visual landscape planning in western australia a … · visual landscape planning in western...

November 2007

Environment and Sustainability DirectorateDepartment for Planning and Infrastructure

Visual LandscapePlanning in Western Australiaa manual for evaluation,assessment, siting and design

ii Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

© State of Western Australia

Published by theWestern Australian Planning CommissionAlbert Facey House469 Wellington StreetPerth WA 6000

Published November 2007

ISBN 0 7309 9637 9

website: www.wapc.wa.gov.auemail: [email protected]

tel: 08 9264 7777fax: 08 9264 7566TTY: 08 9264 7535infoline: 1800 626 477

Western Australian Planning Commission owns allphotography in this document unless otherwise stated.

This document is available in alternative formats onapplication to WAPC Communication Services.

Disclaimer

This document has been published by theWestern Australian Planning Commission. Anyrepresentation, statement, opinion or adviceexpressed or implied in this publication is madein good faith and on the basis that thegovernment, its employees and agents are notliable for any damage or loss whatsoever whichmay occur as a result of action taken or nottaken, as the case may be in respect of anyrepresentation, statement, opinion or advicereferred to herein. Professional advice should beobtained before applying the informationcontained in this document to particularcircumstances.

iiiVisual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

Preface

This manual was produced by staff of theDepartment for Planning and Infrastructure withthe support of an interagency working groupcomprising officers from the Department ofEnvironment and Conservation, Main Roads WAand other agencies that deal with landscape.

The protection of landscape values is nowexpected by communities. Proposals which passother tests, such as economic development andenvironmental management, are no longeraccepted if they mar the view or impair highlyvalued landscapes. Yet there is no formalplanning policy at a state or local level on visualimpact and little in the way of guidance in settingobjectives and undertaking assessments ofimpacts on the visual landscape.

This manual is intended to be a valuable initialresource for developers and planners in filling thegap.

The Western Australian Planning Commissionsupports visual landscape planning in WesternAustralia, so that the practice of visual landscapeplanning can evolve and mature. We do not wantto see another layer of planning added to analready complex system. Instead, visuallandscape planning must become simply aroutine consideration amongst the manyconsiderations that planning authorities andplanners take into account when making plansand assessing proposals.

It is essential that planning authorities whichrespond to this new expectation do so in asystematic way. They must identify valuedlandscapes and specify the qualities of thelandscapes that they wish to heal, restore,reinforce and protect. They must translate thesepolicies into rules and criteria. They must beexplicit about what they want in the landscape,and then express this succinctly in their localplanning strategy.

The WAPC has requested the Department forPlanning and Infrastructure to apply thisapproach in plan making and developmentassessment, so that, through case-by-caseapplication and testing, skills and experience inthis area will improve over time.

I commend this manual to all planners and localgovernments, and encourage you to contribute toits further development.

Jeremy Dawkins

ChairmanWestern AustralianPlanning Commission

iv Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

vVisual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

Contents

Bibliography 155

Appendices 160

Appendix 1: Table 1 and Table 5 160

Appendix 2: Existing planningmechanisms 162

Appendix 3: Relevant policy measures 165

Appendix 4: Implementationand planning applications 166

Appendix 5: Glossary 171

Appendix 6: Status of visual landscapeplanning in Western Australia- state and local government 173

Appendix 7: Visual landscape characterpreference indicators 175

Appendix 8: Methods case study 178

Appendix 9: Strategies for location, sitingand design to achieve eachspecific visual managmentobjective 181

Appendix 10: Deciding on location, sitingand detailed design 184

Acknowledgments 185

Feedback Form 187

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: The relationship betweenvisual landscape evaluationand visual impact assessment 14

Figure 2.2: Visual landscape evaluationmethod with mapping outputs 16

Figure 2.3: Natural landcape character 20

Figure 2.4: Rural landscape character 21

Figure 2.5: Built landscape character 22

PART ONE - Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 The planning context 3

