1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Produced by the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, September 2007. Funded in part by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Financial assistance for this project was provided by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pursuant to grant #96003-006.13 and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, part of the Wisconsin Department Of Administration, and overseen by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Council, was established in 1978 to preserve, protect and manage the resources of the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior coastline for this and future generations. Funded by the Wisconsin Department of administration Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Author: Jason K. Laumann Special thanks go to Dr. Lowell Klessig (Ret.), Mike Kroenke, Gene Clark, UW-Sea Grant, Duane Lahti, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Doug Miskowiak at the UWSP Center for Land Use Education for their review and comments. Thanks also to Steve Rannenberg (Douglas County Zoning) and Karl Kastrosky (Bayfield County Zoning) for their assistance in identifying subdivision visualization sites, and to ABDI for their assistance in identifying native plant species. Credit also goes to the UWSP Center for Land Use Education for development of the subdivision visualization models. i Table of Contents Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................1 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PROTECT SCENIC BEAUTY? .............................................................................................................1 BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER,RIGHT? .................................................................................................................2 VISUAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY ...........................................................................................................3 Characterizing Coastal Scenic beauty ..............................................................................................................................5 THE COASTAL SETTING ........................................................................................................................................................6 VIVIDNESS,INTACTNESS &UNITY ..........................................................................................................................................9 LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS ......................................................................................................................................................11 Landforms ....................................................................................................................................................................11 Shoreline characteristics ..............................................................................................................................................11 Red Clay Bluffs.........................................................................................................................................................12 Sandstone Bluffs ......................................................................................................................................................12 Sea Caves................................................................................................................................................................12 Sand Beaches ..........................................................................................................................................................13 Sloughs ....................................................................................................................................................................13 Vegetation....................................................................................................................................................................13 Coastal Land Use and Development............................................................................................................................13 Historic/Cultural............................................................................................................................................................14 Architectural .................................................................................................................................................................15 DESIGN ELEMENTS.............................................................................................................................................................16 Form.............................................................................................................................................................................17 Line ..............................................................................................................................................................................17 Color ............................................................................................................................................................................17 Texture.........................................................................................................................................................................17 COASTAL VIEWSHEDS.........................................................................................................................................................18 LANDSCAPE VISIBILITY........................................................................................................................................................20 VISUAL ABSORPTION CAPABILITY ........................................................................................................................................23 ii Visual Resources of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior South Shore .....................................................................................28 THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................................................29 SCENIC SHORELINES..........................................................................................................................................................31 SCENIC HIGHWAY CORRIDORS &ROADSIDE VISTAS .............................................................................................................35 Primary Travel Corridors ..........................................................................................................................................35 THE ROADWAY VIEWSHED ..................................................................................................................................................39 SOUTH SHORE ROADWAY VIEWSHEDS.................................................................................................................................41 Iron County to Bayfield County.....................................................................................................................................41 State Highway 13 Corridor on the Bayfield Peninsula..................................................................................................42 Douglas County Line to the City of Superior ................................................................................................................42 PUBLIC ACCESS POINTS AND SCENIC VIEW POINTS ..............................................................................................................43 PUBLIC LANDS ...................................................................................................................................................................47 Tools to Protect Scenic Beauty.......................................................................................................................................50 Coastal Siting and Design Guidelines.............................................................................................................................51 CHOOSING A BUILDING SITE................................................................................................................................................52 TOPOGRAPHY AND VEGETATION..........................................................................................................................................53 ANALYZE POTENTIAL VISIBILITY...........................................................................................................................................54 CREATE A SITE PLAN..........................................................................................................................................................55 DESIGN GUIDELINES...........................................................................................................................................................56 Form & Scale ...............................................................................................................................................................56 LINE..................................................................................................................................................................................59