Parcel Terminology
Certain terms are unique to property boundary design. Here are a few that you will want to become familiar with:
- Parcel or Lot
- This is a piece of land delineated by a legal boundary.
- Bearing
- This is a horizontal direction expressed in degrees east or west of a north or south direction. For example, N 25° E would mean to face north and then rotate to the right 25 degrees. Bearings are often combined with distances to mathematically define a parcel line.
- Right-of-way
- This is a strip of land utilized for transportation purposes. It is commonly expressed as a constant width on either side of a road centerline.
- Frontage
- For lots along a road, this is the length of the front line that is coincident with the edge of the right-of-way. Increased frontage typically increases the value of a piece of land.
- Setback
- This is the required distance between a property line and a building. Often the front, rear, and side setbacks are expressed separately.
- Easement
- This is a strip of land that someone is given the right to use for a certain purpose but not to own. For example, a utility easement might give a utility company the right to install and maintain a utility line within a certain area of another person’s property.
- Zoning
- Zoning is a way of dividing large areas of land into zones and dictating different land use requirements for each zone. For example, in one zone, the minimum lot size might be 5 acres (2 hectares), while in another, it might be 0.25 acres (0.10 hectares). Zoning boundaries and regulations are typically determined by a local government entity.
Creating Parcels by Layout
on December 18, 2018
Earlier in this discuss, you read about the advantage of using basic AutoCAD drafting commands to produce parcel geometry. As mentioned, these commands are great for drawing lines and curves based on general geometric principles. But what if you need to create parcels that occupy a certain area, parcel segments that are perpendicular to a road frontage, or parcels that meet a minimum depth requirement based on zoning laws? These are all criteria that are specific to property boundaries, and they are all built into the Civil 3D Parcel Layout Tools toolbar. When you launch the Parcel Layout Tools from the ribbon, they appear on a specialized toolbar similar to what you have seen for alignments and profiles.