§ 14-311 — Open air theaters, shopping centers and certain other developments affecting state highway traffic.

Connecticut § 14-311

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 14: Motor Vehicles. Use of the Highway By Vehicles. Gasoline
• Ch. 249: Traffic Control and Highway Safety

Text

(a) No person, firm, corporation, state agency or municipal agency, or any combination thereof, shall build, expand, establish or operate any open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large volumes of traffic that substantially affect state highway traffic within this state, as determined by the Office of the State Traffic Administration, until such person, firm, corporation or agency has procured from said office a certificate that the operation thereof will not imperil the safety of the public, except that any development, including any development to be built in phases, without regard to when such phases are approved by the municipal planning and zoning agency or other responsible municipal agency, that contains a total of one hundred or fewer residential units shall not be required to obtain such certificate if such development is a residential-only development and is not part of a mixed-use development that contains office, retail or other such nonresidential uses, provided if any future development increases the total number of residential units to more than one hundred, and such total substantially affects state highway traffic within the state as determined by the Office of the State Traffic Administration, a certificate shall be procured from said office. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection or permitted by the Office of the State Traffic Administration, no local building official shall issue a building or foundation permit to any person, firm, corporation, state agency or municipal agency to build, expand, establish or operate such a development until the person, firm, corporation or agency provides to such official a copy of the certificate issued under this section by the office. No local building official shall issue a certificate of occupancy to any such person, firm, corporation or agency for such development until the conditions of the certificate issued by the office under this section have been satisfied. If the office determines that a local building official issued a building or foundation permit to any such person, firm, corporation or agency without such person, firm, corporation or agency having a certificate from the office, the office shall order the building official to revoke such building or foundation permit. If the office determines that any person, firm, corporation or agency has (1) started building, expanding, establishing or operating such a development without first obtaining a certificate from said office, or (2) has failed to comply with the conditions of such a certificate, the office shall order the person, firm, corporation or agency to (A) cease constructing, expanding, establishing or operating the development, or (B) comply with the conditions of the certificate within a reasonable period of time. If such person, firm, corporation or agency fails to (i) cease such work, or (ii) comply with an order of the office within such time as specified by the office, the office may apply to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford or the judicial district where the development is located enjoining the construction, expansion, establishment or operation of such development. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, for single family home building lots within a subdivision of land, for which a certificate is required and which do not have a direct exit or entrance on, or directly abut or adjoin any state highway, no local building official shall issue a certificate of occupancy to any person, firm, corporation, state agency or municipal agency to occupy homes on such lots until the person, firm, corporation or agency provides to such official a copy of the certificate issued under this section by the office and such official confirms that the certificate conditions have been satisfied. (c) The Office of the State Traffic Administration, to the extent practicable, shall begin its review of an application prior to final approval of the proposed activity by the municipal planning and zoning agency or other responsible municipal agency. (d) In determining the advisability of such certification, the Office of the State Traffic Administration shall include, in its consideration, highway safety, bicycle and pedestrian access and safety, the width and character of the highways affected, the density of traffic thereon, the character of such traffic and the opinion and findings of the traffic authority of the municipality wherein the development is located. The office may require improvements to be made by the applicant to the extent that such improvements address impacts to state highway safety or bicycle and pedestrian access and safety created by the addition of the applicant's proposed development or activity. If the office determines that such improvements, including traffic signals, pavement markings, channelization, pavement widening or other changes or traffic control devices, are required to handle traffic safely and efficiently, one hundred per cent of the cost thereof shall be borne by the person, firm, corporation or agency building, establishing or operating such open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large volumes of traffic, except that such cost shall not be borne by any municipal agency. The Commissioner of Transportation may issue a permit to such person, firm, corporation or agency to construct or install the changes required by the office. (e) Any person, firm, corporation or agency building, establishing or operating such open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large volumes of traffic aggrieved by any decision of the Office of the State Traffic Administration under this section may appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183 , except venue for such appeal shall be in the judicial district in which it is proposed to operate such establishment. The provisions of this section, except insofar as such provisions relate to expansion, shall not apply to any open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large volumes of traffic in operation on July 1, 1967. (f) Before submitting an application for a certificate for any development generating large volumes of traffic pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to the Office of the State Traffic Administration, the person, firm, corporation or agency submitting such application shall attend a mandatory meeting with the Office of the State Traffic Administration and other staff from the Department of Transportation. At such meeting, such person, firm, corporation or agency shall present the applicant's proposed development and receive feedback, including, but not limited to, information as to what materials need to be submitted for an application to be considered complete. See Sec. 14-311c re developed parcels of land separately owned and utilized together for a single development purpose which affects state highway traffic.

