Del Mar launches new public map viewer

The public can now easily discover data about places in the city of Del Mar.

In partnership with Nobel Systems, the city recently released a brand new version of its public map viewer to provide the community with access to city maps, zoning and parcel information using a web-based geographic information system (GIS) viewer.

“This is a pretty state-of-the-art GIS system that we provided to Del Mar,” said Michael Samuel, president of Nobel Systems, a San Bernardino-based company that provides GIS conversion, consulting and mapping services. “It’s pretty fast. It would take a long time for the previous data to come up. This takes milliseconds to search on it and you get access right away.”

Nobel Systems has provided hosted web GIS services for Del Mar since 2010. The company also created an easy-to-use web-based mapping system known as “GeoViewer” for the city.

Del Mar’s IT manager, Emily Bernardo, explained that Del Mar has two types of the tool — one for internal use that contains all of the city’s information layers and one for public use that contains only public data such as address and zoning information.

“Recently, Nobel did a major upgrade on the public version that includes a much more user-friendly interface,” Bernardo said in an email. “The Planning Department relies heavily on the internal GeoViewer for public noticing, parcel data and zoning information.”

A computer-based mapping system, GIS makes it possible to work with multiple information layers concerning various geographic features such as roads, parcels, aerial images and more. Community members can use the tool to view aerial imagery, bike routes and racks, streets, trails, trash pickup and zoning.

“I think the citizens would like to know more information about themselves — what their property is worth, what zone they are in, where the nearest park is,” Samuel said. “There’s value to this type of data.”

Founded in 1992, Nobel Systems hosts data for a number of cities and municipalities throughout California. In San Diego County, Nobel Systems also works with Olivenhain Municipal Water District and Rainbow Municipal Water District.

“They find it extremely valuable because they don’t need to invest in any GIS software or computers or staff,” Samuel said. “We’re like a cloud-hosted provider.”

The new public map viewer went online in May. Nobel Systems will work with the city to refresh the system every year, Samuel said.

“Everything is available 24/7 to customers,” Samuel said. “Giving that ability to our customers, I think, is a huge value.”

To use the public map viewer, visit delmar.geoviewer.io