Section 1: Scope

This regulation provides requirements for the development and maintenance of cadastral maps and parcel identifiers which will be used by the Assessors to locate, inventory and appraise all real property within their jurisdiction. A county may elect to develop and maintain a manual mapping system or a digital (automated) mapping system; however, each county shall have a system of maps that conform to the minimum standards contained herein.

Section 2: Definitions

1. A. Base maps locate the major physical features of the landscape and contain the fundamental information from which the cadastral maps are prepared. Base maps should be tied to the geodetic network, either by means of ground control surveys or satellite methods of surveying. Base maps provide the means to relate the locations of cadastral parcels to the geodetic reference framework. Base maps can be in the form of line maps (generated manually or by computer) or photographic maps. Regardless of the form, base maps are usually created from aerial photographs. Aerial photographs provide an efficient and economical means for preparing the base maps.
2. B. Cadastral maps, also known as tax maps, should be viewed as overlays to the base maps. There should be cadastral maps for the entire assessing jurisdiction, showing ownership, the size and position of each parcel in relation to other properties, bodies of water, roads, and other major geographic features. The maps should be produced at an appropriate scale and display all boundary lines, dimensions, or areas; identifying parcel numbers; and other pertinent legal and descriptive information. The maps provide a physical framework upon which non-physical parcel information can be displayed, such as assessment comparisons, land appraisals, and market or other statistical data.

3. C. A parcel of land, for the purposes of this regulation, is a contiguous area of land under one ownership. The parcel is the area of land that, as determined by the Assessor, should be included in the description for appraisal and assessment purposes after considering all legal and practical factors. Parcels may have been conveyed by one or more legal instruments, or created by survey, and may contain several lots or fractions of a lot. Each parcel represents one property record, which is one unit of land that is capable of being separately assessed.

   Section 3: Map Content

   Each county shall have a system of maps that conform to the following minimum standards:

4. 1. Aerial photography must cover the entire county. This photography may be stored on reproducible hard-copy material or may be stored as digital or scanner computer files. In either case, the county shall maintain the ability to provide hard-copy reproductions of the photography. New photography must match the existing photography within three percent (3%) of the width and length and contain all of the neat area.

   Reflights of aerial photography for the entire county must be made every ten years. Counties may delay reflights for a period of up to two years with written permission from the Director of the Department of Revenue or his or her delegate. An example of a reason for requesting a delay of a reflight would be a county had experienced little or no change.

   Each photograph will be individually rectified to best fit a minimum of three (3) identifiable points each of which will be spaced at least 5” apart at the mean elevation of the terrain on the negative scale of photography. As related to these points, there shall be no more than a three percent (3%) scale error between each point taken from available existing maps, such as large scale base maps or existing cadastral maps.

   The flights will be made during snow free months when foliage is off the deciduous trees. The photography will be made during the hours of 9:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time and when the altitude of the sun is at least 30 degrees above the horizon.

   In addition, there shall be at least a three (3) inch overlap for rectified photo enlargements, and at least a 1.5 inch overlap for orthophoto enlargement. The camera used shall meet the U. S. Geological Survey specifications.

5. 2. Scale of Photography

   1. A. Counties acquiring aerial photography shall utilize the following scales:

      1. 1. Property outside incorporated city limits or subdivisions - 1” = 400’
      2. 2. Property within incorporated city limits and subdivisions - 1” = 100’ or 1” = 50’
   2. B. Deviation from scales set forth herein may be modified only with written permission of the Director of the department or his or her delegate. Before approving a deviation from the scale, the county must provide the department with a recommendation from the South Carolina Office of Research and Statistical Services of the Budget and Control Board that the scale proposed to be adopted by the county is sufficient to provide the information required by this regulation and is appropriate to use in preparing the map.

6. 3. Cadastral Map Preparation. Cadastral maps shall be prepared using aerial photography (Section 3, part 1) as the base map. Other available sources deemed reliable by the Assessor may be used to compile the cadastral map such as deeds, plats, field research and existing maps as well as county, state and federal statutes identifying boundaries. Each cadastral map shall be compiled at the same scale as the corresponding aerial photographic base map, shall be oriented north, and shall show the following:

