N.Y. Highway Law § 205-c: Minimum maintenance roads

* § 205-c. Minimum maintenance roads. 1. a. The town board of any

designated town may, after a public hearing, adopt a local law

designating any low-volume road or portion thereof providing

agricultural or recreational land access, except for farm access roads

or roads that provide access to an individual year-round residence at

the time of designation, as a minimum maintenance road. No such law

shall restrict farm operations in an agricultural district. Such local

law shall not prevent the state from maintaining such road if the road

passes over, or provides access to, state land. No such law designating

a minimum maintenance road shall be effective until signs are posted

advising the public that such road is a minimum maintenance road. No

road, once designated a minimum maintenance road, shall be determined to

have been abandoned pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of

section two hundred five of this article solely because it has been

designated a minimum maintenance road.

b. At least forty-five days prior to the public hearing on such local

law the town board having jurisdiction over such road shall issue

findings that such road or portion thereof should be designated a

minimum maintenance road. Such findings shall include, but not be

limited to:

(i) the volume and type of motor vehicle traffic on such road;

(ii) a determination that the property owners of land abutting the

road shall continue to have access to their property;

(iii) a determination that the users of the road traveling at a

reasonable and prudent speed, under the circumstances, shall not be

placed in a hazardous situation;

(iv) a determination that such road, or portion thereof, does not

constitute a farm access road as defined in this section; and

(v) the effect of such designation on any farm operations dependent

upon the road, and that such designation does not restrict farm

operations in agricultural districts.

A copy of the town board's findings shall be made available for public

inspection in the town clerk's office and posted to the town website if

available.

A copy of the findings shall be sent to the school board of the school

district in which each road is located and to the town planning board.

Such school board and planning board may review the findings of the town

board and within forty-five days file with the town clerk their

recommendation and findings. In the event the school or planning board

takes no action within the forty-five day review period the town board

may proceed without said board's recommendation and findings. School or

planning board review may be waived, shortened or extended upon mutual

consent of said board and the town board. The town board of the town

may, by resolution, accept, accept in part, or reject the

recommendations of either the school or planning board prior to any vote

upon the proposed local law.

A copy of the findings shall also be sent to the department of

environmental conservation or any other relevant state agency that has

jurisdiction over the land that the road proposed to be designated as

minimum maintenance passes over or provides access to.

c. At least thirty days prior to the public hearing on such local law,

written notice of such hearing, including a summary of the findings,

shall be served by certified mail upon every owner of real property, as

determined by the latest completed assessment roll, abutting such road

or portion thereof.

d. The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication

of a notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the

town, and post such notice on the town website if available, specifying

the time when and the place where such hearing will be held, and in

general terms describing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be

published once at least five days prior to the day specified for such

hearing.

2. A road or road segment located within a designated town, which has

been designated minimum maintenance, shall be maintained at the same

level as other roads within the town but shall not require snow and ice

removal and maintenance. Such level of maintenance shall not restrict

access to farmland by a farm operation eligible for agricultural

assessment pursuant to article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and

markets law. Minimum maintenance roads shall continue to be part of the

town highway system.

3. a. Any person or persons owning or occupying real property abutting

a road or portion thereof which has been designated a minimum

maintenance road may petition the town having jurisdiction over such

road or portion thereof to discontinue the designation of such road as a

minimum maintenance road. Such petition shall be filed with the clerk of

the town having jurisdiction over such road. Such petition shall

identify the road or portion thereof to be discontinued as a minimum

maintenance road and set forth the reasons for such discontinuance or

modification. The town board having jurisdiction over such road shall

hold a public hearing upon such petition within thirty days after its

receipt. The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the

publication of a notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation

in the town, and post such notice on the town website if available,

specifying the time when and the place where such hearing will be held,

and in general terms describing the proposed resolution. Such notice

shall be published once at least five days prior to the day specified

for such hearing.

b. In the event the town board, after such public hearing, determines

that such designation shall continue unchanged, no additional petition

may be submitted by a person or persons pursuant to this section until

the lapse of at least twenty-four months from the date of the filing of

the previous petition filed by such person or persons.

c. The town board having jurisdiction over a minimum maintenance road

may adopt a local law discontinuing such minimum maintenance road

designation in the event it determines such discontinuance to be in the

public interest.

4. When used in this section, unless otherwise expressly stated, or

unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, the following

terms shall have the following meanings:

a. "Low-volume road" shall mean a town highway or portion thereof

located in a designated town, when such highway has an average daily

traffic count of less than four hundred motor vehicles per day. Such

term shall not apply to any highway or road or portion thereof which has

previously been abandoned pursuant to subdivision one of section two

hundred five of this article because it shall not have been used or

traveled as a highway for six years.

b. "Agricultural land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that

provides access to farm land. Traffic volumes are low and vary

seasonally.

c. "Farm access road" shall mean a low-volume road that provides

principal motor vehicle access for the transport of goods and services

necessary for effective support of a farm's daily operations to and from

the primary location or center of such operations. Traffic volume is

generally low, significantly less than four hundred motor vehicles per

day, and may include occasional heavy vehicles and farm equipment as

well as other motor vehicles.

d. "Recreation land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that

provides access to recreational land including seasonal dwellings, parks

and recreational lands. Volumes can vary with the type of recreation

facility, activity and season of the year.

e. "Minimum maintenance road" shall mean a low-volume agricultural or

recreational access road or portion thereof with an average daily

traffic count of less than fifty motor vehicles per day designated by

the designated town as minimum maintenance pursuant to this section,

except for a farm access road or a road which provides access to an

individual year-round residence at the time it is proposed to be

designated minimum maintenance.

f. "Motor vehicle" shall mean a motor vehicle as defined by section

one hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law.

g. "Designated town" shall mean the town of Lorraine, Jefferson

county.

5. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting, diminishing

or otherwise affecting the powers of any municipality other than the

designated town.

* NB Repealed December 8, 2031