WINFIELD - Homeowners associations in Putnam County could soon choose to enact an ordinance that would prohibit the use of ATVs for longer than five minutes within the boundaries of their subdivision.
County attorney Larry Frye presented a draft ordinance to Putnam County commissioners Tuesday, after months of discussion and fielding complaints from subdivision residents.
"The subdivisions are private property and the police department doesn't have any authority to do any policing there," Frye told commissioners referring to noise or nuisance complaints. "This basically sets out a procedure for the subdivisions to request the county commission to be put under this particular ordinance. If so, it would give the sheriff's department and other law enforcement officials the authority to go in there and regulate the ATVs."
Homeowners associations would have to give notice to members, vote and then petition the county commission to be included under the law.
The law would prohibit motor vehicles "designed for off-highway use," including ATVs, two-wheel motor cross bikes, cross-country bikes, dirt bikes, and other "similar motorized units," Frye said. The ordinance would prohibit riders from using and operating the ATV for longer than five minutes anywhere in the subdivision - with the exception of commercial purposes, farm or utility use, loading or unloading purposes, those who are doing mechanical work on ATVs and some other non-recreational uses.
Frye's original draft also prohibited the use of mopeds, but Commissioner Andrew Skidmore raised concerns about a particular case in the county where a disabled man has relied on a moped to travel throughout his subdivision for several years with no noise complaints.
Skidmore also raised concerns over those who use ATVs for "goodwill" purposes, like plowing driveways in the winter months.
"My main concern is noise and the nuisance," he said. "There needs to be something done, but I'm also very aware that we don't want to over-regulate or have negative consequences."
Those who violate the ordinance would be charged with a misdemeanor. The fine for the first offense is no more than $100, the second offense is no more than $300 and the fine for the third offense is no more than $1,000.
Frye said the ordinance requires a resident to file a complaint, and then allows police to use discretion once they arrive on scene.
Commission President Steve Andes said his biggest concern was the possible strain the ordinance could have on county 911 officials. Because subdivisions would have to individually adopt the ordinance, Andes said he is worried there may be confusion for emergency personnel when determining which subdivisions fall under the law.
"Next thing you know, you've got 911 trying to figure out which one they should call the sheriff for and all the other unintended consequences," he said. "You can't legislate common sense. You can't drink and drive, the law tells you that, but people do it."
Because of the possible confusion, Andes suggested putting the issue on a county-wide ballot or leaving the issue up to subdivisions to draft and enforce their own rules.
Commissioner Ron Foster said he believes the confusion for emergency officials would only be "temporary" and would resolve itself once the law had been established for some time.
"There has been complaints about noise, but the biggest complaint I get is the safety issue. They run down the roads, they don't follow the stop signs," Foster said. "This is a tool. This will give them the tools and it makes [enforcing it] a little easier. ... I certainly would rather be proactive than dealing with something worse."
Commissioners ultimately asked Frye to create an exemption to allow the use of mopeds, and decided to meet with 911 officials to discuss possible implications the law could have on their ability to respond to emergency calls before voting on the ordinance. Commissioners voted to table the issue until their next meeting.
The next Putnam County Commission meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on July 27.
Reach Carlee Lammers at Carlee.Lammers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1230 or follow @CarleeLammers on Twitter.