This layer includes polygon features that depict protected open space for towns of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) project, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Land Aquisition and Management. Only parcels that meet the criteria of protected open space as defined in the POSM project are in this layer. Protected open space is defined as: (1) Land or interest in land acquired for the permanent protection of natural features of the state's landscape or essential habitat for endangered or threatened species; or (2) Land or an interest in land acquired to permanently support and sustain non-facility-based outdoor recreation, forestry and fishery activities, or other wildlife or natural resource conservation or preservation activities. Includes protected open space data for the towns of Andover, Ansonia, Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Canaan, Clinton, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bridgewater, Bolton, Brookfield, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Colchester, Colebrook, Columbia, Cornwall, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, Derby, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Eastford, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Franklin, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hampton, Hartford, Hebron, Kent, Killingworth, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Monroe, Montville, Morris, New Britain, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, New Hartford, Newington, Newtown, Norfolk, North, Norwich, Preston, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stonington, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Pomfret, Portland, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Salisbury, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Sterling, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Union, Vernon, Wallingford, Windham, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, West Hartford, Westbrook, Weston, Wethersfield, Willington, Wilton, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, and Woodstock. Additional towns are added to this list as they are completed. The layer is based on information from various sources collected and compiled during the period from March 2005 through the present. These sources include but are not limited to municipal Assessor's records (the Assessor's database, hard copy maps and deeds) and existing digital parcel data. The layer represents conditions as of the date of research at each city or town hall. Protected Open Space Data includes the following attribute information: object id (system-generated ID), assessor's map number, assessor's lot number, assessor's block number, official name of the open space parcel, the street number, street name, town, grantor, grantee, the deed volume and page numbers, survey reference, area of parcel reported on a survey, area reported in deed, area calculated by the GIS, assessed area, open space type*, project specific parcel ID number (PAR_ID), comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, the title of the survey map, the CT DEP researcher, the type of deed, date of recording of the deed, the date a record was revised, the survey map class, and a unique pin no. assigned by the town, if applicable. Some attributes that were included in Phase 1 were not included in Phase 2. These are water frontage and coastal frontage. Attribute data are based on information from sources collected and compiled during the period from March 2005 through the present. These sources include municipal assessor data, both paper and electronic, any other appropriate town records, such as deed data and survey map information. This table does not contain records for parcels that do not meet the definition of open space as defined above. In addition, developed recreation areas such as ballfields, playgrounds, and swimming pools were not included if less than 10 acres, and, if over 10 acres, were not included if the developed portion of the parcel exceeded 50% of the total parcel area. *Open space type has 11 possible entries. These include: Land Trust, Land Trust with buildings, Private, Private with buildings, Federal, State, Municipal, Municipal with Buildings, Conservation Easement, Other, and No Data.

Protected Open Space Data consists of attribute information about parcels designated as permanently protected open space by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in Phase 2 of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) project.  Phase 2 initially comprised of inland Connecticut towns, but has broadened to include towns along the Connecticut coastline.  

Use this table to view the attribute data for the open space parcels in the corresponding Protected Open Space feature class.  Join the feature class to this table using the PAR_ID field.

Protected Open Space Data contains 26 attributes that describe each feature.

For additional information, contact the Land Acquisition and Management Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at 860-424-3016.

publication date

None. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.

No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data.  Although this data set has been created by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials.  The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. When printing this data on a map or using it in a software application, analysis, or report, please acknowledge the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as the source for this information.

Protected Open Space Data includes the attributes of the parcels defined as open space in Phase 2 of the CT DEEP Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) Project.  This table provides detailed information to accompany the Protected Open Space layer about each parcel's collection, standardization and storage.  
This table can be joined to Protected Open Space in ArcMap using the Par_ID field.  Detailed information in the table includes ObjectID (system-generated ID), Assessor's map number, Assessor's lot number, Assessor's block number, Official Name of the open space parcel, the street number, street name, town, grantor, grantee, the deed volume and page numbers, survey reference, area of parcel reported on a survey, area reported in deed, area calculated by the GIS, assessed area, open space type, project specific parcel ID number, comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, the survey map title, the CT DEP researcher, the type of deed, date of recording of the deed, the date a record was revised, the survey map class, and a unique pin no. assigned by the town, if applicable.  Some attributes that were included in Phase 1 were not included in Phase 2.  These are water frontage and coastal frontage.

Protected Open Space Data is the attribute table for Protected Open Space feature class.

State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

There is one record per open space parcel.  If a parcel has been split and is not yet shown as such in the town's GIS layer, then that parcel was not included.  No parcels were edited and no new parcels were created in the GIS layer.  As a result, there are a number of open space parcels that were not included in this table.

The completeness of the data reflects the accuracy and completeness of the researched municipal data and its linkage to the Protected Open Space features.  The Protected Open Space Data table is complete in the sense that it contains the contents of the source information available at the time the CT DEEP created the table. However, compared to current conditions, the table may not be complete. This data is not updated beyond the original data collection date for each town and each parcel record.

Protected Open Space Data retains the information identified by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and obtained from towns' Assessor's data, electronic parcel data or hardcopy deed data collected from the associated town clerk's office.  All attributes have valid values.  Values are within defined domains.  The accuracy of the attribute data depends on the accuracy of the source data at the time of collection.

Collection of data consisted of 1) contacting the municipality to request a copy of the electronic data, 2) standardizing the data into the POSM project standard data model, 3) visiting the municipality to identify, verify and correct the open space parcel data that met the CT DEEP's definition of open space for this project, and 4) linking the CT DEEP's researched data to the original parcel dataset from the municipality. 

Data quality assurance and control was preformed by the CT DEEP.

DEP researchers visited each Town Hall and extracted open space parcel data through research of the Tax Assessor's records, Land Records, or other sources such as Engineering or Planning Department records.  Due to the diverse methods of identifying and recording open space data by town officials, the researcher needed to employ methods specific to the town they were researching. Because some towns do not accurately account for tax-exempt land, some attribute data may not be complete or accurate.

Protected Open Space Data

Geographic information system (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the geospatial data.  The table data can be accessed by a database program such as Microsoft Access or a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.

The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.