Workflow: Merge Parcels

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

This workflow describes the steps for merging parcels in a parcel fabric enabled with the Local Government Information Model (LGIM). Use this workflow on your own data.

This workflow is also available as an automated workflow. To use the Merge Parcels automated workflow, open the Parcel Workflows dialog box by clicking Parcel Editor > Parcel Workflows. Select Merge Parcels and click Begin workflow. Automated parcel editing workflows are available when you enable the Local Government Information Model on your parcel fabric.

The parcel merge workflow consists of the components shown in the diagram below:

Components for merging parcels

Legal description

A legal description for a parcel merge may look like this:

Parcels 19-16-352-001 and 19-16-352-002, part of the NW ¼ Section 16, Township 2 North, Range 10 East, Bloomfield TWP, Oakland Co. Michigan. Further described as Lots 25 and 26 of Echo Park No. 1 filed April 12, 2011.

Search for parent parcels

1. Open a map document that contains your parcel fabric (enabled with the Local Government Information Model).
2. In the Table Of Contents window, make only the Tax Parcels layer selectable.
3. Search for one of the parent parcels you want to merge by entering the Parcel Identification Number, for example, 1916352001.

Select parent parcels

1. Start an edit session and use the Select Parcel Features tool located on the Parcel Editing toolbar to select the parcels you want to merge.

Merge parent parcels

1. Right-click the selected parcels and click Merge.
2. On the Merge dialog box, click Plan to open the Plan Directory dialog box to choose the plan in which the new, merged parcel will reside.

The parcel fabric plan represents the legal document recording a parcel merge, subdivision, and so on. Parcels are created in plans. Plans are managed in the Plan Directory dialog box, which is opened by clicking Parcel Editor > Plan Directory.

You can create a new plan by clicking Create Plan on the Plan Directory dialog box. When setting the Accuracy category for a plan, all parcels in the plan will inherit that accuracy value. If you don't want to use plans, you can create parcels in the system default <map> plan.

3. Select plan you want to use for the newly merged parcel and click Set as Active Plan.
When merging parcels, choose the first option on the Merge dialog box to merge the selected parcels into a new parcel and flag the selected (parent) parcels as historic. Check Delete parent parcels if you do not want to save the selected, parent parcels as historic. Choose the second option to merge the selected parcels into a new parcel using a different feature template. The selected parent parcels are kept current. For example, merge all the tax parcels to create a new subdivision parcel (but keep the selected tax parcels current). If no parcel name is specified a default parcel name is assigned to the new parcel.
4. On the Merge dialog box, enter a parcel name and choose Preserve attributes from.
5. Click OK to merge the parcels.

   Tip:

   To display the historic, parent parcels turn on the Historic Parcels layer in the Table Of Contents window.

6. If you need to merge adjacent boundaries of the new parcel, that is, merge separate, collinear lines or tangent curves into one single boundary, right-click the selected merged parcel, and click Merge Courses:
   1. On the Merge Parcel Courses dialog box, edit the tolerances accordingly and choose whether to Delete original parcels.
   2. Click OK to merge collinear lines or tangent curves.

   Learn more about merging parcel courses (lines)

Annotate parcels

1. Add the ParcelDimensions annotation feature class to the map.

   The ParcelDimensions annotation feature class is created when the Local Government Information Model is enabled on the parcel fabric. The annotation feature class is feature linked to the parcel fabric Lines feature class.

   Annotation is created using the Annotate Parcel Courses tool , which handles the duplication of annotation on parcel lines.

2. With the merged parcel selected, click the Annotate Parcel Courses tool on the Parcel Editor toolbar.
3. Select ParcelDimensions on the Annotate Selected Features dialog box and click OK.

   Click Yes to re-create annotation.

4. If necessary, use the Edit Annotation tool to edit and change the placement of the generated annotation.

Attribute parcels

The final step in the workflow is to update the attributes of the new parcels:

1. Select the merged parcel and click Parcel Details on the Parcel Editor toolbar to open the Parcel Details dialog box.
2. On the Parcel Details dialog box, under the Properties tab, update attributes such as the Parcel Identification Number, StatedArea, LegalStartDate, and Accuracy.

   The LegalStartDate attribute should correspond to the date on the parcel's plan. If the Accuracy attribute is left empty, the value is inherited internally from the plan accuracy. You can override the plan accuracy by specifying a different parcel accuracy. Accuracy values are used in the parcel fabric least-squares adjustment.

Tip:

You can also update parcel attributes using the Attributes window. Select the parcel and click Attributes on the Editor toolbar to open the Attributes window.



Attributes window

3. Optionally update the attributes of the historic parcels:
   1. Turn on the Historic Parcels layer in the Table Of Contents window.
   2. Use the selection chip to select the historic parcel in the map.
   3. Open the Parcel Details dialog box and update attributes such as LegalStartDate, LegalEndDate, and Reason Parcel Retired.