Transportation, Program Development

Rule R926-14

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

Notice of Proposed Rule

(Amendment)

DAR File No.: 34955
Filed: 06/20/2011 05:18:00 PM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

There are three purposes to the amendments to Rule R926-14. The first set of amendments is to allow the Utah State Scenic Byway Committee to conduct meetings through electronic means to reduce the travel required of committee members, particularly for meetings called in addition to the mandated Spring meeting. The second set of amendments clarifies the offset distance required for regulated outdoor advertising, as it applies to byway segmentation, and the potential impact on segmentation decisions that National Highway System status may have. The third set of amendments gives direction to UDOT on what tasks need to be carried out after changes are approved on the byway system.

Summary of the rule or change:

The changes allow the Utah State Scenic Byway Committee to conduct meetings through electronic means to reduce the travel required of committee members, particularly for meetings called in addition to the mandated Spring meeting, clarify the offset distance required for regulated outdoor advertising, as it applies to byway segmentation, and the potential impact on segmentation decisions that National Highway System status may have, and give direction to UDOT on what tasks need to be carried out after changes are approved on the byway system.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Section 72-4-301
• Section 52-4-207
• 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:

There may be some savings to the state budget by allowing the Utah State Scenic Byway Committee to hold some meetings through electronic means reducing per diem and travel costs for committee members.

local governments:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to local government because changes to sign spacing and segmentation eligibility are only clarifications of state and federal regulations already in place and do not create any new impacts.

small businesses:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to small businesses because changes to sign spacing and segmentation eligibility are only clarifications of state and federal regulations already in place and do not create any new impacts.

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

There are no anticipated cost or savings to persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entities because changes to sign spacing and segmentation eligibility are only clarifications of state and federal regulations already in place and do not create any new impacts.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no anticipated costs for affected persons because the rule outlines the internal processes of the Utah Scenic Byway Committee and does not create compliance costs.

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

There are no anticipated fiscal impacts on businesses because the rule outlines the internal processes of the Utah Scenic Byway Committee and does not create fiscal impacts.

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:

• Linda Barrow at the above address, by phone at 801-965-4026, by FAX at 801-965-4338, or by Internet E-mail at lindabarrow@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:

08/15/2011

This rule may become effective on:

08/22/2011

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:

( 1[a]) administration of the Utah Scenic Byway program;

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

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

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

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

( 6[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 52, Chapter 4; 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 :

(a) designating, de-designating and segmenting of state scenic byways;

(b) recommending considerations for National and All-American Road recognition to the Legislature ;

(c) [,] recommending applications to the NSBP;

(d) prioritizing applications for Scenic Byway Discretionary funding and other funding that may be available; and

(e) 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.

(a) The Spring meeting is intended to be an in-person gathering of the full committee at a single anchor location. Where the need arises, and as authorized by Title 52, Chapter 4, individual members may request to be connected to the meeting via teleconference, video conference, web conference, or other emerging electronic technology, if they make the request at least three days prior to the committee meeting to allow for arrangements to be made for the connection.

(b) All additional meetings called by the chair may be held as either in-person or electronic meetings, at the discretion of the chair, as authorized by Title 52, Chapter 4.

(i) Electronic meetings may be fully electronic, i.e. each member may join on an individual remote connection (depending on the technology used), but an anchor location must be provided for the public at one or more connections, preferably at a conference room available to either the department or the Utah Office of Tourism, that is large enough to accommodate anticipated demand.

(ii) Electronic meetings may be via teleconference, video conference, web conference, or other emerging electronic technology, at the discretion of the chair, as long as adequate time is provided to set up the required electronic connections for all participants and the technology used is generally publicly available.

(iii) All meetings, whether in-person or electronic, must be advertised and accessible to the public for both hearing and comment, which in the case of electronic meetings will require publication of connection details and anchor locations.

(iv) The published agenda for electronic meetings needs to include details on the format of how and when public comment will be received and addressed by the committee. For example, comment during a web conference may be taken continuously via a chat window, then read by the moderator during the time set aside for public input, with committee responding. In a teleconference, public participants may be requested to hold their comments until a designated period is opened by the chair.

[ (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.

]

R926-14-6. 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.

(7) On receiving notification of a newly designated state scenic byway, the department shall amend Rule 926-13 to include the description of the byway and the date of its approval. The department shall forward to the NSBP any electronic files needed to describe or display the new byway in online maps, brochures, or other publications of the NSBP. The department will add the scenic byway to the official highway map at its next printing.

 

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.

(6) On receiving notification of a change in byway status to National Scenic Byway or All-American Road, the department shall amend Rule 926-13 to update the description of the byway to reflect the approved changes and the date of NSBP approval.

 

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 primarily 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) Highways that are part of the National Highway System (NHS) are still subject to certain federal outdoor advertising regulations, regardless of their scenic byway status. When considering a de-designation or segmentation on an NHS route, either the committee or the local legislative body should become familiar with the regulatory differences between scenic byway status and NHS status, since de-designation or segmentation would not affect the ongoing applicability of NHS regulations and may not always produce the desired effect.

[(3)](4) 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)](5) Committee processes for de-designation or segmentation may be initiated by the committee itself or by request from a governmental body.

[(5)](6) 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]provided herein for committee actions.

[(6)](7) 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.

(8) Parcels on existing byways may not be segmented out of a byway solely for the purpose of evading state and federal regulations pertaining to byway designation, but must also be considered non-scenic or otherwise meet the criteria listed in Paragraph (7). However, towns, cities, and counties may remove themselves entirely for any purpose, as provided in Title 72, Chapter 4.

(9) State and federal highway regulations require that no regulated outdoor advertising be located within 500 feet of a designated scenic area. Therefore, the size of any parcel or parcels being considered for segmentation would need to be large enough to meet that offset requirement.

[(7)](10) 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)](11) 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)](12) 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)](13) 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. For segmentation requests heard by the committee and for de-designation actions, the date of approval by the committee is considered the official date of the segmentation or de-designation, for the intent and purpose of how it affects byway program eligibility and subjection to byway regulations.

[(11)](14) 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. For segmentation requests heard by a local governmental body, the date of approval by the local governmental body is considered the official date of the segmentation, for the intent and purpose of how it affects byway program eligibility and subjection to byway regulations.

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

(16) On receiving notification of segmentation or de-designation, the department shall amend Rule 926-13 to update the description of the byway to reflect the approved changes. The department shall forward to the NSBP any changes that would have a substantive effect on online maps, brochures, or other publications of the NSBP. The department will also show substantive changes on the official highway map at its next printing.

 

KEY: transportation, scenic byways, highways

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [June 21, 2010]2011

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 52-4-207, 63G-3-201, 72-4-301, 72-4-301.5, 72-4-302, 72-4-303, 72-4-304