GIS data to support County business.
CIO Technology Directive TD 12-02 (Attachment A.1) requires departments to maintain authoritative copies of their GIS data in the LA County Enterprise GIS Repository. Departments sign a Geospatial Data Maintenance Agreement (GDMA) (a sample is included as Attachment A.2) acknowledging this requirement.
Attachment List
| Attachment | Document Name | Description |
| A.1 | CIO Technology Directive TD 12-02 | Requires Department to maintain data in the Repository |
| A.2 | Geospatial Data Maintenance Agreement | Department sign the GDMA agreeing to maintain their GIS data |
| A.3 | eGIS Data Catalog | List of GIS data in the Repository |
| A.4 | eGIS Database Server Access Instructions | Document sent to each department with their usernames and passwords |
| A.5 | eGIS Data Maintenance Policies & Procedures | eGIS document describing procedures for uploading, maintaining, and accessing GIS data |
| A.6 | CAMS Desktop Application Editor’s Guide | Manual for using the CAMS desktop application. |
| A.7 | Metadata Quick Reference Guide | Guide for writing Metadata for the Data Portal |
Enterprise GIS Data Repository
The Enterprise GIS Data Repository consists of infrastructure to store and access the County’s GIS data. This infrastructure includes Database servers, shared network drives, the LA County GIS Data Portal, cloud based storage systems, as well as data management applications.
The eGIS Program maintains a complete list of data in the GIS Data Repository. This Los Angeles Enterprise GIS Data Catalog (Attachment A.3) is available in the shared Network Drive (described below).
Enterprise GIS Database Server
The core eGIS Data Service is the Enterprise GIS Database Server, which contains multiple Spatial Databases holding the County’s authoritative GIS data and enables departmental access. These databases hold over 500 GIS datasets. A small sample of datasets include:
- Assessor Parcels with information from the County’s property database
- Points of Interest (over 200 categories of information including cell tower sites, hospitals, mental health centers, police stations, etc.)
- Land Types (parks, school boundaries, shopping centers, cemeteries, etc.)
- Administrative Boundaries (flood district boundaries, service planning areas, etc.)
- Political Boundaries (precincts, city boundaries, etc.)
- Hydrology (rivers, streams, lakes, etc.)
- County open-source street centerline and address file
- Demography (10-year Census, annual estimates of population and poverty)
GIS data are organized into 14 databases, each named after a unique Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) data themes.
Database Access
Connections to the databases are created through desktop GIS software (e.g. ArcGIS Desktop), direct database connections, as well as through online services and APIs (more detail in the “Online Mapping Services” section)
The eGIS Program provides a single read-only username and password to eGIS member departments to access and view GIS data in the eGIS Database Server. Each department is also assigned a username and password that allows them to maintain GIS data they are responsible for (more on that below).
- Read-only username: viewer
- Departmental username: (DRP, DPH, etc.)
Access instructions, along with the usernames and passwords, are sent to primary departmental GIS contacts in the document “eGIS Database Server Access Instructions.” A sample is included as Attachment A.4.
Security
The department that owns and publishes the dataset has editing privileges to update the dataset when needed. Each department has its own credentials to access the databases which determines read or write privileges. Other departments can view the datasets they have permissions for with GIS software and use them as input of spatial analyses
Departmental GIS Databases
Each department also will be given rights to a departmental database that allows departments to create and maintain data for internal applications, projects, etc. that are not categorized as authoritative datasets or are staging datasets not ready for publication. The benefit is that the data can be shared between colleagues within the same department, easily published to the database server, and scripts can be created to automate data transfers within the eGIS Database Server.
Departmental GIS Database servers
Some departments require dedicated database instances or dedicated GIS database servers in the eGIS environment rather than having just a departmental database. Reasons include:
- Having the eGIS team implement best practice database management
- Reducing server and application maintenance for departmental staff
- High volume editing environments that require dedicated infrastructure
- Ensuring Security and privacy for sensitive/confidential data.
These servers can be created and managed by the eGIS Group at ISD as part of the eGIS Consulting Services, and funded by Departmental Service Orders.
Disaster Recovery
The Repository infrastructure includes disaster recovery, which enables the continuity of GIS data access following a natural or human-induced disaster. Backups of data are replicated, stored, and served off-site (outside of Los Angeles County). Departments who store their GIS datasets on the eGIS servers have the ability to access their data in an event that is needed.
GIS Data Management
GIS Data in the Server comes from the following sources:
- Data created by departments in support of their operations,
- Data licensed by the County from external sources, and
- Data from other agencies and business partners.
The eGIS Data Maintenance Policies and Procedures (Attachment A.5) details the steps to ensure that data meets the requirements laid out in the GIS Data Maintenance Agreement signed by departments.
The eGIS Metadata Quick Reference Guide (Attachment A.7) details the minimum metadata elements required to meet the County’s Metadata requirements.
For new data, departments work with eGIS Program staff who complete an initial data load into the Repository and assign editing rights to the departmental user name, and relevant viewing rights to other departments. The eGIS Program ensures that the requirements of the Geospatial Data Maintenance Agreement are followed, and adds the data to the GIS Data Catalog.
