San Bernardino County officials keep law restricting off-roading

By DUANE W. GANG – 8/22/07
The Press-Enterprise

Link

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to keep a year-old law restricting the use of motorcycles and other off-road vehicles intact.

The supervisors will reconsider a provision requiring a $155 permit for 10 or more people to gather and operate off-highway vehicles.

No date has been set to take up the law again.

Off-highway vehicle use is popular in San Bernardino County, especially with the vast stretches of open space available in the largest county in the lower 48 states.

Off-road-vehicle use has often drawn complaints from residents about noise, dust and trespassing. Supervisors last year approved the law and agreed to reconsider the issue in a year.

“This issue is really resolved best by good manners, good manners on both sides,” Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said.

The rules, approved in April 2006, require riders on private property to have written permission from the owners, to apply for a temporary-event permit when 10 or more riders gather, and to use vehicles that meet state noise standards.

Riders also are subject to laws that make it illegal to disturb the peace and quiet of a residential area.

Off-highway-vehicle enthusiasts said the law should be repealed or revised. They argued that only a small number of riders are problems, while the law infringes on a person’s private-property rights by requiring the permit for 10 or more riders. The permit was their biggest concern.

Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, who, along with Hansberger, represents most of the areas popular with off-road vehicles, said the permit process must be streamlined. But he said he was unwilling to alter the law immediately.

“I think three weeks to get a permit for staging for OHV activity is too long,” he said. “For all the good the ordinance has done, that may be beyond what the board’s intent was.”

With more than 100 people voicing their views to supervisors, the hearing lasted all afternoon. The board began taking public comment at about 1:30 p.m. and didn’t wrap up until 5:40 p.m.

Jenny Doling, a Yucca Valley lawyer and off-highway-vehicle rider, said special permits are typically for large events such as concerts, not riding motorcycles.

“This is why we are here today, to correct a wrong,” Doling said.

Supporters of the law, carrying signs reading “Stop ORV Outlaws,” “Dust Noise Trespass Harassment,” and “No Trespassing on My Land,” gathered in front of the County Government Center in San Bernardino before the start of Tuesday’s meeting to urge supervisors not to tinker with the restrictions.

“It is already a fair and effective document and should be upheld and renewed,” said Chris Carraher, a Wonder Valley resident and founding member of the group OHV Watch.

County code enforcement officials said the law is proving effective. It provides specific measures that can be used for enforcement, said Randy Rogers, head of county code enforcement.

Rogers said any time a local government attempts to regulate a person’s leisure activities, the move will prove controversial. But this law was not developed in a vacuum, he said. Both sides were present during the debate and had input, Rogers said.

Sheriff Gary Penrod said deputies needed the law to deal with riders on private property.

“We need to have some kind of enforcement tool,” he said.

From the LA Times 8/22/07

Strict off-road rules are upheld

By Sara Lin August 22, 2007

Link

Spurred by desert homeowners tired of noise and dust, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to uphold an ordinance that clamps down on off-road riders gathering in groups or trespassing on private land.

But supervisors promised to review some aspects of the ordinance criticized by riders.

In particular, supervisors promised to look at the restriction on “staging” — when a large group of riders gathers on private land. Under the ordinance, groups of 10 or more must apply for a $155 special-event permit, which off-road proponents said was too severe and interfered with family gatherings on holiday weekends.

“This issue is really resolved best by good manners on both sides. By good manners from people riding off-road vehicles and by neighbors and others who have to accept that not everyone enjoys the same form of recreation,” said Supervisor Dennis Hansberger, whose district includes off-roading desert hotspots Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. “There are some details I’d like to revisit. But I don’t want to heartlessly try to resolve them today.”

Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt agreed: “I think three weeks to get a permit for staging for [off-road] activity is too long. I think that for all the good this ordinance has done, that may be beyond what the board’s intent was.”

The ordinance, passed unanimously in April 2006, also established fines for off-roaders who ride on private property without written permission.

Frazier Haney, 25, said he was happy that the restrictions remained untouched, adding that kids on ATVs often speed down the street near his home in Joshua Tree.

“I think what everyone has to realize is that there are more people in California and, as places urbanize, they’re just not going to be able to do things like they used to,” he said.

Ray Pessa of Yucca Valley, who often rides with his family on land he owns in Johnson Valley, said he was satisfied with the supervisors’ assurance that they would revisit the staging restriction.

“We’re not against an ordinance, we’re in favor of one,” he said. “But we’re not in favor of a staging permit that punishes legal and responsible riding families.”

