County, City & Townships Boundaries used for 2005 Land Use Acreage Totals

This page last updated: 07/06/2006
Metadata created using Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines



Metadata Summary

Originator The Counties of Anoka, Dakota, Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington and the Metropolitan Council
Abstract This is the April 2006 version of the MetroGIS regional county_ctu.shp file. This shape file includes combined county, city and townships boundaries for the Twin Cities metropolitan area. This shape file was used to create the community acreage totals for the Metropolitan Council's 2005 Generalized Land Use data.

NOTES:

- The five digit CTU codes in this dataset are identical to the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) ''Place'' codes. They are also used by the Census Bureau and many other organizations and are proposed as a MN state data coding standard.

- Cities and townships have also been referred to as ''MCDs'' (a census term), however this term technically refers to the part of each city or township within a single county. Thus, a few cities in the metro area that are split by county boundaries are actually comprised of two different MCDs. This was part of the impetus for a proposed MN state data standard that uses the ''CTU'' terminology for clarity.

- The linework for this dataset comes from individual counties and is assembled by the Metropolitan Council for the MetroGIS community.

- A variety of civil divisions of the land exist within the United States. In Minnesota, only three types exist - cities, townships and unorganized territories. All three of these exist within the Twin Cities seven county area. The only unorganized territory is Fort Snelling (a large portion of which is occupied by the MSP International Airport).

- Some cities are split between two counties. Only those parts of cities within the 7-county area are included.
Browse Graphic View a sample of the data.
Time Period of Content Date 04/04/2006
Currentness Reference The county, city and township boundaries in this dataset are current as of April 4th, 2006 with the exception of Hennepin which is current as of September 2, 2005.
Access Constraints None
Use Constraints By acceptance of this data, the user agrees to include a copy of this metadata record, including the liability disclaimer, whenever the user transmits or provides the GIS Data (or any portion of it) to another user.

We recommend that other interested parties download this dataset from the Data Finder web site (www.datafinder.org) to ensure that the most current data is obtained.
Distributor Organization Metropolitan Council
Ordering Instructions
Online Linkage none available


Full Metadata

County, City & Townships Boundaries used for 2005 Land Use Acreage Totals

Go to Section:
1. Identification Information
2. Data Quality Information
3. Spatial Data Organization Information
4. Spatial Reference Information
5. Entity and Attribute Information
6. Distribution Information
7. Metadata Reference Information

 
Section 1 Identification Information   Top of page
Originator The Counties of Anoka, Dakota, Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington and the Metropolitan Council
Title County, City & Townships Boundaries used for 2005 Land Use Acreage Totals
Abstract This is the April 2006 version of the MetroGIS regional county_ctu.shp file. This shape file includes combined county, city and townships boundaries for the Twin Cities metropolitan area. This shape file was used to create the community acreage totals for the Metropolitan Council's 2005 Generalized Land Use data.

NOTES:

- The five digit CTU codes in this dataset are identical to the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) ''Place'' codes. They are also used by the Census Bureau and many other organizations and are proposed as a MN state data coding standard.

- Cities and townships have also been referred to as ''MCDs'' (a census term), however this term technically refers to the part of each city or township within a single county. Thus, a few cities in the metro area that are split by county boundaries are actually comprised of two different MCDs. This was part of the impetus for a proposed MN state data standard that uses the ''CTU'' terminology for clarity.

- The linework for this dataset comes from individual counties and is assembled by the Metropolitan Council for the MetroGIS community.

- A variety of civil divisions of the land exist within the United States. In Minnesota, only three types exist - cities, townships and unorganized territories. All three of these exist within the Twin Cities seven county area. The only unorganized territory is Fort Snelling (a large portion of which is occupied by the MSP International Airport).

- Some cities are split between two counties. Only those parts of cities within the 7-county area are included.
Purpose This dataset was used specifically to calculate community acreage totals for the Metropolitan Council's 2005 Generalized Land Use dataset.
Time Period of Content Date 04/04/2006
Currentness Reference The county, city and township boundaries in this dataset are current as of April 4th, 2006 with the exception of Hennepin which is current as of September 2, 2005.
Progress Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency None planned
Spatial Extent of Data Twin Cities 7 County Metropolitan Area. This includes the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington in Minnesota.
Bounding Coordinates -94.012
-92.732
45.415
44.471
Place Keywords Twin Cities, Anoka County, Carver County, Dakota County, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Scott County, Washington County
Theme Keywords political boundaries, counties, cities, townships, FIPS place code, CTU, CTUs, MCD, minor civil divisions, municipal boundaries, county boundaries, city boundaries, communities, community boundaries
Theme Keyword Thesaurus None
Access Constraints None
Use Constraints By acceptance of this data, the user agrees to include a copy of this metadata record, including the liability disclaimer, whenever the user transmits or provides the GIS Data (or any portion of it) to another user.

