County commissioners enact new rules for ORV use

Written by Yakima Herald-Republic

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

YAKIMA, WASH. -- The Yakima County commissioners on Tuesday formally approved their May 20 decision on new rules for off-road-vehicle facilities.

The decision, which lessened some restrictions while tightening others, was the result of a debate that dates to last year. More than 300 people on both sides of the issue -- ORV enthusiasts looking for more places to ride and their neighbors concerned about noise and dust -- packed an April public hearing on the matter.

The new ORV ordinance lowers the regulatory bar required to permit ORV facilities. But it does not loosen the zoning restrictions on them by allowing them in agricultural areas as ORV proponents had requested.

It requires that developers notify property owners within 1,000 feet of a proposed facility. In addition, they must build on parcels no smaller than five acres, comply with noise laws and provide dust control.

Source: http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/06/02/county-commissioners-enact-new-rules-for-orv-use

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Community Voices

“It’s frustrating having a hunt ruined by people riding ATVs where off-road vehicle use is prohibited. Many ATVs look the same so there’s no way to identify violators when reporting the incident to law enforcement. There should be a requirement that off-road vehicles used on public lands have license plates or large decals. Any ATV user who follows the law and land management directives on where they can and can not use these machines should have no objection to this type of identification.”

- Holly Endersby, hunter from western Idaho