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San Joaquin County Community Environmental Setting, Impacts,and Mitigation Measures Development Department Aesthetics the surface area visible from a particular location(e.g., an overlook)or sequence of locations(e.g.,a roadway or trail) (FHWA 1983). To identify the importance of views of a resource,a viewshed must be broken into distance zones of foreground,middle ground,and background. Generally,the closer a resource is to the viewer,the more dominant it is and the greater its importance to the _ viewer. Although distance zones in a viewshed may vary between different geographic region or types of terrain,the standard foreground zone is 0.25- 0.5 mile from the viewer,the middle ground zone is from the foreground zone to 3-5 miles from the viewer, and the background zone is from the middle ground to infinity(USFS 1974). Visual sensitivity depends on the number and type of viewers and the frequency and duration of views. Visual sensitivity is also modified by viewer activity, awareness, and visual expectations in relation to the number of viewers and viewing duration. For example, visual sensitivity is generally higher for views r seen by people who are driving for pleasure,people engaging in recreational activities such as hiking,biking, or camping,and homeowners. Sensitivity tends to be lower for views seen by people driving to and from work or as part of their y work(USFS 1974; FHWA 1983;U.S. Soil Conservation Service 1978). Commuters and non-recreational travelers have generally fleeting views and tend to focus on commute traffic,not on surrounding scenery; therefore,they are generally considered to have low visual sensitivity. Residential viewers typically have extended viewing periods and are concerned about changes in the views from their homes;therefore, they are generally considered to have high visual sensitivity. Viewers using recreation trails and areas, scenic highways, and scenic overlooks are usually assessed as having high visual sensitivity. Judgments of visual quality and viewer response must be made based in a regional frame of reference(U.S. Soil Conservation Service 1978). The same landform or visual resource appearing in different geographic areas could have a different degree of visual quality and sensitivity in each setting. For example, a small hill may be a significant visual element on a flat landscape but have very little significance in mountainous terrain. Environmental Setting Physical Setting Visual Character of Region The Project is located in the Central Valley of California, approximately 10 miles south of Tracy, in unincorporated San Joaquin County (Figure 2-1). For purposes of the visual analysis,the project region,as discussed in this section,is considered the area within a 30-mile radius of the project location. The cities of Lodi, Stockton,Manteca, Modesto, and Turlock are also within the region. Most regional development occurs along transportation corridors, such as Interstate-5 (I-5)to the west and State Route(SR)99 to the east. The Sacramento—San DeSilva Gates Quarry Project Draft Environmental Impact Report 3.A-3 J85 05105.05