What You Need to Know About Scenic Roads

(The following is an excerpt written by Amherst Community Development Director Sarah Marchant in the April 26 issue of The Community Development Connection. You can read the full newsletter above.)

As a private property owner, even on a Scenic Road, you have the right to trim and remove trees on your property per RSA 231:158, IV which reads: “Designation of a road as a scenic road shall not affect the rights of any landowner with respect to work on his own property, except to the extent that trees have been acquired by the municipality as shade or ornamental trees pursuant to RSA 231:139-156, and except that RSA 472:6 limits the removal or alteration of boundary markers including stone walls.”

The scenic road statue was originally enacted in 1971 as a tool for Planning Boards, Road Agents, and municipalities. At that time, the State made annual appropriations to municipalities for roadway infrastructure maintenance, which came with the requirement that roads be built to state roadway design standards including specifications on width of pavement and shoulders, allowable slopes, curve radii and drainage.

To avoid the necessity of implementing significant roadway widening projects, especially in areas of limited right-of-way, the Scenic Road Statute was created. As initially intended, the statute gave Road Agents the ability to accept and utilize State improvement funds without meeting the mandated roadway design standards, if the Planning Board denied the removal of trees or disturbance of stonewalls in the right-of-way of a scenic road.

The statue allowed municipalities the flexibility to maintain their beautiful older roadways with limited pavement and more extreme slopes or curve radii than would have otherwise been allowed, but was never contemplated to limit the rights of a private landowner from maintaining their property. 

The statute has evolved since its adoption with several revisions, the last in 1992; however, it still protects a landowner’sright to cut trees on their own property. The statue requires municipalities and utility companies to seek Planning Board public hearing approval prior to the removal of trees or disturbance of stonewalls within the right-of-way except in extreme situations. For the full text of the Scenic Road statute see RSA 231:157-158