Give and take at commissioners

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Give and take was the order of the day for Yakima County commissioners during a study session Tuesday morning on off-road vehicle use.

Commissioners voiced interest in lessening the role of government in approving off-road vehicle facilities, but they wouldn’t budge on expanding areas where they would be allowed.

Commissioners are expected to sign off June 2 on the revised ordinance governing off-road vehicle use, an issue that has property rights advocates on both sides clashing.

Tues-day’s session was much quieter than a public hearing April 21 on the matter, when more than 300 people packed the Yakima Convention Center to voice their concerns.

Off-road recreation proponents want to construct facilities in more areas than is currently allowed on private property without having to jump through too many regulatory hoops.

Opponents, however, complain of the noise and dust such recreation brings.

Fed up with trying to sort out disputes between neighbors, commissioners Tuesday morning agreed to have such projects handled at the administrative level, meaning they would have to comply with all building and permit requirements and be subject to county review without having to go before a hearing examiner.

Commissioner Mike Leita said it’s time neighbors sort out disputes rather than always calling on the county.

“Quite frankly, that is the essence of all this,” he said. “We’ve got bigger, badder guys out there to be chasing.”

But not all proposed changes fell in favor of off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Other changes include requiring developers of such projects to notify property owners within 1,000 feet, build on parcels no smaller than five acres, comply with county noise ordinances and provide dust control measures.

Proponent Mark Watson, president of the motorcycle group Dust Dodgers, a group of 35 riders seeking fewer restrictions on off-road vehicle use, said he’s disappointed that commissioners wouldn’t allow facilities in agricultural areas.

“That was kind of the motivating factor,” he said. “A lot of people who have an interest in this live in (agricultural) zones.”

He said he also fears that county review may lead to conditions on such projects that would send proponents back to the requirements they sought to avoid.

“I think we were looking for some uniformity in the process where we wouldn’t have to go through a review,” he said.

Gleed property owner and opponent Dan Cooper said he fears what the county is proposing may favor off-road vehicle use too much.

“What we worry about is that they won’t worry about what the neighbors say,” he said. “Right here, we’ve got about eight bikes going at once.”

He said there are a number of property owners in the area he lives along Chickadee Lane who are tired of the noise and dust from the motorcycles.

“The old days are gone — You just can’t go out there with your dirt bikes and tear around,” he said. “You can’t go out there with a pistol and target practice. It’s just getting too crowded.”

Despite the concern, Leita said the proposed changes will help avoid enforcement headaches and better define guidelines for off-road vehicle facilities.

“We’ve minimized the fuzziness of this ordinance and it does encourage neighbors to work together,” he said.

• Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.

Yakima County’s off-road vehicle facilities ordinance

Proposed changes:

• Allows off-road courses to be built without having the project go before a hearing examiner.

• Extends from 300 feet to 1,000 feet the distance in which residing neighbors would have to be notified of the construction of such facility.

• Increases from three acres to five acres the minimal size of a parcel in which on off-road course could be constructed.