Tatsumi and Partners, Inc. (TAP) has extensive experience in both reviewing and developing Visual Impact Assessment documents. 

TAP was the visual resource management components of an environmental team tasked by the California Energy Commission to verify statewide visual impacts of proposed power generation facilities. For a 91.4 megawatt electrical generation facility located in Kings County, TAP was assigned to review the visual impact assessment provided by the facility owner. The overall mission was to achieve maximum visual continuity between the proposed facility and surrounding region. TAP conducted extensive on-site visits to assess the visual context of the proposed project and the plant facility's environment submittal was reviewed for completeness and accuracy. The review yielded discrepancies and T&P made recommendations to further mitigate the visual impacts of the proposed facility. TAP's recommendations were incorporated in the final document.  

In collaboration with a team of engineers, biologists, geologists, and environmental planners, TAP developed the approved Scenic Resource Evaluation/Visual Impact Assessment (SRE/VIA) for SR-91 Eastbound Lane Addition between SR-241 and SR-71. As required by Caltrans, the process used for this VIA followed FHWA guidelines and complied with NEPA requirements.   

Six steps were performed to assess the SR-91 lane addition's visual impacts and mitigate any adverse visual impacts resulting from the project's construction. The steps adhered to the following: 1. Define the project setting and viewshed; 2. Identify key views for visual assessment; 3. Analyze existing visual resources and viewer response; 4. Depict the visual appearance of project alternatives; 5. Assess the visual impacts of project alternatives; and, 6. Propose methods to mitigate adverse visual impacts.  

The resulting seventy-five page SR-91 SRE/VIA document contained the project description, visual environment research and findings, identification and analysis of five key views, photos of existing conditions at key views, and post-construction photo-simulations of mitigated key views. 

The Metro Orange Line is a $154 million design-build 13-mile landscaped bus rapid transitway which Tatsumi and Partners had the pleasure of being awarded the lead landscape architectural consultants for the project team. When completed, the Metro Orange Line will run 13 busway stations spaced approximately one mile apart from the North Hollywood Metro Red Line Station to the Warner Center in the West Valley. As part of the project, bike and pedestrian paths have been designed along the route to give residents more transportation options as well as a jogging/bicycling recreation area when using the transitway. Project planners also factored in a transitway beautification plan which includes a landscaped area of 80 acres on the exclusive transitway consisting of a planting of 7,000 trees and 900,000 drought-tolerant shrubs. Park-and-Ride lots will also be built at five stations, providing 3,300 new parking spaces. The Metro Orange Line has gone into operation in the Fall of 2005.