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GIS Data Layers

Addresses

Albemarle County is the authoritative source for road naming and the assignment of physical addresses of addressable structures in the County. View the Road Naming and Property Numbering Ordinance and Manual (PDF).

Physical Addresses

A listing of physical address information.

Address Map Book

The following datasets are updated on a monthly basis.

City of Charlottesville Data

Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Area Boundary Layer

This dataset represents the geographic boundaries of Albemarle County's Comprehensive Plan Areas.

Comprehensive Plan Areas (Shapefile)

Comprehensive Plan Land Use Layers

This dataset represents the official land use designations of Albemarle County's Comprehensive Plan Areas and includes areas that have undergone the master planning process. Please be sure to view the metadata that is provided with these GIS layers for more information.

Comprehensive Plan Land Use (Shapefile)

Urban Development Area Layer

Code of Virginia (Section 15.2.2223.1) defines Urban Development Areas (UDA) as areas for compact, mixed use urban development. Densities and intensities within UDAs are expected to be a minimum of four or more dwellings per developable acre for single family detached housing, a minimum of six or more dwellings per developable acre for townhouses, or a minimum of 12 or more multifamily units per developable acre. Housing may be a combination of these unit types and commercial development is to be provided at a floor area ratio of 0.4 per acre or higher. Developments may have a combination of residential and commercial use.

UDAs can accommodate 10 – 20 years of projected growth. They are established to improve coordination between transportation and land use. More detailed density and intensity recommendations for Albemarle County’s UDA areas are shown in the Places 29 and Pantops Master Plans. It is expected that state and local funding for transportation and other improvements will be directed to UDAs where feasible.

The UDA boundaries were put in place for Albemarle County in 2011.The Pantops UDA was updated on June 19, 2019 with the adoption of the Pantops Master Plan Update.

Urban Development Area Boundary (Shapefile)

Elevation

In accordance with §54.1-402 of the Code of Virginia, the following disclaimer applies to these datasets: Any determination of topography or contours, or any depiction of physical improvements, property lines or boundaries is for general information only and shall not be used for the design, modification, or construction of improvements to real property or for flood plain determination.

Y2018 Elevation Data

Topography – 4-Foot Contour Interval: For the Shapefile format, the 3D Y2018 4-foot topography dataset for the County is broken down into individual tiles consistent with the County's Tax Map Grid. Download the Tax Map grid as a GIS layer (see Reference Dataset section below).

Emergency Services

Fire Station Locations - This layer shows the locations of the County fire stations. Format: Shapefile

Fire Station Response Areas - This layer represents the County’s first due first station response areas. Includes City fire station response inside the County knows as the Automatic Response District (ARD). Format: Shapefile

Police Response Areas - This later represents the Albemarle County Police response areas. The response areas are divided up into beats, sectors, and districts. Format: Shapefile

Police Stations - This layer represents the County’s police stations. Format: Shapefile

Rescue Squad Locations - This layer shows the locations of County rescue squads. Includes the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS), which is in the City. Format: Shapefile

Rescue Squad Response Areas - These layers represent the County’s first due rescue squad response areas, broken into a Day shift and a Night/Weekend shift:

Environmental

Geology

Historical

The County does not provide any historic data layers. However, Virginia's Department of Historic Resources has a publicly available website called V-CRIS that allows visitors to search for basic information on individual architectural resources or historic districts.

Detailed information about architectural and archaeological resources can be found using DHR's fee-based system - registration available here.

Imagery

Y2018 Orthophotography

This imagery set is owned by the VDEM 9-1-1 & Geospatial Services as an asset to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the following disclaimer applies:

All data is provided "as is." The Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Geographic Information Network and their respective officers, agents and employees jointly and severally disclaim any and all representations or warranties, expressed or implied, written or oral, in fact or arising by operation of law, including any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, currency, commercial value, or freedom of data from infringement of any third party intellectual property rights.

The Y2018 Orthophotography imagery can be obtained from the VDEM

For Previous Years of Orthophotography

Please click here to browse available datasets.

