About Public Land Index
Public Law 119-101 turns records that were once hard to find into a public asset — and we help local governments meet the requirement quickly, easily, and affordably.
Why it matters
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Public Law 119-101, signed July 11, 2026) is one of the most consequential housing laws in a generation. At a moment when the country is short millions of homes, Congress decided that the public land already owned by cities and counties might be part of the solution. The law’s new 42 U.S.C. 5304(b)(7) requires every CDBG grantee to publish a searchable, public database of undeveloped land. That single change turns sometimes hard-to-find parcel records into a public asset a community can use.
We find that exciting. A vacant lot nobody remembered the city owned can become affordable housing, a park, a childcare center, or a small business. Residents, developers, and nonprofits can finally see what is possible. Our goal is to help communities comply with this requirement quickly, easily, and affordably.
Our purpose
Public Land Index (PLI) exists to help local governments comply with the public land database requirement quickly, easily, and affordably. The requirement takes effect October 1, 2026, and most jurisdictions do not have the specialization or capacity to build a compliant public database on their own.
Our team brings the capacity to assemble it, publish it, and keep it current — so your staff can stay focused on serving the community, not standing up new compliance infrastructure.
Who we serve & what we believe
We work with CDBG entitlement grantees, state CDBG programs, and the planning and compliance consultants who serve these communities.
The team
Two founders with the product, data, and engineering experience to build public infrastructure and keep it running.
Co-Founder & Head of Product
Jeffrey leads product and partnerships at Public Land Index. She’s spent her career simplifying complicated problems, streamlining user experiences, and building products that do social good. At PLI she works directly with the governments and consultants we serve to keep public land database compliance simple.
Co-Founder & Head of Engineering
Jo leads the data and engineering work behind every Public Land Index database, turning the parcel data a jurisdiction provides into an accessible, mapped, and searchable public site. She’s focused on building infrastructure that’s accurate, maintainable, and easy for government staff to rely on.
See it for yourself
We have a working platform running on a real public-land dataset. Tell us where you are, and we’ll send you a recorded demo of how a compliant public land database works — and how we’d build yours.