Beginner Question - Changing One Attribute's Symbology in a Layer

Question

I am VERY new to GIS. I have only been going off of Esri courses, online forums, and random YouTube videos, so thank you in advance to anyone who helps me with what is probably a very basic concept to others.

This project was started by the person in the position before me, so I am using her data, which is where this map comes from.

I'm trying to change one parcel in our Zoning map to a different zone. The parcels are all in the "Parcels" layer and the Zone colors are in the "Zoning" layer.  Here's a screenshot of what the "Zoning" layer looks like.

Here's a screenshot of the area. The three triangle-shaped parcels all the way on the left and the tiny triangle on the bottom middle are what need to changed from the "HS" zone to the "AG" zone. When the specific parcel is selected in the attribute table of the "Parcels" layer, I can't change the symbology of the one parcel to the color of the different zone in the "Zoning" layer.

Do I have to modify the coordinates of the "HS" attribute in the "Zoning" layer to exclude these parcels? Or is there any way to just highlight the parcel and change the symbology of the parcel to the symbology of the "AG" attribute in the "Zoning" layer? What's the simplest way to do it? This is something I probably will find myself doing a bit, so I'd like to familiarize myself with it ASAP.

Let me know if more context is needed. Again, this may be a very basic concept, but I appreciate any guidance!

Eugene_Adkins · Answer

I thought this could be case, hence my comment about the feature itself being editable. I could tell something looked a little off when looking at the shape of the smaller parcels compared to the layer underneath your highlighted polygon.

Check the source of your data. You can do this by clicking on the database icon at the top of your table of contents pane. It’s possible this polygon in question was created using an intersect or merge tool (or something similar) using criteria predating your involvement. It’s also possible you’re viewing a map service (which is not editable, and if this is the case it could keep you from viewing the “zoning” field due to the way the service was published) instead of a feature class or feature service, or even something like a shapefile.

At the end of the day, you will have to figure out what data you need to be the source of the information you’re looking to keep up-to-date. This could be the larger polygon you’re currently working with, or a different dataset you create yourself. It’s also important to figure out if you’re working with data that is sourced from a file geodatabase, an enterprise geodatabase, or from services published via a portal or ArcGIS online.

Hope these suggestions help.

SB2024HT · Answer

That has worked for me in other settings, but it seems like the "Zoning" layer is almost like an overlay on all the parcels the zones are in. So the parcels themselves are not individually attached or labeled to the zones. This is what the selection of one of the parcels looks like. Nothing in the Attributes section about the zone. I think there's something off with the data itself.

Ed_ · Answer

Hi I am not entirely sure what your end output goal is. Maybe use a simple and better explanation please, thank you 🙂