Show All Answers

1. What is G.I.S.?

G.I.S. stands for "Geographic Information Systems". It refers to a number of interconnected geospatial and table based datasets that can quickly display and sort information based on text criteria or locational filters. For example it can export the owner/mailing information for properties within 300 feet of a historical building or highlight all of the properties owned by a particular individual/company.

2. Is your G.I.S. online?

Unfortunately at this time we do not have our G.I.S. accessible to the public through an online service. Maps can be viewed in our offices or maps can be purchased in office or through email.

3. How accurate are your maps?

While we strive to be as accurate as possible these maps are not a certified record or a survey. They are intended only to provide a basic reference as to the size, shape and location of various geographic features such as parcels, roads & municipal boundaries.

4. Do you cover all of Lenawee County?

We maintain parcel layers for all of Lenawee County except for the City of Adrian, which maintains their own dataset. We have aerial photography, reference topography, road centerlines and several other datasets on a countywide basis.

5. How do I know where my property lines are?

The only way to know with any real certainty where a particular property boundary lies is to have a title search and survey. A title search by a reputable title company results in a property description via a "chain of title", or a tracking of the description of the property as it was sold from owner to owner for a length of time. Then in order to resolve where that particular description lays on the ground a professional surveyor using accepted practices, monumentation & documentation related to land surveying locates the properties boundaries

6. I have G.I.S. Software, can I acquire Lenawee County G.I.S. Information?

Yes, however unless you are a governmental agency or under contract with one we do charge for G.I.S. data and you will have to sign a Data Dissemination Agreement.

7. Can I use GPS Coordinates to find my property lines?

The first thing to note is that your average consumer GPS (phone/trail) is only roughly 20 feet accurate under ideal conditions (no tree cover, clear day, minimal wind, good satellite coverage). Secondly property descriptions usually do not include GPS coordinates, they are instead most likely described in relation to Town and Range Section references or by a recorded subdivision plan. Both of which require locating physical monumentation on the ground as a basis of the description. Doing so reliably almost always requires an experienced surveyor.

8. Am I in a Flood Zone?

While we can produce a variety of topographic reference maps, the county does not make determinations of whether or not particular properties lie in a Flood Zone. Such determinations are often made by the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate maps (FIRM) which can be found at msc.fema.gov. However it should be noted that these maps do not cover all areas that can potentially flood, only areas where studies by FEMA have been completed/approved to determine flood zones for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Michigan Department of Environmental quality does have some additional resources for those with questions regarding the FEMA FIRMs and making flood zone determinations for areas outside of the coverage of the FEMA FIRMs. MDEQ Floodplain Management

9. What are your office hours?

The hours for the Old Courthouse building are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

10. How many parcels are there in the County?

There are roughly 44,600 linked tax parcels in the Lenawee County parcel layer as of 2019.

11. What is the highest point in Lenawee County?

According to current topographic information the highest point in Lenawee County is "Prospect Hill", it is located in Woodstock Township between Cement City and Onsted at 84°15'29.365"W 42°1'56.337"N and is about 1,226 feet in elevation.

12. What is the lowest point in Lenawee County?

According to current topographic information the lowest point in Lenawee County is the River Raisin as it exits the county near the Village of Deerfield. It is roughly 656 feet in elevation and located approximately at 83°46'10.315"W 41°53'8.07"N.