{"id":93595,"date":"2019-06-08T09:17:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T15:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/flyovers-offer-birds-eye-view-for-assessors-office-emergency-personnel\/"},"modified":"2019-06-08T09:17:29","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T15:17:29","slug":"flyovers-offer-birds-eye-view-for-assessors-office-emergency-personnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/flyovers-offer-birds-eye-view-for-assessors-office-emergency-personnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Flyovers offer bird\u2019s-eye view for Assessor\u2019s Office, emergency personnel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"
David Holub\/Special to the Herald; aerial image via Google Earth<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In 2015, La Plata County started conducting flyovers in an attempt to use aerial photography to better inspect homes and businesses for tax purposes, and by all accounts, it has worked, adding nearly $3.3 million in market value to the tax roll.<\/p>\n

The La Plata County Assessor\u2019s Office is state-mandated to discover, list and verify property and any improvements made on lands across the county, which influence property values that are re-evaluated every year of as Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

But the old ways of doing things just weren\u2019t working anymore, said County Assessor Carrie Woodson.<\/p>\n

\"High-resolution
High-resolution aerial photography helps property valuations, said Carrie Woodson, La Plata County assessor.<\/span>Courtesy of EagleView<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Assessor\u2019s Office appraisers spend nearly every day going out into the far reaches of a county nearly the size of Delaware, a strain on time and resources. Woodson estimated that one visit to a home in Allison, for instance, could cost the county nearly $100 for staff time and gas.<\/p>\n

And, there\u2019s no guarantee they\u2019ll be let onto the property. Homeowners can say no, leaving assessors to evaluate homes and property from the road.<\/p>\n

But technology, in recent years, has transformed the way assessors can evaluate properties. Montrose County, for example, discovered $1 million in previously unaccounted for property values in January and February using the enhanced aerial photography.<\/p>\n

La Plata County, wanting to improve its own process, formed a partnership with other local agencies to enter a contract for three flyovers, every other year for six years, over the entire county, which offers an intimate look of properties. And, unlike Google Earth, the images have an exact time stamp, allowing assessors to see when changes happen on property.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a level of surety you can\u2019t fight in court,\u201d Woodson said. \u201cBecause that map tells us it\u2019s right there, and we know exactly when it appeared or disappeared on a property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home and property values are based, in part, on the size of a house, if there are any additional structures like barns or garages and how the land is being used.<\/p>\n

\"Since
Since conducting flyovers in 2015, La Plata County has discovered more than $3 million of unreported market value.<\/span>Courtesy of EagleView<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

But property owners don\u2019t always obtain permits or report improvements to their land, which results in the county losing out on taxes.<\/p>\n

During the first flyover in 2015, the aerial imagery discovered more than $1 million in missing value from unpermitted structures, Woodson said, mostly barns and other buildings used for agriculture.<\/p>\n

Assessor\u2019s Office appraisers still make field visits, but the flyovers are showing savings. Woodson said by cutting out 20 field days per year for each of the eight appraisers, or one field day a month per person, the county would save about $15,504 per year.<\/p>\n

And, with better valuation comes an increase to county revenues. Woodson provided a rough estimate, about $10,000, which has come into the county as a result of the flyovers.<\/p>\n

Woodson acknowledged there may be some \u201cstigma\u201d attached to flying over to inspect people\u2019s property. But, she said her office is required by the state to have the best valuation information, and the maps aren\u2019t used just by the Assessor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this was just about the Assessor\u2019s Office, maybe it\u2019d feel a little more strange, but it\u2019s not, it\u2019s for everyone\u2019s use,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this is out in the open. I want people to know we\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the aerial maps are a \u201cvital tool\u201d for emergency management, as well as search and rescue missions, said Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County\u2019s Office of Emergency Management.<\/p>\n

The technology has helped hone in on flood plains, plan firefighting techniques and potential rockfall paths, to name a few. Knowlton said the enhanced maps also play a critical role in helping rescue people from the wilderness more quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cAerial photography is very important for what we do in the emergency management world,\u201d he said. \u201cI use it constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith also said the maps are of great help for emergency situations, like planning evacuation routes during the 416 Fire last year. Also, deputies may use the maps when conducting crime investigations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a system we use every day, but it\u2019s very helpful in emergency situations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Aerial
Aerial photography helps land assessors see what\u2019s on a property from a bird\u2019s-eye view, helpful especially in cases where a landowner denies access to a property, said La Plata County Assessor Carrie Woodson.<\/span>Courtesy of EagleView<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Don Short, GIS manager who does all of La Plata Electric Association\u2019s mapping, said aerial imagery plays an increasing role in LPEA operations, especially to navigate to the co-op\u2019s equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can use the imagery to verify equipment and how it is connected to our system,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year, we may get very high resolution images, through which we can identify more information sitting at the desk instead of driving out to the field. So we have been very fortunate to have been part of this collaboration with La Plata County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Daly, a spokeswoman for EagleView, the company that conducts the flyovers, said the entire county can be captured in less than a week\u2019s time, however, the total flight time is dependent on the weather conditions. Planes fly up to 12,000 feet off the ground to capture ultra-high-resolution aerial imagery to get a detailed views of each property, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh-resolution aerial imagery is captured using a proprietary camera system installed in the floor of a fixed-wing aircraft,\u201d Daily wrote in an email to The Durango Herald<\/em>. \u201cThis camera system captures a \u2018top-down\u2019 orthogonal image in addition to an oblique directional view from all four cardinal angles \u2013 north, south, east and west. This imagery is then processed with supporting elevation data allowing customers to measure structures and features.\u201d<\/p>\n

The total cost for the last flyover was about $163,000 \u2013 with about $53,000 contributed from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, about $12,600 from the city of Durango, $10,000 from La Plata Electric Association and $640 from the town of Bayfield.<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

An earlier version of this story erred in saying the cost of the last three flyovers was $163,000. That was the cost of just the last flyover.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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