We recommend that other interested parties download this dataset from the Data Finder web site (www.datafinder.org) to ensure that the most current data is obtained.
Contact Person Information Mark Kotz, GIS Database Administrator
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1805
Phone: 651-602-1644
FAX: 651-602-1674
E-mail: mark.kotz@metc.state.mn.us
Browse Graphic View a sample of the data.
Browse Graphic File Description Sample map showing county and city & township boundaries datasets.
Associated Data Sets MetroGIS regional county, city and township boundary dataset that is updated quarterly http://www.datafinder.org/metadata/county_ctu.htm

County_CTU_LUT.dbf = a lookup table containing various data related to cities, townships, unorganized territories and any divisions created by county boundaries splitting them: http://www.datafinder.org/metadata/county_ctu_lut.htm

County & MCD boundary dataset for 1990: http://www.datafinder.org/metadata/comcd_1990.htm

County & CTU boundary dataset for 2000: http://www.datafinder.org/metadata/county_ctu_2000.htm

 
Section 2 Data Quality Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Attribute Accuracy Valid code tests have been conducted. No known attribute errors exist.
Logical Consistency The dataset is topologically 'clean'.
Completeness Entire seven county geographic area is covered.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy The estimated positional accuracy of the dataset varies with the source of the data as follows:

Anoka County
No testing of the positional accuracy has been done.

Carver County
County has GPS data for all 1/4 Section corners accurate to 1/50th foot. Township boundaries that follow PLS lines are estimated at between 0.2 ft. and 0.5 ft. of true location. City boundaries that follow PLS lines are also expected to be near this range of accuracy. Other boundaries are within .5' to 5' of horizontal accuracy.

Dakota County
Estimated +or- 0.2 feet on lines that follow the PLS or well described parcels. 90% of lines are estimated to be within 0.5 feet of true location. Some problem areas exist. For example, many questions exist as to where the boundary of Mendota is supposed to be.

Hennepin County
Estimated +or- 2 to 4 feet at section corners. Positional accuracy decreases with distance from section corners.

Ramsey County
The majority of the municipal boundary layer possesses a horizontal positional accuracy equivalent to that of our digitized parcels. (+-7 feet) Exceptions to this include unresolved boundary issues and interpreted boundary positions such as the thread of the Mississippi River. Some areas could deviate in position by more than 100 feet. Further municipal boundary annexation information may be found at the Minnesota Planning agency, the municipality in question or at the Minnesota Department of Transportation which performs most annexation mapping functions. Public Land Survey (PLS) and parcel mapping information can be found at the Ramsey County Surveyors Office.

Scott County
Township boundaries that follow PLS lines are estimated at between 0.4 ft. and 1 ft. of true location. City boundaries that follow PLS lines are also expected to be near this range of accuracy. Other boundaries are thought to be within 20 or 40 ft.

Washington County
Boundaries shown that coincide with hydrological features or those that have generalized definitions with little supporting detail of their location are digitized from partially rectified aerial photographs at 1 inch equals 200 feet. These features have been tested 23 feet horizontal accuracy at the 95% confidence level using NSSDA testing procedures except in areas of high vertical relief where such features tested 120 feet horizontal accuracy by use of other testing procedures. Boundaries defined as center of main channel on Mississippi and St. Croix rivers are approximations only (source U.S.G.S. quadrangle maps). All other boundary segments are generated by coordinate geometry based on a framework of accurately located PLSS corner positions. Legal boundary definitions were interpreted and analyzed according to records available and are not based on field survey. The nature of these definitions present situations where documents of record may not coincide with known ground position or that their ambiguity makes it difficult to identify precise ground location. As a result, caution is necessary in use of the municipal boundary data when using it in site specific applications. For more information contact the Washington County Surveyor's Office.
Lineage SOURCES USED:

This dataset consist of lines from several sources. They are:
- Anoka County
- Carver County
- Dakota County
- Hennepin County
- Ramsey County
- Scott County
- Washington County

For currentness information (or date) on each county, please refer to the currentness reference section.

