1. Existing Land-Use/Land Cover Data Review
November 2012

2. Contents
Page
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
….
Review…………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................... 2
.........
Results……………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
.…...
Existing Land-Use Maps
Region………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Indian River………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
St. Lucie………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
Martin………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
Palm Beach…………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Boward….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
Miami-Dade…………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
Monroe - Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
Monroe – Insets A & B……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18
Monroe – Insets C & D………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

3. Introduction
The initial step in the land-use planning analysis for the Seven50 Plan is to identify spatial sources for existing land-use in the region.
‘Existing’ is defined as 2010 for consistency with the plan’s base year for growth forecasting and transportation modeling. Spatial
land-use data will be used for the following:
 To compile a set of existing land-uses with acreages for the entire region.
 To distinguish between types of existing development, especially as it relates to residential uses.
 To generate an accurate vacant, developable lands coverage for the entire region.
Resulting land-use products will inform other work products and aide in public involvement.
Sources
The following land-use / land cover spatial datasets were reviewed and summarized for this memo:
1. National Land Cover Database
2. Generalized Land-Use from Parcels
3. FLUCCS Land-Use and Cover
4. County Parcels with NAL database
5. Census Block Groups (for reference)
Acres of land-uses for the sources above were summarized for the region and reviewed for completeness.
1

4. Review
This section provides an overview of the datasets, a checklist of how well each dataset meets the land-use data goals presented in
the introduction, and a recommendation for an interim existing land-use data set for the project.
Data Overview
Table 1: Data Overview
# Dataset Year Source Agency Spatial Method Classes Description
Name Units
1 National 2006 http://www.mrlc. USGS 30 meter Remote Sensing 12  A national land cover dataset periodically
gov/index.php
Land Cover cells updated by the USGS
Database
2 Generalized 2010 http://www.fgdl.o GeoPlan Land-use Reclassified 15  Generalized land-uses prepared by GeoPlan
rg
Land-Use polygons from county based on county data.
land-uses
3 FLUCCS Land- 2009 http://www.fgdl.o St. Johns River Land cover Aerial 100+  Developed by watershed management
rg
Use / Land and S. Florida polygons interpretation districts and based on the Florida Land-Use,
Cover WMD Cover and Forms Classification System.
4 County 2010 ftp://ftp1.fgdl.org/ Counties / Taxlots Assessors Tax 99  This dataset is the basis for the Generalized
pub/county/
Parcels FDOR Roll Land-Use (2010) dataset described above.
 Data is provided to Florida DOR by counties
with DOR specific land-use codes.
5 Census 2010 http://www.censu U.S. Census Blockgroups None 0  For acreage reference purposes only as the
s.gov/geo/www/ti
Blocks Bureau census only differentiates between water and
ger/tgrshp2010/tg
rshp2010.html land, not specific land-uses.
2

5. Land-Use Data Criteria
Table 2: Data Criteria
Criteria
Provides existing land-
existing development
Defines vacant land
Complete regional
between types of
Distinguishes
coverage.
Total Area Land Area
uses.
(Acres) (Acres) Notes
# Dataset Name
1 National Land Cover Database No No No Yes 8,306 7,667  Provides land cover as opposed to land-use. (Example:
Developed Low Density as opposed to Commercial or
Residential – Low Density)
2 Generalized Land-Use Yes Yes No No 8,084 7,751  27% of the region classified as No Data
3 FLUCCS Land-Use / Land Cover Yes Yes Yes Yes 8,666 7,434  The classification scheme is a mix of land cover and land-use.
 Over-estimates developed uses.
4 County Parcels Yes Yes Yes No 8,084 7,751  27% of the region classified as No Data
 Includes tax roll data with ownership, value, etc…
5 Census Blocks No No No Yes 11,993 7,679  Can be used for reference
In addition to the land-use criteria listed in Table 2, datasets were reviewed for spatial and attribute accuracy using aerial
photography and contextual datasets. Consideration was also given to whether each dataset could be used as a unit of analysis for
future scenario planning efforts. Additional review observations include:
 The complex boundaries and temporal nature of water and wetlands in the region make it very difficult to get consistent
calculations of land area and any associated land-uses across datasets.
 With the exception of the FLUCCS Land-Use / Land Cover dataset, no datasets meet each of the land-use criteria.
 Based on a visual review and comparison with other datasets the FLUCCS Land-Use / Land Cover dataset over estimates
developed land area including residential and commercial uses.
3

