Off-roaders told property is off-limits

Eric D. Lawrence

For years, off-roaders from across metro Detroit have ridden the trails on an undeveloped piece of land near Ridge Road and 5 Mile in Northville Township.

The problem is they've been trespassing on township land. But now township officials think they have finally found the right combination of deterrents to keep off-roaders and others out.

The township has put up fencing at numerous entry points into the area, and the trustees have approved a modified trespassing ordinance so police can cite anyone who brings SUVs and other motor vehicles -- not just off-road ATVs, dirt bikes and the like -- onto the property without permission.

Fines can be as steep as $500. Since May, about a dozen people have been cited in the area.

Northville Township Public Safety Director John Werth said he thinks the number of trespassers has dropped dramatically since he first visited the area a few months ago.

"I was stunned by what I saw out here," he said Wednesday from the approximately 30-acre tract, where dirt trails cut through grassy fields and up steep hills.

Werth said that when he was at the site earlier, trespassers were so settled in that chairs and a cooler had been set up above a retaining wall that offered prime viewing for off-road races.

"Picture a motocross like you see on ESPN," Werth said.

The area is well-known to the off-roading community. The Northville High School Off Road Club posts a prominent warning on its Facebook page. "Let us warn you the land at 5 and Ridge is illegal to drive on regardless if you get a ticket or not. The Police know all about people going back there and if you are seen you will be issued a ticket," according to the post.

"Wheeling illegally is not a good practice ... you guys give the off road community a bad name and we all suffer."

Alex Hartmann, 17, is a Northville High School graduate who uses his 2000 Jeep Cherokee for off-roading. Hartmann, who is to leave in September for Army basic training as a mechanic, said responsible off-roaders avoid places like Northville Township's land.

"There's the guys who go back there who want to beat the crap out of the cars and the land, and then there are the guys who care," he said.

Riding on property without permission is disrespectful, said Hartmann, who does his off-roading at the Mounds Off-Road Vehicle Area in Mt. Morris, which is part of Genesee County Parks. While there are a handful of private property owners in metro Detroit who have set up off-road courses on their land, the Mounds may be the closest public location. Michigan's state parks also offer thousands of miles of off-roading trails, but none are as close to Detroit as the Mounds.

In 2009, the Department of Natural Resource and Environment licensed 198,515 off-road vehicles, whose owners purchased annual stickers required to ride on state trails.

Hartmann said driving a vehicle he has poured his heart and soul into on a difficult but legal off-road course is enough stress.

"I don't want the cops to come on top of that."

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Source: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100718/NEWS02/7180482/1322/Off-roaders-told-property-is-off-limits&template=fullarticle

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