Permits the designation of low volume roads and minimum maintenance roads by town boards and enacts provisions relating to the maintenance, improvement and repair of such roads.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A326
SPONSOR: Gunther TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the highway law and the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to the maintenance, improvement and repair of certain town
highways
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill authorizes towns to designate certain town roads as low-volume
roads and certain low-volume roads as minimum maintenance roads.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the highway law. Subdivision 1 defines low-volume roads
and several classifications of low-volume roads. Subdivision 2 author-
izes towns to adopt the low-volume road classifications and establishes
the procedure to adopt such classifications. Subdivision 3 authorizes
towns to designate certain low-volume roads as minimum maintenance roads
and establishes the procedure to adopt such designation. Subdivision 4
sets out maintenance standards for minimum maintenance roads. Subdivi-
sion 5 authorizes the process for petitioning to discontinue the minimum
maintenance designation. Subdivision 6 authorizes road improvement
financing for discontinued minimum maintenance roads under section 200
of the town law.
Section 2 amends the vehicle and traffic law defining minimum mainte-
nance road as designated by a town under section 205-c of the highway
law.
Section 3 amends the vehicle and traffic law designating a road as mini-
mum maintenance.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 1990 the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources sponsored a law
establishing the NYS Local Roads Research and Coordination Council. The
Council defined and promulgated standards for low-volume road classi-
fication. The purpose in designating low-volume roads is to reduce costs
associated with bringing such roads to state or national design stand-
ards. Towns have been adopting local laws designating roads as low-vo-
lume according to the Council's standards. This bill would establish the
classification system in state highway law to provide assurance to towns
that such designations have the authority of state law.
In addition, this legislation would establish a comprehensive and trans-
parent process for towns to designate recreational or agricultural roads
as minimum maintenance as well as an appeal process for landowners.
These low-volume roads would not require as much maintenance, such as
plowing and grading, as other roads, saving towns money.
Roads that are the primary access for farm operations, or that have a
year-round residence at the time of designation, would not be designated
minimum maintenance. Furthermore, the designation of minimum maintenance
and the standards adopted cannot restrict farm operations in an Agricul-
tural District even if the road is not a primary farm access road. Farm-
ers who change the use of a field along a minimum maintenance road would
be able to request that a town modify standards to allow for better
access so that their farm operations are not restricted. Such
restriction is already prohibited by the agricultural districts law.
This bill would also establish a formal process for any landowners to
petition to discontinue the minimum maintenance designation or to modify
maintenance standards.
It is difficult for many local highway departments lacking professional
engineers to design or upgrade older low-volume roads that do not meet
current engineering standards. In many rural towns the highway budget
already exceeds 50% of total town expenditures, sometimes by a signif-
icant amount. It is impractical for rural towns to afford this level of
design, construction and maintenance. Low-volume and minimum mainte-
nance designations would provide more realistic and affordable standards
while maintaining public input.
In addition to the fiscal relief that this bill affords, low volume, and
particularly minimum maintenance roads, are a management tool that helps
towns to maintain access to working landscapes such as forest lands,
recreational areas and agriculture with reasonable costs. These desig-
nations may also help prevent over-development or sprawl in rural areas
reducing competition for the use of such lands.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A3724 referred to Transportation/S2910 referred to Transporta-
tion
2017-16: A418 referred to Transportation/52537 Passed Senate
2015-16: A1837 referred to Transportation/S2265: Passed Senate
2013-14: A1407 referred to Transportation/S1965: Passed Senate
2011-12: A6325 referred to Transportation/S3641A: Passed Senate
2009-10: A10377B referred to Transportation/S7181B: Passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS:
Clarifies definition of minimum maintenance road. Adds language empha-
sizing that minimum maintenance designation shall not restrict farm
operations in Ag Districts. Requires the minimum maintenance standards
be developed with the Town Highway Superintendent. Requires that a
summary of findings be sent to affected landowners in addition to a
public hearing notice. Makes hearing notice requirements consistent with
current practices. Authorizes landowners to petition for modification of
maintenance standards. Modifies the definition of minimum maintenance
roads to specify that the volume of traffic is less than 50 cars per
day.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
326
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, JONES, BUTTENSCHON, SANTABARBARA, WOER-
NER, J. M. GIGLIO, PALMESANO, BARCLAY, DiPIETRO, SMULLEN -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. HAWLEY, McDONOUGH, MORINELLO, PRETLOW -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the highway law and the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to the maintenance, improvement and repair of certain town
highways
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 205-c to
2 read as follows:
3 § 205-c. Low volume roads. 1. When used in this section, unless other-
4 wise expressly stated, or unless the context or subject matter otherwise
5 requires, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
6 a. "Low-volume road" shall mean a town highway or portion thereof
7 located in a town, when such highway has an average daily traffic count
8 of less than four hundred motor vehicles per day. Such term shall not
9 apply to any highway or road or portion thereof which has previously
10 been abandoned pursuant to subdivision one of section two hundred five
11 of this article because it shall not have been used or traveled as a
12 highway for six years. Low volume roads may be classified as follows:
13 (i) "Low-volume collector road" shall mean a low-volume road that
14 collects traffic from any other classification and channels it to a
15 higher level road, such as a state highway, arterial or interstate high-
16 way.
