Transportation, Program Development

Rule R926-14

Utah Scenic Byway Program Administration; Scenic Byways Designation, De-designation, and Segmentation Processes

Notice of Proposed Rule

(New Rule)

DAR File No.: 33447
Filed: 03/09/2010 05:02:02 PM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The primary purpose of new Rule R926-14 is to reenact the provisions of Rule R926-7, proposed to be repealed, and amend the original language to align with legislation of H.B. 272 in the 2009 General Session, which amended Title 72, Chapter 4. A secondary purpose is to separate the scenic byway processes from the official list of scenic byways which will be included in Rule R926-13. Amendments to the scenic byway processes are typically driven by actions of the Legislature or those internal to the department, whereas amendments to the lists are driven by actions of the Utah Scenic Byway Committee or by the Federal Highway Administration. (DAR NOTE: The proposed repeal of Rule R926-7 is under DAR No. 33445, and the proposed new Rule R926-13 is under DAR No. 33446 in this issue, April 1, 2010, of the Bulletin. H.B. 272 (2009) is found at Chapter 393, Laws of Utah 2009, and was effective 05/12/2009.)

Summary of the rule or change:

Rule R926-14 addresses the administration of the Utah Scenic Byway program authorized in Title 72, Chapter 4, specifies the criteria needed for a roadway corridor to be considered for designation as a state scenic byway, and outlines the processes for designation as a state scenic byway, nomination as a National Scenic Byway or All-American Road, de-designation, and segmentation.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Section 72-4-301
• Section 63G-3-201
• Section 72-4-302
• Section 72-4-301.5
• Section 72-4-304
• Section 72-4-303

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

The Department anticipates no new cost or savings to the state budget resulting from adoption of this rule. Continuing impacts of scenic byways include incidental costs for installation and maintenance of scenic byway signs and updating state maps.

local governments:

The Department anticipates no new cost or savings to local government resulting from adoption of this rule. Continuing impacts of scenic byways include local governments on the byways becoming eligible for byway-related grants. They also potentially see increases of sales tax revenue from increased tourism along the byway, but would not see increases in revenues from billboards as new installations are prohibited.

small businesses:

The Department anticipates no new cost or savings to small businesses resulting from adoption of this rule. Continuing impacts of scenic byways include tourist-related businesses that typically benefit from a scenic byway designation, but businesses located off the route may be impacted by the limits on offsite advertising. Opportunities for outdoor advertising businesses are limited by scenic byway designations.

persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:

As this rule outlines internal processes of the Utah Scenic Byway Committee, there are no costs or savings to persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entities.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

This rule outlines internal processes of the Utah Scenic Byway Committee and does not exact compliance costs.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

The Department anticipates no new fiscal impact on businesses resulting from adoption of this rule. Continuing impacts of scenic byways include tourist-related businesses that typically benefit from a scenic byway designation. Businesses located off the route may be impacted by the limits on offsite advertising. New opportunities for outdoor advertising businesses are limited by scenic byway designations.

John Njord, Executive Director

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Transportation
Program Development
4501 S 2700 W
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84119-5998

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

• David Benard at the above address, by phone at 801-965-4197, by FAX at 801-965-4338, or by Internet E-mail at dbenard@utah.gov

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

05/03/2010

This rule may become effective on:

05/10/2010

Authorized by:

John Njord, Executive Director

R926. Transportation, Program Development.

R926-14. Utah Scenic Byway Program Administration; Scenic Byways Designation, De-designation, and Segmentation Processes.

R926-14-1. Purpose.

The purpose of this rule is to establish the following:

(a) administration of the Utah Scenic Byway program;

(b) the criteria that a highway shall possess to be considered for designation as a state scenic byway;

(c) the process for nominating a highway to be designated as a state scenic byway;

(d) the process for nominating an existing state scenic byway to be considered for designation as a National Scenic Byway or All-American Road;

(e) the process and criteria for removing the designation of a highway as a scenic byway or segmentation of a portion thereof; and

(f) the requirements for public hearings to be conducted regarding proposed changes to the scenic byway status of corridor, and related notifications.

 

R926-14-2. Authority.

The provisions of this rule are authorized by the following grants of rulemaking authority and provisions of Utah Code: Title 63G, Chapter 3; and the Designation of Highways Act, Title 72, Chapter 4.

 

R926-14-3. Definitions.

Terms used in this rule are defined in Title 72, Chapter 4. The following additional terms are defined for this rule:

(1) "All-American Road" means a scenic byway designation made at the national level for state scenic byways that significantly meet criteria for multiple qualities out of the six defined intrinsic qualities.

