[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Little
Valley 4-14-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish road classifications,
including the classification of minimum maintenance road, in the Town
of Little Valley, which is a rural Town having a population density
which does not exceed 150 persons per square mile. By establishing
such road classifications, the Town Board of the Town of Little Valley
intends to implement in the Town of Little Valley the Local Roads
Classification Task Force Report issued on December 30, 1992, by the
New York State Local Roads Research and Coordination Council.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A road which provides access to farm land on which traffic
volumes are low and vary seasonally. Such roads should be wide enough
to accommodate farm equipment.
A road which provides access to a farm's center of operation,
including the residence. Traffic volume is generally low on such roads,
but may include occasional heavy trucks and farm equipment.
A road which collects traffic from any of the other classifications
and channels it to higher level roads, such as arterials and interstates.
A road having an average traffic volume of less than 400
vehicles per day and includes the classifications "low volume collector,"
"residential access," "farm access," "resource/industrial access,"
"agricultural land access," "recreational land access" and "minimum
maintenance road."
A low-volume road or road segment which has an average traffic
volume of less than 50 vehicles per day and which principally or exclusively
provides agricultural or recreational land access and shall not include
farm access roads or roads which provide access to one or more year-round
residences.
A road which provides access to recreational land, including
seasonal dwellings and parks. Traffic volumes may vary with the type
of recreation facility and season of the year and may include recreational
vehicles.
A road which provides access to one or more residences. Year-round
access for fire trucks, ambulances and school buses should be provided.
A road which provides access to industrial and mining operations.
Traffic volume varies and can include heavy trucks and significant
numbers of employees' automobiles.
The Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Little Valley,
Cattaraugus County, New York.
The Town Board of the Town of Little Valley, Cattaraugus
County, New York.
The Town Superintendent of Highways, in the event he finds it
to be in the best interests of the Town, may designate Town roads
in the Town of Little Valley, or portions thereof, in one of the following
classifications: low-volume collector; residential access; farm access;
resource/industrial access; agricultural land access; or recreational
land access. Within 10 days after any such designation is made by
the Town Highway Superintendent, he shall file a copy thereof in the
office of the Town Clerk, who shall present a copy thereof to each
member of the Town Board within 10 days after such filing. Any such
designation shall be accompanied by a written statement signed by
the Highway Superintendent which shall set forth the information upon
which such designated was based and establishing that such classification
is consistent with the requirements of this chapter. The Town Board
may, after the filing of any such designation, adopt a resolution
accepting the same and such designation shall become effective on
the date on which such resolution is adopted.
A.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 101-3 of this chapter, the Town Superintendent of Highways may at any time submit to the Town Board a recommendation that a Town road or a portion thereof be designated as a minimum maintenance road. No such recommendation shall be made unless the Highway Superintendent has determined that the traffic volume on such road or portion thereof is less than 50 vehicles per day, that such road or portion thereof is an agricultural land access road or a recreational land access road, and that such road or portion thereof does not provide farm centers of operation and/or year-round residences with principal motor vehicle access to goods and services necessary for the effective support of such farms and/or year-round residences. For the purpose of this chapter, no residence shall be considered year-round until and unless at least two of the following have been completed: foundation completed; well or other water source approved by the Cattaraugus County Health Department; septic system installed and approved by the Cattaraugus County Health Department; electric service installed and approved.
B.
At any time after such recommendation is received by the Town Board,
the Town Board may enact a local law designating such road or portion
thereof as a minimum maintenance road. Such local law shall be adopted
in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Home Rule Law,
except that written notice of the public hearing required to be held
prior to the adoption of such local law shall be served by certified
mail upon every owner of real property abutting such road or portion
thereof proposed to be designated as a minimum maintenance road, as
determined by the latest completed assessment roll. No such local
law shall be subject to referendum.
C.
No such local law shall be effective until signs are posted advising
the public that such road is a minimum maintenance road, pursuant
to the requirements of this chapter.