17 (ii) "Residential access road" shall mean a low-volume road that
18 provides access to residences. The traffic generated depends on the
19 number of residences. All year access for emergency vehicles and school
20 buses must be provided.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02717-01-1
A. 326 2
1 (iii) "Resource/industrial access road" shall mean a low-volume road
2 that provides access to forests or industrial or mining operations.
3 Traffic volume can vary and include heavy trucks, extractive machinery
4 and significant numbers of employees' cars.
5 (iv) "Agricultural land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that
6 provides access to farm land. Traffic volumes are low and vary
7 seasonally. Such roads shall accommodate farm equipment.
8 (v) "Farm access road" shall mean a low-volume road that provides
9 principal motor vehicle access for the transport of goods and services
10 necessary for effective support of a farm's daily operations to and from
11 the primary location or center of such operations. Traffic volume is
12 generally low, significantly less than four hundred motor vehicles per
13 day, and may include occasional heavy vehicles and farm equipment as
14 well as other motor vehicles.
15 (vi) "Recreation land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that
16 provides access to recreational land including seasonal dwellings, parks
17 and recreational lands. Volumes can vary with the type of recreation
18 facility, activity and season of the year.
19 b. "Minimum maintenance road" shall mean a low-volume agricultural or
20 recreational access road or portion thereof with an average daily traf-
21 fic count of less than fifty motor vehicles per day designated by the
22 town as minimum maintenance pursuant to this section, except for a farm
23 access road or a road which provides access to an individual year-round
24 residence at the time it is proposed to be designated minimum mainte-
25 nance. In no way shall the term "minimum maintenance" be construed to
26 mean "no maintenance" or "abandonment", however, such roads may be
27 closed during certain times of the year subject to standards adopted by
28 the town board.
29 c. "Motor vehicle" shall mean a motor vehicle as defined by section
30 one hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law.
31 2. a. The town board of any town may, by resolution, designate certain
32 town highways as low-volume roads or portions thereof pursuant to the
33 classifications defined in this section. In classifying such roads, the
34 town board shall base the classification on traffic volumes, types of
35 vehicles using the road or portion thereof, and the current adjacent
36 land uses. The town board shall refer proposed classifications to the
37 town highway superintendent and the town planning board, if present in
38 such town.
39 b. Upon receipt of the proposed resolution, the town highway super-
40 intendent and, where applicable, town planning board, shall report their
41 recommendations to the town board, accompanied by a statement of the
42 reasons for such recommendations within forty-five days of receipt. Upon
43 receipt of the recommendations from the town highway superintendent and,
44 where applicable, town planning board, or upon the expiration of forty-
45 five days from the date the proposed resolution was referred, the town
46 board may adopt by majority vote, the local classification resolution.
47 3. a. The town board of any town may, after a public hearing, adopt a
48 local law designating any low-volume road or portion thereof providing
49 agricultural or recreational land access, except for farm access roads
50 or roads that provide access to an individual year-round residence at
51 the time of designation, as a minimum maintenance road. No such law
52 shall restrict farm operations in an agricultural district. Such local
53 law shall not prevent the state from maintaining such road if the road
54 passes over, or provides access to, state land. No such law designating
55 a minimum maintenance road shall be effective until minimum maintenance
56 standards are adopted and signs are posted advising the public that such
A. 326 3
1 road is a minimum maintenance road. No road, once designated a minimum
2 maintenance road, shall be determined to have been abandoned pursuant to
3 the provisions of subdivision one of section two hundred five of this
4 article solely because it has been designated a minimum maintenance
5 road.
6 b. At least forty-five days prior to the public hearing on such local
7 law the town board having jurisdiction over such road shall issue find-
8 ings that such road or portion thereof should be designated a minimum
9 maintenance road. Such findings shall include, but not be limited to:
10 (i) the volume and type of motor vehicle traffic on such road;
11 (ii) a determination that the property owners of land abutting the
12 road shall continue to have access to their property;
13 (iii) a determination that the users of the road traveling at a
14 reasonable and prudent speed, under the circumstances, shall not be
15 placed in a hazardous situation;
16 (iv) a determination that such road, or portion thereof, does not
17 constitute a farm access road as defined in this section;
18 (v) the effect of such designation on any farm operations dependent
19 upon the road, and that such designation does not restrict farm oper-
20 ations in agricultural districts; and
21 (vi) the standards of maintenance developed in consultation with the
22 town highway superintendent to be provided for such road including, but
23 not limited to, the intention to close such road during certain times of
24 the year.
