Using the Feature Service

Regrid's Esri-compatible Feature Service allows you to use Regrid's nationwide parcel layer in Esri tools.

Our Feature Service provides high-quality standardized nationwide parcel data with 154+ million parcel records and associated tax assessment information, covering over 100% of the US population. This large dataset has many capabilities and opportunities for users to interact with the data across the United States. Please take a moment to read below the best practices on how to set up your interaction with Regrid's Feature Service.

We appreciate your feedback and questions at tech@regrid.com.

Best Practices Overview

There are a number of best practices when utilizing the Feature Service when it comes to loading the Feature Service in a map to utilizing it for geoprocessing. As a rule of thumb, the key component is to limit the amount of data that is necessary for your use case.

Let's get started.

Optimization

We have optimized queries on a set of commonly-used fields. Queries on other fields may be slower or fail to complete. If you are looking to do operations on fields not in this list, and queries are taking a long time to complete, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at tech@regrid.com.

Definition Queries

Filtering a query by state, county, zip code or other optimized field may improve performance on operations.

When using ArcGIS Pro a Definition Query is recommended to limit results to a region of interest. This is especially helpful when using Analysis and Selection tools. Examples: At the state level state2 = 'MI', and at the county level geoid = '26163' (or for the Regrid Canada Parcels via Feature Service: admin1 = 'AB' and geoid = '2464'). Create queries that narrow results rather than expand.

When using ArcGIS Pro, you can manually create a query or use the query builder tool. These are two ways you can create an actual SQL query. These queries are limited to a subset of the SQL spec. For example:

• WHERE queries cannot be nested or contain SELECT
• WHERE must be used to narrow the set of parcels for responsive queries
• Prefer queries with AND operators over OR operators. In cases where OR is needed, but the conditions are on the same column, it is more efficient to use the IN operator rather than multiple OR statements. For example, geoid IN ('26163', '26164', '26165') will be more efficient than geoid = '26163' OR geoid = '26164' OR geoid ='26165'.
• The LIKE operator is supported for some columns, but is less efficient than strict equality checks. While ArcGIS Pro does not directly support the ILIKE operator, the Regrid Feature Service converts all LIKE queries to be case-insensitive. Supported columns:
  • county
  • owner
  • parcelnumb
  • state2
  • scity
  • szip
  • zoning
  • address
  • address2
  • dpv_status
  • dpv_notes
  • cass_errorno
  • mailadd
  • path
  • alt_parcelnumb1
• Regex is not supported

Outfields

To reduce the data size amount, you can select the option to only return the columns needed. For example, if you only need the ll_uuid of the parcel property, address, or any other specific columns instead of all columns, you can use outFields.

outFields is one of the URL query parameters accepted in the FeatureService spec. By default it's usually a value of * which is requesting all fields in the table. Passing a comma-separated list into outFields will only request those specific fields: outFields=ll_uuid,geoid,sqft would only return those three columns plus the geometries.

You will need to set the outFields parameter before importing a Feature Service layer into a Pro project.

In ArcGIS Online, although there is a 'custom parameter' field to add when adding the layer, you will have to append the outfields to the actual URL versus using the 'custom parameter' section.

Example

https://fs.regrid.com/{token}/rest/services/premium/FeatureServer/0?outFields=id,ll_uuid,geoid,sqft

Please note that when using outFields, you must start with id followed by the columns you wish to include. Once the layer is added, you view the Feature Service layer in Map Viewer Classic with the selected column fields.

Zoom levels

We recommend zooming to a county level or closer (Esri zoom 9).

Different platforms may use different units for these zoom levels. Actual performance will vary based on the platform, hardware, density of parcels in the county, and other factors.

More information on zoom levels in Esri products is available here: developers.arcgis.com/documentation/…/zoom-levels-and-scale.

Limit

There is a maximum result limit set at 3000. Complete results can be received by performing paginated requests per the GeoServices spec. Most Esri tools perform pagination on requests that involve fetching Regrid parcels.

ArcGIS Javascript SDK users or if using the FS as an API, you can invoke pagination to access the additional results that are greater than 3000. Pagination requires parameters resultOffset and orderByFields. You would need an additional request using these fields to access the additional results greater than 3000.

    
      https://{{host_name}}/{{token}}/rest/services/premium/FeatureServer/0/query?outFields=id&where=1%20%3d%201&f=json&returnGeometry=true&maxAllowableOffset=0.058859839906786317&outSR=%7b%22wkid%22%3a4326%2c%22latestWkid%22%3a4326%2c%22xyTolerance%22%3a8.983152841195215e-09%2c%22zTolerance%22%3a0.001%2c%22mTolerance%22%3a0.001%2c%22falseX%22%3a-400%2c%22falseY%22%3a-400%2c%22xyUnits%22%3a999999999.99999988%2c%22falseZ%22%3a-100000%2c%22zUnits%22%3a10000%2c%22falseM%22%3a-100000%2c%22mUnits%22%3a10000%7d&geometry={"xmin":-95.712890625,"ymin":32.43561304116276,"xmax":-95.712890625,"ymax":34.59704151614417,"spatialReference":{"wkid":4326,"latestWkid":4326}}&geometryType=esriGeometryEnvelope&spatialRel=esriSpatialRelIntersects&resultOffset=0&resultRecordCount=2000&orderByFields=id%20ASC&timeReferenceUnknownClient=true
    