For Historical Imagery

Historic Aerial Photography - Imagery sets for Albemarle County from Y1936 & Y1937, Y1957, Y1966, Y1974, Y1980, Y1986, and Y1990 may be available in either digital or hardcopy format from the UVA Library Scholars’ Lab. For more information on questions about 1990 or earlier imagery for Albemarle County, contact the UVA Library Scholar’s Lab.

Hardcopies from the Y1936 & Y1937, Y1980, Y1986, Y1990, and Y1996 sets are also available to view in Geographic Data Services Division in Community Development.

Land Conservation

Agricultural/Forestal Districts

This data set contains all the parcels that participate in the County’s Agricultural/Forestal (AF) District program. This is a voluntary program in which landowners commit to keep their land intact for periods of up to 10 years. Land enrolled in this program has limited development potential see Chapter Three of the County Code for the restrictions and benefits of this program. The AF boundaries are based on parcel boundaries reflecting recorded plats and deeds.

Notes: Some parcels are only partially within an AF District, yet it may not be known which portion of the parcel is in an AF District. As a result, the entire parcel may be mapped as being within an AF District. There may be more than one parcel ID for a given parcel polygon, therefore, the parcel ID’s listed in this data layer may not show all the applicable parcel IDs. Contact the Agricultural/Forestal contact person for referencing the official AF database which may be necessary to determine more information.

Agricultural/Forestal Districts (Shapefile)

Conservation Easements

This layer contains all the current parcels that are currently in a conservation easement in Albemarle County. Parcels under conservation easement may be subject to certain development restrictions.

Notes: Some parcels are only partially within a conservation easement, yet it may not be known which portion of the parcel is in a conservation easement. As a result, the entire parcel may be mapped as being within a conservation easement.

There may be more than one parcel ID for a given parcel polygon, therefore, the parcel IDs listed in this data layer may not show all the applicable parcel IDs.

Some parcels may be under more than one easement (multiple easement holders). In these instances, if one of the easement holders is ACE (the County's Acquisition of Conservation Easements program) or PRFA (Public Recreational Facilities Authority), that holder would be listed as the primary holder. Contact the Conservation Easement database contact person for referencing the official conservation easement database which may be necessary to determine more information.

Conservation Easements (Shapefile)

Open Space Use Agreements (OSUA)

This dataset contains all the current parcels that are currently under an Open Space Use Agreement (OSUA) between the owners of the parcel and the County of Albemarle. These agreements limit construction and development activity on the property owner’s land and lasts from four to ten years. For more information on any particular agreement, contact the Real Estate division of the County of Albemarle’s Finance Department.

Open Space Use Agreements (Shapefile)

Other Resources

Parcels

This information is also available through our GIS Web Viewer.

County Owned Land

This file represents parcels owned or jointly owned by the County of Albemarle, including those owned by the County of Albemarle School Board.

County Owned Land (Shapefile)

To obtain property plats please contact the Circuit Court Clerk's Office. You may need to request access to obtain the property plats digitally. The instructions are on the Clerks web page.

Current Parcels

This layer represents the most recent parcel boundaries as recorded through deeds for the County. The parcels layer can be related to the GPIN_TABLE through a one-to-many relationship as some parcel polygons can have multiple parcels associated with them. For your convenience, a separate layer called ParcelsStacked flattens out this relationship, so that for a polygon that goes to four parcel records, for example, the ParcelsStacked layer will have four polygons. See the metadata for more information.

End-of-Year Parcels Layer

Individual layers of parcel boundaries as recorded through deeds at the end of December 31st of each year also exist. End-of-year parcels layers will exist from 2001 through the previous calendar year. For the shapefile format the parcels layer can be linked to the GPIN_TABLE to yield additional information about a given parcel polygon. See the metadata for more information.

Parcel-Related Information

The files available for download here are a compilation of the most frequently requested parcel-related information. This information is currently updated weekly. **See important note below.

