MORGANTOWN — If you’ve ever wondered who owns a particular piece of land, or the most recent appraised value of an available building or whether or not a property falls within a certain zoning or neighborhood overlay district, the answers to these questions and untold others are clicks away.
Launched in 2016, the county’s parcel viewer website provides access to GIS (geographic information system) data allowing users to take aerial imagery of the county and overlay everything from parcel maps to floodplain data to transmission lines, city wards, zoning districts and more.
It’s a powerful tool, but it’s a little finicky and it comes with a bit of a learning curve.
The Monongalia County Assessor’s Office, and in particular GIS Coordinator Cal Carlson, are hoping to change that.
Assessor Mark Musick said an updated parcel viewer site is going live Tuesday. It’s currently accessible by going to assessor.org and clicking the “GIS Parcel Viewer” link.
“Our older parcel viewer, it’s a little bit outdated; clunky with its design. You had to, in order to search, go through each individual tab. Everything was multiple steps to get there,” Carlson said. “With the new parcel viewer, everything is right here on the interface. You can search using district/map/parcel, owner, parcel ID or address all from the same search function.”
Users can choose aerial imagery dating from 2010 to 2024.
Once zeroed in on the desired property, links are available to appraisal information, parcel ownership and sale history and Google Street View imagery, where available.
“It’s a pretty easy learning curve this time around,” Carlson said.
Musick said the site has been accessed more than 500 times through assessor.org in the last five days or so.
“We want it to be something that’s a little more user friendly. It was time to move forward with the parcel viewer, which has been a tremendous help within the community, especially from realtors and attorneys who access it a great deal, as do taxpayers who want to look at property lines and things like that,” he said.
Monongalia County Commissioner Jeff Arnett said he uses the site daily in his legal practice.
“I can say the old system was already far superior to any other county’s that I’ve used in the state. Most use the West Virginia property viewer, which is very basic and very difficult to use,” he said. “So, if this is even better, then kudos because I don’t know how I did my job before without it.”
It’s been a lengthy process, Musick concluded, but worth the effort.
“I can say the aerial mapping on there now for 2024, the resolution on that is really good. It’s well designed and laid out. I’ve been playing around with the new one and I think it’s going to be a nice upgrade,” he said. “I really like the street view function. That’s a great addition.”