About 250 people gathered at Tuesday’s board meeting, an even number testifying for and against the ordinance during a marathon public hearing.

Desert residents told supervisors the law was necessary to protect them against unruly off-roaders who tear through residential areas, kicking up dust.

In particular, many told the supervisors, the law helps keep in check dozens of out-of-towners who descend on the desert with their ATVs on long holiday weekends.

Besides, there’s a nearby park in Johnson Valley specifically set aside for off-roaders, said Phil Klasky, a part-time Wonder Valley resident opposed to any changes to the ordinance. The Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area is the largest of its kind in the state.

Off-road proponents described their sport as a family-friendly tradition that was being marred by a few reckless riders.

“My family has been off-roading for four generations. I’m a little upset it came to this,” said Cathy Hawkins, 56, of Yucca Valley. “I want you to go get the bad guys and let the rest of us raise our kids in the manner that we’ve lived for generations.”

Riverside and San Bernardino counties are home to one-fifth of the state’s 1.1 million riders, state parks officials said. Riverside County officials are considering their own new rules for off-roaders, including restricting riding times and the number of vehicles per property.

As in San Bernardino county, riders in Los Angeles County must carry written permission to ride on private property. About 158,000 off-roaders live in Los Angeles County.

Inland counties have long struggled with how to resolve conflicts between their booming populations and off-roaders used to riding through long stretches of unpopulated desert.

Fifteen or 20 years ago, there were 60% less people in the high desert, said Randy Rogers, San Bernardino County’s chief of code enforcement.

“So if somebody rode down a dirt road, the chances of them riding where they never passed a house was pretty good,” he said. “But you just can’t do that now.”

REVISION OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY ORDINANCE 3973
AS PROPOSED BY FRIENDS OF GIANT ROCK

INTERPRETATION AND RESPONSE

Community ORV Watch – July 2007

INTRODUCTION:

The Friends of Giant Rock proposal to revise San Bernardino County off-road vehicle Ordinance 3973 is not a proposal simply to revise that important Ordinance; it is a radical proposal to destroy that Ordinance. The removal of the trespass and staging provisions would gut the law and render it close to useless, sending us back to the conflict, lawlessness, and wasted enforcement resources that prevailed before the Ordinance went into effect. It would set the clock in reverse and blast us back to the “sand age.”

SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL:

The June 21, 2007 blog post on the Friends of Giant Rock (“FOGR”) Website details a proposal (“Proposal”) that was, by that account, “hand delivered” to the [County] Supervisors on June 19, 2007. That Proposal would specifically:

• Remove entirely the trespass provision (section #28.0403, “Operating Without Permission on Private or Public Property Prohibited”), that requires written permission to be riding on land not the rider’s own.

Remove entirely the Staging Permit Required provision (section #28.0404), which governs large gatherings of vehicles and riders intending to ride, along with the Staging Definition and all other references to staging.

• Revise the Penalty section (#28.0407) to include a first-time-violator option of attending a County-administered rider education (“RIDE”) program that apparently does not exist except in this revision proposal.

The revision would leave in place only two of the original Ordinance provisions: Noise Limits (section 28.0405); and Disturbing the Peace and Quiet (section 28.0406).

NOTE: The reader is encouraged to view side-by-side (PDF or Word Document) what the two ordinances look like, namely Ordinance 3973 that is currently in effect (on the left), and what there would be if FOGR’s revisions were adopted as proposed (on the right).

INTERPRETATION:

Let’s look more closely at the elements FOGR would drop:

Trespass. To summarize, Ordinance 3973 requires an OHV operator on the private property of another or on public property, except for certain roadways/easements, to maintain in their possession written permission from the owner of that property granting them permission to be there. In other words, if you’re on my land, you better have my permission.

Most Americans understand the idea of trespass. They embrace their right to control who is on their property. While they may or may not have a problem with for example the occasional foot traveler crossing a corner of their lot, a raging machine that repeatedly tears up the turf, runs over the pets, frightens the kids, and gives grandma a heart attack is another matter. State Code requires rural residents who want trespass protection to post their property. Unfortunately, in our wide desert lands “No Trespassing” signs are routinely torn down, barricades breached, and fences cut, and the ORV rider, if not governed by the Written Permission provision of Ordinance 3973, rages once again across one’s land, without recourse for the property owner and with no real way for law enforcement officers to distinguish rightful passage from trespass. This is exactly the situation that prevailed prior to the enactment of the Ordinance and section 28.0403, the trespass provision – a section FOGR wants removed from the Ordinance.

