2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 14-311. Open air theaters, shopping centers and certain other developments affecting state highway traffic.

      Sec. 14-311. Open air theaters, shopping centers and certain other developments affecting state highway traffic. (a) No person, firm, corporation, state agency, or municipal agency or combination thereof shall build, expand, establish or operate any open air theater, shopping center or other development generating large volumes of traffic, having an exit or entrance on, or abutting or adjoining, any state highway or substantially affecting state highway traffic within this state until such person or agency has procured from the State Traffic Commission a certificate that the operation thereof will not imperil the safety of the public.

      (b) 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 commission. If the commission determines that any person, firm, corporation, or state or municipal agency has (1) started building, expanding, establishing or operating such a development without first obtaining a certificate from the commission 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) 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 commission within such time as specified by the commission, the commission may make an application 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.

      (c) The State Traffic Commission shall issue its decision on an application for a certificate under subsection (a) of this section not later than one hundred twenty days after it is filed, except that, if the commission needs additional information from the applicant, it shall notify the applicant in writing as to what information is required and (1) the commission may toll the running of such one-hundred-twenty-day period by the number of days between and including the date such notice is received by the applicant and the date the additional information is received by the commission and (2) if the commission receives the additional information during the last ten days of the one-hundred-twenty-day period and needs additional time to review and analyze such information, it may extend such period by not more than fifteen days. The State Traffic Commission may also, at its discretion, postpone action on any application submitted pursuant to this section or section 14-311a until such time as it is shown that an application has been filed with and approved by the municipal planning and zoning agency or other responsible municipal agency.

      (d) In determining the advisability of such certification, the State Traffic Commission 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. If the State Traffic Commission determines that 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 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 said person to construct or install the changes required by the State Traffic Commission.

      (e) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the State Traffic Commission hereunder 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.

      (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.)

      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 seventy-five rather than fifty per cent 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 one hundred per cent 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 one hundred twenty 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.

      See Sec. 14-311c re developed parcels of land separately owned and utilized together for a single development purpose which affects state highway traffic.

      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, 66. Cited. 180 C. 11, 34, 35.

      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.

      Subsec. (a):

      Cited. 43 CA 52.

      Subsec. (b):

      Cited. 43 CA 52.

      Subsec. (e):

      Cited. 43 CA 52.