Within the GIS, manmade features such as buildings, bridges, railroads, and roads are classified as planimetric data. The city contracts with Ayres Associates to update planimetric features for about twenty-five percent of the City each year. This ensures that none of the base mapping within the city is older than 5 years. Updated base map layers are important to ensure that new construction and redevelopment area are accurately reflected in the base map features.

The base map layers are used to evaluate existing conditions and plan future updates. By having current layers, the City is assured they are making the best and most accurate decisions. Accurate base mapping is only one of the ways that GIS assists the City with making good decisions.