§ 14-311c — Developed parcels of land separately owned and utilized together for a single development purpose which affects state highway traffic.

Connecticut § 14-311c

• 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 on any group of individual parcels of land which are separately owned but are utilized together for a single development purpose, whether or not such parcels are separated by any state, local or private roadway 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 the Office of the State Traffic Administration 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 a certificate if such development is a residential-only development and not part of a mixed-use development containing 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 this 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 such person, firm, corporation or 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 of the State Traffic Administration. 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 of the State Traffic Administration 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, it shall order the person, firm, corporation or agency to (A) cease constructing, expanding, establishing or operating the development, or (B) to 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 such order within such time as specified by the Office of the State Traffic Administration, said office or the traffic authority of the municipality wherein the development is located 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 the 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 such person, firm, corporation or agency to occupy homes on such lots until such person, firm, corporation or agency provides to such official a copy of the certificate issued under this section by said 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, 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 of the State Traffic Administration may require improvements to be made by the applicant to the extent that such improvements address impacts to state highway safety created by the addition of the applicant's proposed development or activity. If the Office of the State Traffic Administration 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 of the State Traffic Administration, in consultation with the local traffic authority. (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 which has received all necessary permits, variances, exceptions and approvals from the municipal zoning commission, planning commission, combined planning and zoning commission and zoning board of appeals in which such development is located prior to or on July 1, 1985, or to any such development which is in operation on that date. (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. 14-311 re open air theaters, shopping centers and certain other developments affecting state highway traffic.

Legislative History

(P.A. 85-498, S. 2, 3; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; 90-342, S. 2, 5; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; P.A. 11-256, S. 15; P.A. 12-132, S. 38; P.A. 23-135, S. 4; P.A. 24-40, S. 4, 5.) History: 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 technical changes, 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 and amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provisions re commission action on certificate applications, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 23-135 amended Subsec. (b) to add “or permitted by the Office of the State Traffic Administration” re exception and add provision prohibiting local building official from issuing certificate of occupancy until conditions of certificate issued by office have been satisfied, added Subsec. (f) re mandatory meeting before submitting application 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 amended Subsec. (f) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2024.