Pursuant to the authority of General Statutes
§ 7-149a, the Planning and Zoning Commission is hereby authorized
to designate any Town public highway or any portion of any Town public
highway as a scenic road in accordance with the procedures in this
article.
No road or portion of road shall be designated
as a scenic road unless it is free of intensive commercial development
and intensive vehicular traffic.
Prior to designating a road as a scenic road,
the Planning and Zoning Commission shall first specifically find that
at least three of the following criteria are met:
B. The highway is bordered by mature trees or stone walls.
C. The traveled portion of the highway is no more than
20 feet in width.
D. The highway offers scenic views.
E. The highway blends naturally into the surrounding
terrain.
F. The highway parallels or crosses over brooks, streams,
lakes or ponds.
No road may be designated as a scenic road by
the Planning and Zoning Commission unless the owners of the majority
of the lot frontage abutting the portion of the road proposed for
such designation agree to its designation as a scenic road by filing
a written statement of approval with the Commission on a form prescribed
by the Commission.
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider
a road for designation as a scenic road upon receipt of a request
for such designation or may itself initiate proceedings to designate
a road as a scenic road. No road shall be designated as a scenic road
upon an application therefor unless the application, on a form prescribed
by the Commission, contains the following:
A. The name of the road proposed to be designated as
a scenic road and a general description of the road or portion of
it to be designated, which includes the total frontage of the road
section proposed and the names and addresses of all abutters. The
above information shall be shown on a plan at a minimum scale of one
inch equals 200 feet, showing the limits of the proposed designated
section of the road.
B. A written description identifying those characteristics of the road which qualify it for scenic road status under §
313-5 of this article.
C. A statement or statements of approval on a form prescribed
by the Commission signed by the owners of a majority of the lot frontage
abutting the proposed scenic road consenting to its designation as
a scenic road. (Where the Planning and Zoning Commission itself initiates
the designation of a road or a portion thereof as a scenic road, it
may waive the requirement that the written statements of approval
precede its consideration of the proposed designation; provided, however,
that no designation of a scenic road shall be effective unless the
written statements of approval executed by the requisite number of
owners are filed with the Town Clerk and the Commission within such
time period as the Commission shall specify.)
The Planning and Zoning Commission may rescind
the designation of a road as a scenic road, provided that the owners
of a majority of the lot frontage abutting the scenic road have executed
a written statement of approval of rescission on a form prescribed
by the Commission. Upon rescission, the statements of approval shall
be filed with the Town Clerk.
The Town shall maintain its scenic roads in
good and sufficient repair and in a safe, passable condition, pursuant
to its regular schedule for maintenance of Town roads. Routine maintenance
of a scenic road shall be carried out so as to preserve its scenic
and rural characteristics, compatible with safe road operations. In
the case of natural disaster in which a scenic road becomes impassable
for usage or unsafe for public travel, emergency repairs may be made
only to the extent needed to restore the scenic road to its pre-emergency
condition.
As used herein, the term "alteration or improvement"
of a scenic road shall mean all repairs or improvements other than
routine road maintenance or repairs made necessary by a natural disaster,
and shall include any widening or straightening of the right of way,
any widening, straightening or change of grade of the traveled portion
of the scenic road, the paving of a scenic road having a gravel surface,
the removal of stone walls, the removal of mature trees, the regrading
of roadside slopes and all other similar improvements. As used herein,
the term "reconstruction" of a scenic road shall mean the complete
removal of the road surface or subsurface for the purposes of reconstructing
the scenic road in its entirety, including any extension of the width
of the scenic road. Any alteration, improvement or reconstruction
of a scenic road shall be approved by the Town Manager in accordance
with the following standards:
A. Curves. Curves shall not be eliminated unless they
are found to be a hazard.
B. Grades. Hills and valleys shall not be destroyed by
cuts and fills unless essential for road safety.
C. Widths. Scenic roads should only be widened if the
amount of traffic, safe road operations and maintenance needs require
such widening.
D. Side slopes. The existing steepness of side slopes
is preferable to the reduction of gradient by extensive removal of
soil and rock, especially where the slope is fully stabilized and
where it is rich with existing ground cover, shrubs and trees.
E. Vistas. Vistas of distinct landscapes should be preserved
by suitable vegetation management techniques.
F. Vegetation. Vegetation on the side of scenic roads
shall be managed in such a way as to preserve wildflowers, shrubs
of ornamental and wildlife values, trees overarching, isolated trees
and trees forming a canopy of a closed forest.
G. Stone walls. If stone walls or portions thereof must
be removed, they shall be rebuilt along the affected portion of the
scenic road wherever practical.
H. Utility lines. Wherever practical, utility lines should
be placed underground; where not practical, cooperation of the utilities
should be sought to ensure suitable vegetation management techniques
are in place to preserve wildflowers and shrubs.
I. Billboards and sand, gravel and salt piles. The placing
of billboards, sand, gravel or salt piles, refuse disposal or other
unsightly depositions or structures shall be forbidden.