(2) "America's Byways" means the brand utilized by the National Scenic Byways Program for promotion of the National Scenic Byways and All American Roads.

(3) "Committee" or "State Committee" means the Utah State Scenic Byway Committee as defined in Title 74, Chapter 4 and does not refer to any local scenic byway committee, herein defined.

(4) "Corridor management plan" means a written document prepared by the local scenic byway committee in accordance with federal policies that specifies the actions, procedures, controls, operational practices, and administrative strategies necessary to maintain the intrinsic qualities of a scenic byway.

(5) "De-designation" means removing a current state scenic byway designation by the committee from an entire existing scenic byway.

(6) "Department" means the Utah Department of Transportation.

(7) "Designation" means selection of a roadway by the committee as a state scenic byway or selection of an existing state scenic byway by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as one of America's Byways.

(8) "Federal policies" means those rules outlining the National Scenic Byway Program and that set forth the criteria for designating roadways as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads, specifically the FHWA Interim Policy.

(9) "Governmental Body" means the elected governing board of a political subdivision, such as a town, city, county, tribal government or Association of Governments.

(10) "Grant" means discretionary funding available on a competitive basis to designated scenic byways from the Federal Highway Administration through the National Scenic Byways Program.

(11) "Intrinsic quality" means scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, or natural features that are considered representative, unique, irreplaceable, or distinctly characteristic of an area. The National Scenic Byways Program further defines each of these qualities.

(12) "Local Scenic Byway Committee" means the committee consisting of the local byway coordinator and representatives from nearby governmental bodies, agencies, tourism related groups and interested individuals that recommends and prioritizes various projects and applications relating to a scenic byway. The local scenic byway committee promotes and preserves intrinsic values along the byway.

(13) "Local Byway Coordinator" means an individual recognized by the local scenic byway committee as chair. If a local scenic byway committee does not exist for a scenic byway, the local byway coordinator is an individual recognized by the state committee chair as the person to contact for applications and other administrative business for the state scenic byway.

(14) "National Scenic Byway" means a scenic byway designation made at the national level for byways that significantly meet criteria for at least one quality out of the six defined intrinsic qualities.

(15) "National Scenic Byways Program" or "NSBP" means a program provided by the Federal Highway Administration to promote the recognition and enjoyment of America's memorable roads.

(16) "State Scenic Byway" means a Utah roadway corridor that has been duly designated by the committee for its intrinsic qualities.

(17) "Status" refers to the current designation of a scenic byway, i.e., state scenic byway, National Scenic Byway, All-American Road, undesignated roadway, segmented scenic byway or de-designated scenic byway.

 

R926-14-4. Utah State Scenic Byway Committee Organization and Administration.

(1) The authorization of the committee, its membership, administration, powers, and duties are defined in Title 72, Chapter 4.

(2) The committee shall meet annually, at a minimum, or as frequently as needed to administer the State Scenic Byway program within the State of Utah. This business shall include, but not be limited to designating, de-designating and segmenting of state scenic byways; recommending considerations for National and All-American Road recognition to the Legislature, recommending applications to the NSBP; prioritizing applications for Scenic Byway Discretionary funding and other funding that may be available; and other business as may be needed to administer the scenic byway program.

(3) The committee will meet in the second quarter of the calendar year. Additional committee meetings may be called to conduct business necessary to administer the state scenic byway program.

(6) A poll by telephone or email may be taken of all members for the purpose of approving applications submitted for National Scenic Byway or All-American Road recognition. All committee members will be furnished poll results. A second poll will then be taken of the voting committee members concerning submitting the applications, with the results determining if the application will be submitted. The results will be forwarded to all committee members, and reported at the next committee meeting.

(7) A poll by telephone or email may be taken of all members for the purpose of prioritizing the funding of grant applications submitted for Scenic Byway Discretionary funds and other available funds. All committee members will be furnished poll results. A second poll will then be taken of the voting committee members concerning prioritizing the applications, with the results determining priorities of the applications to be submitted. The results will be forwarded to all committee members, and reported at the next committee meeting.

 

R926-14-5. Criteria Required of a Highway to Be Considered for Designation as a State Scenic Byway.

(1) A road being considered for state scenic byway designation must meet all of the following criteria:

(a) the nominated road must possess at least two unusual, exceptional, or distinctive intrinsic qualities, as defined;

(b) the nominated road may be either a planned or existing route and in the case of a planned route, legal public access, safety standards and all-weather pavement must be guaranteed at completion of construction;

(c) roadway safety on the nominated road must be evaluated against and guided by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) safety standards for federal aid primary or secondary roads;

(d) the nominated road must have strong local support for byway designation and the proponents must demonstrate this support and coordination;

(e) the nominated road must accommodate recreational vehicles or provisions should be made for travel by recreational vehicles;

(f) the nominated road need not lead to or provide connection to other road networks; it may be dead-ended, or provide only a single outlet for traffic;

(g) the nominated road need not be open during the winter months, but seasonal road closures must be clearly posted, shown on applicable maps, and specified in any promotional literature; and

(h) the nominated road may include portions of the Interstate Highway System, but only if the Interstate component is a small part of the mileage of the overall nominated scenic byway and is included primarily for continuity of travel.

