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head: Ox Hill Residents First To Apply For Scenic Road Status

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Residents of Ox Hill Road recently submitted a petition to become the town's

first-ever scenic road.

The homeowners on the winding dirt road in the Hattertown Road section of town

wasted little time in taking advantage of a recently approved town ordinance

that was designed to protect some of Newtown's most picturesque roads from

major alterations.

"This is something we all feel strongly about. We think our road fits the

scenic road criteria to a T," said Ox Hill Road resident Audrey Petschek, who

organized the petition drive.

The Legislative Council enacted the scenic road ordinance in May. Under state

law, towns may designate local 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.

Those who live on Ox Hill Road are like many local homeowners in town who say

they'll do anything to preserve the beauty of their roads. They hope the

ordinance will help keep out the things that could threaten the safety,

natural landscape, and scenic beauty of the area.

Ox Hill Road residents were especially eager to receive scenic road status

after last year's battle against Southern New England Telephone (SNET) to keep

three large installation boxes out of the area. They say the view of an old

barn, white picket fence, or stone wall just isn't the same with an ugly green

electrical box in front of it.

The residents of Ox Hill Road won the case, but they're still haunted by the

thought of what could have been.

"After the SNET thing, we all felt a little vulnerable. This is our security

blanket," Mrs Petschek said.

Of course, residents don't expect the ordinance to guarantee their road total

protection, but they believe it will guarantee that their road is never

widened or paved. They also hope the ordinance will eventually add to the

value of those homes located on scenic roads.

Once a petition is filed, residents must then submit an application at town

hall with a full description of the road and an explanation of why the road

fits the criteria in the ordinance.

Other residents are also expected to begin seeking scenic road status. Mae

Schmidle of Echo Valley Road held an information meeting last week to help

residents better understand the application process. Mrs Schmidle, who first

advocated the ordinance to the town's ordinance committee a year ago, believes

the new ordinance was a long time in coming.

"This ordinance means if someone goes on vacation they're not going to come

home to find a 30-foot wide paved road in front of their house," she said.

Other roads expected to apply for scenic road status in the coming months

include Zoar Road, Tamarack Road, Sanford Road, and Echo Valley Road.

The Legislative Council, after holding a public hearing and following a long

list of criteria, has the final say on all scenic road applications.

The ordinance authorizes the town to maintain the road, making alterations

other than routine maintenance only after receiving approval from the council.

Improvements or alterations such as paving of dirt or gravel roads, widening,

change of grade, straightening, removal of structures or trees would be

required to go to a public hearing.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said maintaining scenic roads may put some

added strain on the highway department and may raise the town's annual budget.

According to the proposed ordinance, the road cannot abut commercial property,

commercial development, or be in an area where there is extensive vehicular

traffic.

One or more of the following criteria must also be met for scenic road

designation: road is unpaved; road has mature trees; road has stone walls;

road has scenic views; road has surrounding lakes, ponds, rivers or streams.

The ordinance also requires that the road blend in naturally with the

surrounding terrain and be no more than 20 feet in width.

The ordinance also states that the section of road to be designated should

have front areas designated as parks, forests, or conservation areas and front

farmland.

According to the ordinance, the majority of the road's land owners must submit

a petition in order to request a scenic road designation.

Each homeowner with frontage property has an equal say on the scenic road

issue.