Key Regulatory Standards
Old Lyme, Kathleen DeMeo
State law gives the Connecticut River Gateway Commission the ability to manage development to balance protection of Zone’s scenic nature and ecology with the rights of owners to build or improve their property.
Regulatory standards address structure characteristics such as building height and size, lot coverage and setback from the river. Timber cutting, excavation, soil removal, depositing of earth materials, and dumping or storage of refuse are also subject to regulation.
Please note: The Gateway Commission establishes minimum standards. Towns have the ability to adopt stricter regulations if they choose. The “Connecticut River” as defined in the standards includes the river and any of its tributaries or associated wetlands located within the Zone.
The linked summaries merely offer outlines of important standards. Please refer to the standards themselves for exact regulatory language.
Goodspeed Opera House, Kathleen DeMeo
Building Height
The Goodspeed Opera House, built in 1876 by shipbuilder and merchant William H. Goodspeed, towered six stories above the Connecticut River. Today, managing the height of structures is an important priority for the Commission and member towns.
Gillette's Castle, Greg Futoma
Large Scale Structures
With exceptions like Gillette’s Castle, homes and structures along the river were once modest in scale. As time passed, homes became bigger. Standards address the visual impact of such larger structures.
Land Coverage and Setback
The amount of land used for the construction or placement of buildings — lot coverage — and the distance such buildings are located from the river — setback — are addressed by Commission standards.
Google Earth NASA USA
The Commission is asking the eight towns in the Zone to update their regulations and, in the process, to add a new standard concerning light pollution which can affect our health and harm nature.
Riparian Buffers
A minimum 50-foot strip of vegetation left between lawns and the river protects water quality. Shrubs and trees also preserve the Zone’s traditional river scene.
Yes, We Have No Land
Although the CT River Gateway Commission has helped preserve over a thousand acres of land in the Zone, it does not own any land or hold any land protection agreements (often referred to as conservation easement). Since its creation in 1973, all the land the Gateway Commission has helped acquire and any land protection agreements it negotiated have been donated to the State of Connecticut, towns or land trusts for their care.