1.3 Visual landscape in the planningsystem 5

1.4 Scope of the manual 5

PART TWO - Visual LandscapePlanning Methods 7

Background 9

2.1 Introduction 13

2.2 Visual landscape evaluation 16

2.3 Visual impact assessment 44

2.4 Tools and techniques forvisual landscape planning 53

PART THREE - Guidelinesfor Location, Siting and Design 63

3.1 Introduction 65

3.2 Valued landscapes under pressure 71

3.3 Guidelines for particular land uses 87

vi Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

Figure 2.6: Excerpt from landscapecharacter units map illustratingdivision of the landscape intooverlapping categoriescomprising both physiographicunits and categories tha tarebased on land use 24

Figure 2.7: An example of regionallandscape character unitsmapped at a state level 25

Figure 2.8: For visual landscape evaluationat local level, landscapecharacter units are divided intosmaller units 26

Figure 2.9: Hypothetical illustration oflandscape character unitsmapped at a site level 27

Figure 2.10: Excerpt from generalviewing experience map 31

Figure 2.11: Hypothetical illustration ofdistance zones (not to scale) 33

Figure 2.12: Community identificationof major views, preferredfeatures and least preferredfeatures (excerpt) 35

Figure 2.13: Excerpt from communityperceptions map, illustratingmost preferred and leastpreferred areas identified bythe community advisory group 36

Figure 2.14: Example of a site level visuallandscape strategy map, withrecommendations groupedaccording to relative prominenceof portions of the site 42

Figure 2.15: Landscape managementstrategies map (excerpt)illustrating howrecommendations may bepresented as annotations ona map 43

Figure 2.16: This figure from the Kwinanawaste site proposal illustrateshow a landform analysiscould be mapped 46

Figure 2.17: Simulated view of theproposed Kwinana waste siteprovides an indication of howthe proposed developmentwould look from this importantview location on Patterson Road 47

Figure 2.18: Simulated view of proposedwaste site at Kwinana,showing stages over time 49

Figure 2.19: Planting that would beestablished to screen theproposed waste site at Kwinana 50

Figure 2.20: Cross-sections to determinevisibility objective for PortCoogee proposed developmentby using screening to reducevisibility 51

Figure 2.21: Air photo overlaid withannotations indicating locationsfrom which ground levelphotographs were taken withangle brackets showing directionand width of views 54

Figure 2.22: Photo simulations to illustratealternative developmentproposals, allowing comparisonas in this proposed plant on theBurrup Penisular 56

Figure 2.23: Oblique aerial photographyto illustrate position of majorridge crest through developmentsite 57

Figure 2.24: Hypothetical viewshed froma road comprising combinedviewsheds from viewpoints atregular intervals along the road 57

Figure 2.25: Hypothetical viewshed froma single viewpoint 59

Figure 2.26: Seen area analysis – air photooverlaid with area seen fromkey viewing locations illustratingthe relative prominence ofvarious portions of the site 60

Figure 3.1: Hypothetical hillside profile,illustrating locations in whichdevelopment would be visibleon the skyline from severalobserver positions 107

Figure 3.2: Clustering of rural residentialdevelopment enablesdevelopment to beconcentrated in less visuallysensitive portions of a site,while the remainder maintainsits existing character or maybe revegetated 109

Figure 3.3: Hypothetical examples of thebasic elements in a strategicplanting plan for a ruralresidential development 115

Figure 3.4: Pattern of the plantation areas 119

Figure 3.5: Plantation shape and edges 119

Figure 3.6: Remnant vegetation 120

Figure 3.7: Complementing locallandscape character 120

Figure 3.8: Maintaining keyviews from travel routes 120

Figure 3.9: Visual contrasts 121

viiVisual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

Figure 3.10: Configurationof side boundaries 122

Figure 3.11: Plantations in moreintensive agricultural areas 122

Figure 3.12: Plantation siting inrelation to topography 123

Figure 3.13: Plantation accessroads and fire breaks 123

Figure 3.14: Visual access 123

Figure 3.15: Roadside shelterbelts 124

Figure 3.16: Roadside buffer strips 124

Figure 3.17: Ridge-top plantations 125

Figure 3.18: Thinning regimes 125

Figure 3.19: Harvest areas should be ofminimal size in relation to theoverall plantation 126

Figure 3.20: Dispersion of harvest areas 126

Figure 3.21: Sequence of harvesting 127

Figure 3.22: Sequence establishmentand harvesting 127

Figure 3.23: Avoid siting telecommunicationtowers on the shoulders of thehigh points 137

