People seem never to speak of their awe for, or satisfaction with, government. Certainly not in these times.
So in a case of truly contrarian blogging, we're going to express our appreciation right here, right now, for a new system that the city of Manhattan Beach has unveiled for public use.
It's a great…
People seem never to speak of their awe for, or satisfaction with, government. Certainly not in these times.
So in a case of truly contrarian blogging, we're going to express our appreciation right here, right now, for a new system that the city of Manhattan Beach has unveiled for public use.
It's a great new online tool for home buyers, realtors, builders and really anyone with a nose for facts about this town.
The city's new "Interactive Map" allows you to get detailed info on any area or specific property.
Many layers of city regulations are converted to visual guides, maps or convenient property reports. You just have to know what to tell the system to display.
In our first bit of tinkering, we were able to pull up details on a specific property, with its:
- Zoning
- Lot size & Max buildable floor area
- Max height & stories
- All setbacks (front, rear, sides)
- Whether the property is in the coastal zone
If you've ever been researching a home – or, especially, a lot to build on – these are some of the very first questions you try to tackle. Often, a visit to a planner at the city needs to be part of the process.
Now you can get those basic answers online. Great. (You should always confirm the online info with a person, but this is a great way to begin.)
The property report also shows past sales, though not owner names or mortgage info.
Clear and shift and tweak the maps a bit, and you can display zoning maps, general plan info, or – as in this example – some combination of area maps and the coastal zone maps. Whether a property falls into the coastal zone can impact construction, and whether you fall inside our outside the "appealable" zone matters, too. Here you see the zig-zaggy boundaries in all their glory.
The same maps will switch from graphics to satellite views easily. Pretty.
Truly, we've just gotten started using this system. We'll probably want a briefing on all of the bells and whistles. (Sounds like a can't-miss subject for a geeked-out webinar, doesn't it?)
But when you find something you like, you just want to tell people about it, right?
Why not go check it out yourself? Poke around. Find stuff. Tell a friend...
At this point, we're already keeping this tool open as one of our permanently open browser tabs. (It's one of ~50, but that still makes it important.) Soon we'll post a permalink here at MBC under the TOOLS menu.
The link again: "Interactive Map" at the city website. (Sorry, we can't pretend to tell you how to find it using the complicated navigation from the city's main page.)
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of March 18th, 2024 at 9:48pm PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.