Real Estate Information - Parcel Level Data

This file contains information about the parcel itself such as owner information, deed acreage value, and assessed value. This file can be joined to the Parcels GIS layer via the GPIN field.

Real Estate Information - Card Level Data

Card Level Data refers to property information organized by residential dwellings or commercial units (e.g. building details and outbuilding information) on a given property. These tables can be linked to the Parcel Level Data table (ParcelID field) via the TMP field.

Card Level Data - this file includes data such as year built, finished square footage, number of rooms, and condition.

Infrastructure Improvements - this file includes data specific to infrastructure improvements (e.g. ACSA jurisdictional area, well/septic, paved driveway, etc.).

Real Estate Information - Transfer History

This file includes data pertaining to the transfer (sales) history for parcels. This file can be joined to the Parcel Level Data via the parcel ID.

Other Parcel Characteristics

This file contains other parcel information that is managed in our development tracking system (e.g. Zoning, School Districts, Jurisdictional Areas, etc.). This file can be joined to the Parcel Level Data via the ParcelID field or to the Parcels GIS layer via the GPIN field.

Notes

Under Virginia State law, these records are public information. Display of this information on the Internet is specifically authorized by Va. Code 58.1-3122.2(1998). See the Virginia State Code to read the pertinent enabling Statute.

If you believe any data provided is inaccurate or if you have any comments about this real estate data, you can contact the County's Real Estate Division.

Use of these files presumes some level of familiarity with County data and the ability for the end user to properly handle tabular information. For example, the ParcelID, TMP, and GPIN fields must be handled as TEXT fields while other fields (e.g. fields relating to lot size, assessment, last sale price, and last sale date) need to be numbers or dates. There's also a one-to-many relationship possible between records from the Parcel Level Data and the Card Level Data. For the XLSX files, the proper formatting is not present for the fields that are numbers, therefore, you will have to convert these to numbers in order for any proper analysis to be performed using this information. If you need assistance, please contact GIS Staff.

Subdivisions

This layer groups individual parcel boundaries into the named subdivisions that they are considered to be a part of. Note that this layer only includes particular residential subdivisions and not commercial property like businesses or apartment complexes.

Subdivisions (Shapefile)

Parks

County Parks

This layer shows where County parks are located. In some cases, parks are jointly owned and/or operated by the County and the City of Charlottesville. Additional information about a given park may have to be obtained from the City of Charlottesville.

County Parks (Shapefile)

Note: this layer will not include privately owned and operated parks, e.g. Cove Creek Park and Crozet Park.

County Park Trails

This layer contains trails that one may find in Albemarle County. These trails include those within County-owned Parks as well as the Ivy Creek Natural Area and any County/City jointly-owned and/or operated parks.

County Park Trails (Shapefile)

Ragged Mountain Natural Area

This later shows the location of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area, an area owned and managed by the City of Charlottesville. Inquiries regarding the uses and accessibility of the park should be addressed to City of Charlottesville Parks & Recreation.

Ivy Creek Natural Area

This layer shows the location of the Ivy Creek Natural Area, an area owned jointly by the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The management and care of the area is done by the nonprofit Ivy Creek Foundation.

Shenandoah National Park

This data set shows the location of the portion of Shenandoah National Park that lies within Albemarle County. This park is owned by the National Park Service. For more information about this area, please consult the Shenandoah National Park website.

Shenandoah National Park (Shapefile)

Planimetrics

Planimetrics represent digitized outlines of various features as visible from various photographic sources.

Athletic Fields

This layer contains outlines of many athletic fields throughout the County.

Buildings

This layer contains building polygons for all addressable structures in the County as well as many non-addressable structures. For the shapefile format, the buildings can be linked to the ADDRESSING_TABLE table to yield additional information including building addresses. See the metadata for more information.

Driveways

This driveway layer is continually updated daily by County staff. Location data for driveways are received by the GIS staff (from various sources: updated orthos, GPS, plats, etc.) and incorporated into this layer.

