Tool 4 - Land Information Screening Tool

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TOOL 4  Land Information Screening Tool  
Introduction 
The Land Information Screening Tool (LIST) is a mapping tool that integrates a range of existing data layers 
to support land use planning for housing. As a spatial decision support framework it integrates multiple 
geospatial layers, each representing an environmental, social, or infrastructural factor that contributes to 
overall land suitability. 
The tool builds on Islands Trust’s history of technical initiatives such as Sensitive Ecosystem Mapping, 
Steep  Slope  Hazard  Mapping,  the  Freshwater  Sustainability  Strategy,  Freshwater  Atlas,  Groundwater 
Recharge Mapping, and Watershed Resiliency Mapping. These earlier projects established a foundation 
of  datasets,  technical  standards,  and  modelling  processes.  The LIST takes  the  next  step  by  providing  a 
composite lens through which relative land suitability can be consistently assessed across islands. 
Data Layers 
The ‘Type I’ mapping layers are the data layers that contribute to the presentation map.  These are 
island-wide raster layers that directly contribute to the LIST layer. These layers must be spatially 
continuous and support spatial overlay analysis in ArcGIS Pro’s Suitability Modeller. The Type 1 data 
layers in the current version are: 
1. Freshwater Sustainability – Groundwater recharge, aquifer vulnerability, saltwater intrusion and 
watershed resiliency mapping layers incorporates these hydrological conditions directly into suitability 
calculations. 
2. Ecosystem Protection – Sensitive ecosystems, at-risk ecological communities, and structural forest 
stages are included as mapping layers to incorporate biodiversity. 
3. Hazard Avoidance – Landforms with steep slopes are included to identify unsafe or unsustainable 
development. 
4. Community Integrity – A road adjacency layer is included to incorporated connected communities, 
avoiding sprawl while supporting sustainable density. 
Type II Layers are vector layers that identify discrete features or non-suitable areas.  These layers may 
be used to define land that is ‘Not Applicable’ to this analysis, e.g. Parks and Protected Areas, or 
conversely areas of environmental interest or concerns such as shoreline types.  These layers can be 
readily modified to incorporate external mapping that does not meet the Type I raster standards, or are 
not regional datasets, e.g. local conservancy mapping products. 
Type III layers are raster layers that are not part of the modeller, provide important data, but which are 
confidential, e.g. Archaeological or other Indigenous information. By enabling contributions from 
stewardship groups and First Nations, the LIST recognizes that community-based data can identify 
cultural sites, habitat corridors, and other values that may not appear in regional datasets. 

 
 
The LIST is more than a technical model — it is a planning framework grounded in sustainability. It provides 
both high-level, island-wide indicators (Typ

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