6.  Based on a visual review with recent aerial photography, the County Parcel and Generalized Land-Use datasets most
accurately classify developed land area.
 Based on the inputs and projections from the Florida 2060 project and the large amount of wet undevelopable land in the
region, selecting an existing land-use dataset should focus on accuracy surrounding developed, incorporated areas.
 Additional resources for identifying Open Space and Conservation Land including the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan should be integrated into the existing land use dataset.
Given the outcomes of this data review no one dataset achieves all of the required criteria while providing an accurate classification
of existing uses as they apply to this project.
Results
With no one dataset meeting all of the criteria for land-use attribution, spatial coverage, and accuracy, a hybrid existing land-use
dataset has been created. Using the County Parcels dataset and the FLUCCS Land-Use/Land Cover dataset, a new parcel based
dataset has been created that achieves the following:
 Complete spatial and land-use coverage for the region.
 Best available land-use classifications in and around existing developed areas.
 Best available classification of developed land-uses, especially uses associated with residential and commercial development.
 Best available classification of vacant, developable land for the region.
 A link to reference information for ownership, value, etc…
 A scalable unit for scenario modeling.
The hybrid land-use dataset created is based on the County Parcel polygons and existing land-uses in all areas except in the 27% of
the region where land-use is undefined. For parcels with undefined land-use data the FLUCCS Land-Use / Land Cover designation of
land-use was applied to the existing parcel records. Given the differences in land-use classifications between the two input datasets
a new land-use classification scheme was developed with 19 categories (Table 3: Existing Land-Use Classifications).
4

7. To further refine the classification and spatial accuracy of the 2010 existing land-use dataset, the additional datasets described
below, representing open space and conservation land, were integrated into the existing land-use dataset.
 The Florida Natural Areas Inventory’s Conservation Land dataset was used to update the existing land-use dataset. Privately
owned conservation land was removed from this dataset prior to cross referencing with existing land-use data.
(http://www.fnai.org/gisdata.cfm)
 Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties provided public parks datasets which were
used to update the existing land-use dataset.
Parcels identified by the above datasets as public parks or open spaces were reclassified as Public Open Space/Conservation. The
resultant existing land-use shows a shift from Water, Wetlands, and Public being the dominant use in the region to Public Open
Space/Conservation as the primary land-use in the region.
Following the integration of conservation and public open space data into the existing land-use dataset, the data was compared
against regional land-use planning and conservation resources such as Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP -
http://www.evergladesplan.org/index.aspx) for accuracy.
5

8. Table 3: Existing Land-Use Classifications
Land-Use Class Description
Residential – Single Family Single family detached dwellings which are not mobile.
Residential – Mobile Homes Mobile home parks
Residential – Multi-Family Multi-family residential
Residential – Other Retirement homes, fishing camps, and other non-traditional residential uses
Commercial Commercial uses including service and retail but not industrial or large recreational uses
Mixed –Use Mixed use buildings including commercial and residential mixes as well as commercial retail and
service uses on separate floors
Industrial All industrial uses including mining and warehousing
Institutional Hospitals, schools, clubs/organizations, churches as well as traditional municipal, county, state, and
federal administrative uses.
Public Land owned by municipal, county, state, and federal government without a defined use
Parking Facilities designated specifically for automobile parking with no other commercial or non-
commercial use.
Agriculture Agricultural uses including crops cultivation, grazing, and nurseries
Recreation Facilities Golf courses, race tracks, and tourist attractions not including public parks or open space
Public Open Space/Conservation Public open spaces including developed parks and undeveloped open space
Transportation/Utility Right-of-ways, utilities, water / wastewater and solid waste treatment sites, marine terminals,
airports, rail yards, and other transportation or utility focused uses
Other Acreage no used for agriculture as defined by DOR
Vacant Land Land identified as vacant or open land, not including public open spaces or agriculture
Water Water
Wetlands Wetlands
No Data No land-use classification available (less than .04% of regional acres)
6