The writers of the FOGR proposed revision apparently see your land as theirs to ride across at will, unless you can physically defend it. The authors of the ordinance, which included residents, property owners, rider groups, law enforcement, and the Board of Supervisors in a carefully crafted consensus, see it otherwise.

Staging. In brief, Ordinance 3973 requires anyone who wants to stage an off-road event with more than 9 persons in attendance to apply for and receive a permit specifically for the purpose of assembling vehicles and riding. These large gatherings have historically had the potential to become the source of much grief for residents, spiraling out of control and greatly magnifying the effects of what in the case of one or two riders might be just a minor nuisance. The permit process gives law enforcement a measure of control over a situation that has become a major and/or repeated problem.

The language in this provision was requested specifically by the County Code Enforcement OHV team to give them the tools and flexibility they need to deal with such situations. The permit process also allows close-by neighbors who would be affected by the staging an opportunity to comment in advance of the event. It is important to understand that this provision is designed to handle problematic stagings; responsible riders who are considerate of their impact upon the neighborhood are unlikely to be affected. Also, the provision is complaint-driven, and the Code Enforcement OHV team usually responds to first-time violators with a warning rather than a citation.

The much-needed staging provision is entirely in line with traditional County policy regarding the issuing of permits for Special Events. It is a fair and reasonable approach to a stubborn source of ongoing conflict that would otherwise only continue to get worse with the growth of the OHV industry. But in a telling move, FOGR’s Proposal would cleanse the Ordinance of all reference to staging, dropping the provision entirely and providing no replacement. Harassed residents hardly need to be reminded that simply ignoring the existence of staging will not make the problem go away.
Clearly, the removal of these two provisions, Trespass and Staging, would leave critical holes in the Ordinance through which irresponsible riders would be able to drive with abandon. One is tempted to conclude that this is what FOGR wants, a return to the good ol’ days when riders were ungoverned, their machines ruled the sands, and angry residents were left standing impotently in the dust, cursing and shaking their fists, and without effective recourse.

So what’s left of the original Ordinance after FOGR gets done with it? Not much. Only two of the original provisions remain: Noise Limits, and Disturbing the Peace and Quiet. These two provisions, while important, are alone nowhere near sufficient to resolve the OHV conflicts between riders and residents and would leave law enforcement, once again, without adequate tools to address conflict, trespass, and property destruction. Back to the “sand age” we go.

FOGR does include a single new element in its revision Proposal, and it prominently bills this element as “The Real Answer” to the rider-resident conflict problem. This is an education program that does not, to our knowledge, currently exist, and which FOGR calls the “RIDE” program. Community ORV Watch vigorously supports education of riders and includes in its Mission a goal of “Public education about rights and responsibilities.” We encourage FOGR to pursue creating its rider education program but believe the completion of such a program should be a minimum requirement for every rider and is not appropriately a part of this ordinance.

An education program alone clearly is not a substitute for effective and proven provisions against OHV trespass and large-scale staging. Let’s be clear what’s at stake here: FOGR wants minimally expanded penalties but – for what? Not for trespass – in the FOGR Proposal, that’s gone. Not for violations of staging permits – in the FOGR Proposal, that’s gone. Though the Penalty section of the Ordinance remains largely intact in the FOGR Proposal with the exception of the addition of the education option, those penalties are not going to get much exercise when the Ordinance has been gutted of any meaningful violation provisions.

The inclusion of this education element in the FOGR revision Proposal does not disguise what would be the real effect of the Proposal, which would be to gut Ordinance 3973, remove reasonable, fair, and needed restrictions from riders, and take the desert back to the era of OHV conflict and destruction. Hardly “the real answer.”

CONCLUSION:

Ordinance 3973 as enacted by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in 2006 is a reasonable, fair, and effective approach to reducing rider-resident conflict and handling the impact of the rapidly escalating numbers of off-road vehicles finding their way out to our desert neighborhoods. The Ordinance is an excellent start to protecting private property and the right of residents to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes while helping riders understand where and how they can ride responsibly. The Friends of Giant Rock Proposal, by dropping the key provisions regarding trespass and large-scale stagings, clearly would destroy Ordinance 3973. It would remove the Ordinance as an effective force for neighborhood peace and replace it with nothing but words that can’t be heard over the roar of engines.

You can view Ordinance 3973 as it would be changed by the Friends of Giant Rock proposal in either PDF or Word Document formats.

From the LA Times, June 29, 2007:

Riders who stray from legal trails damage watersheds, help spread invasive species and contribute to fire hazards, a group says.
By Alison Williams, Times Staff Writer
June 29, 2007

A new group of retired land managers and forest rangers said Thursday that reckless off-road vehicle recreation was the No. 1 threat to public lands in the West.