Data schema changes as well as data deletion requests also go through the eGIS Program, who will notify Repository users of those changes.
Departments that create, maintain, or are stewards for GIS data have a number of choices when it comes to ensuring the repository is up to date. A department can:
- Maintain data locally then copy updates to the repository
- Establish an editing database within the eGIS Repository
- Contract with the eGIS Program to maintain the data for them
GIS Shared Network Drive
The eGIS network drive is a central location for the eGIS group to distribute archived data, tools, address locators and GIS information to all eGIS members. A sample list of folders is shown below. This list will change as new information is added to the repository.
- Data Catalog – contains a list of all authoritative datasets in the eGIS Data Repository and tracking list
- Demography – contains annual population and population estimates.
- Documents – will contain pertinent eGIS documents (this Service Catalog, for example).
- eGIS Tools – contains various tools to help users perform tasks more efficiently.
- LARIAC – contains archived aerial imagery and other LAR-IAC products.
- Layers – contains commonly used map layers with pre-defined symbology.
- Locators – contains the LA County and Nationwide address locators.
- Map Files – contains ArcMap documents used to create the LA County cached maps
- Software – contains licensed software for eGIS members to download such as Esri and Latitude Geographics products
- Styles – contains Esri style contents for LA County basemaps
- Tile Packages – contains LA County Base Map raster layer to generate small area TPKs
GIS Data Portal
CIO Directive TD 12-02 – eGIS Central Repository (Attachment A.1) also directs departments to make non-confidential and non-restricted data available for public access. The popular (1,000 hits per day) Los Angeles County GIS Data Portal (http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal) was established to support this directive. It is the website for County staff and the public to search and download high quality GIS data from the Enterprise GIS Repository. It makes geographic information simple and easy to find, while providing a forum for feedback, questions, and discussion about particular data.
The Data Portal also contains metadata (information about data) for the data that resides in the eGIS Repository. For example, the attributes are explained by providing the field name and the accompanying description. Other descriptions about the data include the location in the eGIS Database Server, reference date, accuracy, use and access restrictions, contact information and/or other helpful information.
Loading and maintaining data in the GIS Data Portal is required as part of the Geospatial Data Maintenance Agreement. Procedures, as noted earlier, are detailed in the eGIS Data Maintenance Policies and Procedures (Attachment A.5).
The eGIS Group has developed automated procedures for exporting data from the eGIS Database Server to locations referenced by the Data Portal to simplify the maintenance of Data Portal entries.
GIS Data Acquisition
Departmental Data Programs
Departments establish internal programs to maintain GIS data that are critical to their operations. These data, however, support operations for many other departments, and the eGIS Program ensures that departmental data is kept up to date in the GIS Repository and made available Countywide.
Assessor Parcel Data
The Assessor manages parcel data for property assessment and taxation. This data is critical for decisions about real property, open space, revenue, tax collection, emergency response, and many other parts of the County’s operations.
Registrar of Voter Precinct/Political District Boundaries
The Registrar/Recorder County Clerk (RRCC), in support of elections, maintains a GIS file of precincts, which match all political districts in the County, including Supervisorial Districts, State and Congressional Districts, School Districts, and many more. Over 100 political district boundaries are represented in the precinct file.
Public Works Data
The Department of Public Works maintains many GIS datasets related to physical infrastructure, including storm drain and sewer networks, stream and lake boundaries, street centerlines and other features of the LA County land base, flood zone boundaries, road closures, and many others. These data form, in general, the physical infrastructure of the County.
Regional Planning Zoning Data
The Department of Regional Planning maintains zoning information and general plan boundaries that support the short and long term development priorities of the County. This information is available in the Repository.
Administrative Boundaries
Departments manage administrative boundaries, from Public Health Planning Areas to the 16 programs of the Department of Public Social Services. The administrative boundaries delineate the operational footprint of the County, and are critical to understanding how services are delivered by the County.
eGIS Data Programs
The Chief Information Office and the eGIS Program manage three programs to acquire and update information that has been determined to be critical, but do not fall under the jurisdiction of an existing departmental GIS data programs. These datasets add to the richness and diversity of the County’s eGIS Data Repository as well as enabling County departments to continue to perform research, distribute information, develop applications, etc. with up-to-date data.
Los Angeles Region Imagery Acquisition Consortium (LARIAC)
The Los Angeles Region Imagery Acquisition Consortium (LARIAC) Program is a collaborative acquisition program for digital aerial imagery and elevation data which has included the participation of the County eGIS Program, over 40 cities, and more than 10 other public agencies.
LARIAC is managed by the Chief Information Office which supports the multi-year, multi-agency nature of LARIAC. The eGIS Program manages funding, storage, and access to LARIAC data for both County departments as well as LARIAC participating entities.
LARIAC is currently in its sixth round of imagery acquisition. For more information about LARIAC, please go to https://lariac-lacounty.hub.arcgis.com/.
