TOWN OF RUTLAND
ROAD NAME AND ROAD LOCATION ADDRESSING
ORDINANCE
SECTION
I - PURPOSE
In accordance with 24 V.S.A.
Chapter 59, Chapter 61, Subchapter 11 and Chapter 117, and 23 V.S.A. Chapter
24, the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Rutland hereby establishes the
following ordinance in order to develop a more uniform road naming and road
location addressing system throughout the Town of Rutland to enable people to
locate roads and addresses and to effectively provide emergency services and
deliveries to town citizens
This ordinance is hereby
designated a CIVIL ordinance and shall be enforced according to 24 V.S.A.
Chapter 59 and 23 V.S.A. Chapter 24.
SECTION
II - DEFINITIONS
Road: For
purposes of this Ordinance, a "road" is (i) a public road, a state or
town highway identified on the latest A.O.T. General Highway Map for the Town
of Rutland, or (ii) any non-public road, street, right of way, shared driveway,
or other way which provides access to three or more dwellings.
Public Road: A
state or town highway identified on the latest A.O.T. General Highway Map for
the Town of Rutland.
Structure: For purposes of this Ordinance, a
"structure" shall include (i) any dwelling, (ii) any public building,
(iii) any place of business, and (iv) any building which the Board of Selectmen
or its designee determines should have a separate location number in order to
effectively provide emergency services.
SECTION
III - ROAD NAMING
A. Each "road," as defined
herein, shall be assigned a name by the Board of Selectmen or its
designee. The Board of Selectmen or its
designee may determine that other roads, streets, rights of way, or other ways
providing access to a structure, may require a name if necessary to effectively
provide emergency services.
B. Attached to this Ordinance is a list
and map of all current roads and road names in the Town of Rutland and the
names of such roads are hereby adopted.
See Attachment A.
Each
road not named in Attachment A shall receive a proposed name by resolution of
the Board of Selectmen at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. The proposed road names must be separate and
distinct from other designated road names in the Town of Rutland and
surrounding communities.
C. The Board of Selectmen shall add
names to Attachment A by following the procedures for adoption and amendment of
ordinances as set forth in 24 V.S.A., Chapter 59.
In
addition to the statutory provisions, the adoption procedure for new road names
under this Ordinance shall include providing notice of the proposed amendment
with the proposed road name to all landowners on that road via individual or
bulk mailing or by a notice in a newspaper circulating in the
municipality. Within thirty (30) days
of the passage of the resolution to amend Attachment A for purposes of naming a
road, affected individuals in the Town of Rutland may request the Board of
Selectmen to hold a hearing on the proposed Amendment, or may offer written
comments to the Board of Selectmen on the proposed Amendment. Unless the resolution is withdrawn, revoked
or amended by the Board of Selectmen, the resolution amending Attachment A
shall become effective sixty (60) days after the date of the resolution in
accordance with 24 V.S.A. Section 1972.
D. The Board of Selectmen may change
the names of any road, after a duly-warned public hearing when necessary to
promote public welfare and safety.
SECTION
IV - FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
A. Prior to the approval of a
subdivision by the Planning Commission, the subdivider shall furnish a plan for
road naming and road numbering in accordance with this Ordinance to the
Planning Commission and Board of Selectmen.
The subdivider shall be responsible for installation of road signs and
location numbers prior to the issuance of any permits for construction on any
of the subdivided lots.
B. Following the adoption of this
Ordinance, the written approval of the Board of Selectmen or its designee is
required for any proposed road name and location numbers of any new structure
for which an Act 250 or highway access permit is required.
C. Where a new or reconstructed
structure is not otherwise subject to Section IV B and when the Board of
Selectmen or its designee determines that, in order to promote the purposes of
this Ordinance, the new or reconstructed structure should be assigned a
location number or should have its existing location number changed, the Board
of Selectmen or its designee shall provide the owner of structure with a
written order of the assignment or amendment of the structure’s location number. This owner shall comply with Section V of
the Ordinance within 60 days of the date of the order unless the order
specifically provides a different date by which compliance is due.
SECTION
V - GENERAL ADDRESSING AND NUMBERING SYSTEM GUIDELINES
A. Roads officially named by the Board
of Selectmen of the Town of Rutland shall be measured in segments of 5.28 feet
(1/1000 of a mile). Even numbers shall
be assigned to the right side of the road and odd numbers to the left as they
proceed from the starting point.
