[Adopted 8-24-1992]
A.
In accordance with the authority granted by C.G.S. § 7-149a, the Planning Commission of the Town of Bethlehem shall have the power to designate a Town highway as a scenic road, with proper application, subject to the provisions of § 105-17 of this article. Only those highways free of intensive commercial development and intensive vehicular traffic and which meet at least one of the following criteria shall be considered by the Planning Commission for designation as a scenic road:
B.
No state highway or portion thereof may be designated as a scenic
road under this article.
No highway or portion of a highway may be designated a scenic
road unless the owners of a majority of lot frontage abutting the
highway or portion of the highway agree to the designation by signing
a written statement of approval, which shall be filed with the Town
Clerk at the time an application is made.
An application, in the form of a letter, must be submitted to
the Planning Commission and shall include the name of the highway;
its location; a description of those characteristics of the highway
which qualify it for such status; a copy of the written statement
of approval agreeing to such designation from the owners of a majority
of lot frontage abutting the highway or portion of the highway; and
the signatures and addresses of said property owners.
Upon verification of the validity of the petition by the Town Clerk, the Planning Commission shall schedule a public hearing and make a decision on the proposal in accordance with the procedures of C.G.S. §§ 8-26 and 8-26d. In addition, the Planning Commission shall notify the Board of Selectmen that such a petition has been filed. Upon receipt of this information by the Board of Selectmen from the Planning Commission, no alterations or improvements may be made upon the subject highway or portion thereof, except as provided for in § 105-22 of this article, pending the decision of the Planning Commission.
The scenic road designation may be rescinded by the Planning
Commission using the same procedure and having the written concurrence
of the owners of a majority of lot frontage abutting the highway or
portion of the highway.
Any person aggrieved by the designation of a highway or portion
of the highway as a scenic road by the Planning Commission may appeal
such designation in the manner provided for appeals from the decisions
of Planning Commissions under C.G.S. §§ 8-8 and 8-28.
After a highway or portion thereof has been designated as a
scenic road, it shall be maintained by the Town in good and sufficient
repair and in passable condition. No material changes shall be made,
without the approval of the Planning Commission, in the width of the
traveled portion, the alignment, the grade or the elevation of the
road, or the type of roadway surface, and no stone walls may be torn
down, and no trees may be cut or removed, except in the case of a
natural disaster in which the road becomes impassable or unsafe for
public travel.
Routine road maintenance may be performed by the Town without
the approval of the Planning Commission. Routine road maintenance
shall include correction of drainage problems; retreatment and repair
of existing road surfaces; the removal of dead trees and branches;
trimming of tree branches encroaching on the traveled portion of the
road below the height needed for passage of school buses and emergency
vehicles and to preserve sight lines; trimming of brush to enhance
and protect scenic views, stone walls, mature trees and other characteristics
of the scenic road set forth in the description filed with the application
for scenic road designation.
Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prohibit a person
owning or occupying land abutting a scenic road from maintaining and
repairing the land which abuts the scenic road if the maintenance
or repair occurs on land not within the right-of-way, paved or unpaved,
of the scenic road.