Hydrography

Railroads

Roads

Political

Albemarle County Boundary

This dataset represents the approximate delineations for Albemarle County’s boundaries. This information is NOT to be construed or used as a “legal description.” The boundary may be modified and updated as more up-to-date information is obtained. Boundaries are believed to be somewhat accurate, but accuracy is not guaranteed.

Albemarle County Boundary (Shapefile)

Scottsville Town Boundary

This dataset represents the approximate delineations for the Town of Scottsville. This information is NOT to be construed or used as a “legal description.” The boundary may be modified and updated as more up-to-date information is obtained. Boundaries are believed to be somewhat accurate, but accuracy is not guaranteed.

Scottsville Town Boundary (Shapefile)

Voting

Reference

DTM Grid

This layer shows Albemarle County's DTM grid. The County's DTM grid forms the basic organizing framework for many elevation data layers for the County. The grid is numbered 1 through 23 and each grid corresponds to a USGS 1:24,000 map series quad grid.

Geodetic Control

This dataset represents the geographic position of geodetic control as maintained by the National Geodetic Survey that have been placed in the field and used as control points by land surveyors and includes some monuments within a five-mile buffer from the County border. This file is not actively updated by County staff and was last compiled on December 9, 2014. More detailed information can be obtained from the NGS Datasheet Page.

Geodetic Control (Shapefile)

Monumentation

This layer represents a compilation of the locations of horizontal control monuments (last updated in 1998) that have been placed in the field by Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, UVA, VDOT, USGS, local land surveyors, and other entities and includes some monuments just outside the County boundary.

Monumentation (Shapefile)

Scenic Byways

This layer contains the approved National or Virginia Scenic Byways as well as the "Recommended" scenic byways for Albemarle County. Properties that lie within a certain distance of these scenic byways may have certain zoning regulations that apply in addition to any other zoning classification the property may have.

Scenic Byways (Shapefile)

Tax Map Grid

This layer shows Albemarle County's tax map grid. The County's tax map grid forms the basic organizing framework for the County's parcel layer as well as some other layers. The grid is numbered 1 through 139 and each grid is one-ninth of a USGS quad grid.

Schools

School Districts

There are layers for elementary, middle, and high school districts:

School Locations

This layer shows the locations of the County’s schools.

School Locations (Shapefile)

School Parcels

This file represents the parcels of land where County schools are situated.

School Parcels (Shapefile)

Statistics/Demographics

USGS Data

USGS Datasets

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) maintains many datasets for Albemarle County including but not limited to the following: DEM (Digital Elevation Model), DLG (Digital Line Graph), DOQ (Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle), NHD (National Hydrography Dataset), NED (National Elevation Dataset). These datasets may be available for download from the USGS.

USGS Maps

US Topo 7.5-minute quadrangles are topographic maps produced by the National Geospatial Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Check out the US Topo website for details.

Utilities

ACSA Jurisdictional Areas

This layer delineates where the ACSA (Albemarle County Service Authority) Jurisdictional Areas are located. The Jurisdictional Areas represent parcels (or portions of parcels) that contain various levels of water/sewer service as provided by the ACSA and approved by the County of Albemarle Board of Supervisors. For more information about parcels and structures involved in Limited Service, Water Only to Existing Structures, and non-jurisdictional area waterline adjacent parcels. View the MS Excel file.

ACSA Jurisdictional Areas (Shapefile)

Stormwater Facilities

The point locations in this dataset designate discrete stormwater management facilities throughout both the Development and Rural Areas of Albemarle County. Stormwater management facilities are engineered and designed to be incorporated into site plans to reduce the storm water quantity and/or quality impacts associated with any new development. The Albemarle County Code requires that stormwater management facilities be regularly maintained.

Stormwater Facilities (Shapefile)

Water

Dam Break Inundation Zones

This layer represents the dam break inundation zones that are affiliated with state and federally regulated dams located in Albemarle County. It includes both private and public dams. Note: Properties that fall within a dam break inundation zone of a state regulated dam are required to adhere to certain state regulations, specifically the following:

State code requires dam owners to submit inundation zone mapping to their locality. The code also requires localities to submit development applications occurring within a mapped dam inundation zone to DCR for review within 10 days. DCR has 45 days to respond.