The 13-member Rangers for Responsible Recreation said it was voicing the concerns of many federal land management employees in the West, including in California, who report that an increasing number of riders and the growing power of the vehicles are endangering natural resources and public safety.

Spokesmen for the group were participating in a teleconference from Tucson that was arranged by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. PEER, which describes itself as an “alliance of local, state and federal resource professionals,” helped found the new organization.

Damage from off-road vehicles is worst when riders leave designated routes and head into sensitive areas such as fragile desert and riparian zones, members of the new group said.

Read the whole story here.

Goto the PEER site and send a message to your representative.

Read an editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune supporting the PEER efforts, that concludes:

“ATV groups rightly say peer enforcement is key, but obviously that isn’t enough. Only tough laws that are enforced can keep ATV scofflaws on the straight and narrow.”

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We will present the following resolution to the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors at the hearing where they will consider renewal of the ORV ordinance passed last year:

Whereas the sales of off-road vehicles have increased dramatically over the last few years …

Whereas city, county and federal law enforcement agencies report the growing problem of illegal off-road-vehicle activities in San Bernardino County…

Whereas these problems involve trespass on private property and public lands off-limits to off-road vehicles …

Whereas these problems are causing increased conflict with residents and the increased potential for violence …

Whereas these problems threaten to curtail the rights and activities of legal off-road vehicle riding activities …

Whereas county residents have a right to live in a peaceful, quiet, healthy and safe environment free from property destruction, physical threats, intimidation, harassment, aggravated trespass, excessive noise and dust …

Whereas there has been a disturbing increase in the number of incidents of intimidation, harassment and aggravated trespass …

Whereas aggravated trespass causes significant damage and costs to businesses and private property owners …

Whereas “no trespassing” and other signs indicating restrictions for off-road vehicles are often removed or vandalized …

Whereas city, county and federal law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed by illegal off-road vehicle activities diverting resources from emergency services and other law enforcement needs …

Whereas intimidation and harassment of county residents who report problems with illegal off-road vehicle activities constitutes an illegal barrier to due process

Be it resolved that the County of San Bernardino is hereby establishing a “zero tolerance” policy for intimidation, harassment and aggravated trespass by off-road vehicle activities, and,

Be it further resolved that the County of San Bernardino directs County Code Enforcement and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department to form a joint task force to aggressively investigate and pursue perpetrators of intimidation, harassment and aggravated trespass by off-road vehicle activities, and,

Be it further resolved that the County of San Bernardino requests that off-road vehicle vendors voluntarily promote responsible and legal riding activities in their advertising and other communications with the public.

From the Hi-Desert Star

By Mark Wheeler / Hi-Desert Star
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 10:53 PM PST

MORONGO BASIN – The Presidents’ Day weekend was, by law-enforcement accounts, reasonably uneventful on the off-road vehicle front this year. Historically, the occasion has ranked second only to Thanksgiving weekend for citizen complaints about ORV activity in the Basin, but a pre-planned increase in enforcement presence this year seems to have had results.

County code enforcement officer Mike Romage reported his office coordinated with the county sheriff and the Bureau of Land Management to put more officers in the field this year.

“We definitely saw a change in the Basin,” he said.

Although by his report the office took a lot of calls, he noted they weren’t exceptionally numerous, nor did his office hear from many of the residents who are historically driven to complain on the longer weekends. The code enforcement team of six made 337 enforcement contacts over the three-day period and wrote four citations, according to Romage.

He also reported that five new cases of illegal staging were opened in which people had assembled in large numbers without a permit.
In addition, his officers made 68 contacts for education purposes and handed out more than 140 educational fliers.

Romage believes the county’s ORV ordinance, adopted by county supervisors in April 2006, is having a positive affect, although he also remarked on the importance of enforcement in the field.

This weekend’s attention was planned in advance and, in fact, was subject of a Community ORV Watch meeting last week.

At that meeting, all three enforcement agencies told the audience they would be out in force, and were planning to target historic hot spots. Besides the six county officers, the sheriff’s office dedicated four officers to ORV duty over the weekend, and the local BLM officer patrolled overtime all three days. Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Collins reported his team made 30 enforcement contacts over the weekend, eight of them resulting in citations and one in recovering a stolen vehicle.

His group also made education contacts and handed out fliers.

