How did I get My Address?
An address is one of those things in everyday life that is so commonplace that we don’t often think of it unless there is a problem that arises as a result of incorrect addressing – mail is incorrectly delivered, a package is not received, or 911 is called and responders have trouble locating a property.
So…how did I get my address, anyway?
In 1980, an addressing task force was formed in anticipation of the 911 system becoming mandatory in the state in 1983. Previous to that time, rural Scott County was addressed as “Route and Box” numbers, with no official street names. The task force found the municipalities were already using unique addresses, and the cities wanted to stay on their own addressing systems. So, an Addressing Ordinance was adopted by the eleven townships and the city of Elko. Recently, the combined cities of Elko New Market have also chosen to adopt this ordinance.
The Uniform Addressing Ordinance placed the eleven townships and Elko on a grid, with Baseline Avenue as the “zero” point in the county for E-W addresses. Addresses running generally in this direction receive street NAMES. Streets running generally N-S receive street NUMBERS and the grid runs from 115th St in the north, to 280th St in the south, the southernmost border of the county, Highway 19. Properties on the north and west sides of the street are assigned even numbers, those on the south and east sides of the street are assigned odd numbers. Numbering allows 1000 numbers per mile, or 500 for each side of the road.
When a new plat is recorded, the Addressing Coordinator will assign house numbers according to the addressing grid. New developments are checked to ensure the same street name is not used within townships, emergency service zones, or postal areas. These new addresses, including house numbers and street names, are then sent to the 911 Board, the Sheriff’s Office, the Fire Department and Ambulance service covering the area of development, the school district, voter registration, utilities, and the developer. The developer is responsible for placing street intersection signs within the development, with sign standards consistent with county policy.
The addresses are also added to the Computer Aided Dispatch system used by the dispatchers to take calls and send them to officers in their squads, and a mapping program that will plot (map) calls for the dispatcher when a call is received. That same database used in the mapping program is also used to populate the street names for the maps on the Scott County website.
When a resident applies for a building permit for a home, the address assigned to the particular lot on the plat is recorded on the permit and entered into the taxation records with a parcel ID number, or PIN. The data from this entry is used to populate the house numbers for the maps on the Scott County website.
The building permit application also triggers a request to the Scott County Highway Department to manufacture and install an emergency “address marker” at the new home site. This address marker is the familiar reflective blue sign showing the actual house number of the residence. It is placed in the road right of way at the driveway access to each occupiable structure in the county. This uniformity of placement makes it easier for emergency responders to locate the driveway entrance to your home. In years past, the fire department assigned a “fire number” to each structure; a unique number used by their department for locating residences. These fire numbers are no longer being used, and if you have an old fire number sign, you may remove it.
Emergency responders, delivery people, and house guests have all expressed appreciation for the “little blue signs” at the end of the driveways in Scott County.
As Scott County continues to grow, the Sheriff’s Office continues to look for new and better ways to quickly and efficiently send emergency responders to homeowners and businesses within the county. We are currently in the process of creating a GPS point database for every parcel in the county, and are discussing the possibility of mapping programs for use in the squad cars.
If you would like to view the current Uniform Addressing Ordinance, you will find it under the Info Center portion of the Scott County website. www.co.scott.mn.us
Click on County Ordinances, Ordinance #24, Addressing.
If you have any questions about addressing in Scott County, please call Lyn Rohe, the Addressing Coordinator, at 952-496-8367.