25 A copy of the town board's findings shall be made available for public
26 inspection in the town clerk's office and posted to the town website if
27 available.
28 A copy of the findings shall be sent to the school board of the school
29 district in which each road is located and to the town planning board.
30 Such school board and planning board may review the findings of the town
31 board and within forty-five days file with the town clerk their recom-
32 mendation and findings. In the event the school or planning board takes
33 no action within the forty-five day review period the town board may
34 proceed without said board's recommendation and findings. School or
35 planning board review may be waived, shortened or extended upon mutual
36 consent of said board and the town board. The town board of the town
37 may, by resolution, accept, accept in part, or reject the recommenda-
38 tions of either the school or planning board prior to any vote upon the
39 proposed local law.
40 A copy of the findings shall also be sent to the department of envi-
41 ronmental conservation or any other relevant state agency that has
42 jurisdiction over the land that the road proposed to be designated as
43 minimum maintenance passes over or provides access to.
44 c. At least thirty days prior to the public hearing on such local law,
45 written notice of such hearing, including a summary of the findings,
46 shall be served by certified mail upon every owner of real property, as
47 determined by the latest completed assessment roll, abutting such road
48 or portion thereof.
49 d. The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication
50 of a notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the
51 town, and post such notice on the town website if available, specifying
52 the time when and the place where such hearing will be held, and in
53 general terms describing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be
54 published once at least five days prior to the day specified for such
55 hearing.
A. 326 4
1 4. A road or road segment, which has been designated minimum mainte-
2 nance, shall be maintained at a level which allows the road to be made
3 passable and functional in a manner determined by the town highway
4 superintendent in accordance with the standards developed in consulta-
5 tion with the town highway superintendent and adopted by the town board
6 to be consistent with the volume and type of traffic traveling on such
7 road. Such standards shall not restrict access to farmland by a farm
8 operation eligible for agricultural assessment pursuant to article twen-
9 ty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law. Normal road maintenance
10 practices including, but not limited to, snow and ice removal, paving,
11 patching, blading, dragging or mowing may be done less frequently
12 depending upon the existing conditions and use of the road but shall, at
13 a minimum, be consistent with other superseding standards or guidelines
14 developed pursuant to state law. Minimum maintenance roads shall contin-
15 ue to be part of the town highway system.
16 5. a. Any person or persons owning or occupying real property abutting
17 a road or portion thereof which has been designated a minimum mainte-
18 nance road may petition the town having jurisdiction over such road or
19 portion thereof to discontinue the designation of such road as a minimum
20 maintenance road or to modify the standards of maintenance for such
21 road. Such petition shall be filed with the clerk of the town having
22 jurisdiction over such road. Such petition shall identify the road or
23 portion thereof to be discontinued as a minimum maintenance road and set
24 forth the reasons for such discontinuance or modification. The town
25 board having jurisdiction over such road shall hold a public hearing
26 upon such petition within thirty days after its receipt. The town clerk
27 shall give notice of such hearing by the publication of a notice in at
28 least one newspaper of general circulation in the town, and post such
29 notice on the town website if available, specifying the time when and
30 the place where such hearing will be held, and in general terms describ-
31 ing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be published once at
32 least five days prior to the day specified for such hearing.
33 b. In the event the town board, after such public hearing, determines
34 that such designation or standards shall continue unchanged, no addi-
35 tional petition may be submitted by a person or persons pursuant to this
36 section until the lapse of at least twenty-four months from the date of
37 the filing of the previous petition filed by such person or persons.
38 c. The town board having jurisdiction over a minimum maintenance road
39 may adopt a local law discontinuing such minimum maintenance road desig-
40 nation in the event it determines such discontinuance to be in the
41 public interest.
42 6. Where the minimum maintenance road designation is discontinued, or
43 a low-volume road classification is changed, road improvements may, in
44 addition to other financing mechanisms available for road construction
45 projects, be undertaken in accordance with section two hundred of the
46 town law.
47 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
48 124 to read as follows:
49 § 124. Minimum maintenance road. A low-volume road or portion thereof
50 which is designated by the town having jurisdiction over such road
51 pursuant to section two hundred five-c of the highway law.
52 § 3. Subdivision (a) of section 1683 of the vehicle and traffic law is
53 amended by adding a new paragraph 18 to read as follows:
54 18. Designate a road or portion thereof as a minimum maintenance road.
55 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
56 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
A. 326 5
1 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
2 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
3 before such date.
