| 1 | 1 | | <STYLE><!--U {color: Green}S {color: RED} I {color: DARKBLUE; background-color:yellow} P.brk {page-break-before:always}--></STYLE> <BASEFONT SIZE=3> <PRE WIDTH="122"> <FONT SIZE=5><B> STATE OF NEW YORK</B></FONT> ________________________________________________________________________ 7393 2025-2026 Regular Sessions <FONT SIZE=5><B> IN SENATE</B></FONT> April 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GRIFFO, ASHBY, GALLIVAN, HELMING, MAY, WALCZYK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to minimum maintenance roads by towns <B><U>The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-</U></B> <B><U>bly, do enact as follows:</U></B> 1 Section 1. Section 205-c of the highway law, as added by chapter 690 2 of the laws of 2023, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 108 of the laws 3 of 2024, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 205-c. Minimum maintenance roads. 1. <B><U>a. The town board of any town</U></B> 5 <B><U>may, by resolution, designate certain town highways as low-volume roads</U></B> 6 <B><U>or portions thereof pursuant to the classifications defined in this</U></B> 7 <B><U>section. In classifying such roads, the town board shall base the clas-</U></B> 8 <B><U>sification on traffic volumes, types of vehicles using the road or</U></B> 9 <B><U>portion thereof, and the current adjacent land uses. The town board</U></B> 10 <B><U>shall refer proposed classifications to the town highway superintendent</U></B> 11 <B><U>and the town planning board, if present in such town.</U></B> 12 <B><U>b. Upon receipt of the proposed resolution, the town highway super-</U></B> 13 <B><U>intendent and, where applicable, town planning board, shall report their</U></B> 14 <B><U>recommendations to the town board, accompanied by a statement of the</U></B> 15 <B><U>reasons for such recommendations within forty-five days of receipt.</U></B> 16 <B><U>Upon receipt of the recommendations from the town highway superintendent</U></B> 17 <B><U>and, where applicable, town planning board, or upon the expiration of</U></B> 18 <B><U>forty-five days from the date the proposed resolution was referred, the</U></B> 19 <B><U>town board may adopt by majority vote, the local classification resol-</U></B> 20 <B><U>ution.</U></B> 21 <B><U>2.</U></B> a. The town board of any [<B><S>designated</S></B>] town may, after a public 22 hearing, adopt a local law designating any low-volume road or portion 23 thereof providing agricultural or recreational land access, except for 24 farm access roads or roads that provide access to an individual year- EXPLANATION--Matter in <B><U>italics</U></B> (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [<B><S> </S></B>] is old law to be omitted. LBD11371-02-5 </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="122"> S. 7393 2 1 round residence at the time of designation, as a minimum maintenance 2 road. No such law shall restrict farm operations in an agricultural 3 district. Such local law shall not prevent the state from maintaining 4 such road if the road passes over, or provides access to, state land. No 5 such law designating a minimum maintenance road shall be effective until 6 <B><U>minimum maintenance standards are adopted and</U></B> signs are posted advising 7 the public that such road is a minimum maintenance road. No road, once 8 designated a minimum maintenance road, shall be determined to have been 9 abandoned pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of section two 10 hundred five of this article solely because it has been designated a 11 minimum maintenance road. 12 b. At least forty-five days prior to the public hearing on such local 13 law the town board having jurisdiction over such road shall issue find- 14 ings that such road or portion thereof should be designated a minimum 15 maintenance road. Such findings shall include, but not be limited to: 16 (i) the volume and type of motor vehicle traffic on such road; 17 (ii) a determination that the property owners of land abutting the 18 road shall continue to have access to their property; 19 (iii) a determination that the users of the road traveling at a 20 reasonable and prudent speed, under the circumstances, shall not be 21 placed in a hazardous situation; 22 (iv) a determination that such road, or portion thereof, does not 23 constitute a farm access road as defined in this section; [<B><S>and</S></B>] 24 (v) the effect of such designation on any farm operations dependent 25 upon the road, and that such designation does not restrict farm oper- 26 ations in agricultural districts[<B><S>.</S></B>]<B><U>; and</U></B> 27 <B><U>(vi) the standards of maintenance developed in consultation with the</U></B> 28 <B><U>town highway superintendent to be provided for such road including, but</U></B> 29 <B><U>not limited to, the intention to close such road during certain times of</U></B> 30 <B><U>the year.</U></B> 31 A copy of the town board's findings shall be made available for public 32 inspection in the town clerk's office and posted to the town website if 33 available. 34 A copy of the findings shall be sent to the school board of the school 35 district in which each road is located and to the town planning board. 36 Such school board and planning board may review the findings of the town 37 board and within forty-five days file with the town clerk their recom- 38 mendation and findings. In the event the school or planning board takes 39 no action within the forty-five day review period the town board may 40 proceed without said board's recommendation and findings. School or 41 planning board review may be waived, shortened or extended upon mutual 42 consent of said board and the town board. The town board of the town 43 may, by resolution, accept, accept in part, or reject the recommenda- 44 tions of either the school or planning board prior to any vote upon the 45 proposed local law. 46 A copy of the findings shall also be sent to the department of envi- 47 ronmental conservation or any other relevant state agency that has 48 jurisdiction over the land that the road proposed to be designated as 49 minimum maintenance passes over or provides access to. 50 c. At least thirty days prior to the public hearing on such local law, 51 written notice of such hearing, including a summary of the findings, 52 shall be served by certified mail upon every owner of real property, as 53 determined by the latest completed assessment roll, abutting such road 54 or portion thereof. 