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Difference between revisions of "Allegheny County Property Assessment Data User Guide"
Allegheny County Property Assessment Data User Guide (view source)
Revision as of 22:55, 21 December 2022
, 22:55, 21 December 2022→Owner-Occupied Properties
(Created page with "This user guide for Allegheny County Assessment Data is intended to go beyond metadata and provide consumers of the data set a sense of the purpose for which the data was coll...") |
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=== Identify Vacant Land === | === Identify Vacant Land === | ||
The land use fields (“USECODE” and “USEDESC”) include publicly-owned property as a land use. For this reason, the land use field has limited applicability to the types of land uses common among publicly-owned properties, including government facilities, parks, un-buildable property such as hillsides, and land that once held structures but is now vacant. | The land use fields (“USECODE” and “USEDESC”) include publicly-owned property as a land use. For this reason, the land use field has limited applicability to the types of land uses common among publicly-owned properties, including government facilities, parks, un-buildable property such as hillsides, and land that once held structures but is now vacant.[[File:Gtech 2014 vacant land survey.jpg|thumb|Results of 2014 GTECH Vacant Land Survey with Building Assessed Value|396x396px]] | ||
Three municipalities in Allegheny County tax land and buildings at different rates. For this reason, the assessment file contains a “FAIRMARKETLAND,” “FAIRMARKETBUILDING,” and “FAIRMARKETTOTAL” (total = land + building) value. To identify vacant land, the split land/structure valuation has been used with good reliability. Ground-truthing efforts on properties whose “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” = 0 have shown that they typically do not have a structure. In 2014, a comprehensive survey of vacant parcels in the North Side of Pittsburgh was conducted by [https://gtechstrategies.org/ GTECH Strategies] (GTECH). GTECH’s data collection efforts targeted properties whose building assessment (FAIRMARKETBUILDING) =0. They hired and trained neighborhood residents to collect the data. Of the 6,882 parcels with an assessed building value of “0,” 4,791 (70%) did not contain a structure. Many of the remaining 2,699 parcels were also vacant, but apparently were not included in the survey as they were located in a railroad or utility right of way, were a park, cemetery, or condominium common property. The locations of these parcels can be seen in Figure 1. | Three municipalities in Allegheny County tax land and buildings at different rates. For this reason, the assessment file contains a “FAIRMARKETLAND,” “FAIRMARKETBUILDING,” and “FAIRMARKETTOTAL” (total = land + building) value. To identify vacant land, the split land/structure valuation has been used with good reliability. Ground-truthing efforts on properties whose “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” = 0 have shown that they typically do not have a structure. In 2014, a comprehensive survey of vacant parcels in the North Side of Pittsburgh was conducted by [https://gtechstrategies.org/ GTECH Strategies] (GTECH). GTECH’s data collection efforts targeted properties whose building assessment (FAIRMARKETBUILDING) =0. They hired and trained neighborhood residents to collect the data. Of the 6,882 parcels with an assessed building value of “0,” 4,791 (70%) did not contain a structure. Many of the remaining 2,699 parcels were also vacant, but apparently were not included in the survey as they were located in a railroad or utility right of way, were a park, cemetery, or condominium common property. The locations of these parcels can be seen in Figure 1. | ||
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The results of the GTECH survey suggest using a zero value in the assessment’s “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” field can reliably be used to identify vacant land in Allegheny County, especially among non-commercial properties. Figure 1 shows the results of the GTECH survey on a map in conjunction with the building assessment. To account for improvements on commercial vacant land (whose “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” value may be greater than zero), additional ground-truthing can be done on properties with a very low building value, or where the County’s land use code is consistent with a reasonable definition of a vacant property land use. | The results of the GTECH survey suggest using a zero value in the assessment’s “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” field can reliably be used to identify vacant land in Allegheny County, especially among non-commercial properties. Figure 1 shows the results of the GTECH survey on a map in conjunction with the building assessment. To account for improvements on commercial vacant land (whose “FAIRMARKETBUILDING” value may be greater than zero), additional ground-truthing can be done on properties with a very low building value, or where the County’s land use code is consistent with a reasonable definition of a vacant property land use. | ||
=== Owner-Occupied Properties === | === Owner-Occupied Properties === | ||
Staff at [https://operationbetterblock.com/ Operation Better Block] in Homewood have compared the property address with the owner’s address (using the four “CHANGENOTICE” fields as a proxy for owner’s address) to identify residential properties that may be owner-occupied. Staff then looked at the Homestead flag on the property to identify homeowners that had not filed for the exemption. Staff and volunteers with Operation Better Block then contacted these residents and helped them complete Homestead exemption forms (note: the Homestead exemption may only be claimed once, even if someone lives part time in another location they own – anywhere in the United States). | Staff at [https://operationbetterblock.com/ Operation Better Block] in Homewood have compared the property address with the owner’s address (using the four “CHANGENOTICE” fields as a proxy for owner’s address) to identify residential properties that may be owner-occupied. Staff then looked at the Homestead flag on the property to identify homeowners that had not filed for the exemption. Staff and volunteers with Operation Better Block then contacted these residents and helped them complete Homestead exemption forms (note: the Homestead exemption may only be claimed once, even if someone lives part time in another location they own – anywhere in the United States). | ||