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The Property_Flattened_Py layer is a combination of the Property shapes and the Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT) information. The Property shapes, from the Property_Py layer, are edited daily by Planning Department staff, while the SDAT information, the Land Data File (LDF) table, is updated at the end of each month. These two items are combined and exported into the Property_Flattened_Py layer on a nightly basis. Normally this data is kept separately and has a many-to-many relationship between the properties and the account information. For example, the largest condominium parcel in the county has over five hundred SDAT issued tax accounts associated with a single property shape. The combination process, or flattening, into a one-to-one relationship from its native many-to-many relationship, creates multiple identical polygons for those properties that have multiple associated account numbers. For most of the properties in the county this results in a single shape with the corresponding SDAT information. However, for example, the previously mentioned condominium parcel will have over five hundred identical property shapes stacked on top of each other. There are many more properties that have two or three accounts per property. Warnings: Do not use this layer for most spatial analysis, based on the Shape.Area field. Due to the multiple property shapes your totals will be greatly inflated. Best uses: For querying any of SDAT information from the property shapes to find locations (Locate, Zoom To, Highlight, etc) For labeling the SDAT information on a map/document based on the property shape(s). Keep in mind the multiple polygons while setting up your labeling rules. For finding counts of data. For example how many subdivided accounts have an improvement value greater than $100,000, and are tax exempt (etc.). |