Attribute blocks: one for every entity on the plan

They are Sections 2.8.6.8, 2.8.6.9 and 2.8.6.10 of Chapter 2.8 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, within the Plan Drawing Standard. They are the part of the standard that turns a drawing into data: without the attribute blocks the plan has shapes, but the agency does not know whose each parcel is, what each structure is made of, or what is extracted from each quarry.

It applies to plans submitted to the permit process. Inserting attribute blocks is required only for the fundamental graphic elements and for the Control Stations Certification; for the plan’s other objects there are no attribute blocks.

• Incorporating the attributes directly into the CAD file through the preset attribute blocks of the seed file.Verified against the official source
• Inserting and filling one attribute block per entity, not one per element: two parcels are two blocks.Verified against the official source
• Placing the block’s insertion point at the element’s exact location when the geometry is a point.Verified against the official source
• Inserting the block on some segment of the line, using the snapping functions, when the geometry is linear.Verified against the official source
• Inserting the block within the area the polygon occupies, not outside the area and not on its boundary.Verified against the official source
• Filling every attribute through the established blocks and not by other methods such as XML tags or external databases.Verified against the official source
• Filling the dimension attributes of the blocks that carry them, even where those dimensions appear in the drawing.Verified against the official source
• Using TrueType typefaces and not fonts characteristic of a particular program, and not using the "Non-ADE Style Extended Entity Data".Verified against the official source

• The standard’s seed file, which carries the preset attribute blocks of every fundamental graphic element and of the CEC.

1. 1

   Step 1: Understand what an attribute is here

   Attributes are the characteristics that identify and describe the elements of the plans or drawings. The Regulation’s own example: for a control point, its attributes would be the point or station identifier, its elevation and the description, such as bronze disc, PK nail and rod, among others. That information does not go written beside it on the plan: it goes inside the file, inside the block.

2. 2

   Step 2: One block per entity, not per element

   It is the rule that causes the most returns. One attribute block must be inserted and filled per entity. If the plan contains two parcels, one attribute block must be inserted and filled for each parcel and not one block for the two: in that case they are two entities of the parcels element, and each has particular attributes or characteristics that must be documented.

3. 3

   Step 3: Only eight elements have a block

   The standard’s table assigns eight graphic elements their block: parcels, polygon, Bloque_Parcelas; structures, polygon, Bloque_Estructuras; topography or elevation, line, Bloque_Topografia; control stations, point, Bloque_EstControl; rights of way, polygon, Bloque_ServPaso; conservation servitude, polygon, Bloque_ServCons; areas of extraction of material from the earth’s crust, polygon; and street axes, line, Bloque_CentCalle. Insertion is required only for these fundamental graphic elements and for the CEC; for the plan’s other objects there are no attribute blocks.

4. 4

   Step 4: Which fields each block asks for

   Parcels ask for a unique identifier of each parcel — the example is the cadastre number — and the owner’s name. Structures, a unique identifier and the description of the material, such as wood or concrete. Topography, an identifier of each line and the elevation value it represents. Control stations, a unique identifier, the elevation of the point’s location and the description of the station — bronze disc, PK nail, rod. Rights of way and conservation parcels, one unique identifier each. Extraction areas, an identifier, the volume of earth extracted, the maximum depth of excavation and the material extracted from the site, such as sand or stone. And street centres, an access identifier, the type of access — primary road, secondary road, path, street — and the description, such as asphalted, cement or dirt.

5. 5

   Step 5: Where the block goes, by geometry

   The insertion methodology depends on the element’s geometry type. For point elements, placing the block’s insertion point at the point element’s exact location. For line elements, on some segment of the line, making sure to use the snapping functions so the block is inserted on the line. For polygon elements, within the area it occupies: it must not be placed outside the area or on its boundary.

6. 6

   Step 6: No XML tags, no databases, no dimensions

   Every attribute must be filled through the established blocks and not by other methods such as XML tags or external databases. Although annotations and texts may be incorporated into the plans, the attribute blocks must be inserted and filled for each fundamental graphic element and the CEC. And the drawing’s dimensions do not replace the blocks’ attributes: elements whose blocks carry dimension attributes must have them filled even where those dimensions appear in the drawing. The "Non-ADE Style Extended Entity Data" must not be used either. The typeface must be TrueType, and typefaces characteristic of a particular program must not be used, because other programs risk not recognizing them.

7. 7

   Step 7: What the source does not say cleanly

   A note on the source. The block table calls the element "Servidumbre de Conservación", but the next table heads its field group "Parcelas de Conservación", and the field is named ParcCons_ID: two names for one thing across two consecutive tables. The same happens with topography, which in the field table appears under the heading "Hipsografía". The example printed for the depth field is "20,000 metros", the same figure the volume field carries in cubic metres — a maximum excavation depth of twenty thousand metres; we reproduce it as it stands. And two things we could not read cleanly and therefore do not publish: the block name for the extraction areas, and the exact field names of the hypsography group and of the street access identifier. We describe what those fields hold and do not invent their names.

The blocks are inserted and filled inside the DWG file submitted through the OGPe’s Unified Information System. They come preset in the standard’s seed file.

• Inserting a single block for several entities of the same element.
• Placing a polygon’s block outside the area or on its boundary.
• Inserting a line’s block beside the line rather than on it.
• Storing the attributes in an external database or in XML tags.
• Treating the dimension attributes as filled because the dimensions are already drawn.
• Looking for attribute blocks for objects that are not fundamental graphic elements.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Planning Board

  jp

  jp.pr.gov

• OGPe Single Business Portal

  ogpe

  www.permisos.pr.gov