Parcel Types Within a Parcel Fabric
Modern parcel fabrics, such as those in ArcGIS Pro, support multiple parcel types that reflect different methods of defining and governing land. Here are the major categories.
Public Land Survey System (PLSS) Parcels
The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) forms the foundation of land division across much of the United States. These parcels include:
Townships (typically 36 square miles)
Sections (1-square-mile divisions)
Quarter sections, quarter–quarter sections, and other aliquot parts
Government lots (irregular parcels created by terrain or survey error)
PLSS parcels act as the “scaffolding” upon which later parcels—subdivisions, lots, metes-and-bounds tracts—are created. They are not usually ownership parcels but are essential reference frameworks.
Responsible Agencies:
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
State land offices
County surveyors and cadastral offices
Tribal government land authorities
Subdivision Parcels
Subdivision parcels are created when a landowner records a plat that divides a larger parent parcel into a set of smaller units. These parcels represent the officially platted boundaries that form the basis for later lots, rights-of-way, and common areas.
Subdivision parcels often include:
Perimeter boundaries
Dedicated public spaces
Road rights-of-way
Utility or drainage easements
Outlots or reserve tracts
Subdivision parcels document the intent of land division before individual lots are sold or developed.
Responsible Agencies:
County or municipal planning departments
Land surveyors and plat reviewers
Recorder/registrar of deeds offices
Lot Parcels
Lots are the most recognizable type of parcel: the land units created within subdivisions that are intended for sale or development. These are typically the parcels that receive:
Property addresses
Zoning classifications
Building permits
Tax assessments
Lot parcels are usually rectangular or regular in shape, though some subdivisions include uniquely shaped lots due to geography or design.
Responsible Agencies:
County or city planning and zoning departments
Local permitting agencies
Assessor/appraiser offices
Recorder's office (plat documents)
Road or Right-of-Way Parcels
Road parcels represent the land dedicated for transportation corridors—streets, highways, alleys, and sometimes rail or trail corridors. They may be publicly owned, municipally owned, state-owned, or privately maintained.
These parcels often include complex geometry because roads are frequently curved, widened, or altered over time. In a parcel fabric, right-of-way parcels help establish accurate adjacency and boundary relationships.
Responsible Agencies:
State Departments of Transportation (DOTs)
County highway departments
City public works departments
Utility or transportation authorities
Easement Parcels
Easements are rights to use or access land without owning it. Examples include:
Utility easements
Access easements
Drainage easements
Conservation easements
Slope or maintenance easements
Pedestrian path easements
In a parcel fabric, easements are often modeled as their own parcel type so they can be tracked, maintained, and visualized separately. They may overlap lots, tracts, or rights-of-way.
Responsible Agencies:
Utility companies
Municipal engineering departments
County recorders
Land trusts (for conservation easements)
Condominium Parcels
Condominiums represent one of the most complex parcel types. Instead of simply dividing land at the surface, condominiums divide space—often across multiple floors.
Condominium parcel types may include:
Individual units (ownership parcels)
Limited common elements (assigned to specific units)
General common elements (shared by all owners)
Building footprints and envelopes
GIS parcel fabrics allow these parcels to be stacked, overlapped, or represented as 2D footprints with 3D attributes.
Responsible Agencies:
Condominium associations
State condominium regulatory bodies
County recorder or registrar of deeds
Appraiser/assessor offices
Tax Parcels
Tax parcels represent the assessable units used for taxation. These do not always match legal parcels exactly. A single ownership parcel may have multiple tax parcels—or one tax parcel may contain multiple legal lots. Tax parcels represent the administrative division of land for assessment purposes.
Attributes may include:
Parcel identification number (PIN/APN)
Ownership name(s)
Taxable value
Land use and zoning
Assessment histories
Responsible Agencies:
County property appraisers or assessors
State departments of revenue
Treasurer/collector offices