Adoption of a proposed ordinance to permit the operation of all-terrain vehicles on Haines Borough streets and roads has been postponed until at least September.
The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday discussed the ordinance following its second public hearing. Members moved to place the ordinance on the agenda for a regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 13, so adjustments could be made to a potential map of allowable areas for ATV use. Assemblyman Scott Rossman was absent.
Five residents spoke in support of the ordinance at the public hearing, but police chief Gary Lowe in a letter to the assembly wrote, “My opinion is that this ordinance should not be passed.”
“In conclusion, the limited access to drive ATVs, the continuing confusion of where you can legally ride, the negative impact that (ATVs) can cause on others not related to their operation, and the heightened possibility of serious injuries up to and including death lead me to my recommendation to not approve (the ordinance),” Lowe wrote.
He also wrote his “biggest concern” was the ordinance as proposed did not require ATV operators to wear helmets.
Assemblyman Daymond Hoffman said he was “totally for” the ordinance, but he was hesitant to approve it due to Lowe’s opposition.
“The chief’s concerns are downtown, where you’re crossing state roads and things like that, and I just wonder if there’s a way we could make it work for neighborhoods (with) borough-maintained roads, to kind of keep this going and maybe perfect it a little more so that the chief feels a little better with it,” Hoffman said.
Lowe said the “main basis” for his recommendation against the ordinance was ATVs “are unsafe on paved roads.”
“There is a provision in state code that snowmobiles can be operated on roads that aren’t maintained in the winter,” Lowe said. “…The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is very emphatic that ATVs are not made for paved roads.”
Resident Jim Shook, who prepared a more than 2,000-word draft ordinance for ATV use earlier this year, at the public hearing said many ATV operators “have no desire to ride their ATV downtown, anyhow.” He noted ATVs are not allowed on state roads.
“Nonetheless, the borough encompasses a lot of rural area and a lot of neighborhoods, many of which are gravel roads and so forth, and I really think a lot of allowing the ATVs on borough roads would be used primarily within neighborhoods,” Shook said.
Lowe wrote ATV use is “a low-cost alternative” and a “fun, recreational activity,” but “the flip side of this is that you really can’t get too many places in town without driving on a state road or private property.”
“Nearly every commercial business, including the post office, bank, grocery stores, hardware stores, etc., are located on state roads,” he wrote.
According to the proposed ordinance, ATV operation on another person’s private property would require written permission of the property owner.
The ordinance defines an ATV as “a motor vehicle that has four or more wheels utilizing low-pressure tires” or “two or more plastic-coated or rubberized tracks or treads measuring seventy-five inches or less overall width, having a dry weight of one ton or less, and designed primarily for travel over unimproved terrain.” It also sets a speed limit of 25 miles per hour for ATVs, and requires operators to be at least 16 years old and have a valid driver’s license and annual borough road-use permit.
“My biggest concern is the education process to the public,” said assembly member Joanne Waterman. “I think if there’s a good education process about what the ordinance actually is, things should go smoothly. My fear is that people will hear that it’s OK to ride your ATV on the street now, and they’re not going to hear all the requirements that go with that.”
Waterman said she suggested the delay until September because the borough is short-staffed and preparing for the October municipal election.
“I kind of hate to keep postponing it, so, I mean, if we’re going to allow (staff) time, I want to be sure and allow them enough time to do the proper work,” she said.