Question for the forum...
I'm working part-time with the City/County planning office on a project that is both disheartening and exciting at the same time (isn't that how so much of planning is?). Here's the deal: just west of town, along a 25 mile stretch of beautiful state highway leading to the mountains, a 10,000 acre ranch has been sold. As the story usually goes, the lots are >35 acres and so the developer doesn't have to tell the county office much of anything about the development (Wyoming law) and is choosing to sell the individual lots over the internet to poor souls unfamiliar with life out West and the lack of roads, electricity, water, sewer, plowed roads, police and fire protection, and other county services out in rural subdivisions. Because the sale has just gone through and the process of selling/development hasn't really begun, the county is beside itself with the idea of this cherished entryway to the mountains filling up with people living in camp trailers, storage sheds, and large tents (this has happened in the northern part of the county and is pretty bizarre). Now, as a word of warning, the county comprehensive plan is a whopping 12 pages and the zoning regulations mere formality, but the planning board and county commissioners have decided that they want to go all the way on this and set up a Scenic Corridor Overlay zone (without a real comp plan and with a virtually nonexistent county regulatory process, overlay zones get a little tricky, but we do what we can). My job is to research potential ideas for scenic corridor overlay zones. Since the county doesn't have staff time to do an actual comprehensive plan or involve the public in extensively, I'm left to surf the internet and poll planners for ideas. Most of what I can find out there deals with beautiful, scenic mountain areas, older historic districts, or places with the decided benefit of actual trees. The unique aspect of this county, though, is that the views are LONG and a lot of the scenic overlay zones that I see out there as examples don't really apply that well to this situation.
So, finally, here's my question: does anyone know of any cities or counties in the Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountain Front, or any other pertinent region that have incorporated successful Scenic Overlays? Any quick and dirty ideas of how to approach the viewshed subject when you can see for 30-90 miles in every direction?
I'm working part-time with the City/County planning office on a project that is both disheartening and exciting at the same time (isn't that how so much of planning is?). Here's the deal: just west of town, along a 25 mile stretch of beautiful state highway leading to the mountains, a 10,000 acre ranch has been sold. As the story usually goes, the lots are >35 acres and so the developer doesn't have to tell the county office much of anything about the development (Wyoming law) and is choosing to sell the individual lots over the internet to poor souls unfamiliar with life out West and the lack of roads, electricity, water, sewer, plowed roads, police and fire protection, and other county services out in rural subdivisions. Because the sale has just gone through and the process of selling/development hasn't really begun, the county is beside itself with the idea of this cherished entryway to the mountains filling up with people living in camp trailers, storage sheds, and large tents (this has happened in the northern part of the county and is pretty bizarre). Now, as a word of warning, the county comprehensive plan is a whopping 12 pages and the zoning regulations mere formality, but the planning board and county commissioners have decided that they want to go all the way on this and set up a Scenic Corridor Overlay zone (without a real comp plan and with a virtually nonexistent county regulatory process, overlay zones get a little tricky, but we do what we can). My job is to research potential ideas for scenic corridor overlay zones. Since the county doesn't have staff time to do an actual comprehensive plan or involve the public in extensively, I'm left to surf the internet and poll planners for ideas. Most of what I can find out there deals with beautiful, scenic mountain areas, older historic districts, or places with the decided benefit of actual trees. The unique aspect of this county, though, is that the views are LONG and a lot of the scenic overlay zones that I see out there as examples don't really apply that well to this situation.
So, finally, here's my question: does anyone know of any cities or counties in the Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountain Front, or any other pertinent region that have incorporated successful Scenic Overlays? Any quick and dirty ideas of how to approach the viewshed subject when you can see for 30-90 miles in every direction?