Code of Maine Rules
06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL
Chapter 315 - ASSESSING AND MITIGATING IMPACTS TO EXISTING SCENIC AND AESTHETIC USES
Section 096-315-9 - Determination
Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
It is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed design does not unreasonably interfere with existing scenic and aesthetic uses, and thereby diminish the public enjoyment and appreciation of the qualities of a scenic resource, and that any potential impacts have been minimized.
The Department's determination of impact is based on the following visual elements of the landscape:
A. Landscape compatibility, which is a function of the sub-elements of color, form, line, and texture. Compatibility is determined by whether the proposed activity differs significantly from its existing surroundings and the context from which they are viewed such that it becomes an unreasonable adverse impact on the visual quality of a protected natural resource as viewed from a scenic resource;
B. Scale contrast, which is determined by the size and scope of the proposed activity given its specific location within the viewshed of a scenic resource; and
C. Spatial dominance, which is the degree to which an activity dominates the whole landscape composition or dominates landform, water, or sky backdrop as viewed from a scenic resource.
In making a determination within the context of this rule, the Department considers the type, area, and intransience of an activity related to a scenic resource that will be affected by the activity, the significance of the scenic resource, and the degree to which the use or viewer expectations of a scenic resource will be altered, including alteration beyond the physical boundaries of the activity. In addition to the scenic resource, the Department also considers the functions and values of the protected natural resource, any proposed mitigation, practicable alternatives to the proposed activity that will have less visual impact, and cumulative effects of frequent minor alterations on the scenic resource. An application may be denied if the activity will have an unreasonable impact on the visual quality of a protected natural resources as viewed from a scenic resource even if the activity has no practicable alternative and the applicant has minimized the proposed alteration and its impacts as much as possible through mitigation. An "unreasonable impact" means that the standards of the Natural Resources Protection Act, 38 M.R.S.A. §480-D, will not be met.