Figure 3.24: Short and long distance views 138

Figure 3.25: Avoid locating towers directlyin the focus of the view 138

Figure 3.26: Keep towers awayfrom direct focal areas 138

Figure 3.27: Use existing vegetation toscreen towers from focal views 138

Figure 3.28: Use local topography to reducethe overall height of towers 138

Figure 3.29: Locate towers close to existingfeatures of a similar scale 138

Figure 3.30: Avoid clutter that is notstreamlined with the tower 139

Figure 3.31: Combine several towers into one,to reduce visual clutter 139

Figure 3.32: Reduce the visible bulkof the tower 139

Figure 3.33: Towers should be placed belowthe crest of a hill or horizon linethat reduces the impacts againstthe skyline 142

Figure 3.34: Many designs for transmissionline towers are available 142

Figure 3.35: Screening access roads 147

Appendix 3Figure 1: The Shire of Busselton

Caves Road policy 168

List of Tables

Table 1: Types of plans that are relevant toeach scale of application andassessment detail required at eachlevel of application 160

Table 2: Examples of terminology for describingvisual aspects of landscape character 19

Table 3: Examples of elements (natural, rural,built) that may be described at eachscale of application: regional, localand site 23

Table 4: Examples of mapping landscapecharacter units at the three scales ofapplication 24

Table 5: Levels of significance relating toviewing locations and viewerexperience 161

Table 6: Examples of viewing experiencesat each scale of application 29

Table 7: Examples of landscape features thatmay exist in landscapes that arehighly valued by the community fortheir visual character 34

Table 8: Examples of landscape issuesat each scale of application 37

Table 9: Examples of visual impactassessments undertaken at eachplanning level 45

Table 10: An example of a field surveyrecord sheet 55

viii Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

PART ONE - Introduction1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 The planning context 3

1.3 Visual landscape in the

planning system 5

1.4 Scope of the manual 5

1Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design

2 Visual Landscape Planning in Western Australia a manual for evaluation, assessment, siting and design


PART ONE

1.2 The planning context

The planning system provides the context for themethodology set out in the manual. In this context,landscape is one of many considerations whichmust be taken into account in planning for thesustainable use and development of land.Landscapes are important but not to the exclusionof other factors in planning decision-making. Theaim should be to accommodate change whilemaintaining and, where possible, enhancing thequality of our landscapes.

To achieve this aim, the visual landscape needs tobe considered at all levels of the WA planningsystem.

The State planning framework sets out thegeneral principles for planning and developmentand brings existing state and regional policies,strategies and guidelines into a central andcomprehensive framework. It provides a contextfor spatial planning and decision making by theWAPC, local governments and other responsibleauthorities. In particular, it informs responsibleauthorities of those aspects of state and regionalpolicy which are to be given effect across allaspects of planning.

The State Planning Strategy states that one of thecriteria for plans is to “ensure that significantlandscapes are identified and protected” and“that development proposals incorporatemeasures to retain or enhance landscapeelements and vegetation”.

State Planning Policy No 2: Environment andNatural Resource Policy elaborates on theimportance of protecting and enhancinglandscapes by stating that planning strategies,schemes and decision making should:

- identify and protect landscapes with highnatural resource values (such as ecological,aesthetic or geological) and encourage therestoration of degraded landscapes;

1.1 Introduction

This manual provides advice to state agencies,local governments, developers and thecommunity on techniques for incorporating visuallandscape planning into the planning system.

The landscape character of Western Australiavaries greatly and it is important that this diversityis enhanced in planning policy and statutorydecision making. Landscapes are a fundamentalpart of our history and cultural heritage. Thelandscapes of the state are valuable for theirintrinsic qualities, for the quality of life andenjoyment of people, and for the economicbenefits they bring.

Visual landscape planning helps us to understandand articulate the character of the landscape andidentify those features that contribute to scenicquality and sense of place.

This manual is not an academic text, statutoryprocedure or prescriptive policy for visuallandscape planning and management for WesternAustralia. It deals primarily with the visual aspectof landscape, while recognising the importance ofthe more holistic social, cultural, environmental,economic and aesthetic factors as well. These areimportant factors but are beyond the scope of thisdocument.

