Starting a new parcel fabric from scratch

[M_SteveVarro]

Is there an organizer or parcel fabric expert that can share screens with me and get me going on a new parcel fabric?

[JasonCamerano]

Hey,

Here's a link to a video that goes through migration of existing data:  https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-parcel-fabric-videos/meetup-migrating-and-administrating-parcel...

If you're starting completely from scratch there is good information in the above video as well, creating the fabric and configuring your schema, publishing, etc. 

Also check out this area for a lot of other videos for different workflows and other topics:  https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-parcel-fabric-videos/bd-p/arcgis-parcel-fabric-videos

Hope these links help you out and feel free to ask any more specific questions you might have.

[jcarlson]

Lots of folks on here are probably willing to share information or tips, but what you're talking about is some people's business model. Getting started with the Pro Parcel Fabric isn't necessarily hard, but so much depends on your particular situation and whatever data you have that you'll be bringing into it.

[WalidAlmasri1]

I built a parcel fabric from scratch, well a lot of our city's fabric over the course of 6 years... moved on to another position recently.  But to sum it up, it is an incredible task for someone to do - even a team.  Esri does make it look really easy by stating you can migrate existing linework now and fix it later, but in reality, I don't think that is the way to go at all.  You end up with a static fabric with no history, in our case, no record information because our data didn't have COGO data, and no connection to monumentation.  You can't just fix things later because it's all a spider web.  I ended up building our fabric by starting with the first recorded maps and built each quarter mile section to present time.  Knowing fabric in my opinion is a true skill.  One you'll learn as you dive into building it.

[AmirBar-Maor]

@WalidAlmasri1  If you moved to the parcel fabric 6 years ago you must be  referring to the ArcMap Parcel fabric. We made migrating to the new parcel fabric (released with ArcGIS Pro 2.4 in 2019) much easier.

We also made it easier to adopt:

1. With the new parcel fabric, you can use any editing tool
2. It comes with better defaults
3. It uses simple feature classes
4. It comes with Tasks that can provide 'step by step' instructions

Not many have the resources (time & money)  to COGO all their legal documents from scratch. That is a lot of work and most organizations cannot afford it. If your organization can afford it you should consider yourself lucky.

If your organization migrated from lines that came from CAD drawings I am sure you might have encountered many topological and edge match issues. Maybe they were not even georeferenced. In that case the I would not consider the effort to create a seamless and topologically correct network of parcel part of a 'parcel fabric migration' effort. That effort would still exist regardless if you migrated to ArcInfo, SHP files or any other technology.

For the reasons above most organizations can only afford a 'day forward' approach, which means they move their data in their current state and start to accumulate historic parcels and create parcel lineage going forward. Some organizations take it a step further and enter historic records when working on a new transaction.  

I wish you success in your new position. 

[WalidAlmasri1]

@AmirBar-Maor Yes, definitely ArcMap.  I did move it into Pro at one point but I didn't feel comfortable changing the workflow I had established over those years to begin to learn another as the program was developing.  Pro does offer many more benefits in fabric now, that is for sure.

In the beginning, I did migrate a very large chunk of our city (lots and parcels) using the method recommended by esri, but that's where a lot of my issues (mainly about the future maintenance of the fabric) came from.  I think for many, migrating is the only option, and that's fine, it offers many benefits as you outlined.  I truly feel peak fabric benefit comes from mapping past to present and having that record information.  It is the only way the maps or deeds can fit together as intended, especially when maps or deeds reference those records.