Minneapolis City Archive Launches Emergency Audit After Duplicate Images Surface in Property Records

Minneapolis officials are scrambling to fix a growing problem in the city's public-facing property records system after duplicate and mismatched photographs were discovered embedded in hundreds of digital entries, raising concerns about transparency in a year when rezoning decisions along the Central Corridor and in Northeast Minneapolis are drawing intense public scrutiny. The Department of Community Planning and Economic Development, housed at 105 Fifth Avenue South, confirmed this week that an internal audit is underway.

The issue came to a head in late June when community members cross-referencing parcel data on the city's public GIS portal noticed that several properties in the Whittier and Longfellow neighborhoods were displaying photographs from entirely different addresses — in some cases, showing buildings on the opposite side of the city. For residents and small property owners tracking assessed values or appealing tax classifications, an incorrect image is more than a bureaucratic nuisance. It can undermine appeals before Hennepin County and delay mortgage processing.

How the Duplicate Problem Developed

The root of the issue traces to a 2024 migration of legacy image files into the city's updated Accela-based permitting and records platform. During that transfer, which affected more than 180,000 property entries citywide, a batch-processing error created duplicate image IDs — meaning a single photograph could be assigned to multiple parcels simultaneously. Staff in the city's IT department identified the error in early 2025, but a full replacement protocol was never fully implemented before the records were made public.

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, which manages more than 6,000 units across the city, flagged at least 14 of its own properties as having incorrect or placeholder photographs in the public database as recently as May of this year. That figure surfaced in internal correspondence reviewed by The Daily Minneapolis. Properties near the Glendale townhome complex in the Prospect Park neighborhood and several high-rise buildings along Plymouth Avenue North were among those affected.

For residents filing appeals with the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation — which processed roughly 3,400 property valuation challenges in 2025 alone — an inaccurate photograph can complicate an already difficult process. Hennepin County's assessors use the city image database as a reference tool. When a photo shows a different structure than the one being assessed, it introduces confusion that, according to publicly available guidance from the county's assessor's office, requires additional field verification and can add weeks to a case timeline.

What the City Is Doing This Week

As of July 3, CPED staff have manually corrected images on approximately 400 parcels, according to a progress update posted to the department's internal project tracker, a copy of which was obtained by this newsroom. The department is prioritizing properties that have active permit applications, pending sales, or open valuation appeals. A citywide automated replacement script is expected to run before July 18, targeting the remaining estimated 1,200 to 1,600 affected records.

The Open Information Office, which oversees Minneapolis's data transparency commitments under the city's 2019 Open Data Policy, is also involved. Staff there are working to add a visible flag to any parcel record that has been modified as part of the audit, so residents know when they're looking at a recently corrected entry. That flagging feature is expected to go live on the city's property information portal at minneapolismn.gov by the end of next week.

For residents who think their property may be affected — particularly those in Whittier, Longfellow, Prospect Park, or North Minneapolis — the most direct step right now is to search their address on the city's property information portal and check whether the displayed photograph matches their actual building. If it doesn't, CPED has set up a dedicated reporting form linked from the portal's main page. Residents can also contact the department directly at its Fifth Avenue office. Those with active Hennepin County appeals should notify their county assessor contact in writing that the city image record was flagged for correction, and request that any field verification be expedited accordingly.