17 www.loubar.org October 2026 geographic information clearing house maintained by the [Kentucky] division of geographic information systems shall be the sole database of geographic information main- tained by state agencies.” A regulation, 200 KAR 41:010, was promulgated to ensure that all official government mapping used the same “state plane coordinate system” to ensure uniformity. The conflict on the Jefferson-Oldham County line is most likely a pre-existing issue that has been brought to light. With borders drawn between 120 Kentucky counties, I suspect it will not be the last. The KyGeoNet (https://kygeonet.ky.gov/) is the home of the Kentucky Division of Geographic Information’s Geospatial Data Clearinghouse referenced in KRS 42.655. It provides access to three important databases. The key one is the KyGovMaps Open GIS Data Portal (https://opengisdata.ky.gov/), which is the primary geo- graphic and geospatial data clearinghouse for Kentucky. Ky- FromAbove (https://kyfromabove.ky.gov/) provides access to “statewide aerial photography, Lidar point clouds, and bare- earth digital elevation models.” Yes, I don’t understand all of this, either, but the aerial maps are very good. If you want to confirm that the Louisville Highlands are indeed on high ground, KyTopo (https://kyfromabove.ky.gov/pages/kytopo) provides access to topographical elevation maps. Jefferson County and Oldham County Geographic and Land Records LOJIC The Louisville/Jefferson County Information Consortium (LOJIC) “represents a multi-agency effort to build and maintain a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) to serve all of Louisville Metro, Jefferson County, Kentucky.” The four agencies that make up LOJIC are Lou- isville Metro Government, the Jefferson County Property (Continued from previous page) Valuation Administrator, the Metropolitan Sewer District and Louisville Water Company. Partners include Jefferson County Public Schools, LG&E, the US Army Corps of En- gineers, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Bullitt and Oldham counties. This collaboration means the base LOJIC Online map includes useful data overlays. You can search an address and then get in-depth information on that property, including ownership, assessed value, lot size, parcel number and information on sewer, fire and waste collec- tion services. You can also view historic aerial imagery of the lot and surrounding properties, with semi-annual images back to 1997 for Jefferson County. (Less frequent aerial photography is available for parcels in Oldham and Bullitt dating back to the early 2000s.) Comprehensive census data and political district information is also avail- able for a chosen parcel. Just moved in and don’t know your neighbors’ names? Just look up your address, then move your cursor over nearby houses and click to see the owners’ names. Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) In Kentucky, the PVA is an elected county official re- sponsible for determining the property value of parcels for assessing ad valorem property tax. These valuations are important to property taxpayers and sellers and are therefore public records. The Jefferson County PVA (https://jeffersonpva.ky.gov/) has a limited free search by address and more data in a paid service for real- tors, but LOJIC is a more robust tool. The Oldham PVA (https://oldhampva.com/) property search uses a commer- cial provider, but if you start at the Oldham PVA page, the basic search is free. Neither has maps, but both indirectly contribute to LOJIC. County Clerk Deed Records In Jefferson County, deed records are in the custody of the county clerk’s office and accessed through the deed room in the Jefferson County Courthouse, and those from 1985 can be searched at https://search.jeffersondeeds. com/. In Oldham County, you can search a property at https://oldhamcountyclerk.ky.gov/land-records/. Mapping the Jefferson County Way of Life A recent letter to the Courier-Journal from a resident of a subdivision built in the 1970s and straddling the county line decried the “new law” that classified her as a resident of Jefferson County. “I do not in any way, shape, or form want to be classified as a Louisvillian,” she declared, because I disagree with [their] ways of life.” It goes to show how important, emotionally and in real estate law, a county line on a map can be. It determines where people vote, who represents them and where they pay taxes. It can also be part of their identity. It will be interesting to see how the property, voting and tax records are ultimately untangled, but it will likely involve quite a bit of litigation. However, some people will inevitably need to adapt to a Louisville Metro lifestyle. To ease the transition, I suggest giving the newcomers David Domine’s “A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City” from Carmichael’s Bookstore, a gift certificate to the Mayan Cafe and Jack Harlow’s “Jackman” on vinyl. Kurt X. Metzmeier is the interim director of the law library and professor of legal bibliography at the Uni- versity of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, but he does not purport to represent the university or the law school. He is the author of Writing the Legal Record: Law Reporters in Nineteenth Century Kentucky and coauthor of Legal Research in a Nut- shell, 15th ed. n