Enterprise GIS subscriptions come with access to all current and historic LARIAC data through all of the LARIAC data access methods. The eGIS Repository is the primary mechanism for County departments to access the full range of data that comes from the LARIAC program.
Pictometry Oblique Imagery Access
Pictometry is the current contractor for LARIAC, and provides a number of applications and tools for (1) viewing historical and oblique imagery, (2) viewing side-by-side comparisons of images from different years, (3) measuring vertical and horizontal distances, etc. Products include:
- EagleView CONNECTExplorer: https://explorer.eagleview.com/login.php : An imaging application that allows users to view and analyze digital aerial images through an easy-to-use web interface. Users can pan or scroll maps and images or enter an address to quickly locate a point of interest. Simple on-image buttons let you view a location from different directions. Measure and annotate your images quickly and easily with the application’s toolbar buttons. Users can also save work in a workspace.
- EagleView CONNECTMobile – A mobile application that provides access to the highest quality aerial imagery in LA County. Search any address and be instantly presented with the best image of that location
- Pictometry for ArcGIS Desktop – Connect: Integrates Pictometry Oblique imagery into ESRI’s ArcGIS Desktop product. Once the user clicks on a point on the ArcGIS Desktop map, the extension will open a Pictometry image for the location you clicked on the map. The extension allows you to visualize your spatial data overlaid on top of the imagery
The eGIS Program creates departmental organizations, and establishes usernames and passwords. Pictometry provides training for the software and technical support. A representative from Pictometry can either come out to your department location or host an online training session to train your staff.
The access methods listed above is supplemented by a number of technical methods that require programming (Pictometry Gateway, Pictometry IPA). For more Pictometry and LARIAC access methods, see the LARIAC Access Methods web page: http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/lariac/lariac-access-methods/.
Location Management System (LMS)
The Location Management System (LMS) is a collaborative system to manage information about locations (aka Points of Interest) across the County. The full dataset contains over 73,000 locations, including 63,000 public and 14,000 non-public locations with consistent attributes. Location types are broken into more than 270 unique types using three categories (i.e. cat1, cat2, cat3) that provide detailed breakdowns of the location types.
This dataset supports the County Service Locator, and Enterprise Application that is funded by the eGIS Program and maintained by the eGIS Group. The Service Locator is described in more detail in the eGIS Applications Section.
The County has launched an ambitious program to maintain this data collaboratively. Each location in the dataset has a defined page for it. If the information is incorrect, out of date, or the location is wrong, registered users can edit the information and provide comments for that location. If any changes were made, the site will notify the owner of dataset.
For more information about the LMS data, please go to http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2014/07/07/locationspoints-of-interest-lms-data.
Countywide Address Management System (CAMS)
The eGIS Program maintains a system in partnership with RRCC to enhance the County’s address information. The Countywide Address Management System (CAMS) was created to redesign and expand an earlier address data model to support a wider variety of location information, including address points and landmarks, that better meets the County’s needs and more accurately represents the real world. For details click on this link: https://cams-lacounty.hub.arcgis.com/
CAMS provides:
- Full support for distributed, multi-user editing of CAMS data.
- Editing by other departments, cities, and agencies in the County.
- Wider interdepartmental maintenance and usage of CAMS street centerline and address data as a shared resource, and consequently.
- Integration of many redundant data sets and work flows that exist throughout the County.
The goal of the CAMS project is to expand the use of the CAMS systems and software to those cities and staff creating and maintaining addresses, such as Engineering and Planning departments. This project will develop workflow, quality control, distribution, and reporting systems to ensure the highest level of accuracy within the system. The County of Los Angeles and the jurisdictions that are participants in this project will see:
- Design a Improved address spatial and name quality.
- Improved timeliness of address updates.
- Faster and more reliable access to address information.
- Improved and streamlined work processes across the multiple jurisdictions and agencies that create addresses.
- Contemporary technologies providing enhanced information management and service delivery.
- Reduction in the cost of address maintenance.
The Enterprise GIS Group has built the CAMS Online Work Order System, a secure online mapping application for cities and the County to easily identify errors and create work orders for (1) incorrect or missing addresses, (2) incorrect or missing street labels, (3), incorrect or missing streets, and (4) discrepancies between various street network datasets.
Within the application, users can create a new work order at a specific location or intersection. Fields have been built into the work order, and therefore, the user can easily select a category, fill in a description as well as his/her contact information, and submit it. The County will hire a dedicated staff to oversee the address update process across the County. Inquiries can be directed to the Countywide Address Management System Coordinator at rrodriguez3@isd.lacounty.gov.
The CAMS Desktop Application Editor’s Guide is included as Attachment A.6.
Demographic data
The eGIS Group has an annual contract with Hedderson Demographic Services in which annual County of Los Angeles population and poverty estimates at either the Census Tract level or Census Tract-City split levels are delivered. The County estimates populations on a yearly basis to improve its understanding of population shifts so departments can provide services more effectively as populations grow and move.
A large part of the population and poverty estimates are located on the shared network drive described above. For detailed information of the demography data, please go to: http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2014/09/09/population-and-poverty-estimates.