Legislative History

(1951, S. 1408d; 1967, P.A. 730; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 152; 1971, P.A. 611, S. 1; 870, S. 103; P.A. 73-136; P.A. 74-183, S. 202, 291; P.A. 76-412; 76-436, S. 173, 681; P.A. 77-603, S. 38, 125; P.A. 78-280, S. 1, 127; P.A. 83-362; P.A. 84-546, S. 46, 173; P.A. 85-498, S. 1, 3; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; 90-342, S. 1, 5; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; P.A. 11-256, S. 14; P.A. 12-132, S. 36; P.A. 21-28, S. 3; P.A. 23-135, S. 3; P.A. 24-40, S. 2, 3.) History: 1967 act made provisions applicable to shopping centers and other developments generating large volumes of traffic, added provisions re percentage of cost of traffic signals, pavement markings, road widening etc. to be borne by developer and re permit to construct or install required changes and replaced exemption for developments under construction or in operation on June 5, 1951, with exemption for developments in operation on July 1, 1967; 1969 act replaced highway commissioner with commissioner of transportation; 1971 acts made provisions applicable to expansions of developments or facilities, required developer to bear 75% rather than 50% of cost of road or traffic signal changes, qualified exemption by excluding expansion operations and replaced superior court with court of common pleas; P.A. 73-136 required developer to pay 100% of cost of road or traffic signal changes; P.A. 74-183 added reference to judicial districts; P.A. 76-412 included facilities or developments of state or municipal agencies, made provisions applicable to projects “substantially affecting state highway traffic”, exempted municipal agency from payment of cost of changes and added provision re postponement of action on applications; P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-603 replaced previous appeal provision with requirement that appeals be made in accordance with Sec. 4-183 except that venue remains in county or judicial district affected; P.A. 78-280 deleted reference to counties; P.A. 83-362 divided section into Subsecs., prohibited local building officials from issuing building or foundation permits for developments until commission issues certificates and required commission to act on certificate applications within 120 days unless additional information needed; P.A. 84-546 made technical grammatical change in Subsec. (e); P.A. 85-498 extended the provisions of Subsecs. (a) and (b) to firms, corporations or any combination of a firm, corporation, state agency or municipal agency; P.A. 90-342 added provision in Subsec. (b) authorizing injunction for failure to comply with commission's orders and provision in Subsec. (d) requiring the commission to seek the opinion of the traffic authority of the municipality where the development is located (Revisor's note: P.A. 88-230 and P.A. 90-98 authorized substitution of “judicial district of Hartford” for “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” in public and special acts of the 1990 session, effective September 1, 1993); P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 11-256 amended Subsec. (a) to establish exception from certificate requirement for certain developments and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to establish procedure applicable to certain single family home building lots re provision of copy of certificate and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (c) to require commencement of commission review prior to final approval by municipal agency and to make a technical change, and amended Subsec. (d) to authorize commission to require highway safety improvements, effective July 13, 2011; P.A. 12-132 replaced references to State Traffic Commission with references to Office of the State Traffic Administration, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provisions re commission action on certificate applications and added Subsec. (f) re mandatory meeting before submitting application, effective July 1, 2012 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (b)(ii), a reference to “commission” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “office” for consistency); P.A. 21-28 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provisions re consideration of bicycle and pedestrian access and safety and making technical changes; P.A. 23-135 amended Subsec. (b) to add “or permitted by the Office of the State Traffic Administration” re exception and add provision re prohibiting local building official from issuing certificate of occupancy until conditions of certificate issued by office have been satisfied and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2023; P.A. 24-40 amended Subsec. (b) to add provision re order to building official to revoke building or foundation permit and made a technical change, and amended Subsec. (f) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2024. Approval by State Traffic Commission is not a condition precedent to issuance of a building permit by local authority. 144 C. 67. Cited. 176 C. 63; 180 C. 11. Cited. 43 CA 52. No open air theater can lawfully be built until the required certificate has been issued. 18 CS 521. The issue of adequacy of roads leading to proposed site is determined by the State Traffic Commission. 20 CS 192.