Opinion ID: 2010717
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Existing Scenic and Aesthetic Uses

Text: [¶ 18] Section 480-D(1) employs existing, scenic, and aesthetic to describe uses. A use is the application or employment of something for some purpose. The American Heritage Dictionary 1331 (2d College ed. 1982). Uses involve human activity. A scenic or aesthetic use of a protected natural resource is therefore a human activity arising from the unique scenic or aesthetic qualities of the resource. [¶ 19] Section 480-D(1) also requires that scenic and aesthetic uses be existing in order to be protected. The definition of exist is [t]o have ... actuality. Id. at 475. The term existing establishes that the scenic and aesthetic uses of a protected natural resource do not include theoretical uses; rather, the term existing limits scenic and aesthetic uses to those activities that are extant at the time a permit application is submitted. [¶ 20] Scenic, as it relates to the natural environment, describes the features of a landscape. See id. at 1097. Aesthetic, as it relates to the natural environment, describes objects or areas of visual beauty within that environment. See id. at 83. As used in section 480-D(1), scenic and aesthetic qualify uses. Consequently, section 480-D(1) does not require applicants to identify everything that may be scenic or aesthetic within a particular resource, but rather directs applicants to identify the scenic or aesthetic uses within the resource that are protected by section 480-D(1). Ultimately, it is the existing uses within a resource that are protected by section 480-D(1) from unreasonable interference, and not everything within the resource that may be considered scenic or aesthetic.