An overlay zoning district is one tool commonly used to protect scenic views and corridors. An overlay zoning district places additional or modified standards and/or review in a particular area changing some of the requirements of the base zoning district. Overlay zoning can be used to regulate use, density, site design, grading, ridgeline development, vegetation, building design, etc.

Before enacting regulations, communities need to have identified and characterized their scenic resources (see Visual Analysis section).

A district could be established as a corridor along particular road segments . If specific focal points of high scenic value have been identified, an analysis can be used to determine the viewsheds for those resources. The lands within the viewshed could then become the boundaries of a scenic overlay district.

Scenic overlay districts commonly include provisions related to:

Explore the resources below for guidance on using overlay districts to protect scenic resources, sample language, and links to scenic overlay standards and associated regulations from Vermont municipalities.

Vermont Forum on Sprawl

(www.vtsprawl.org)

• The View from the Road: Patterns Principles & Guidelines for Roadscape Design - This short manual provides tips and techniques that landowners and local officials can use to preserve the scenic qualities of their road corridor landscapes. (4.1 mb)

• The Roadscape Guide: Tools to Preserve Scenic Road Corridors - This illustrated guide explains how to (1) define a study area, (2) conduct a visual analysis, and (3) understand the landscape and learn its history. It also explains conservation basics, explains regulatory tools from planning and zoning, with site plan and design elements and other regulatory tools, and suggests tools to preserve scenic resources.