Applicability: For the purpose of this regulation, development is defined to include land to be used for the following.

Any business or industrial purpose
Is to contain three or more residential dwelling units and does not include agricultural production; and
Subdivision

Should DCR find that a proposed development would affect spillway standards, the County may not approve development unless developer amends the plan or contributes 50% of the cost of dam upgrades. Local governments are responsible for holding these funds in escrow until the dam upgrades are completed.

Federally regulated dams and their respective dam break inundation zones are exempt from these requirements.

Dam Break Inundation Zones (Shapefile)

Floodplain

The 100-year flood (1% chance of flooding every year) limits depicted on the County maps are based on the countywide Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study and Maps that became effective May 16, 2016.

Additional information on how to view and/or obtain Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs), or Q3 data for Albemarle County, please consult the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website.

Please note that FEMA may issue Letters of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letters of Map Revision (LOMR) to remove structures and/or parcels from the flood plain without revising the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The County is not authorized to change the effective flood maps. Therefore, the flood zone status of a parcel in the County may change, but the maps from FEMA may still depict previous conditions. Questions about any LOMAs or LOMRs that may have been issued for County parcels can be directed to the County Engineer.

Water Protection Ordinance

The Water Protection Ordinance (WPO) requires water quality and quantity treatment from development sites and addresses the protection and enhancement of stream buffers throughout the County.

You may also download layers for the 100 Year Floodplain, the 500 Year Floodplain, and the Floodway, which are based on the 2005 FEMA Study Maps, that staff uses for various analyses. Please note that the official layers are maintained by FEMA: The WPO Buffers layer shows areas covered by the Water Protection Ordinance. These areas are approximated and should not be distributed for uses such as direct application onto plans and plats. Plans and plats should be developed from the original data sources. However, this layer can be used for planning purposes and as a screening tool for staff in the development departments who want to know if a specific piece of property that is involved in a development proposal, citizen complaint, etc. is subject to the WPO.

Any questions regarding the use of this layer should be directed to the Natural Resources Manager in the Department of Community Development.

WPO Buffers (Shapefile)

Watersheds

This layer is the master watershed file for Albemarle County. It contains the most recent and most accurate boundary delineations. Watersheds of various scale are named and numbered based on USGS hydrologic unit code (HUC) nomenclature. The watershed boundaries are derived from USGS and historic local delineations and were refined using 3D, Y2000 10-foot contours.

Watersheds (Shapefile)

Zoning

For specific questions or to report a possible discrepancy about a particular zoning classification, entrance corridor, or proffer, please contact the Division of Zoning Services. And for information on the zoning classifications, please consult Chapter 18 of the Albemarle County Code.

Airport Impact Area

This layer represents the Airport Impact Area (AIA) overlay for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport. All parcels in or partially within the AIA are considered to be affected by the AIA. The AIA (sometimes referred to as the "Keyhole" Map) was created by Delta Airport Consultants, Inc. out of Charlotte, NC and is a subset of the Part 77 Surfaces that were created as part of Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport's 1994 Master Plan. The AIA was expanded along the northern edge in 2005 coinciding with the extension of the airport runway at its northern end. This also warranted a County Master Plan update to allow for this runway expansion.

Airport Impact Area (Shapefile)

Entrance Corridors

This layer depicts which roads are considered to be entrance corridors in Albemarle County. Properties that lie along an entrance corridor may have certain zoning regulations that apply in addition to any other zoning classification the property may have.

Entrance Corridors (Shapefile)

Entrance Corridor Overlay

This layer contains the most up-to-date overlay for designated County entrance corridors. Properties that lie within this overlay may have certain zoning regulations that apply in addition to any other zoning classification the property may have. This file is different than the Entrance Corridors file in that it contains the geography of the affected parcels as opposed to the linear delineations of the entrance corridors.

