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County eyes taking on ORVs
JOSHUA TREE - San Bernardino County, in response to increasingly insistent public complaints about off-road vehicle tresspass, is circulating a draft of an ordinance which aims to make ORV activity a matter of land-use regulation.
Described by Code Enforcement Division Chief Randy Rogers at a recent Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Committee meeting as a "good-neighbor policy measure," the ordinance specifies distance regulations, written permission requirements and conditions of "disturbing the peace and quiet" violation.
If the ordinance is advanced to a hearing before county supervisors and is ultimately approved by them, it will prohibit operation of off-road vehicles within 200 yards of residences or structures occupied by individuals other than the ORV operator, and prohibit operation within 200 yards of any area enclosed by a fence by anyone other than the ORV operator.
Rider or riders on private property other than their own will have to carry a document signed by the property owner granting permission for access. In the case of groups, at least one member of the rider group will have such document and be no farther than 300 feet from his or her companions.
As for the "peace and quiet" clause, any ORV operated in "a manner that disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person by noise, dust, smoke or fumes caused by such motor vehicle," is subject to citation. Penalties will be specified in terms of fines for the first three violations occurring within any three-year period, and fine and potential jail time for a fourth violation.
Of course, none of these conditions apply in open riding areas, and whether an ordinance like this ever sees the light of day, so to speak, depends on its reception in county communities.
Rogers made it clear in his presentation that the document is not even at the proposal stage, but exists only in draft form and public comment on it will, in part, determine whether it is further developed or not.
He went on to explain that the county does not intend for such a document to limit legal riding activity. It is intended, he continued, to invest county code enforcement with the authority to intercede in cases of illegal ORV operation.
Stating also that the county is sensitive to interests on both sides of the issue, he did qualify that the municipality recognizes people's right to recreate but at the same time does not consider that right a license to disturb the peace.
Public comment on the draft at the MAC meeting was, not unexpectedly, polarized. ORV proponents said such an ordinance would target their group unfairly while still not providing the kind of law enforcement service that would effectively intercept outlaw riders.
Ordinance proponents, on the other hand, based their approval of it on the document's ability to mobilize code enforcement oversight in the field, and on the need for such formal statute to be entered in record in order for the county to apply for future ORV enforcement grant money.
The municipal advisory committee members voted 4-1 in support of the draft, and this action will add Joshua Tree's name to the list of communities requesting further county action.
Described by Code Enforcement Division Chief Randy Rogers at a recent Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Committee meeting as a "good-neighbor policy measure," the ordinance specifies distance regulations, written permission requirements and conditions of "disturbing the peace and quiet" violation.
If the ordinance is advanced to a hearing before county supervisors and is ultimately approved by them, it will prohibit operation of off-road vehicles within 200 yards of residences or structures occupied by individuals other than the ORV operator, and prohibit operation within 200 yards of any area enclosed by a fence by anyone other than the ORV operator.
Rider or riders on private property other than their own will have to carry a document signed by the property owner granting permission for access. In the case of groups, at least one member of the rider group will have such document and be no farther than 300 feet from his or her companions.
As for the "peace and quiet" clause, any ORV operated in "a manner that disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person by noise, dust, smoke or fumes caused by such motor vehicle," is subject to citation. Penalties will be specified in terms of fines for the first three violations occurring within any three-year period, and fine and potential jail time for a fourth violation.
Of course, none of these conditions apply in open riding areas, and whether an ordinance like this ever sees the light of day, so to speak, depends on its reception in county communities.
Rogers made it clear in his presentation that the document is not even at the proposal stage, but exists only in draft form and public comment on it will, in part, determine whether it is further developed or not.
He went on to explain that the county does not intend for such a document to limit legal riding activity. It is intended, he continued, to invest county code enforcement with the authority to intercede in cases of illegal ORV operation.
Stating also that the county is sensitive to interests on both sides of the issue, he did qualify that the municipality recognizes people's right to recreate but at the same time does not consider that right a license to disturb the peace.
Public comment on the draft at the MAC meeting was, not unexpectedly, polarized. ORV proponents said such an ordinance would target their group unfairly while still not providing the kind of law enforcement service that would effectively intercept outlaw riders.
Ordinance proponents, on the other hand, based their approval of it on the document's ability to mobilize code enforcement oversight in the field, and on the need for such formal statute to be entered in record in order for the county to apply for future ORV enforcement grant money.
The municipal advisory committee members voted 4-1 in support of the draft, and this action will add Joshua Tree's name to the list of communities requesting further county action.
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GGWebGrrl wrote on Jan 17, 2009 1:59 PM: