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III. Environmental Setting, Impacts,and Mitigations <br /> B. Aesthetics <br /> (Appendix I,11.18)of the CEQA Guidelines contains five criteria for identifying aesthetic <br /> impacts:obstruction of a scenic vista or view open to the public; creation of an aesthetically <br /> offensive site open to public view;degradation of an object having historic or aesthetic <br /> significance; division or disruption of the physical arrangement of an established community; <br /> and conflict with adopted environmental plans and goals of the community where a project <br /> would be located. <br /> Changes in Visual Character That Would Result from the Project <br /> Site Location and Spatial Organization <br /> The proposed expansion of landfill facilities would add another 218.5 acres to the site, 85.6 acres <br /> of which would be contiguous fill on the southeast side, 6.5 acres for a floodplain area between <br /> the creek and Austin Road, and 126.4 acres northwest of the existing site primarily for future soil <br /> "borrow." <br /> Landform <br /> The proposed project would expand a development that already exhibits a high degree of visual <br /> contrast with the surrounding agricultural community and landscape in terms of form,texture, <br /> color and scale. It would increase the maximum height of fill from 90 MSL to 150 MSL in a <br /> generally flat region that averages about 30 MSL. The height of the landfill above surrounding <br /> topography would double from 60 feet to 120 feet: The total lateral expansion would more than <br /> double.the project area from 187 acres to 405.5 acres,almost 70 percent of which would be <br /> slated for active fill. Most of the grassland north of the landfill access road would be excavated <br /> to a depth of approximately 35 feet for borrow. Upon project completion and closure,the fill <br /> would appear as an elongated,rectilinear plateau with up to 25 percent slopes along the sides (see <br /> Figure III.B.8 and Figure III.B.9 for a comparison of existing and future views). <br /> Surface Waters <br /> The proposed expansion of the landfill facility would involve fiWng most of <br /> the existing creek <br /> bed within the site and diverting the flow of the creek westerly along the access road and then <br /> southerly along the project's western boundary in a new channel lined with a geosynthetic <br /> material. This would increase the overall length of the creek by three percent and eliminate the- <br /> natural curvature of the original course. <br /> III.B.13 <br />