| Viewsheds: As far as the eye can
see - and [also] the adjacent area
September 9, 2003 By Joyce Morrison The Illinois Leader To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@illinoisleader.com Image: The Great Rivers National Scenic Byway in Alton (Illinois). http://illinoisleader.com/content/img/f8298/SZ200_scen.jpg There is a lot of skepticism about Scenic Byways from the people who own property adjacent to the byway. Does it make a road more scenic to bear the title of a National or State Scenic Byway, or does it bring more regulations and government controls? "Protecting Our Working Landscapes with Scenic Byways," an article by Scenic America, explains that Scenic Byways are an opportunity to protect working lands and recognize their aesthetic and cultural and natural value. While all of this sounds good, think about whose land they plan to protect. If this is a scenic road running through the middle of your property, how do you think they will protect the visitor's scenic view -- the viewshed -- on your property? In the case of Ann Roach in West Virginia, it is a battle to keep the new home she built along the New River Scenic Parkway. The National Park Service has deemed her home is "cluttering the viewshed" and is trying to remove all buildings. The Roach's home was there before the road became a Scenic Parkway. Could this also mean if you have what is considered a "scenic" old barn that you could not tear it down, or if you wanted to replace it with a new machine shed you would have to have permission? The Federal Register says the corridor management plan must contain "a strategy describing how existing development might be enhanced and new development might be accommodated while still preserving the intrinsic qualities of the corridor. This can be done through design review and such land management techniques as zoning, easements and economic incentives." The intrinsic values that must be preserved are scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archeological, and natural integrity of the scenic byway and the adjacent area. Conservation and scenic easements are highly promoted in these areas. Below are a few items in a Design Guidelines manual that was submitted to IDOT for approval: 1. Along highways only a six foot swath can be mown 2. ALL fences must be earthtone (brown or green) 3. Screened frontage for certain businesses 4. No overhead power lines, satellite dishes, etc. Scenic America says, "The roadways provide an enjoyable and relaxing experience for travelers, while providing local communities with tourist revenue." Unless an accurate economic impact study is done prior to the designation of a Scenic Byway, there is no indication that any more tourist money is spent after the designation than before. Many of the tourists "drive through" and some may stop at a roadside stand or two. But to plan your total income on seasonal tourism and minimum wage jobs would be foolish. Scenic Byways are geared for the benefit of the traveler and a few local businesses, but there appears to be no advantage for the land owner who provides the scenic view (viewshed) for the traveler. In fact, the Federal Register makes it clear that the landowner will receive nothing but "controls." The Federal Register defines a State Scenic Byway, National Scenic Byway or All-American Road to be not only the road or highway itself, but "also the corridor through which it passes." Spurs can run off the main Byway. The Scenic Byway "must demonstrate that intrusions on the visitor experience have been minimized to the extent feasible and a plan for making improvements to enhance that experience." Would this mean slow moving farm equipment or logging trucks or local traffic could be an intrusion to the visitor's experience? "The scenic quality must give characteristics of the landscape that are strikingly distinct and offer a pleasing and most memorable visual experience. All elements of the landscape, landform, water, vegetation and manmade development -- contribute to the quality of the corridor's visual environment. Everything present is in harmony and shares in the intrinsic qualities," states the May 18, 1995, issue of the Federal Register/Vol. 60, No. 96. Signage plans mean there are no local signs permitted. If there is a restaurant, orchard or any type of business that does not sit directly on the Byway, the only sign permitted to indicate the business even exists is a small uniform sign called Tourist Oriented Directional Signs (TOD signs) rented by the business from the state. Because of the "viewshed," a term which means "as far as the eye can see, and the adjacent area, "telecommunication towers cannot be erected where they can be seen -- depriving the landowner the $750 per month or so he might get from renting a small tract of land to a telecommunication company. A Corridor Management Plan is required in the beginning process of becoming a designated Scenic Byway. This plan can be submitted to the Department of Transportation by a group, an individual, or a government agency. After the Department of Transportation has made the designation, grants are made available to the local communities. This carrot dangling in front of county boards and municipalities causes them to forget to check the controls and the potential effect it has on the community. Illinois has five Scenic Byways, but in one particular Illinois management plan, over 100 stakeholders were introduced. These included almost every government agency along with Sierra Club, American Rivers, The Nature Conservancy, land trust groups, Ducks Unlimited, numerous partnerships who are now stakeholders of the viewshed on the private landowne's property. Property owners along the byway were omitted as being a stakeholder. Was this by accident? A local stakeholder's council is appointed. It is doubtful that any residents along the Byway will be chosen to sit on the council. In fact, they will probably not even know this council exists, and yet they are making decisions regarding the residents' property. If they do know about the council, they will be told the council has no power. That is correct. But what they are not told is there are stakeholders who represent government agencies that do have power. The grant money is very plentiful but is actually limited as to how it can be spent. It can be used for restrooms, kiosks, interpretive centers, pulloffs, management plans, signage plans and other tourist oriented provisions. In one 20-mile strip along an Illinois Scenic Byway, there are five very nice visitor centers. It should be questioned whether every four miles a visitor's center is needed. All of these centers are built using your tax dollar, and then we wonder why the government is broke. Between 1992-2003, Illinois has spent $6,476,877.00 for Scenic Byway money given to local governments as grants for tourist accommodations. The grants come from the transportation fund through [the Federal Highway Administration's] TEA 21 program. Basically the money is siphoned from dollars that would have otherwise been spent on road improvement. [These grant monies are your income tax dollars.] Copyright Illinois Leader Joyce Morrison lives in southern Illinois. She is a chapter leader for Concerned Women for America and she and her husband, Gary, represent the local Citizens for Private Property Rights. Joyce is Secretary to the Board of Directors of Rural Restoration/ADOPT Mission, a national farm ministry located in Sikeston. She has become a nationally recognized advocate for property rights. http://illinoisleader.com/columnists/columnistsview.asp?c=8298 |
