I've been looking into this myself lately, and honestly, digitization seems pretty hit-or-miss depending on the city. My local office has started scanning older records, but they're nowhere near complete...still had to sift through physical files for anything pre-90s. Definitely worth a call to your city hall.
Ran into something similar last year when I was researching easements for a renovation project. The online database was a mess—some docs were crystal clear, others were blurry scans from who knows when. Ended up spending a whole afternoon at the records office digging through physical files because anything older than mid-80s was basically nonexistent online.
Honestly, it wasn't terrible once I got there—staff knew exactly where to point me—but it was definitely a hassle having to physically go in. Digitization is great in theory, but seems like a lot of cities just haven't prioritized older property records yet. Guess it's understandable, but still frustrating when you're trying to get quick answers.
Had a similar experience recently. I was looking into easements for a new development, and the online system was... let's just say less than ideal. Some documents were pristine PDFs, others looked like someone took a photo with a potato back in 1975. Ended up at city hall too, flipping through dusty binders and old microfiche (yes, microfiche still exists apparently).
I get why digitizing older records isn't top priority—limited budgets, staffing, etc.—but it's frustrating when you're trying to move quickly on a project. On the bright side, sometimes physically going in can uncover useful info you weren't even looking for. Staff pointed me toward some zoning changes coming down the pipeline that weren't online yet, so it wasn't a total loss.
Still, you'd think by now we'd have a better system in place. Maybe someday...
"Ended up at city hall too, flipping through dusty binders and old microfiche (yes, microfiche still exists apparently)."
Haha, microfiche...been there myself recently. Honestly, I thought I'd stepped into a time warp. You'd think with all the tech we have now, we'd at least be past squinting at blurry images on a screen from the 80s.
I get your point about limited budgets and staffing, but I wonder if cities realize how much smoother (and faster) development could go if they invested just a bit more upfront in digitizing records. Sure, physically going in can sometimes lead to unexpected nuggets of info—had that happen myself—but relying on luck or helpful staff isn't exactly efficient.
Maybe it's wishful thinking, but wouldn't it make sense for municipalities to pool resources or collaborate somehow? Seems like reinventing the wheel city by city is part of the problem. Or am I missing something obvious here...
Totally get what you're saying about digitizing records, but honestly, there's something oddly satisfying about digging through those old binders. Feels like detective work...though yeah, efficiency-wise, it's a nightmare. Maybe someday they'll catch up?
