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5.13 VISUAL RESOURCES The existing view from this location is characterized by elements of transport and transmission, along with the industrial structures associated with the STIG plant. Interstate 5 occupies the entire foreground in this view,and the most prominent features beyond the roadway include the STIG plant and the transmission towers that pass through the project area. Mature vegetation is visible throughout the middleground,and some trees obscure elements of the STIG plant as well as the WPCF in the eastern edge (right side) of the view. Further north of this KOP,the cluster of irrigated trees adjacent to the freeway and directly east of the WPCF increasingly block views of the industrial structures to the west. Applying the scale presented in Table 5.13-1,this view is rated as having a low level of visual quality. The vegetation visible in the middleground provides some vividness to the view,but it appears in most of the view as interwoven with—and subordinate to—the industrial and transmission facilities just beyond the trees.These more prominent industrial and energy-related structures contribute to a low level of visual intactness. The visually contrasting elements in the view result in a low level of visual unity. 5.13.1.5.5 KOP 5—View from North Thornton Road Figure 5.13-6 is the view from KOP 5,which is along North Thornton Road,approximately one mile north of the LEC site. This viewpoint was also added,per request from the CEC,to demonstrate existing visual conditions from a location close to a nearby residence. The KOP is at the end of the Lima Ranch driveway, a complex including a dairy farm and associated residences. The residences here are among the closest to the project site. The view from this location is similar to the view from southbound 1-5 (KOP 1),but typical viewers are more likely to include residents making local trips. North Thornton Road is a county road providing access to Highway 12 to the north,Eight Mile Road to the south, and to the homes and farms scattered throughout the land east of I-5. Because of the proximity to residences,there is a moderate level of viewer sensitivity from this KOP. The existing view from this location is characterized by the linear forms of North Thornton Road,l-5,and the two large transmission lines beyond the roadways. The existing STIG plant,including associated tanks and structures,is visible in the center of the view. However, direct views of the facility are intermittent from this location, due to the high volume of passing traffic,including large trucks which obscure the project site completely when they pass in front of the viewer. Applying the scale presented in Table 5.13-1,this view is rated as having a low level of visual quality. No elements within the view contribute any notable degree of vividness,and the primary source of intactness stems from the prominence of the linear roadways. The relationship between the roadways,which are sources of constant motion in the view, along with the edge of agricultural land in the foreground and industrial/transmission facilities in the view beyond 1-5,results in a low level of visual unity. 5.13.2 Environmental Analysis 5.13.2.1 Analysis Procedure This assessment of the proposed project's potential effects on visual resources was conducted by applying the systematic method for evaluating the potential aesthetic effects of proposed power plant projects that has been adopted by the staff of the CEC. This SAC/371322/082350001(LEC_5.13_VISUAL.DOC) 5.13-19