40.240.500    Special Management Area Scenic Review Criteria (REPEALED)

The following scenic review guidelines shall apply to all review uses in the Special Management Area of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area with the exception of rehabilitation or modification of historic structures eligible or on the National Register of Historic Places when such modification is in compliance with the National Register of Historic Places guidelines:

A.    All review uses in the Special Management Area regardless of location or landscape setting shall comply with the following applicable guidelines:

1.    Proposed developments shall not protrude above the line of a bluff, cliff, or skyline as seen from Key Viewing Areas.

2.    Size, scale, shape, color, texture, siting, height building materials, lighting, or other features of a proposed structure shall be visually subordinate in the landscape and have low contrast in the landscape.

3.    Colors shall be used in a manner so that developments are visually subordinate to the natural and cultural patterns in the landscape setting. Colors for structures and signs should be slightly darker than the surrounding background.

4.    Structure height shall remain below the average tree canopy height of the natural vegetation adjacent to the structure, except if it has been demonstrated that meeting this guideline is not feasible considering the function of the structure.

5.    Proposed developments or land use shall be aligned, designed and sited to fit the natural topography and to take advantage of vegetation and land form screening, and to minimum visible grading or other modifications of landforms, vegetation cover, and natural characteristics.

6.    Any exterior lighting shall be sited, limited in intensity, shielded or hooded in a manner that prevents lights from being highly visible from Key Viewing Areas and from noticeably contrasting with the surrounding landscape setting except for road lighting necessary for safety purposes.

7.    Seasonal lighting displays shall be permitted on a temporary basis, not to exceed three (3) months’ duration.

8.    Reflectivity of structures and site improvements shall be minimized.

9.    Right-of-way vegetation shall be managed to minimize visual impact of clearing and other vegetation removal as seen from Key Viewing Areas. Roadside vegetation management (vista clearing, planting, etc.) should enhance views from the highway.

10.    Encourage existing and require new road maintenance warehouse and stockpile areas to be screened from view from Key Viewing Areas.

B.    New developments and land uses shall be evaluated to ensure that scenic resources are not adversely affected, including cumulative effects, based on visibility from Key Viewing Areas.

C.    All new developments and land uses immediately adjacent to scenic routes shall be in conformance with state or county scenic route guidelines.

D.    New land uses or developments shall comply with the following applicable design guidelines:

1.    Pastoral. Pastoral areas shall retain the overall appearance of an agricultural landscape.

a.    New developments and forest practices shall meet the visual quality objective of partial retention.

b.    The use of plant species common to the landscape setting shall be encouraged. The use of plant species in rows as commonly found in the landscape setting is encouraged.

c.    Exterior colors of structures shall be earth-tone colors which will result in low contrast with the surrounding landscape.

d.    Exterior colors of structures may be white, except for the roof only in the Mt. Pleasant areas where other white structures are evident in the setting.

2.    Coniferous woodland areas shall retain the overall appearance of a woodland landscape. New developments and land uses shall retain the overall visual character of the natural appearance of the coniferous woodland landscape.

a.    New developments and land uses in lands designated Federal Forest or Open Space shall meet the visual quality objective of retention; all other land use designations shall meet the visual quality objective of partial retention as seen from Key Viewing Areas.

b.    Buildings in the coniferous woodland landscape setting shall be encouraged to have a vertical overall appearance.

c.    Use of plant species native to the landscape setting shall be encouraged.

d.    Where non-native plants are used, they shall have native appearing characteristics.

e.    The exteriors of structures in the coniferous woodland landscape setting shall be dark earth-tone colors which will result in low contrast with the surrounding landscape as seen from the Key Viewing Areas.

3.    River Bottomlands. River bottomlands shall retain the overall visual character of a floodplain and associated islands.

a.    New developments and land uses shall meet the visual quality objective of partial retention, except in areas zoned Gorge Open Space which shall meet the visual quality objective of retention.

b.    Buildings shall have an overall horizontal appearance in areas with little tree cover.

c.    Use of plant species native to the landscape setting shall be encouraged. Where non-native plants are used, they shall have native appearing characteristics.

d.    The exterior colors of structures shall be earth-tone or water-tone colors result in low contrast with surrounding landscape.

E.    For forest practices the following guidelines shall apply:

1.    Forest practices must meet the design guidelines and visual quality objective for the landscape setting designated for the management area.

2.    Not more than sixteen percent (16%) of each total ownership within a viewshed shall be in created openings at any one (1) time. The viewshed boundaries shall be delineated by the Forest Service.

3.    Size, shape, and dispersal of created openings shall maintain the natural patterns in the landscape.

4.    The maximum size of any created opening is fifteen (15) acres. In the foreground of Key Viewing Areas, the maximum size of created openings shall be five (5) acres.

5.    Clearcutting shall not be used as a harvest practice on land zoned Gorge SMA Federal Forest.

6.    Created openings shall not create a break or opening in the vegetation in the skyline as viewed from a Key Viewing Area.

7.    Created openings shall be dispersed to maintain at least four hundred (400) feet of closed canopy between openings. Closed canopy shall be at least twenty (20) feet tall.

F.    Emergency/disaster response actions shall comply with the following additional guidelines:

1.    Impacts of emergency/disaster shall be evaluated to ensure that scenic resources are not adversely affected. Such actions shall be rendered visually subordinate in their landscape settings as seen from Key Viewing Areas to the greatest extent practicable, except for actions located in areas exempted from visual subordinance requirements in the Management Plan [page 1-32].

2.    Vegetation shall be used to screen or cover road cuts, structural development landform alteration, and areas denuded of vegetation, as a result of emergency/disaster response actions.

3.    Vegetation shall be used to screen or cover road cuts, structural development, landform alteration, and areas denuded of vegetation, as a result of emergency/disaster response actions.

4.    Areas denuded of vegetation as a result of emergency/disaster response actions shall be revegetated with native plant species, or species commonly found within the applicable landscape setting, to restore the affected areas to its pre-response conditions to the greatest extent practicable, but no later than one (1) year after emergency/disaster event. An exception to the one (1) year requirement may be granted upon demonstration of just cause, with an extension of up to one (1) year.

5.    The painting, staining or use of other new materials on new structural development shall be used to ensure that the structures are non-reflective, or of low reflectivity, and visually subordinate in their landscape setting as seen from Key Viewing Areas, unless the structure is fully screened from Key Viewing Areas by existing topographic features.

6.    Additions to existing structures, resulting from an emergency/disaster response actions, which are smaller in total height, bulk or area than the existing structures may the same color as the existing development. Additions larger than the existing development shall be visually subordinate in their landscape setting as seen from Key Viewing Areas to the greatest extent practicable.

7.    Spoil materials associated with grading, excavation and slide debris removal activities in relation to an emergency/disaster response action, shall either be (1) removed from the NSA or deposited at a site within the NSA permitted by the county, or (2) (re)contoured, to the greatest extent practicable, to retain the natural topography, or a topography which emulates that of the surrounding landscape.