   1. A. Boundaries of each property, lot or parcel identified by the Assessor.
   2. B. Dimensions of each property, lot or parcel identified by the Assessor to the nearest foot where possible.
   3. C. Assessor’s assigned parcel identifier.
   4. D. Streets, railroads, rights-of-way, rivers, lakes, and streams (and their names).
   5. E. Acreage of the property, lot, or parcel rounded to the nearest tenth of an acre (for parcels five acres and larger).
   6. F. Names of Subdivisions.
   7. G. Scale of the map.
   8. H. Adjoining map references and/or match lines.
   9. I. Tax Districts.
   10. J. Municipalities
   11. K. County Name.
   12. L. NORTH Arrow.
   13. M. Disclaimer note indicating that this is not a survey.
7. 4. Cadastral Map Maintenance. Cadastral maps shall be continually maintained by qualified personnel. As rural areas develop, 1” = 400’ maps should be converted to 1” = 100’ maps. Parcels may be mapped at 1” = 100’ scale in areas where no 1” = 100’ photography exists.
8. 5. Any county obtaining new photography or reflights of existing photography shall consider recommendations of the South Carolina Office of Research and Statistical Services of the Budget and Control Board.

9. 6. Each county shall have the ability to reproduce the aerial photographs and cadastral maps.

   1. 1. Maps and /or digital map data shall be numbered and filed in such a manner as to be readily retrievable for review, maintenance and/or reproduction.
   2. 2. Ownership records must be created, maintained and cross-referenced alphabetically by owner name, and numerical parcel identifier.
   3. 3. All maps shall be maintained in a timely manner to reflect all legal and physical changes.
   4. 4. There shall be indexes for maps of all scales indicating the map number, the area covered by the map, and location of the map.

   5. 5. If a county elects to establish a coordinate based mapping system, the maps and mapping procedures must meet the requirements contained in the publication “Standards and Procedures for County Base Mapping,” published by the South Carolina Office of Research and Statistical Service of the Budget and Control Board.

      Section 5: Numbering System.

   Section 4: General Requirements.

10. 1. Each county in the state shall have a standardized parcel numbering system. If a county utilizes a manual mapping system, a sequential parcel numbering system shall be used that shall conform to the following minimum standards:

    1. A. Each parcel shall be identified by a minimum of a ten (10) digit number which shall include:

       Map Number - 3 digits

       Sub-map Number - 2 digits

       Block Number - 2 digits; and

       Parcel (lot) Number - 3 digits

    2. B. Each character within the identification number shall be numeric - no alpha (letter) characters shall be permitted.
    3. C. Additional characters and/or decimals may be added to each field of digits, however, all additional characters shall be numeric. No alpha (letter) characters shall be permitted.
    4. D. All characters within the numbering system shall be used to identify ownership parcels relative to map, sub-map, block and parcel number. No references to political subdivisions (school districts, municipalities, etc.) shall be included within the numbering system.

11. 2. If a county utilizes a digital mapping system which is referenced to the S. C. State Plane Coordinate (SPC) System: that meets or exceeds National Standards of Map Accuracy as determined by the South Carolina Office of Research and Statistical Services of the Budget and Control Board, a coordinate-based parcel numbering system may be used in lieu of or in conjunction with a sequential parcel numbering system. The coordinate-based system must meet the following minimum requirements:

    1. A. The visual center (centroid) of each parcel shall be assigned a coordinate value based upon its location within the S. C. SPC. This coordinate shall consist of a fourteen (14) digit number representing the Easting (7 digits) in feet and the Northing (7 digits) in feet. For example, coordinates for the visual center of a parcel as measured from the cadastral map:

       “X” coordinate (Easting) - E 2,715,569

       “Y” coordinate (Northing) - N 0,756,737

    2. B. The digits in each coordinate value are paired by taking each digit separately from the east-coordinate and matching it with the corresponding digit of the north coordinate.

       20 77 15 56 57 63 97

       EN EN EN EN EN EN EN (E-Easting, N-Northing)

    3. C. With this arrangement, the above example of a parcel identifier may be sorted as follows:

       20 - Redundant lead number

       7715 - number of basic map module at scale of (1” - 400’)

       56 - Block number

       5763 - Lot or parcel number

       97 - utilized only to extend the capacity of the system

    4. D. The parcel Identifier is obtained by recording the middle three sets of numbers (ten digits), and is written with dashes as follows:

       7715-56-5763

    5. E. Records of condominiums, townhouses or other cases of diverse ownership on one parcel of land will be further identified by the use of a decimal at the end of the parcel identifier with three (3) digits to the right of the decimal. The records for a condominium unit or units built on the above described hypothetical parcel could be assigned a suffix number to the parcel identifier of .001 through .999. For example, a condominium unit could have the following parcel identifier number.

       7715-56-5763.008