First, you should use Buffer on the 'Wetlands_Sunderland' file to produce a new file with a 200ft buffer per the conservation commission's warning. Complete this operation and name the new file 'Wetlands_Sunderland_200ftbuff'. With that file, we can then perform an Erase using 'Sunderland' as our input feature and 'Wetlands_Sunderland_200ftbuff' as the Erase feature. Name the output file 'Sunderland_Developable'. We then calculate the area of the new 'Sunderland_Developable' file and find that the available developable area is 7704 acres.
Earn Back One: Why do we use the 'Erase' function here? Explain what the Erase tool does conceptually, and why that is the appropriate tool for this question?
a) The Erase tool removes a specific feature or features from a dataset, allowing for the creation of a new dataset without those features.
b) The Erase tool conceptually erases the overlapping areas between two datasets, providing a clean boundary for analysis.
c) The Erase tool is appropriate here because it helps isolate the developable areas from the wetlands, fulfilling the conservation commission's warning.
d) All of the above