Scenic Roads

The purpose of this page is to introduce Uxbridge's residents to the Scenic Roads in town and to provide information on how our roads are protected so that we can preserve their scenic qualities.

Purpose

Information on Scenic Roads can be found in the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 15C.  Scenic Roads are permitted under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 15C. In the late 80's and early 90's the Town designated 6 different roads, approximately 7 1/4 miles total, as scenic. In the spring of 2015, the Town designated 2 additional roads to make the total length of scenic roads 10.61 miles (see the scenic roads map).

Designation

Scenic roads are designated by a majority vote of the town meeting after being recommended or requested by the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, or Historical Commission. No numbered route or state highway can be designated as a scenic road unless the road is entirely within Uxbridge and no part of it is owned or maintained by the state.  

Application

Currently there is no application form for the cutting or removal of trees or tearing down or destruction of stone walls on scenic roads. A letter to the Tree Warden with a copy to the Planning Board requesting and detailing such actions, together with a plan showing where such actions are proposed, are all that is necessary. The cost of the advertisements for the public hearing must be borne by the applicant.   

Hearing

On any road, which has been designated a "Scenic Road,"  no repair, maintenance, or reconstruction that involves any cutting or removal of trees, or tearing down or destruction of stone walls, can occur without the prior written consent of the Planning Board.  This written consent cannot occur until after the Planning Board has held a public hearing.

Since all trees subject to this law are also subject to the "Shade Trees" law (MGL Ch. 87), all public hearings under the Scenic Roads law for trees (not those for stone walls only) must be conducted as joint public hearings held in accordance with the requirements of the Shade Trees law.  Thus, the hearing must be called by the Uxbridge Tree Warden and the notice of the time and place of the hearing must appear in two or more public places in Uxbridge and in a general circulation newspaper in the town once in each of two successive weeks, the first appearance to be not less than seven days before the day of the hearing, and the notice must identify the size, type, and location (in a manner commonly understood by the a non-technical person) of each tree.  

Decision

After the public hearing the Planning Board will vote either to deny or allow the actions requested, based on its judgment of the relative scenic value and impacts of the actions. The result of this vote will be transmitted in writing to the applicant.

Click Here for the Scenic Roads Map

Roadways Designated as Scenic Roads