  

Best Practices for Geoprocessing With Regrid Feature Service

The Regrid Feature Service has the ability to deliver nationwide parcel data to your ArcGIS environment via a single URL. However, if you want to use the Regrid Feature Service in geoprocessing tools (e.g. Select Layer By Location, Spatial Joins, etc.), you may need to take some additional steps to ensure you are optimizing your experience.

All of the tips below fall under the umbrella of a single principle: Limit the amount of parcel data that is used as an input into your tools or processes.

1. Limit the attribute fields requested

The Regrid Feature Service includes a lot of attribute fields. Odds are you don't care about all of them in your analysis. If you can identity a subset of fields you need for your analysis, you can use the outFields custom parameter to pass a comma-separated list of columns you want to keep.

2. Apply Attribute Filters/Definition Queries

If possible, limit the number of features used as input into tools by applying definition queries as early as possible in your workflows. For example, maybe you only care about parcels in one state, or maybe just a handful of counties. In those cases you could use the state2 and/or geoid columns to filter the data.

Note: When applying definition queries, particularly in your own code, please keep in mind that the Regrid Feature Services uses field name aliases and attribute domains. These provide user-friendly views of the data by default in environments like AGOL; however, when writing code, you need to pass the actual field names and values, not the coded domain values.

3. Check your coordinate systems and projections

If your analysis with the Regrid Feature Service involves other layers, you want to make sure that all layers involved in your process share the same coordinate system. The default coordinate system for the Regrid Feature Service is WGS84 (EPSG:4326). Depending on your needs you can either reproject your other layers to match, or you can use the outSR custom parameter to request the Regrid Feature Service in a different coordinate system.

4. Set the processing extent

The Environment tab, which is available on most Geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Pro, allows you to define the analysis extent. The Regrid Feature Service returns faster when the requests made include extent information. This is critical for several tools, such as Select Layer by Location and Spatial Join.

If you are doing one-off tool runs and working in relatively small areas of interest, you can try to set the analysis extent to Current Display Extent. If you are writing code or building a model with Model Builder, then you will need to calculate and pass the processing extent into your tool.

Hint: In ArcPy and ModelBuilder, the Extent property is expected to be a string of the following format "Xmin Ymin Xmax Ymax"

5. Iterate

Sometimes, the practices above won't be enough to meet your use case. For example, what if you have data points that span the extent of the US and you want to combine some Regrid parcel attributes via a Spatial Join?

In those cases, you need to think about breaking your problem down into batches that can be iterated. This generally means implementing a solution with Model Builder or via code with a library like ArcPy, both of which allow you to run logic in iterations, or loops, with certain input parameters changing on each loop.

Hint: You may need to change definition queries and processing extents on each iteration.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I run a nationwide query in the Feature Service?
   Regrid has over 150 million parcels in the Feature Service and therefore running a nationwide query can be difficult. Review the section for Best Practices in Geoprocessing. For example if you are using ArcPro, you will need to use a geoprocessing tool to iterate through the features.

2. Why do I get a timeout error when running a query in the Feature Service?
   If your query takes longer than 2 minutes, it will return a timeout error. This occurs when running a query if the area is to large for the Definition Query. Reduce the size to return the desired result. If you need to include the entire area, iterate over the area either by county, zip code or within a map extent or polygon. If the area is large or there is a dense parcel count, make sure the Definition Query is using an optimized field. Please refer to the list of optimized fields and best practices when creating your Definition Query.

3. Can Regrid optimize my Esri Workflow?
   If you are experiencing issues with accessing the Feature Service, please reach out to us immediately at tech@regrid.com. If you have questions regarding the code you have developed for your specific workflow or how you are utilizing Esri tools, we unfortunately do not offer Professional Services for immplementation or workflow optimization. We are happy to hear from you if you believe there is an issue or outstanding question you have regarding the ability to access the Feature Service.

4. Can Regrid run a nationwide query and send me the data as an item?
   Tools in ArcGIS Online and ArcPro support the ability with running a nationwide query with using a geoprocessing tool. If you are looking for a batch query delivered by Regrid, GIS tools like ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro offer ways to gather data.

5. How can I summarize the data for owners across the nation?
   For example if you are looking for properties that are residential, you can use land based use codes as a definition query to return all parcels that are considered residential and then use the Frequency geoprocessing tool with owner as the input column to then summarize the data. Area size still matters in this query so make sure to limit it within a state or county. If you need it nationwide, refer to the FAQ above "How can I run a nationwide query in the Feature Service?".