The Geographic Information System (GIS) provides City staff with
a valuable tool for information analysis, automated mapping, and
data storage. The GIS can perform numerous analytical operations
to support decision-making processes as well as create, edit,
and display maps. This capability assists decision-makers as
they allocate resources, evaluate alternatives and costs, and
provide improved customer service to residents of the city. The
core of the GIS is the layered mapping, with the ability to turn
on and off layers of information such as lot lines, zoning
boundaries, fire hydrants, water lines, and pathways. Many of
these items are linked to databases, aerial photography, scanned
photographs, and planning documents, which gives the user access
to a wealth of information about these mapped features right at
his or her computer. The GIS is useful to answer such questions
as: - Where is something? (Where is Sunwood Court?) - What
exists here? (What is the zoning at this location?) - What is
the relation be