D.
No road or portion thereof, once designated as a minimum maintenance
road, shall be deemed to have been abandoned pursuant to the provisions
of § 205(1) of the Highway Law until at least six years
have elapsed since the termination of such designation.
E.
Prior to any public hearing relating to the adoption of a local law
designating a low-volume rural road or portion thereof as a minimum
maintenance road, the Town Board shall issue findings that such road
or portion thereof should be designated a minimum maintenance road.
(1)
Such findings shall include but not be limited to:
(a)
The volume and type of motor vehicle traffic on such road;
(b)
A determination that the property owners of land abutting the
road shall continue to have reasonable access to their property;
(c)
A determination that the users of the road or portion thereof
traveling at a reasonable and prudent speed, under the circumstances,
shall not be placed in a hazardous situation;
(d)
A determination that such road, or portion thereof, does not constitute a farm access road as defined by § 101-2 of this chapter; and
(e)
A determination that such road, or a portion thereof, does not
constitute access to a year-round residence.
(2)
Such findings shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, who
shall give notice of their availability for public inspection, at
least 60 days before the required public hearing on the local law.
The Town Clerk shall give notice by certified mail to the owners of
all land abutting the road or portion thereof proposed to be so designated
that the aforementioned findings are available for inspection.
Within five days after the findings required by the preceding
section of this chapter are filed in the office of the Town Clerk,
the Town Clerk shall forward copies of such findings by certified
mail to the Board of Education of every school district in which such
road or road segment is located and to the Town and County Planning
Boards. Within 45 days following their receipt of such findings, each
such Board shall file with the Town Clerk a written statement either
recommending such road designation or not recommending it. In the
event that the designation is not recommended, the Board shall set
forth its reasons therefor. The Town Board may, by resolution, accept,
accept in part, or reject the recommendations of any such Board and
shall do so prior to the enactment of a local law pursuant to the
preceding section. In the event that a Board of Education or a Planning
Board shall fail to take action upon the findings, the Town Board
shall consider such inaction as a recommendation that the road or
portion thereof be designated as a minimum maintenance road.
The Town Highway Superintendent shall place signs in conformance
with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the New York
State Department of Transportation's Traffic Sign Handbook for
Low Volume Roads on all minimum maintenance roads. Properly posted
signs shall constitute prima facie evidence of adequate notice to
the public of the designation of a road as a minimum maintenance road.
The Town Highway Superintendent shall maintain minimum maintenance
roads in such manner as he determines from time to time to be consistent
with the volume and type of traffic traveling thereon. Normal road
maintenance practices such as, but not limited to, paving, patching,
blading, dragging and mowing may be undertaken less frequently than
for normal maintenance roads, depending upon the existing condition
and use of the limited maintenance road involved, as shall be determined
by the Highway Superintendent.
A.
Any person
or persons owning or occupying real property abutting a road or portion
thereof which has been designated a minimum maintenance road may petition
the Town Board to discontinue such designation. Such petition shall
be filed with the Town Clerk and shall identify the road or portion
thereof to be discontinued as a minimum maintenance road and set forth
the reasons for such proposed discontinuance. The Town Board shall
hold a public hearing upon such petition within 30 days after its
receipt; at least 10 days' public notice shall be given prior to the
conduct of such hearing. At least 10 days before the public hearing
on such petition, written notice of such public hearing shall be served
by certified mail upon every owner of real property abutting such
road or portion thereof, as determined by the latest assessment roll.
In the event the Town Board after such public hearing determines that
such road or portion thereof shall continue as a minimum maintenance
road, no petition may be submitted pursuant to this subsection until
the lapse of at least two years from the date of the filing of the
petition. In the event it is determined that such road shall be discontinued
as a minimum maintenance road, the Town Board, by local law, shall
discontinue such road or portion thereof as a minimum maintenance
road and such discontinuance shall become effective six months after
the commencement of the next succeeding fiscal year.