B. The Board of Selectmen or its
designee shall assign each structure, as defined herein, a "location
number" based upon its distance (i.e. the number of 5.28 feet segments)
from the starting point of the road to the center of the driveway or entrance
from the road to the structure, if possible.
The Board of Selectmen or its designee shall have the authority to
assign a location number utilizing other physical information regarding the
structure, if appropriate and necessary in order to effectively provide
emergency services.
C. Each of the location numbers for
structures must be at least four (4) inches high and at least two (2) inches
wide. Location numbers must be dark in
color on a light colored background with no other markings or symbols.
Numbers
must be clearly visible from the road if the location number signs are affixed
to the structure. If the location
number affixed to the structure is not clearly visible from the road, the
location number shall be affixed on a board or plaque no smaller than 8 inches
wide by 4 inches high and such board or plaque affixed to a post, pole, fence
or other structure near the driveway entrance so as to be clearly visible from
the road during all seasons.
Numbers
may only be affixed to a mailbox if there is a single mailbox located at the
entrance to the structure from the road and, in such event, the location number
shall be on both sides of the mailbox.
If there are multiple mailboxes at a single location or the mailbox is
on the opposite side of the road to the entrance to the structure, no location
numbers may be placed on the sides of the mailbox and any identifying
information shall only be marked on the front of the mailbox facing the road.
The
property owner is responsible for the purchase and installation of location
numbers to be installed.
D. A multiple dwelling or use structure
shall bear one number for each dwelling or use where possible. If each dwelling or use does not have a
separate number, then the Board of Designee or its designee shall determine the
appropriate numbering of each dwelling or use so as to provide emergency
services effectively.
E. All location numbers shall be
maintained so as to maintain clear visibility of the location number.
SECTION
VI - ROAD NAME SIGNS
A. The Board of Selectmen, upon
adoption of this Ordinance, shall institute a program for the installation and
maintenance of municipal and private road name signs in accordance with this
Ordinance. All non-public roads shall
also be properly signed. The cost of
initial installation (purchase and installing post and sign) shall be paid by
the Town for public roads listed on Attachment A and by the owners/users of
existing non-public roads listed on Attachment A. The owners/users of non-public roads shall be responsible for the
maintenance, repair and replacement of such road signs for the non-public
roads. The Town shall be responsible
for the maintenance, repair and replacement of roads signs on public roads.
B. All road signs shall conform to the
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devises for Roads and Highways.
C. All road signs shall be maintained
so as to maintain clear visibility of the name of the road.
SECTION
VII - IMPLEMENTATION
A. The Town shall ensure, through
cooperative efforts with the Post Office, that each property owner is notified
of the implementation of this Ordinance.
B. All structure owners shall install
their location numbers within sixty (60) days after the adoption of the road
name upon which the structure is located.
SECTION
VIII - SEVERABILITY
If any portion of this Ordinance
and any Amendments made hereto is held unconstitutional or invalid by a court
of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Ordinance and any Amendments
made hereto shall not be affected and shall remain in full force and
effect. If any statute referred to in
this Ordinance shall be amended, this Ordinance shall be deemed to refer to
such statute as amended.
SECTION
IX - ENFORCEMENT AND REMEDIES
A. The designated Enforcement Officer
is the Administrative Assistant.
B. This Ordinance is designated as a
civil ordinance pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 1971(b). This Ordinance shall be enforced through the
Traffic and Municipal Ordinance Bureau pursuant to 23 V.S.A. Chapter 24 and 24
V.S.A. Chapter 59, as may be amended from time to time.
C. The following civil penalties are
hereby imposed for violation of this Ordinance.
First violation of the Ordinance $
50.00
Second violation of the Ordinance $100.00
Third violation of the Ordinance $200.00
Fourth and subsequent violation
of
the Ordinance $400.00
Each
day a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
In
cases where violations of the Ordinance are brought in the Traffic and
Municipal Ordinance Bureau, and where the violation is admitted or not
contested, in lieu of the above, the following waiver penalties are imposed.
First violation of the Ordinance $
25.00
Second violation of the Ordinance $ 50.00
Third violation of the Ordinance $100.00
Fourth and subsequent violation
of
the Ordinance $200.00
Each
day a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
D. In addition to any other remedy
provided in this Ordinance or available at law or in equity, the Town of
Rutland may institute a suit for an injunction to prevent, restrain or abate
violations of this Ordinance.