Entrance Corridor Overlay (Shapefile)

Proffers Layer

This layer contains proffered conditions for Albemarle County from 1979 to the present that are in addition to the underlying zoning information. Parcels may be subject to additional overlay zoning not represented. This information is updated on a weekly basis from current proffer information from other County data resources.

Proffers Layer (Shapefile)

Natural Resource Extraction Overlay Layer

This layer contains the most up-to-date overlay for the Natural Resource Extraction areas for the County. Properties that lie within this overlay may have certain zoning regulations that apply in addition to any other zoning classification the property may have.

Natural Resource Extraction Overlay Layer (Shapefile)

Scenic Stream Overlay

This layer contains the most up-to-date overlay for designated County Scenic Streams. Properties that lie within this overlay have certain zoning regulations that apply in addition to any other zoning classification the property may have.

Scenic Stream Overlay (Shapefile)

Steep Slopes Overlay

This layer represents the County's Steep Slope Overlay District. Slopes within this district are classified as either Preserved or Managed. The ordinance provisions that created this overlay district shall be effective on and after March 5, 2014. For a full description of this district, please consult the Zoning Ordinance.

Definitions

Slopes, critical: Slopes, other than managed or preserved slopes, of twenty-five (25) percent or greater as determined by reference to either current topographic mapping available from the county or a more accurate field survey certified by a professional surveyor or engineer. Slopes of twenty-five (25) percent or greater which are lawfully created within a development that was approved by the county shall not be considered critical slopes.

Slopes, managed: Slopes of twenty-five (25) percent or greater depicted as a managed slope on the map entitled "Steep Slopes Overlay District," adopted by the board of supervisors on March 5, 2014. Managed Slopes may be developed if Design Standards are adhered to.

Slopes, preserved: Slopes of twenty-five (25) percent or greater depicted as a preserved slope on the map entitled "Steep Slopes Overlay District," adopted by the board of supervisors on March 5, 2014. Preserved Slopes allow minimal activities.

Slopes, steep: Steep slopes are referred to as critical slopes on lands outside of the steep slopes overlay district and are referred to as either managed or preserved slopes within the steep slopes overlay district.

Steep Slopes Overlay (Shapefile)

Zoning Classifications

This layer contains current zoning information for Albemarle County. Please note, there may be additional overlay zoning (proffers, entrance corridor, airport overlay, flood hazard overlay, etc.) that may affect a certain parcel and that zoning classifications are continually updated throughout the year.

Zoning Classifications (Shapefile)

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Disclaimer

Albemarle County has provided these data layers for informational purposes only.

Data layers were compiled from various sources and are not to be construed or used as a "legal description". Data layers are believed to be accurate, but accuracy is not guaranteed. While Albemarle County has attempted to ensure that the information contained in these data layers is accurate, Albemarle County expressly disclaims all warranties of any type, expressed or implied, including but not limited to, any warranty as to the accuracy of the data, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. Albemarle County does not assume any liability for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information provided regardless of the cause of such or for any decision made, action taken, or action not taken by the user in reliance upon any data provided herein.

Additional information about any given layer can be obtained by viewing the metadata contained in the accompanying XML file. You may also wish to check out our GIS-Web Viewer for an interactive mapping experience where many of these layers are utilized.

Report any errors, omissions, or other questions GIS Staff at gisweb@albemarle.org or by calling (434) 296-5832.

Use of these data layers assumes that you understand and agree with the information provided in this disclaimer.

Obtain GIS Data

Geographic Data Services (GDS) offers several County-based GIS layers that are intended to be downloaded and used in third party software. Many of these layers are updated on a weekly basis, however some layers (e.g. contours, orthophotography, soils) may only be updated on an annual, or longer, basis.

If you wish to have staff assemble your data layers, a charge may apply. We ask for a write-up explaining the use for the data and an agreement to not redistribute the data. Email GIS Staff at gisweb@albemarle.org for more details.

Additionally, check out our GIS Web Viewer for an interactive mapping experience where many layers are utilized.