Proposed ORV ordinance stirs up the dust

YAKIMA, Wash. -- What happens when two opposing views use the same argument to support their position?

That is what likely will unfold when Yakima County commissioners finally take up a controversial proposal on off-road vehicles -- dirt bikes, four-wheelers, four-wheel-drive vehicles and snowmobiles -- that would allow their use virtually throughout unincorporated Yakima County without regulation.

The ORV issue is causing much light and heat as the hearing approaches, and the arguments center on property rights.

The Yakima Valley Dust Dodgers Motorcycle and ATV Club, the proponent, wants to allow use in more areas of the county and eliminate the current requirement for a public hearing on creating ORV tracks as long as certain conditions are met. It also would exclude incidental use, a source of what club officials say is a pattern of uneven enforcement.

Currently, ORV facilities are permitted only with public notice and a public hearing. The county's code has only limited reference to ORV facilities, and its regulation of ORV use has been crafted from a series of interpretations of the county zoning ordinance over the past 26 years.

Opponents fear expanded use as sought by the club to include as much as 14 hours per day for up to five vehicles will lead to potentially violent disputes between neighbors over dust and noise and damage to property values.

Don Cooper, a Gleed-area resident, has been circulating petitions against the proposal by the Dust Dodgers Motorcycle and ATV Club.

Cooper, who bought his home on Chickadee Lane more than two years ago to be closer to the mountains, said a neighbor's unauthorized use of dirt bikes made it impossible to be outside at times.

Finally, he complained to county code enforcement.

"The dust was so bad, you could only see shapes in the pasture. You couldn't see the horses," Cooper recalled. "The noise was horrendous."

Proponents, on the other hand, say the county's existing regulatory scheme is cumbersome and unworkable, denying them a chance to enjoy their sport on their own property without the threat of enforcement for casual use.

After months of delay, the club's proposal to allow expanded use will be the subject of a public hearing Tuesday being held at the Yakima Convention Center to handle an expected large crowd.

Commissioners aren't expected to make a decision at the hearing.

County officials put off the issue last year to complete changes to the county comprehensive plan that had to be in place by the end of 2008.

The club's proposal centers on a zoning issue and can be considered at any time.

The county planning commission finally forwarded the proposal to county commissioners on Nov. 19 of last year without a recommendation to approve or deny.

County long-range planner Tommy Carroll said the commission struggled with the proposal's possible broad impact across the county.

"This is potentially a pretty dramatic thing," he said.

Mike Schreiner, a retired sheriff's deputy and current orchardist on the north side of Ahtanum Ridge, isn't struggling with the idea. He is against it, fearing approval of the Dust Dodgers proposal will damage property values and his right to enjoy his property.

"I'm a property-rights type of individual," Schreiner said. "However, I don't believe it's my right to do what I want with my property when it begins to infringe on neighboring property owners to use and enjoy their property in the way they want. Government certainly has a role in putting restraints on what you can and can't do with your property."

Shreiner disputed a track that was installed near their home in 2007 that prompted the motorcycle club's request to modify the county zoning ordinance.

Mark Watson, a Yakima attorney and president of the motorcycle group, argues current regulations in Yakima County make it nearly impossible for enthusiasts to ride their vehicles legally on their own property on a regular basis.

"We are trying to get something that balances the rights of someone to use their property in a reasonable fashion with the concerns their neighbors might have," he said.

The proposal provides for noise standards, hours of operation and the limits on the number of vehicles -- five -- that can be in operation at any one time. All commercial uses of a track would be prohibited. Use would be allowed between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. under the club's proposal.

Watson said the specific limits would provide measurable standards that would reduce complaints and friction with neighbors.

But some rural residents aren't convinced, saying they have been subjected to noise and dust from uncontrolled ORV use.

County attorneys say enforcing the use of ORVs and the likely complaints they would create poses a nearly impossible regulatory nightmare.

"The problem with it is it is difficult, if not impossible, to regulate," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Paul McIlrath, who has dealt with the issue since the Dust Dodgers first proposed it last spring.

"Someone could be on the other side of the pasture by the time you arrive. You almost have to be there at the time.

"There isn't a perfect way to do this," he continued. "This is a very contentious issue. I wish there was a better way to deal with the problem."

The Dust Dodgers' proposal would establish a definition for what are called ORV facilities, eliminate the current requirement for a public hearing before one can be created and expand the number of zoning districts where ORV use would be allowed.

Currently, ORV tracks are allowed in the most rural and remote areas where lot sizes are a minimum of 10 acres. ORV tracks aren't allowed currently in the agriculture zone, the largest single zoning class in the farming-rich county.

The club's plan would allow tracks in ag areas, the current zones and a rural residential zone where lot sizes can be as small as 2.5 acres.

Watson argued the standards pushed by the club provide a verifiable way to gauge impacts such as noise and dust. What happens now is too subjective and can result in property owners being cited for using radio-controlled cars.

"You get a situation where the enforcement officer may go out and see someone riding in a pasture and creating a wear pattern. They can call that an improvement that is prohibited," he said. "We have proposed things that provide objective, verifiable standards that don't involve a subjective determination."

Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin, whose deputies are tasked with responding to complaints, said the current system works.

"It is mitigating problems and provides a bright line of what you can and can't do. We don't have the resources to run sound meter tests," he said.

Yakima County has two off-road vehicle deputies to deal with complaints and enforcement of ORV use countywide.

Rural Selah resident Elroy David said he and his wife have been subjected to the noise and dust. He also opposes the club's plan.

"I'm not unreasonable. If you had a kid running around on a bike, you could put up with that," he said. "But when it is constant and a bunch of people are doing it, it drives you out of your mind."

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.

If you go:

What: Public hearing before Yakima County commissioners on a proposal that would allow expanded use of off-road vehicles in Yakima County.

When: April 21 at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Yakima Convention Center, 10 N. Eighth St.