[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Winchester 12-5-2005 (§ 184 of the prior compilation). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The objective of this chapter is to preserve certain roads or portions of roads within the Town of Winchester that are scenic and/or have historic significance. This preservation effort shall balance the need to provide safe and convenient public transportation routes with the need to preserve scenic and historic areas within the Town of Winchester.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is hereby authorized, in accordance with C.G.S. § 7-149a, to designate any Town public highway, right-of-way or portion thereof as a scenic road. Such designation approval or denial shall then be submitted to the Town of Winchester Board of Selectmen for final action.
A. 
No road or portion thereof shall be designated "scenic" unless it is free of commercial development and intensive vehicular traffic and is at least 2,500 feet in length.
B. 
To be designated "scenic," a road or portion thereof shall meet at least one of the following criteria:
(1) 
Unpaved.
(2) 
Bordered by mature trees or stone walls.
(3) 
Width of traveled portion shall not exceed 20 feet.
(4) 
Offer scenic views.
(5) 
Blends naturally into surrounding terrain.
(6) 
Parallels or crosses brook(s), stream(s), lake(s) or pond(s).
C. 
The Planning and Zoning Commission may also give consideration to the following:
(1) 
Buildings, structures or places of historical significance.
(2) 
Recreational uses.
(3) 
Proximity to agricultural, open space or forestlands.
(4) 
Notable geologic or other natural features.
D. 
Scenic designation affects only that area within the public right-of-way of a public highway or portion thereof.
A. 
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider a road or portion thereof for designation as scenic upon receipt of an application provided by the Planning and Community Development Department of the Town of Winchester. The Planning and Zoning Commission may itself submit such an application in the prescribed format upon approval of a majority of its voting members.
B. 
Scenic designation applications shall include signed/notarized statements of approval from a majority of lot frontage owners on the road or portion of road under designation consideration.
C. 
Before designating a road or portion thereof as scenic, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall hold a public hearing in accordance with all applicable statutes, bylaws and regulations. Such public hearing shall commence within 65 days after receipt of a properly prepared application. Said public hearing shall be completed within 30 days after such hearing commences. The applicant and the Commission may consent to one or more extensions, provided that the total extension shall not be longer than the original period as specified in this section. The day of receipt of application shall be the day of the next regularly scheduled Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
A. 
The Planning and Zoning Commission may rescind the designation of a road or portion thereof as scenic, provided that the owners of a majority of the lot frontage abutting the scenic road request such action.
B. 
Such request shall be made to the Commission and shall include names and addresses and lot frontage measurements along the scenic road or portion thereof and shall bear the notarized signatures of all requesting landowners.
C. 
Roads or portions thereof designated as scenic shall not be subject to a request to rescind any portion less than the originally designated roadway length.
D. 
No request to rescind scenic road status shall be considered unless a minimum of seven years have elapsed since the date of scenic designation.
Any person aggrieved by action of the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve or deny a scenic road application may appeal such action as provided for under C.G.S. § 8-8.
The lawful rights of all parties in property abutting a road or portion of road designated scenic shall not be diminished in any way.
A. 
Scenic road designation shall not in any way relieve the Town of Winchester of its responsibility under state statutes to maintain such road or portion thereof in a safe and passable condition.
B. 
The following maintenance work may be initiated by the Town of Winchester Director of Public Works or by any legally recognized public utility (i.e., CL and P, SBC, Yankeegas) as they so determine the need for such work:
(1) 
Tree pruning or brush cutting.
(2) 
Removal of dead or fallen trees.
(3) 
Resurfacing existing roadway width.
(a) 
Bituminous concrete pavement (including reclamation).
(b) 
Oil and/or chips.
(c) 
Gravel for unpaved roads.
(4) 
Drainage structure cleaning, repair or replacement.
(a) 
Culverts.
(b) 
Catch basins.
(c) 
Existing drainage ditches.
A. 
Scenic road reconstruction shall not be permitted without recorded written permission from the Town of Winchester Director of Public Works, Planning Director, Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Selectmen.
B. 
No road which has been designated as a scenic road under this chapter shall be altered or improved, including, but not limited to, widening of the right-of-way or of the traveled portion of the highway, paving, changes in grade, straightening, removal of stone walls and removal of mature trees, streetlights, traffic signs, guard rails, painting lines, construction of curbs and catch basins and sidewalks, except for good cause as determined by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission may hold a public hearing on the proposed alteration or improvement. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall state the reasons for such future alterations or improvements in its minutes.
C. 
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit anyone owning or occupying land abutting a scenic road from maintaining and repairing the land which abuts the scenic road if the maintenance occurs on land not within the right-of-way, paved or unpaved, of the scenic road.