(2) It is the intent of these criteria to be restrictive in nature so as to limit the number of designated state scenic byways in order to maintain the quality and integrity of the scenic byway system.

 

R926-14-6. Process for Nominating a Highway to Be Designated a State Scenic Byway.

(1) Nominations for a corridor to be designated a state scenic byway shall be forwarded to the committee by a local governmental body.

(2) The nomination application must demonstrate how the nominated road meets the criteria to qualify as a state scenic byway.

(3) The committee will act on a byway-related application only after the responsible organization has held public hearings and submitted minutes of the hearings, including names and addresses of people making comments, a detailed summary of comments made, and proof of public notification.

(4) The committee will consider the nomination after review of the application and after a presentation by the nominating sponsor group, either at the byway location, or at a committee meeting. The committee will vote on proposed designations at the next committee meeting. The committee will report the results of the vote to the nomination sponsor.

(5) Individual communities along the byway corridor that do not support the designation of the byway within the limits of their community have the statutory right, as prescribed in Title 72, Chapter 4, to opt out of any new byway designation through official action of their legislative body, but they become ineligible for byway grants and promotional considerations by doing so.

(6) Upon approval by the committee of a scenic byway nomination, the committee shall notify the Utah Office of Tourism, the department and other interested agencies of the new designation and of the approved alignment and limits of the designated corridor.

(a) The committee will make a request to these agencies that they modify reference of the segment, to reflect the change in scenic byway status, on maps and in materials and website applications identifying scenic byways.

 

R926-14-7. Process for Nominating a Highway to Be Designated a National Scenic Byway or All-American Road.

In addition to state recognition, state scenic byways may be nominated to the National Scenic Byways Program so that they may be recognized as a byway of national significance through designation as a National Scenic Byway or All-American Road.

(1) Local scenic byway committees shall notify the state committee of their intent to apply for National Scenic Byway or All-American Road status and the state committee shall in turn notify the Legislature of this intent.

(2) Local scenic byway committees desiring national designation are required by the National Scenic Byways Program to prepare nomination applications, adhering to the criteria outlined in applicable federal policies.

(a) A corridor management plan for the byway will be required by the NSBP to be prepared before a nomination application will be considered. The required information and criteria to be included in the corridor management plan are outlined in the federal policies.

(b) The NSBP will issue a call for applications, at which time the local scenic byway committee may submit a nomination application as long as the state scenic byway has been approved for consideration in accordance with the requirements of Title 72, Chapter 4.

(3) Local scenic byway committees are to confer with the state committee during the preparation of a corridor management plan and will submit their nomination applications to the committee for review prior to submitting to the NSBP.

(4) The committee will refer all considerations for America's Byways designations to the Legislature for approval, along with the recommendation of the committee. As required in Title 72, Chapter 4, Legislative approval must be obtained before any application for nomination may be submitted to the NSBP.

(5) Upon approval by the NSBP of a National Scenic Byway nomination, the committee shall notify the Utah Office of Tourism, the department and other interested agencies of the new designation and of any differences in alignment or limits as related to existing state scenic byway designations.

(a) The committee will make a request to these agencies that they modify reference of the segment, to reflect the change in scenic byway status, on maps and in materials and website applications identifying scenic byways.

 

R926-14-8. Process and Criteria for Removing the Designation of a Highway as a Scenic Byway or Segmentation of a Portion Thereof.

(1) The committee may de-designate a scenic byway if the intrinsic values for which the corridor was designated have become significantly degraded and no longer meet the requirements for which it was originally designated.

(2) The committee may also remove designation on a localized segment of a designated byway if the intrinsic values within the segment have become degraded or if the segment being considered was included for continuity of travel along the designated corridor, does not in and of itself contain the intrinsic values for which the corridor was designated, and the segmentation has strong community-based support.

(3) De-designated corridors and communities or parcels segmented out of the scenic byway designation are no longer subject to byways-related regulations and are no longer eligible for byways-related grants and promotional considerations.

(4) Committee processes for de-designation or segmentation may be initiated by the committee itself or by request from a governmental body.