One new tool the department used this year was an electronic signboard on Old Woman Springs Road, just past the Circle K store. This sign gave directions to the open ORV area in Johnson Valley, and Collins suggested it may have been helpful in limiting the amount of illegal riding activity in Landers. Visitors, he said, sometimes mistakenly think open lands in the Landers area are part of the Johnson Valley ORV preserve. The sign, he thought, helped prevent this error.

Published in the Hi-Desert Star:

By Phil Klasky / Wonder Valley
Friday, February 9, 2007 11:08 PM PST

Hi-Desert residents didn’t have much of a chance to celebrate the new county ordinance that helps curb off-road-vehicle trespass and destruction of our communities before a push back by riders that has made things worse. Just ask your local sheriff and homeowner.

In the last six months, we have seen a dramatic increase in ORV riders invading our communities from the south and west, along with “weekenders” who come out to our neighborhoods to ride all day and night on other people’s property and cause wholesale destruction of our public lands. Residents in the Landers, Pipes Canyon, Yucca Mesa, Flamingo Heights and Wonder Valley are suffering from large illegal stagings, vandalism of no trespassing signs and the restoration of damaged areas, excessive noise and dust and an emboldened attitude resulting in harassment and intimidation.

This President’s Day weekend we expect an invasion of hundreds of ORVs riding illegally throughout the Basin. We have little or no enforcement from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM – at our last public meeting the head ranger from the Barstow field office stated that they would not even try to protect public lands in our neighborhoods!). Our local sheriff’s department and code enforcement are overwhelmed.

In the Morongo Basin, ORV abuse is escalating at an alarming rate. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard riders say, “This is a free country and I will ride wherever I want.” Freedom comes with responsibility and all of our rights are threatened when people purposely disobey the law. Dozens of Morongo Basin residents have documented incidents of intimidation and harassment by ORV riders who retaliate against people trying to defend their land. We are collecting evidence to present to the district attorney and county board of supervisors. We need leadership from our elected representatives and from responsible riders and local vendors to promote a “zero tolerance” policy for road rage by ORVs.

Despite efforts to bring thousands of grant dollars into the Morongo Basin for ORV law enforcement, we are going backwards.

ORV rider Web sites encourage illegal trespass as if the destruction of public and private property is a some kind of adolescent game. Some residents, disgusted from the attacks and frustrated by the lack of law enforcement, have retaliated against riders on their own. People must not fall into the trap of meeting ORV violence with more violence.

Don’t mourn, don’t hide, don’t give up, don’t retaliate. Learn the law, document illegal activity and the identity of the perpetrators, and insist that the BLM, sheriff’s department and code enforcement respond to your calls and cooperate with the community and step up enforcement to meet the crisis. Get smart, get organized and fight for your rights.

This community resident has to keep putting up new “No Tresspasing” signs on their private property and riders repeatedly and illegally ignore it.

For your information and distribution in the fight against ORV abuse, we are providing access to the following fact sheets about how Unmanaged Off-Roading Threatens California’s Natural Heritage and Rural Communities, how California’s OHV Program Promotes Mainly ATVs, Dirt Bikes and Repairing California’s Public Lands for Future Generations. (Adobe Reader or other PDF program required to view.)

“A growing coalition of conservationists, outdoor recreation advocates, and community activists and residents are working to make sure that Californians are protected from irresponsible and illegal ORV damage. As the OHV program is renewed this year, we’re urging legislators to strengthen law enforcement to protect communities and our natural heritage.”

These fact sheets are supported by the following organizations:

• Alliance for Responsible Recreation
• California Wilderness Coalition
• Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation
• Community ORV Watch
• Desert Protective Council
• Defenders of Wildlife
• Friends of the Inyo
• Friends of Juniper Flats
• Granite Bay Flycasters
• Pinon Hills Area Property Owners
• Planning and Conservation League
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
• Red Mountain Property Owners Alliance
• Ridge Rands Private Property Owner’s Group
• Sierra Club California
• Sierra Foothills Audubon Society
• Tolowa Dunes Stewards
• Western San Bernardino County Landowner’s Association
• The Wilderness Society

The Bureau of Land Management is offering a workshop in archeological site stewardship to learn about history, natural resources, archeology and field methods. Site stewardship is also a way to reclaim lands from ORV and other abuse and engender a sense of connection to place.

COW has adopted the Post Homestead cultural and ecological site for stewardship and we would benefit from our members taking the workshop and guiding us on how to best protect it.

COW will pay the $25 fee for up to four members who would like to take the course.

Visit the California Archeological Site Stewardship Program site and call BLM archeologist James Shearer at (760) 252-6034.