[Adopted 4-26-2022 by Ord. No. 2022.01]
Within the Town of East Hampton there currently exist many privately owned rights-of-way, streets, lanes, drives and roads (collectively referred to herein as "private roads"). Such private roads have been established over many years of use by adjoining property owners, which provide vehicular access for the property owners, and residents, along such private roads. Such private roads have not been accepted by the Town as public roads, and historically have not been maintained by the owners, or the abutting owners, of the private road to Town of East Hampton Street Standards. As a result, some of these private roads have deteriorated and are unsafe for public or private passage. In order to ensure the safety of the property owners, residents, and the public who travel over such private roads, and to ensure safe passage of emergency vehicles, service vehicles, vendors vehicles, and other critical vehicles, and the safe passage of invitees and guests of residents who live along such private roads, the Town has determined that it is in the public interest that limited maintenance of such private roads is desirable and necessary, as may be determined from time to time by the Director of Public Works. This article shall provide the Director of Public Works with the discretionary authority to determine the manner in which the Town may provide certain limited maintenance to such private roads.
A. 
The Public Works Department is authorized to provide those limited maintenance services described in § 273-17 of this chapter for those private roads as may be determined to require limited maintenance by the Town Council, as follows:
Road Name
Length and Location
Boulder Road
1,150 feet, Lake Drive to terminus
Brook Trail
635 feet, Pine Trail to terminus
Byron Road
100 feet, Browning Drive to terminus
Day Point Road
656 feet, Old Marlborough Road to pavement end
Fern Lane
1,585 feet, Middle Haddam Road to turnaround
Green Road
576 feet, Hog Hill to turn around
Green Road
240 feet, Middle Haddam Road to turnaround
Hale Road
588 feet, Lake Drive to turnaround
Laurel Trail
341 feet, Pine Trail to driveway at Number 18
Markham Lane
390 feet, East High Street to turnaround
Mountain Trail
535 feet, Pine Trail to driveway at Number 26
O'Neill Lane
750 feet, Old Marlborough Road to turn around
Park Road
161 feet, Poe Road to pavement end
Pine Trail
1,057 feet, East High Street to turnaround
Poe Road
155 feet, Byron Road to Park Road
Railroad Avenue
725 feet, Watrous Street to turnaround
Spellman Point Road
1,175 feet, Bay Road to the south
Starr Place
467 feet, Summit Street to turnaround
Tennyson Road
529 feet, Mark Twain Drive to Whittier Road
West Avenue
302 feet, West Street to driveway at Number 35
B. 
The private roads, or parts thereof, approved for maintenance shall be shown on a map which shall be available for public inspection in the Town Clerk's office. The Town Council may amend the list of approved private roads eligible for limited maintenance, by adding or removing such private roads from the list, in the manner prescribed in the Town Charter for the adoption of ordinances.
A. 
The maintenance services provided under § 273-16 of this chapter shall be limited to the following services as these services may be typically applied to similar public roads at the discretion of the Public Works Director:
(1) 
Snow plowing and deicing activities;
(2) 
Sweeping;
(3) 
Surface patching including, but not limited to, pothole repair and repairs involving surface repaving of small segments of a given roadway;
(4) 
Installation and maintenance of any "official traffic-control devices" and "traffic control sign" and which are approved by the "traffic authority" all as defined in C.G.S. 14-297.
B. 
The maintenance services provided under § 273-16 of this chapter are not intended to include broad resurfacing of large segments of a given roadway, improvements involving significant repairs of subsurface road structure, installation or modification of drainage, application of chip seal or other similar surface restoration applications to a full roadway or large segments of a given roadway or other similar reconstruction or rehabilitation activities unless such activities are specifically authorized by the Town Council as described in § 273-17C.
C. 
Upon the request of the owners of, or those property owners abutting, the private road, and if the Town considers it necessary to public safety or otherwise desirable in its sole and absolute discretion to provide additional work, services or improvements to the private roads listed in this article, then such work, services or improvements may be provided by the Town or its designees provided a written agreement is executed between the Town and the owners of the land upon which the road rests, or which the road benefits, concerning the scope of such work, services or improvements, and shall be at the sole cost and expense of such owners. The Town shall not provide any additional work, service or improvements unless the written agreement apportions costs among the owners of, or those property owners abutting, the private road.
Authorization for the Director of Public Works to provide limited maintenance services for the private roads set forth in this article, the providing of such limited maintenance services, and/or approval of additional work, services, or improvements under § 273-17 of this chapter shall not be considered acceptance of that private road as a public highway.
Notwithstanding the provisions of C.G.S. § 13a-149 or any other general statute or special act, the Town of East Hampton shall not be liable for personal injury or property damage caused by the condition of a private road on account of its discretionary acts of limited maintenance as provided herein
Nothing in this article shall be construed to modify or change any of the requirements set forth by the Town Planning and Zoning Commission, or the Town of East Hampton Street Standards, for the acceptance of new, and the maintenance and repair of existing, Town roads.