Date: Fri 06-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

scenic-road-ordinance

Full Text:

Scenic Road Ordinance Starts To Take Shape

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

The Legislative Council's ordinance committee has begun work on the framework

for a scenic road ordinance for Newtown.

The committee was prompted to come up with an ordinance after receiving a

petition from Echo Valley Road resident Mae Schmidle, who believes Newtown

needs an ordinance for the preservation and public safety of its scenic back

roads.

The petition states, "We believe that the scenic values of some of our rural

roads in Newtown have been destroyed or are in danger of destruction because

of past or potential changes and alteration to their right-of-way."

Many of those who signed the petition have been concerned about development in

the area around Echo Valley Road, Tamarack Road and Sanford Road.

Under state law, towns may designate roads as scenic in order to regulate

future alterations and improvements such as widening of a right-of-way,

paving, grade changes, straightening and removal of stone walls and mature

trees.

While no final recommendations have been made yet, members of the ordinance

committee have been discussing the best way to deem a road scenic and then how

to protect it after the fact. Using a proposed draft, which member John Kortze

modeled from various towns around the state, the committee created a

foundation on which to create the town's own scenic road ordinance.

So far, the ordinance committee agrees that the Legislative Council should be

the body to designate and oversee scenic roads.

Most members believe the Planning and Zoning Commission is under too much

pressure to take on a new task, and as Pierre Rochman, committee chairman,

explained, unlike the Board of Selectmen, the council has 12 members,

decreasing the likelihood that it would respond to neighborhood pressure.

Criteria that must be met for scenic road designation is still being

determined by the committee, but if Newtown's ordinance is anything like

Bridgewater's, well known for its scenic roads, it will include roads with

mature trees, stone walls, scenic views, surrounding lakes, ponds, rivers and

streams, etc.

To request a scenic road designation, the majority of the road's land owners

would have to submit a petition, according to the committee.

There was a lengthy discussion on how many residents of a road would be needed

in order to petition for a scenic road. Members agreed to give each homeowner

with frontage property an equal say rather than giving the homeowner with the

most land the most say.

The ordinance committee agreed that a town meeting would not be required in

order to have a scenic road approved. The Legislative Council will likely have

the final say, but only after a thorough review and discussion with the Board

of Selectmen, Conservation Commission, planning and zoning and the police and

fire departments.

All repairs and maintenance of a scenic road should be done by the town, the

committee said.

Mr Rochman said the committee has much work to do before passing the proposed

ordinance on to the Legislative Council and will continue its discussion of

scenic roads at its next meeting.

Other committee members discussing the proposed ordinance were Bill Brimmer,

Gail Halapin and Lisa Schwartz.

Mrs Schmidle, and Butterfield Road residents Dick Seibert and Penny Meek also

attended the meeting.