Sec. 13a-142e. Route 11 Greenway Authority Commission. Transfer of real property to Commissioner of Transportation.
Sec. 13a-142e. Route 11 Greenway Authority Commission. Transfer of real
property to Commissioner of Transportation. (a) The towns of East Lyme, Montville,
Salem and Waterford may, by ordinance consistent with the provisions of subsections
(b) and (c) of this section, establish a Route 11 Greenway Authority Commission which
shall be deemed established at such time as the last of the four towns has adopted such
ordinance.
(b) Such ordinance shall specify the membership of the commission, which shall
consist of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or said commissioner's designee, the Commissioner of Transportation, or said commissioner's designee, a member
and alternate member from each of the towns of East Lyme, Montville, Salem and
Waterford, appointed by the first selectman of each of said towns, and a member and
alternate member of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments appointed
by said agency. Each member and alternate member shall serve for a term of two years
and until such member's successor is appointed and has qualified. Such appointments
may be made at a meeting of the town's legislative body, to take effect when the last
of the four towns has adopted such ordinance. An alternate member shall be empowered
to vote on said commission in the absence of the member for whom such person is an
alternate. The initial terms of members shall commence when the last of the four towns
adopting such ordinance has appointed a member and an alternate member. Any vacancy
on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for
the balance of the unexpired term. No appointed member shall receive any compensation
for service on said commission. Said commission shall elect from its members a chairperson and such other officers as it deems necessary and shall establish its own rules
of procedure. The commission shall be an autonomous body within the Department of
Transportation for administrative purposes only. The commission may employ experts
and such other assistants as it judges necessary and may accept funds from any source.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, any funds appropriated to
the commission, or received by the commission from any other source, shall be held in
the custody of the commission and expended by the commission for the purposes set
forth in this section.
(c) Such ordinance shall also require the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Transportation, not later than sixty days after May 26,
2000, to call a meeting of said commission which shall, within ninety days thereafter:
(1) Hold public hearings for the purpose of developing standards for (A) defining
the initial boundaries of the Route 11 Greenway, (B) planning the design, construction,
maintenance and management of the Route 11 Greenway and intermodal transportation
access system, (C) identifying and prioritizing lands that should be added to the Route
11 Greenway, (D) recommending land use within the Route 11 Greenway, and (E)
acquiring land and securing conservation easements for the Route 11 Greenway, except
that nothing in public act 00-148* shall be construed to prohibit the acquisition of land
within the Route 11 Greenway by a municipality; and
(2) Establish by-laws by which the commission shall (A) conduct its meetings,
including a provision specifying that no action by the commission shall be effective
except by the concurring vote of at least four members, (B) protect and preserve the
lands under its custody, (C) supervise staff, (D) maintain its records, and (E) report to
the General Assembly, as required under subsection (d) of this section.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or the general statutes, the
commission may: (1) Acquire or convey by purchase, gift, lease, devise, exchange or
otherwise, any land or interest therein including, but not limited to, conservation easements, located wholly or partly in the conservation zone, provided state funds may be
used only to the extent that such funds have been authorized specifically by an act of
the General Assembly for the acquisition of land located within two thousand feet of
the Department of Transportation's right-of-way; (2) transfer, with the approval of the
commissioner, any land or interest therein to the state with or without consideration,
provided any funds received therefor shall not be deemed funds furnished by the state
for the purposes of this section; (3) contribute or transfer funds to, and enter into
agreements with, land trusts or other conservation organizations, to carry out the purposes of public act 00-148*; and (4) request the Commissioner of Transportation to
acquire an interest in real property on behalf of the commission for use as part of the
Route 11 Greenway and, if acquired by said commissioner, accept the transfer of custody
and control of such interest from said commissioner. Said commissioner may acquire
any interest in real property for use as part of the Route 11 Greenway in the same manner
and with like powers as authorized and exercised by said commissioner in acquiring
real property for highway purposes and may, upon request of the commission, transfer
custody and control of such interest in real property to the commission. The commission
shall report to the General Assembly, on or before February fifteenth, annually, on its
activities of the preceding year and on its finances. The existence of the commission
shall terminate at such time as all of its member towns have withdrawn or it is abolished
by the General Assembly.
(P.A. 00-148, S. 40, 41; P.A. 05-131, S. 2; P.A. 06-58, S. 1.)
*Public act 00-148 is entitled "An Act Revising Certain Transportation Laws". (See Reference Table captioned "Public
Acts of 2000" in Volume 16 which lists the sections amended, created or repealed by the act.
History: P.A. 00-148 effective May 26, 2000; P.A. 05-131 amended Subsec. (d) by adding Subdiv. (4) empowering
commission to request Commissioner of Transportation to acquire interest in real property to be used for Route 11 Greenway
trail system; P.A. 06-58 amended Subsec. (c)(1) and (d) to delete references to trail system and further amended Subsec.
(d) to remove requirement that the transfer of land acquired by Commissioner of Transportation for greenway use be
pursuant to an act of the General Assembly and revise prohibition on use of state funds for acquisition of property to restrict
use of such funds to those specifically authorized by an act of the General Assembly for land located within 2,000 feet of
Department of Transportation's right-of-way.
See Sec. 4-38f for definition of "administrative purposes only".