Residents in Orange County, Florida can find the best holiday lighting displays in the area on a new interactive map conceived by a most unlikely entity–the tax man.
The Orange County Property Appraiser's office has created the Bright Lights Big County: OCPA Holiday Lights Crowdsourced Map. The office is inviting property owners to share photos of holiday lights on the map.New this year, the crowdsourced map is located within the Orange County Property Appraiser's website (www.ocpafl.org) and can be reached by clicking on the graphic on the home page. This map is for both homeowners and sightseers.
"We are pleased to be able to provide this service to our friends and neighbors," said Rick Singh, Orange County's property appraiser. "By inviting residents to our website to access the holiday lights map, we are also educating them on the extensive amounts of data and information available to them within ocpafl.org. Our office is extremely proud of our award-winning website. Bright Lights Big County: OCPA Holiday Lights Crowdsourced Map utilizes a small portion of our state-of-the-art mapping capabilities to add to the holiday experience of our residents."
Individuals can submit their Orange County holiday decorated properties to the map, and once approved, the homes & businesses will show up on the map for users to visit in person. Here's what's required:
Homeowners
Take a high-quality photo of your decorated home or business at night. Cameras on most cell phones will do fine. On the map, click on the red "Submit Holiday Lights Display" button and provide all the required information. Then, agree to the terms and conditions, and click "SUBMIT." We will review the photo, verify the address, and add it to the map within 1-2 days.
Sightseers
Before you load up the car with family and friends and head out to look at lights, make a note of the addresses of the homes and businesses on our map so you will know some good ones to go see. And check back during the holiday season, as more decorated locations will be added daily.
The map is live and will remain accessible until the new year.