Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Welcome to the City of Fernley GIS Page. We provide various geographic analysis and mapping services to support The City of Fernley Departments. Some current uses of GIS within the city include infrastructure management, public works, growth planning, street improvements, and Internet mapping. The City of Fernley GIS is dedicated to providing customers with access to geographic information through expert implementation of the principles of geography, cartography, and geospatial analysis.

What IS GIS? A GIS (Geographic Information System) is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations. Simply put, GIS is a specialty field that combines layers of information about a place to give you a better understanding of that place. Examples of layers would be parcels, streets, railroads, water lines, sewer lines, county boundaries, parks, trails, aerial photos, and schools. Each layer can be viewed on the top of one another to see relationships never before realized. The layers of information you combine depends on your purpose. Some common examples would include: finding the best location for a new store, analyzing environmental damage, viewing similar crimes in a city to detect a pattern, and so on.

80% of all information gathered and utilized in local government is geographically referenced. The possibilities of visualizing data, modeling, and retrieval of information increase the efficiency of staff by putting that information at their fingertips.

The mission of Fernley’s GIS Program is to provide a tool and a means for improving understanding and collaboration in effective decision making as well as enhancing workflows and increasing accessibility to information for city staff and the public.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain and update parcels, land use, and zoning data
• Maintain and update infrastructure from record drawings – streets, storm drain, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, water, sewer, parks, schools, business locations
• Overview and approve GIS Final maps
• Assist in the advertisement of amenities and attributes of Fernley area to attract new development and industry to the area
• Support and data dispersal for existing and potential businesses
• Researching and answering parcel related questions from staff and the public
• Analyze different scenarios for land-based decisions
• Assign addresses to new and existing parcels
• Support Sheriff and Fire Department and other government entities with data for the safety of our community members
• Supply contractors and engineers from incoming businesses with our data for a fee
• Coordinate with surrounding local jurisdictions – Post Office, Sheriff, Fire Department, City, County, Utility companies, NDOT, BLM
• Redistricting of Council Ward Boundaries
• Maintaining and updating information with the Census Bureau
• Provide maps for all notifications for applications to the planning department
• Provide maps for visual presentations and staff reports for council and planning commission meetings

Submit GIS Data Request (PDF) forms via Public Records Request or return to the City Engineering Department.

Should you have any other questions or concerns, please contact Tasha Lowrey, GIS Technician via email at tlowrey@cityoffernley.org.