2024-11-21 Moku Loa Hawaii Island Sierra Club Testimony (2)

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Hawaii County Scenic Resources Inventory and Mapping Project generated from proposed activities, establishes when a visual assessment may be necessary, explains the components of a visual assessment when required, and describes avoidance, mitigation, and offset measures that may eliminate or reduce unreasonable adverse impacts to existing scenic and aesthetic uses. Implementation Chapter 35 applies to "the alteration of a coastal wetland, great pond, freshwater wetland, fragile mountain area, river, stream, or brook, as defined in the M.S.R.A § 480- 8 of the Natural Resources Protection Act, that requires an individual permit or is eligible for Tier 3 review." The Chapter requires that the Department determine the following when an activity is proposed: • Presence of a scenic resource listed in Section 10 of the NRPA; • Significance of the scenic resource; • Character of the surrounding environment; • Expectations of the current viewer; • Extent and intransience of the activity; • Project purpose; and • Context of the proposed activity. The Department is instructed that "unreasonable adverse visual impacts are those that are expected to unreasonably interfere with the general public's visual enjoyment and appreciation of a scenic resource, or those that otherwise unreasonably impair the character or quality of such a place." The Department's visual impact assessment is based on the following: • Landscape compatibility. The project's impact on the color, form, line and texture of the environment by whether it differs significantly from its existing surroundings; • Scale contrast. The project's size and scope given its location within the viewshed of a scenic resource; and Scenic Resource Protection Programs and Strategies Page 119