VISUAL RESOURCESVISUAL RESOURCESSignificant visual resources shown on the Visual Resources maps (see maps) and the recommendations in this section and in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section should be considered carefully when development proposals are reviewed, starting with rezoning requests.
Development should complement the area's visual resources.
1. Ensure the integrity of landscapes which have special visual qualities and are seen frequently by many people.
2. Minimize visual disruption by ensuring that when and if development occurs it makes maximum use of the natural screening capabilities of the landscape.
In addition to the following policies, the criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section which apply to visual resources should be followed.
Red text identifies policies which can be applied in the land use review processes.
1. When development is proposed, visual resources should be systematically evaluated by considering:
a. Landscape quality including vegetation, water, color, adjacent scenery, landform, scarcity and man-made modifications.
b. Viewer sensitivity, including the number of people viewing the site, proximity of views from major highways, communities and parks, the value of such views held by the public and impact on adjacent landowners.
c. Distance of views.
2. The created environment, existing and future, should visually complement the natural environment. This can be achieved by making sensitive choices regarding site and building design, building heights and materials, landscaping, road cuts, exterior lighting, signage, colors and allowing flexibility in setback requirements. Visual resources can include: meadows, ridges, hillsides, waterways, significant vistas, unique vegetation, historic structures, valleys, and rock outcroppings. The significance of a visual resource should be determined on a site-by-site basis.
3. Where significant visual resources occur, the intensity and site design of development should be compatible with these resources and the appropriate Mountain Site Design Criteria should be followed.
4. Development on ridges should be sensitive to visual resource areas shown on the Visual Resources map (see maps) and the appropriate criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section should be followed. Examples of the criteria are:
a. Buildings and other structures should be located to avoid a dominant silhouette on the top of the ridge.
b. Maximize the use of existing vegetation and natural landforms wherever possible.
c. Integrate buildings into the site through the use of landscaping, earthwork, or natural materials.
d. Buildings should blend with surrounding environment, not appear monumental.
e. Construct and locate roads in a manner that will blend with the topography and minimize visual disruption of the landscape.
5. In valleys and vistas and around major rock outcroppings, preferred land uses are open space, agriculture and low density residential. When development is proposed in these visual resource areas, it should be compatible with the natural environment.
6. New development should complement historic structures.
7. Scenic corridors, as shown on the Visual Resources map (see maps), should have minimal disturbance as follows:
a. Structures should be sited with sensitivity.
b. Access roads should be shared wherever possible to limit the number required to serve development.
c. Grading for roads and structures should be kept to a minimum. Cut and fill slopes should be sensitively designed to blend with the natural terrain using methods such as revegetation, berming, staining, rocks, etc.
d. Rock outcroppings, unique vegetation or historic structures, meadows, and ridgelines should be conserved.
e. The mass, materials, and colors of buildings should complement the natural landscape.
8. Maximum use should be made of a site's capacity to screen development from view. For areas with less than adequate natural landscape screening, the visual diversity and landscape screening of the site should be enhanced. New landscaping should emulate the mass and type of rocks and plants found in the area. Plant material should be drought resistant.
9. Development should be integrated through location, design, color, line, texture and form with the existing natural characteristics of the site.
10. Existing vegetation should be preserved whenever possible. Disturbed areas should be stabilized using techniques such as revegetation with native and/or naturalized plants, berming, boulder placement, landshaping, rock walls, etc.
11. Where appropriate, clustering of development should be considered to minimize visual disturbance resulting from structures and roads. Utility lines should be buried or located and designed so they are not visually obtrusive. If the lines are above ground, they should blend with the background. Communication equipment should be placed where it is not visually obtrusive, colored to blend with the background and/or screened to mitigate visual impact.
12. A long range plan should be developed to upgrade the appearance of commercial development in the Coal Creek Canyon area. The objectives of the plan should be to develop design guidelines to achieve better continuity of architecture, signage, landscaping, and lighting design.
13. Lighting should be kept to a minimum. If lighting is used, its impacts should be minimized by requiring such techniques as downcast design, shielding and timers.
14. Development should occur outside the visual foreground of significant view corridors unless impacts are mitigated through the use of landscaping, screening, landshaping, building materials and colors such as colored and/or textured finishes which blend with the surrounding landscape.
15. Billboards, i.e., signs not related to the business on the site, should not be allowed.
16. Fencing materials should blend with the natural landscape. Preferably, berms and landscaping should be used to screen parking lots. If fences are used, they should be of natural material or man-made materials which have a natural appearance.
17. County Staff should develop a systematic approach to conducting visual resource inventories. Visual management systems such as BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, and other visual analysis techniques could be sources for the development of a visual analysis methodology tailored for Jefferson County.
18. The Land Development Regulation as it pertains to visual analysis should be revised to clarify the application of required visual studies and to reflect current engineering and planning practices.
19. The criteria in the Mountain Site Design Criteria section relevant to visual resources should be applied on a case-by-case basis.
20. When the Jefferson County Planning Commission and department staff complete the Scenic Corridor Study, the results of the project should be reviewed by the public. Upon adoption of the Scenic Corridor Study recommendation, this Plan should be reviewed to identify and resolve any conflicts.