Geocoding public notices

A recent discussion at realcrozetva got me thinking – how difficult (read: how much would it cost?) would it be to geocode public zoning notices?

A common question asked of me is – what’s going to happen to that field/woods/old house? My first and standard response is “condos.” My second response is (by way of risk management and a need to be the “source of the source” rather than the “source”) is to direct my clients to the appropriate locality’s zoning department. Even zoning departments, however, cannot see into the future or guess with 100% accuracy as to whether a certain project will be approved or not.

Albemarle’s Zoning Notice search page is detailed, but they charge a separate fee for GIS data.
The City of Charlottesville’s new website is terrible, but I finally got here.
Fluvanna has a nice GIS implementation.
Great post on geocoding at RCG

What if the a potential buyer or resident was able to do a proximity search from his or her address and search for zoning notices? Look at any and all zoning/public notices within a 2 mile radius of his home or business? We have such a thing for sexual offenders.

While we’re at it, why not provide crime data in an open format that is accessible and usable?

I was smarter, I’d figure out Yahoo’s Geocoding API (archived: 2014). It looks straight-forward and simple, I just can’t put it together. Bueller? Bueller (archived: 2025)?