Geocoding Tools

Tools for processing shapefiles and looking up coordinates by address or parcel ID.

Setup

1. Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv env

source env/bin/activate # On Windows, use: env\Scripts\activate

2. Install required packages:

pip install pandas geopandas shapely

3. Download the Montgomery County GIS parcel shapefile from the Montgomery County GIS website and unzip it.

Usage

Process Shapefile

Convert a shapefile to CSV with centroid coordinates:

python process_shapefile.py

By default, this looks for out.shp and creates output.csv. You can modify the input/output paths in the script.

Look Up Coordinates

Look up coordinates by address or parcel ID:

# Search by address (default)
python lookup_coordinates.py "123 MAIN ST"

# Search by partial address
python lookup_coordinates.py "MAIN"

# Search by parcel ID
python lookup_coordinates.py "R72 12307 0032" --field parcel_id

# Use a different csv file
python lookup_coordinates.py "MAIN" --csv path/to/coordinates.csv

Options:

• search_term: Address or parcel ID to search for
• --csv: Path to the CSV file (default: output.csv)
• --field: Field to search in ('address' or 'parcel_id', default: address)

CSV File Structure

The script expects the following columns in the CSV file:

• LOC_NBR: Street number
• LOC_DIR: Street direction
• LOC_STREET: Street name
• LOC_SUFFIX: Street suffix
• TAXPINNO: Parcel ID
• latitude: Latitude coordinate
• longitude: Longitude coordinate

Notes

• Address searches are case-insensitive and support partial matches
• Multiple matches will be displayed if found
• Invalid geometries in the shapefile will be skipped during processing