Key Regulatory Standards

Old Lyme, Kathleen DeMeo

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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.

fall foliage on Connecticut River
East Haddam, CT

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.

Guidelines for Building Heights »

high on the ridge

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.

Large Scale Structures »

home with green screening

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.

Read the Zoning for Land Coverage & Setback »

view of the United States from space

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.

Learn How to Protect our Night Skies »

Lyme, CT

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.

Riparian Buffers and Landscape Plantings »

Ramsar logo overlays the a photo of the Connecticut River
DID YOU KNOW?

The Connecticut River has a very impressive list of honors.

The lower river and its wetlands complex were named by the International Ramsar Convention as being “internationally important.” The river tidelands, including the Zone, are considered one of the Western Hemisphere’s “40 Last Great Places” by the Nature Conservancy. It is the first, and only, National Blueway per the federal Department of the Interior. And it is an “American Heritage River.”