Section 096-315-8 - MitigationIn the case where the Department determines that the proposed activity will have an adverse visual impact on a scenic resource, applicants may be required to employ appropriate measures to mitigate the adverse impacts to the extent practicable. Mitigation should reduce or eliminate the visibility of the proposed activity or alter the effect of the activity on the scenic or aesthetic use in some way. The Department will determine when mitigation should be proposed and whether the applicant's mitigation strategies are reasonable. The Department may require mitigation by requesting that the applicant submit a design that includes the required mitigation or by imposing permit conditions consistent with specified mitigation requirements.
In its determination whether adverse impacts to existing scenic and aesthetic uses are unreasonable, the Department will consider whether the applicant's activity design is visually compatible with its surroundings, incorporating environmentally sensitive design principles and components according to the strategies described below.
A.Planning and siting. Properly siting an activity may be the most effective way to mitigate potential visual impacts. Applicants are encouraged, and may be required, to site a proposed activity in a location that limits its adverse visual impacts within the viewshed of a scenic resource.B.Design. When circumstances do not allow siting to avoid visual impacts on a scenic resource, elements of particular concern should be designed in such a way that reduces or eliminates visual impacts to the area in which an activity is located, as viewed from a scenic resource. Applicants should consider a variety of design methods to mitigate potential impacts, including screening, buffers, earthen berms, camouflage, low profile, downsizing, non-standard materials, lighting, and other alternate technologies.C.Offsets. Correction of an existing visual problem identified within the viewshed of the same scenic resource as the proposed activity may qualify as an offset for visual impacts when an improvement may be realized. Offsets may be used in sensitive locations where significant impacts from the proposal are unavoidable or other forms of mitigation might not be practicable. An example of an offset might be the removal of an existing abandoned structure that is in disrepair to offset impacts from a proposal within visual proximity of the same scenic resource. Offsets can also include visual improvements to the affected landscape, such as tree plantings or development of scenic overlooks.06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 315, § 8