The manual has been developed by theDepartment for Planning and Infrastructure withthe assistance of a working group including theDepartment of Environment and Conservation(DEC)1 and Main Roads WA.

Visual landscape evaluation and visual impactassessment are evolving practices which arecontinuing to develop to take into account newand emerging issues and techniques. Thismanual should, therefore, be regarded as a ‘workin progress’. It has been produced as a first stepin visual landscape planning and will be used asa guide so that the practices of visual landscapeevaluation and visual impact assessment cancontinue to evolve and mature over time.

1 The Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM)merged with the Department of Environment (DoE) forming thenew Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) on 1July 2006.

PART ONE

Local planning schemes provide the statutorymechanisms to implement local planningstrategies through zonings, reservations andplanning controls. Some schemes haveintroduced landscape zonings to protect andenhance local landscapes by controlling land useand development which could adversely impacton the landscape and ensure new developmentcomplements and enhances the landscape. TheWAPC favours the use of special control areas toidentify significant landscapes in local schemesand apply planning controls to conserve andenhance the character of these landscapes.Performance based policies, following a rigorousassessment of the landscape concerned, canalso be used.

Development assessment is generally requiredfor developing land or buildings, or changing theiruse. Planning approval is usually obtained fromthe local government but, in some cases,approval may be required from the WAPC. TheWAPC is also responsible for subdivisionapproval. The careful assessment anddetermination of planning and subdivisionapplications is important in ensuring state,regional and local objectives for the landscapeare met and plans and policies put into place.

- consider the capacity of landscapes toabsorb development and the need forcareful planning, siting and design of newdevelopment in a way which is sensitive tothe character of the landscape;

- consider the need for a landscape or visualimpact assessment for developmentproposals that may impact upon sensitivelandscapes.

Regional strategies provide the broad frameworkfor planning at the regional level and the strategiccontext for local planning schemes and regionschemes. Regional strategies should identifylandscapes of regional significance which can beused to underpin planning controls in region andlocal schemes.

Region schemes provide the statutorymechanism to implement regional strategies, co-ordinate the provision of major infrastructure andset aside areas for region open space and othercommunity purposes. The reservation of land forregion open space is fundamental to protectingsignificant regional landscapes and acquiringland for public use and enjoyment.

Local planning strategies set out the generalaims and planning directions of localgovernments to be applied in promoting andcontrolling growth and change in their areas. Thelocal planning strategy interprets state andregional policies at the local level and providesthe rationale for the zones, reservations andplanning controls in the local scheme. Localplanning strategies will identify regional and locallandscapes and help set the objectives andpolicies for the protection and enhancement ofthese landscapes.

Local planning strategies are intended to beworking documents which will be regularlyreviewed and kept up to date. Local goverments,particularly those with areas of significantlandscape value, are encouraged to review andincorporate appropriate landscape policies intheir strategy.


PART ONE

1.3 Visual landscape in theplanning system

Planning systems are best understood ascomprising a plan-making stage and adevelopment assessment stage. The regionaland local strategies and schemes, described inthe previous section, result from plan making.They establish the priorities, criteria and ruleswhich should guide development. Developmentassessment is then the process by whichproposed development is assessed against thesestandards.

This manual adopts the terminology commonlyused by practitioners of visual landscapeplanning in Australia and elsewhere.

Plan making

In preparing planning strategies and schemes,visual landscape evaluation is the tool which isused to understand what gives landscapes theirparticular character and to help frame policiesand rules which protect and enhance thatcharacter.

Development assessment

In development assessment, visual impactassessment is the tool used to assess the impactof development on the landscape to ensure thatdevelopment is sympathetic to the landscapecharacter and complies with adopted policies andrules.

1.4 Scope of the manual

This manual contains 3 parts.

Part 1 – introduction: introduces the manual andsets it within the framework of the planningsystem.

Part 2 – visual landscape planning methods:explains the techniques of visual landscapeevaluation and visual impact assessment in detail.

Part 3 – guidelines for location, siting anddesign: considers land uses and developmentsthat may give rise to potential impacts on differentlandscapes and measures to address theseimpacts.


PART ONE

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