Stacked vs. Flat Parcels

Introduction

The topic of Stacked vs Flat parcels can be found throughout LightBox documentation. It is important to understand the differences. 

Difference between "Stacked" and "Flat" parcels?

Stacked parcels occur when multiple properties share the same physical area, such as condominiums, timeshares, mobile homes, or strip malls. In these cases, multiple taxable properties are associated with a single parcel definition, they do not have a unique or separate geometry. They all share a single common geometry. 

Multiple taxable properties on one parcel

Therefore, when tax assessment records are joined to the geometry, the end result is a stack of duplicate geometries with different records attached.

Parcels with duplicate IDs attached to each unique tax ID

LightBox processing selects the common geometry and identifies this as the “master” parcel, tax assessments that share this are then associated to the same master parcel. The parcel layer SmartFabric provides only contains the “master” parcel, therefore will not contain duplicate parcel geometries. However, if parcels are joined to the assessment layer, it will result in duplicate or “stacked” parcels due to some properties sharing the same master parcel.