55 d. The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication 56 of a notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="122"> S. 7393 3 1 town, and post such notice on the town website if available, specifying 2 the time when and the place where such hearing will be held, and in 3 general terms describing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be 4 published once at least five days prior to the day specified for such 5 hearing. 6 [<B><S>2.</S></B>] <B><U>3.</U></B> A road or road segment located within a [<B><S>designated</S></B>] town, 7 which has been designated minimum maintenance, shall be maintained at 8 the same level as other roads within the town but shall not require snow 9 and ice removal and maintenance. Such level of maintenance shall not 10 restrict access to farmland by a farm operation eligible for agricul- 11 tural assessment pursuant to article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture 12 and markets law. Minimum maintenance roads shall continue to be part of 13 the town highway system. 14 [<B><S>3.</S></B>] <B><U>4.</U></B> a. Any person or persons owning or occupying real property 15 abutting a road or portion thereof which has been designated a minimum 16 maintenance road may petition the town having jurisdiction over such 17 road or portion thereof to discontinue the designation of such road as a 18 minimum maintenance road. Such petition shall be filed with the clerk of 19 the town having jurisdiction over such road. Such petition shall identi- 20 fy the road or portion thereof to be discontinued as a minimum mainte- 21 nance road and set forth the reasons for such discontinuance or modifi- 22 cation. The town board having jurisdiction over such road shall hold a 23 public hearing upon such petition within thirty days after its receipt. 24 The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication of a 25 notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the town, and 26 post such notice on the town website if available, specifying the time 27 when and the place where such hearing will be held, and in general terms 28 describing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be published once 29 at least five days prior to the day specified for such hearing. 30 b. In the event the town board, after such public hearing, determines 31 that such designation shall continue unchanged, no additional petition 32 may be submitted by a person or persons pursuant to this section until 33 the lapse of at least twenty-four months from the date of the filing of 34 the previous petition filed by such person or persons. 35 c. The town board having jurisdiction over a minimum maintenance road 36 may adopt a local law discontinuing such minimum maintenance road desig- 37 nation in the event it determines such discontinuance to be in the 38 public interest. 39 [<B><S>4.</S></B>] <B><U>5.</U></B> When used in this section, unless otherwise expressly stated, 40 or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, the follow- 41 ing terms shall have the following meanings: 42 a. "Low-volume road" shall mean a town highway or portion thereof 43 located in a [<B><S>designated</S></B>] town, when such highway has an average daily 44 traffic count of less than four hundred motor vehicles per day. Such 45 term shall not apply to any highway or road or portion thereof which has 46 previously been abandoned pursuant to subdivision one of section two 47 hundred five of this article because it shall not have been used or 48 traveled as a highway for six years. 49 b. "Agricultural land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that 50 provides access to farm land. Traffic volumes are low and vary 51 seasonally. 52 c. "Farm access road" shall mean a low-volume road that provides prin- 53 cipal motor vehicle access for the transport of goods and services 54 necessary for effective support of a farm's daily operations to and from 55 the primary location or center of such operations. Traffic volume is 56 generally low, significantly less than four hundred motor vehicles per </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="122"> S. 7393 4 1 day, and may include occasional heavy vehicles and farm equipment as 2 well as other motor vehicles. 3 d. "Recreation land access road" shall mean a low-volume road that 4 provides access to recreational land including seasonal dwellings, parks 5 and recreational lands. Volumes can vary with the type of recreation 6 facility, activity and season of the year. 7 e. "Minimum maintenance road" shall mean a low-volume agricultural or 8 recreational access road or portion thereof with an average daily traf- 9 fic count of less than fifty motor vehicles per day designated by the 10 [<B><S>designated</S></B>] town as minimum maintenance pursuant to this section, 11 except for a farm access road or a road which provides access to an 12 individual year-round residence at the time it is proposed to be desig- 13 nated minimum maintenance. 14 f. "Motor vehicle" shall mean a motor vehicle as defined by section 15 one hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law. 16 [<B><S>g. "Designated town" shall mean the town of Lorraine, Jefferson coun-</S></B> 17 <B><S>ty.</S></B> 18 <B><S>5.</S></B>] <B><U>6.</U></B> Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting, dimin- 19 ishing or otherwise affecting the powers of any municipality other than 20 the [<B><S>designated</S></B>] town. 21 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day 22 after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments 23 to section 205-c of the highway law made by section one of this act 24 shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed 25 therewith. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal 26 of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act 27 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date. |
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