LELAND — A University of North Carolina at Wilmington student interning at the Town of Leland has helped to create an online mapping portal for the growing town.
The online Geographic Information System (GIS) portal is live now, granting streamlined public access to interactive zoning maps.
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Leland applied to be matched with eligible students to create both GIS portal and community engagement projects through the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and State Employees Credit Union’s (SECU) 2019 Public Fellowship program.
Autumn Skoog, a senior computer science major, helped the town to launch its GIS portal. Miles Barefoot, a junior political science major, drafted a Public Engagement Plan to help the town increase its community outreach efforts.
“The planning process should be very public, so Miles has set us up with a foundation on how to do that, and Autumn has set us up with the foundation of getting information out to the public,” Ben Andrea, Leland’s Planning Director said at a Planning Board meeting Tuesday. “The options are pretty limitless on what that mapping capability can do.”
Skoog’s portal, which hosts interactive zoning and development trackers, are now online. A new development tracker, created by Leland Senior Planner Matt Kirkland, includes options to view both commercial and residential development activity in town limits.
In a presentation to Leland’s Planning Board Tuesday, Skoog said town staff can continue to add maps to the user-friendly system she designed. Interactive maps showing evacuation routes, flood zones, public parks, voting locations, government offices, and roadway projects are designated on the portal as “coming soon.”
Explore Leland’s new GIS portal, available online now.
Send tips and comments to Johanna Ferebee at johanna@localvoicemedia.com