ASSEMBLING THE DATA:

Linework was taken directly as provided from the counties.

County boundaries were taken from the county datasets as follows:

Dakota/Scott boundary: Dakota County dataset was used.

Dakota/Washington: Washington County dataset was used with a minor exception when the two counties meet Ramsey County.

Washington/Ramsey: Washington County dataset was used.

Dakota/Ramsey: Dakota County dataset was used.

Hennepin/Ramsey: Hennepin County dataset was used with the exception of St. Anthony's northeast corner within Hennepin County.

Scott/Hennepin: A combination of Scott (primarily) and Hennepin County datasets was used.

Carver/Hennepin: A combination of Carver and Hennepin County datasets was used.

Carver/Scott: A combination of Scott (primarily) and Carver County datasets was used.

Ramsey/Anoka: Ramsey County dataset was used.

Washington/Anoka: Washington County dataset was used.

Hennepin/Anoka: Hennepin County dataset was used.

Dakota/Hennepin: Dakota County was used with the minor exception where the two counties meet Scott County.


Note: Municipal boundaries within Anoka County that follow the Rum River have been adjusted by Metropolitan Council staff to align with this feature as it appears in the Met. Council's 2000 orthophotography.
Source Scale Denominator
 
Section 3 Spatial Data Organization Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Native Data Set Environment ArcGIS Geodatabase, version 9x
Geographic Reference for Tabular Data County code, CTU code, county name, CTU name, COMCD code
Spatial Object Type Vector
Vendor Specific Object Types polygon shapes
Tiling Scheme One layer for entire seven county region.
 
Section 4 Spatial Reference Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme UTM
Ellipsoid GRS80
Horizontal Datum NAD83
Horizontal Units Meters
Distance Resolution
UTM Zone Number 15
 
Section 5 Entity and Attribute Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Entity and Attribute Overview
Attributes for County_CTU.shp 

COCTU_CODE: 8 digit code (concatenation of CO_CODE and CTU_CODE below)

COCTU_DESC: Description of the COCTU; e.g. Burns Township, Blaine
(Anoka Co. part)

CO_CODE: 3 digit FIPS and state standard county ID code; e.g. 163, 003

CO_NAME: Name of the county

CTU_CODE: 5 digit FIPS 'Place' code, Census Bureau standard code and
proposed state standard ID code for cities, townships and
unorganized territories

CTU_NAME: Name of the city, township or unorganized territory,
e.g. Burns Twp., Blaine

COMCD_CENS: The Census Bureau's old 6 digit county-MCD code (concatenation of
FIPS county code and old Census MCD code)
Entity and Attribute Detailed Citation None
 
Section 6 Distribution Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Publisher Metropolitan Council
Publication Date 07/06/2006
Contact Person Information Mark Kotz
GIS Database Administrator
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1805
Phone: 651-602-1644
FAX: 651-602-1674
E-mail: mark.kotz@metc.state.mn.us
Distributor's Data Set Identifier county_ctu_luse_2005_acres
Distribution Liability NOTICE: The Geographic Information System (GIS) Data to which this notice is attached are made available pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13). THE GIS DATA ARE PROVIDED TO YOU AS IS AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY AS TO THEIR PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The GIS Data were developed by the Metropolitan Council for its own internal business purposes. The Metropolitan Council does not represent or warrant that the GIS Data or the data documentation are error-free, complete, current, or accurate. You are responsible for any consequences resulting from your use of the GIS Data or your reliance on the GIS Data. You should consult the data documentation for this particular GIS Data to determine the limitations of the GIS Data and the precision with which the GIS Data may depict distance, direction, location, or other geographic features. If you transmit or provide the GIS Data (or any portion of it) to another user, the GIS Data must include a copy of this disclaimer.
Transfer Format Name Shapefile
Transfer Format Version Number ArcGIS 9x
Transfer Size 3 MB for zip file.
Ordering Instructions
Online Linkage none available
 
Section 7 Metadata Reference Information Top of full metadata Top of page
Metadata Date 07/06/2006
Contact Person Information Mark Kotz, GIS Database Administrator
Metropolitan Council
390 Robert Street North
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1805
Phone: 651-602-1644
FAX: 651-602-1674
E-mail: mark.kotz@metc.state.mn.us
Metadata Standard Name Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version 1.2
Metadata Standard Online Linkage http://www.gis.state.mn.us/stds/metadata.htm


This page last updated: 07/06/2006