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193 <br /> GOAL 3:PRFSERVE &PROTECT VISUAL RESOURCES IN RURAL ORANGE. <br /> The county's visual resources, farm fields and forests, are an <br /> often seen but forgotten component of rural character. When <br /> considered as a resource, what is visible to the human eye <br /> represents a great deal of what makes up "rural character". In <br /> ...,r many cases, however, the importance of scenic views and rural <br /> landscapes are not fully appreciated until they no longer exist. <br /> A program that encourages innovative techniques to balance <br /> development with visual resource protection is of critical <br /> importance. <br /> ACTION STRATEGIES <br /> Strategies recommended for the preservation of visual resources include the following; <br /> 1. Implemcet Flexible Development options that protect and preserve existing visual resources. Produce a <br /> series of educational brochures to illustrate how open space set-asides enhance the value of property to be <br /> developed as well as those of adjacent properties which benefit from "borrowed" open space. <br /> 2. Promote the importance of scenic vistas and landscapes in maintaining rural character through completion <br /> of the Scenic Roads Study. Provide incentives for developers who use the Rural Design Guidebook and <br /> the standards of the Scenic Roads Study to preserve scenic vistas along selected roads, ridge lines, and <br /> areas adjacent to open fields. <br /> 3. Evaluate the feasibility of a Viewshed Overlay Zoning District to be used in conjunction with the Scenic <br /> Roads Study to protect special rural landscapes and travel corridors where visual resource protection is of <br /> the utmost importance.The travel corridors vistas represent Orange County's"first impression"for visitors. <br /> 4. Support efforts the proposed xQbm= Purchase of Developmmt Rights program, including its use to <br /> protect scenic roads and vistas m association with faims and forest lands. Prioritization should be <br /> accomplished through the Land Evabiaticm and Site AssessmM (LESA) system with which to rank sites <br /> for development rights acqu>irition. <br /> 5. Pursue local vohurtaryy Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) legislation and direct the Agricultural <br /> Districts Advisory Hoard to cooperate m regional efforts to protect scenic roads and vistas. <br /> 6. Followiâ– g i®plemeaitstian of Fleuble Developmect options, prepare an. annual report for the Board of <br /> Commisslameis and Planing Board evaluating the impact of such options on the county's visual resources, <br /> including an assessment of additional strategies as needed. <br /> Goals &Action Strategies 5 <br />