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An OHV Tale of Two Counties
How Riverside and San Bernardino counties chose to treat
the off-roading families that reside within their borders
By Meg Grossglass
ORBA Membership Representative
I am going to tell you a story of how two different counties that are closely geographically located choose to deal with a contentious and emotional issue on both sides. Both Riverside and San Bernardino counties have historically been havens for off-road use. Many local families ride off-highway vehicles (OHV's) on their own property and families from neighboring counties that are far more urbanized travel to areas in these counties to recreate together on either private or public property. Each county chose a very different way to deal with OHV use.
Riverside County
After announcing they were going to craft an OHV ordinance to address the valid concerns some residents had with regard to noise, dust and trespass, the county formed an OHV working committee. The job of this committee was to advise the planning staff. They met several times and the meetings were always chaotic. The OHV working committee failed due to the county's lack of leadership, direction and organization. The county then continued to put out draft ordinances and take input from all viewpoints within the county. Finally after 16 months of working with the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), and the McGrath family and many other Riverside County residents the Planning Commission created an ordinance that was fair to both residents with valid concerns about disrespectful OHV use and to those people who choose to recreate responsibly on their own property. At the January 24 Supervisor's meeting the Planning Commission recommended to the Board they approve the draft ordinance as written. After hearing public testimony the Supervisors unexpectedly sent the draft OHV ordinance back to the planning department requesting that they either ban OHV use in residential areas totally or require anyone who wishes to recreate on OHV's on their own property to get a permit. It was even suggested that there should be heavy fees associated with these permits as a kind of penalty on an activity some Supervisors think is inappropriate.
On March 15 2006 the county unveiled its latest draft of the OHV ordinance. Some highlights were: Any property owner wanting to ride on their own property must obtain a permit from the county and pay the fee-the amount of which is not specified in the draft ordinance-associated with that permit; a riding period that restricts OHV use from 12pm to 5pm; and no riding on parcels less than 10 acres unless notarized permission is obtained from all contiguous property owners. Along with permit and acreage rules you must have a 100-foot setback from your property line and a 250-foot setback from any residence located on an adjacent parcel. Jack McGrath stated "I just can't believe the Supervisors would waste our time and our attorney's time telling us they want an ordinance fair to all residents and then come out with an OHV ordinance which so obviously discriminates against families wanting to ride together in their own backyard."
The OHV Ordinance was next scheduled to go in front of the Supervisors on March 28, 2006. On that day from 10:30am to 12:30pm Jeremy McGrath, Rick Johnson, Nathan Ramsey and Andrew Short-four well-known motocross stars-signed autographs in front of the Riverside County Administration Center in an attempt to show the County that as written this ordinance will restrict families from recreating together on their own property. Approximately two hundred parents and kids, many wearing the gear they ride in, attended the meeting and received autographed posters from some of the most respected names in the industry. Ed Moreland, Vice President of Governmental Relations for the AMA, summarized the outcome of the meeting with this statement: "Despite thoughtful comment from national, state, and local rider organizations, small businesses, the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division and literally hundreds of riders in attendance, the Supervisors voted almost unanimously to criminalize families who recreate together on private property while offering no real solutions for penalizing those who are truly riding illegally."
On April 10, 2006, EcoLogic Partners, Inc., the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), the San Diego Off-Road Coalition (SDORC), the California Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), the American Motorcyclists Association District 37 (AMA D37), and the American Sand Association (ASA) filed suit against the County of Riverside alleging that the county's recently adopted noise and OHV ordinances violate state law. EcoLogic, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), ORBA, the McGrath family and residents of Riverside County have worked for almost two years to help the county craft an ordinance fair to all parties involved. It is unfortunate the Supervisors in Riverside chose to ignore the rights of families in the county to ride OHV's on their own property.
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County created a draft OHV ordinance and presented it to nine community groups throughout the county. After doing this they realized this was a very contentious and emotional issue for all involved. As a result a stakeholders group was formed to develop an ordinance that balances the needs and concerns of residents and riders alike. This group was composed of OHV users, OHV advocacy groups (including a representative from ORBA), environmental organizations and county residents. After two long meetings conducted over a two-month time period the group reached a compromise that was acceptable to all involved. These meeting were well organized and focused on solving the problem. Randy Rogers, Chief Code Enforcement Officer for San Bernardino County, did an excellent job keeping everyone involved on task and moving toward an acceptable compromise.
The compromise includes no property line setbacks, no maximum number of bikes per acre, no restrictive riding period, and no permit process for the person wanting to ride on their own property and not use that property as a staging area. A permit is only required if the property owner plans on staging more than 10 OHV's on a property. It does include a process by which residents can seek judicial relief from nuisance and harassment. The ordinance includes a noise element requiring OHV's ridden on private property to measure 96dba at the pipe, the same standard required on California public lands. Also, the language in this ordinance gives enforcement powers to both County Code Enforcement and the Sheriff's department.
I am very happy to report this ordinance respects the rights of families wanting to ride OHV's together in a responsible manner on their own property, while at the same time offering solutions to the valid complaints of residents in the county.
In Conclusion
I hope the process by which the San Bernardino County ordinance was crafted is repeated in counties looking at similar ordinances. Riverside County chose not to take into consideration the needs of all members of their constituency. San Bernardino County addressed the concerns of all of its citizens and followed through with an ordinance that is fair and reasonable. Would you like to help fight for the rights of off-roaders all over California? If so, join any or all the organizations that are helping to sue the County of Riverside over their OHV ordinance. They are listed below along with their Web sites.
AMA District 37 - www.district37ama.org
American Sand Association - www.americansandassociation.org
California Off-Road Vehicle Association - www.corva.org
San Diego Off-Road Coalition - www.sdorc.org
If you are an off-road business owner, join your trade association: The Off-Road Business Association - www.orba.biz
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