Southington Says 'Yes' To Blight, Traffic Control Rule Overhauls

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Local officials last week approved major revisions to two Southington ordinances, one dealing with blight and the other with traffic control.

In two separate, unanimous votes on June 23, the Southington Town Council said yes to revisions on blight as well as rules regarding how the town mandates traffic control for public events and construction projects.

Both came after public hearings were opened, then closed, with no one speaking on traffic control and blight offering a bit more debate.

Blight

In approving the changes, Southington's blight ordinance now has broadened definitions and more finite procedures relative to enforcement and appeal.

One example is an expansion of the definition of "blight."

Under the current rules, "blight" is defined as property being in decay, dilapidated, inoperable (buildings and motor vehicles), a person's inability to maintain property or premises, and items simply being "unsightly."

The proposed "blight" definitions are expanded and include many specific examples of what constitutes "blight" and give the town's blight officer leeway to determine that the operations of one property negatively impact operations at surrounding sites.

Other language changes in the blight ordinance deal with penalties and appeals procedures, offering more finite rules and regulations compared to the current ordinance.

More specifically, the town council initially wanted to mandate that grass 12 inches or more would be a violation, but those proposed rules were changed to keep the limit at 10 inches.

During the hearing, several commented in favor of the new rules.

Resident Victoria Triano, a former town council chairperson, said Southington needed an ordinance with "more teeth" and one that "will give recourse for people in the situation of blight."

Traffic Control

Regarding changes in the traffic control ordinance, no one spoke during the evening's public hearing, and the vote to approve came unanimously with little discussion.

The ordinance is regarding traffic control at construction/work sites as well as special events.

Currently, those conducting such operations must notify the Southington police and fire departments at least 24 hours in advance of any project/event that would reduce roadway access by 50 percent.

Such work requires one or more flagmen to control traffic at the site, according to the current reules.

The new rules broaden those definitions of what type of work requires traffic control and, in many circumstances, mandate that local police be responsible for traffic control at the cost of those doing the project.

Also, the revised ordinance allows the town's police chief to mandate officers to conduct traffic control at special events in town at the expense of the organizer/sponsor.

For the minutes of the June 23 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For more information on the revised blight, traffic control ordinances, click on this link.

From June 22: 'Blight/Traffic Control Rules Slated For Overhaul In Southington'