9. Table 4: Existing Land-Use Summary
FGDL/FDOR Parcels Hybrid (2010)
Acreage by County
Total Seven50
Indian Palm Miami
St Lucie Martin Monroe Region (2010 % Total
River Beach Broward Dade
Acres)
Residential - Other 1,180 257 202 447 138 133 13 2,369 0.0%
Residential - Single Family 23,273 32,010 20,686 102,910 85,709 83,262 9,065 356,915 6.8%
Residential - Mobile Homes 494 870 675 639 1,089 144 9,471 13,382 0.3%
Residential - Multi-family 2,024 1,661 1,454 6,586 20,681 13,247 41,321 86,974 1.7%
Commercial 1,804 2,997 2,145 13,365 20,572 13,786 2,118 56,788 1.1%
Mixed-Use 224 101 123 425 692 1,476 238 3,279 0.1%
Industrial 1,099 3,455 1,071 13,331 11,079 12,965 787 43,787 0.8%
Institutional 2,667 4,378 3,310 11,929 11,200 10,761 2,806 47,053 0.9%
Public 14,705 15,956 21,527 23,779 13,626 35,228 9,933 134,754 2.6%
Parking 1,014 1,711 577 1,854 4,154 2,933 372 12,615 0.2%
Agriculture 143,128 219,199 171,571 479,877 7,326 68,384 0 1,089,486 20.8%
Recreation Facilities 3,487 3,911 5,720 20,678 9,083 1,582 582 45,043 0.9%
Public Open Space/Conservation 91,403 23,156 80,489 437,759 532,402 863,671 685,219 2,714,097 51.7%
Transportation/Utility 1,902 11,191 23,938 29,080 18,745 10,111 9,563 104,529 2.0%
Other 92 6,671 13,603 2,366 0 54,102 6,173 83,006 1.6%
Vacant 19,236 18,810 5,742 23,502 18,593 33,855 22,310 142,048 2.7%
Water 322 4,066 80,143 176,015 20,739 3,447 1,983 286,713 5.5%
Wetlands 84 319 64 13,332 636 7,644 285 22,364 0.4%
No Data 1 54 0 0 1,744 7 6 1,812 0.0%
Total 308,140 350,771 433,039 1,357,875 778,209 1,216,737 802,244 5,247,014 100%
Total without Water 307,818 346,705 352,897 1,181,860 757,470 1,213,290 800,262 4,960,301
Total without Water or Wetlands 307,818 346,386 352,897 1,181,860 755,726 1,213,283 800,255 4,958,224
7

10. Figure 1: Existing Regional Land-Use (2010)
52% - Public Open Space/Conservation
21% - Agriculture
7% - Residential - Single Family
6% - Water
3% - Vacant
3% - Public
2% - Transportion/Utility
2% - Residential - Multi-family
2% - Other
1% - Commercial
1% - Institutional
1% - Recreation Facilities
1% - Industrial
0.4% - Wetlands
0.3% - Residential - Mobile Homes
0.2% - Parking
0.1 % - Mixed-Use
0.1% - Residential - Other
0.1% - No Data
8

11. Figure 2: Existing Regional Land-Use Generalized (2010)
53% - Recreation Facilities /Public Open Space
21% - Agriculture
9% - Residential
6% - Water/Wetlands
3% - Institutional/Public
3% - Vacant
2% - Transportation/Utility/Parking
2% - Commercial/Mixed-Use/Industrial
2% - Other/No Data
9

12. Figure 3: Regional Existing Regional Land-Use (2010)
10

13. Figure 4: Indian River County Existing Land-Use (2010)
11

14. Figure 5: St. Lucie County Existing Land-Use (2010)
12

15. Figure 6: Martin County Existing Land-Use (2010)
13

16. Figure 7: Palm Beach County Existing Land-Use (2010)
14

17. Figure 8: Broward County Existing Land-Use (2010)
15

18. Figure 9: Miami-Dade County Existing Land-Use (2010)
16

19. Figure 10: Monroe County Existing Land-Use (2010)
17

20. Figure 11: Monroe County Existing Land-Use Insets A & B (2010)
18

21. Figure 12: Monroe County Existing Land-Use Insets C & D (2010)
19