(5) Alternatively, segmentation of specific parcels or portions of a scenic byway may be considered directly by the legislative body of a county, city, or town where the segmentation is proposed, as provided in Title 72, Chapter 4. The same public hearing requirements are followed for local legislative actions as are stipulated herein for committee actions.

(6) Requests to the committee for segmentation or de-designation of state scenic byways shall be submitted by a governmental body along or adjacent to the scenic byway corridor. Each request shall include discussion of the specific reasons for segmentation or de-designation. Reasons may include, but are not limited to:

(a) segment or corridor is no longer consistent with the state's criteria for selection as a scenic byway;

(b) failure to have maintained or enhanced intrinsic values for which the scenic byway was designated;

(c) degradation of the intrinsic values for which the scenic byway was selected;

(d) segment of byway is not representative of the intrinsic values for which the scenic byway was designated and was included primarily for connectivity; or

(e) state scenic byway designation has become a liability to the corridor.

(7) Upon receipt of the request for segmentation or de-designation, the committee chair will add the request to the agenda of the next committee meeting.

(8) The committee will review the request at the next committee meeting and discuss at least the following:

(a) reasons for segmentation or de-designation;

(b) whether segmentation or de-designation of the scenic byway will significantly degrade the statewide scenic byway system; and

(c) whether segmentation or de-designation is an attempt to evade applicable rules, regulations or requirements.

(9) The committee will act on a byway segmentation or de-designation request only after the responsible organization has held public hearings and submitted minutes of the hearings, including names and addresses of people making comments, a detailed summary of comments made, and proof of public notification.

(10) Following discussion of the request, the committee will vote on the request for segmentation or de-designation. The committee will then forward the result of the vote to the requesting governmental body.

(11) Upon approval or disapproval of a de-designation or segmentation request, the acting body, whether the committee or the local legislative body, shall notify the Utah Office of Tourism, the department and other interested agencies of the action taken.

(a) In the case of approval of a de-designation or segmentation, the acting body will make a request to these agencies that they modify reference of the segment, to reflect the change in scenic byway status, on maps and in materials and website applications identifying scenic byways.

(b) In the case where the committee approves the de-designation of a scenic byway that had also been designated as a National Scenic Byway, the committee will inform the National Scenic Byway Program of the decision and make a request to the NSBP that they modify reference of the segment, to reflect the change in scenic byway status, on maps and in materials and website applications identifying scenic byways.

(c) In the case of a local legislative action on a segmentation request, the legislative body shall also notify the committee and the local byway coordinator of the action taken.

(12) Appeals to the committee concerning local legislative actions are handled as provided in Title 72. Chapter 4.

 

R926-14-9. Local Government Consent.

Consent of affected local governments along the byway corridor is required by Title 72, Chapter 4 for any change in scenic byway status.

 

R926-14-10. Requirements for Public Hearings to Be Conducted Regarding Changes to Status of a State Scenic Byway and Related Notifications.

(1) Whenever changes to the scenic byway status of a corridor or of a segment thereof are considered, one or more public hearings must be held for the purpose of receiving the public's views and to respond to questions and concerns expressed before action is taken.

(a) The organization initiating the request for change in status is responsible for arrangement, notification, and execution of the hearing(s). The responsible organization may be:

(i) an organization (local scenic byway committee, community, county or association of governments) submitting an application or request to the committee;

(ii) the committee, in the case of a process initiated by the committee itself; or

(iii) a local legislative body considering a segmentation request.

(b) The hearing(s) shall be held in the area affected by the proposed status changes.

(c) Multiple hearings in varied locations may be appropriate, based on the length of the corridor or the affected area within the corridor. The committee chair will review and approve the number and locations of hearings as proposed by the nominating organization to ensure collection of a broad base of public comments throughout the length of the corridor where the scenic byway status changes are proposed.

(d) The responsible organization shall invite the state committee and the local scenic byway committee to attend the public hearing(s).

(2) The required public hearing(s) may be held separately, or as an identifiable agenda item of a regular meeting of a governmental body.

(3) Notification of all public hearings shall be made as required by the laws governing the responsible organization.

(4) At a minimum, the following information related to the proposed change in status is to be addressed at each public hearing:

(a) the impact on outdoor advertising;

(b) the potential impact of traffic volumes;

(c) the potential impact of land use along the byway;

(d) the potential impact on grant eligibility; and

(e) the potential impact on the local tourist industry.

(5) The responsible organization shall keep minutes of the hearing, including a detailed summary of comments and the names and addresses of those making comments and shall make these available to the committee, along with proof of required notifications.

 

KEY: transportation, scenic byways, highways

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: 2010

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 63G-3-201, 72-4-301, 72-4-301.5, 72-4-302, 72-4-303, 72-4-304