By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

INDEPENDENCE - Real estate agents, surveyors, and residents of Kenton and Campbell counties are among those expected to benefit from a new Web site.

The PlaNet Geographic Information Systems Web site offers information on subjects from the topography to the zoning of a particular parcel or area in Kenton and Campbell counties, said Christy Davis, senior GIS specialist with the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission.

IF YOU GO

What: Workshop on PlaNet Web site When: April 16. Six hourlong presentations will be offered at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Where: The Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission, 2332 Royal Drive, Fort Mitchell Web site Information: (859) 331-8980

Users can zoom in on an address, neighborhood or community, highlight the area, and print an 81/2-by-11-inch map on their home computer.

"If you've used MapQuest or any of the online mapping services, it's very similar," Davis said.

On Tuesday, she appeared before Kenton County Fiscal Court to publicize an April 16 workshop on the 2-month-old Web site. Real estate agents and prospective homebuyers can use the site to get a general idea of where a house is located, Davis said.

Developers who are looking for a particular zone for a project can type in a zoning description to generate a list of possible properties. From that, they can click on an option, zoom in on the computerized map and highlight the area they want to print.

Northern Kentucky residents also can use the Web site to find addresses of polling locations, Davis said. By April 21, a month before the May 20 primary, photos of polling places will be added.

Other features include a historic property map, aerial photographs and information on drainage lines. A map viewer designed to locate survey monuments in the two counties should be available soon.

The Web site is a partnership of the area planning commission, Kenton County Fiscal Court, the Kenton County Property Valuation Administration, the Northern Kentucky Water District and Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky.

As the county continues to grow, Kenton County Judge-executive Dick Murgatroyd said he sees the new Web site as being especially helpful. Eventually, users will be able to access it through Kenton County's Web site, www.kentoncounty.org.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com