Project Goal
The PDS Development Hub Site was created to provide a single authoritative source of data for development activity in Kenton County, KY. A primary goal of the PDS Development Hub was to provide automated, near real-time information for PDS leadership, elected officials, and the public to view the entire development activity picture of the county on-demand.Business Problem Solved
PDS has provided planning, review, and permitting services for several decades and the mission of the organization has largely been the same since its inception. Individual departments used their own tools, workflows, and software to manage their respective parts of the development process effectively. What was lacking from the process was a comprehensive way for PDS leadership, elected officials, and the public to view the entire development activity picture of the county on-demand. This is where Esri software, an eye toward automation, and internal collaboration changed the reality of development tracking in Kenton County for the better, resulting in the PDS Development Hub – an Esri-based Hub Site developed around a single theme: Development Activity.
Technology Implemented
ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Dashboards, ArcGIS Instant Apps, ArcGIS Survey123, ArcPy, Arcade
Development Team Biography
Louis Hill, AICP, GISP - Director of GIS Administration
Joe Busemeyer, GISP - GIS Applications Development Coordinator
Cole Waymeyer, GISP-E - Geospatial Solutions Analyst
Hannah Kravitz - Geospatial Solutions Analyst
Gladys Squire - GIS Applications Developer
Tom East, GISP - Geospatial Solutions Architect
Louis Hill, AICP, GISP, is the Director of GIS Administration at PDS. He leads a team of six full time GIS professionals that manage the LINK-GIS consortium’s three-county mapping and application development ecosystem. He holds an undergraduate degree in urban planning and development and a graduate degree in information and communication sciences from Ball State University. Hill served as the president of the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals from 2017 to 2018 and was previously appointed by the governor for a term on Kentucky’s Geographic Information Advisory Council. He currently teaches GIS and GeoAI curriculum at Thomas More University as an adjunct faculty
Company Overview
Planning and Development Services of Kenton County (PDS) manages the development and permitting activities for 20 jurisdictions in Kenton County, KY. Located directly across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati, Kenton County has attracted a wide array of development projects, large and small. PDS is the public sector planning agency that serves the county and its 19 cities in planning, reviewing, and permitting these development projects.
Return on Investment
The ROI created by the PDS Development Hub is substantial at 90%+. Calculating the annual development statistics for Kenton County was formerly a time-consuming effort that required 50-60 of staff time to research, calculate and prepare for an annual report. Most of that information is now available on demand, with little staff time commitment, at any time of the year. Any additional development activity information that is requested would require minor staff commitments. Automation is leveraged extensively to keep the data current and accurate.