Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

UTAH TO REGISTER, TAX OEF-ROAD MOTORCYCL~S By Terry Newfarmer or domestic animals, burglaries or other crimes, damage to the environment, which includes pollution of air, water or land, abuse of the watershed, impairment of plant or animal life or excessive mechanical noise. The specifics are left to the Board of Parks and Recreation and its advisory committee. The balance of the bill imposes parts of the motor vehicle Code on the off-road rider. It calls for normal traffic-ticket arrest procedure, and t!>e reporting of accidents. It empowers virtually any law enforcement officer, SALT LAKE CITY - A bill designed to control off-road motorcycles and all "recreation vehicles" was introduced into the Utah State Legislature Feb. 2. The bill seeks control in two ways: -The registration of all motorcycles, snowmobiles, buggies and ATVs, which were previously unregistered, as recreation vehicles, with the State Board of Parks and Recreation. -Giving authority to declare tracts of land closed to vehicle use to the Board of Parks and Recreation. The specifics of what land would be closed, as well as equipment and safety requirements are left to the list of regulations the board would draft up. But the bill would also make the crea'tion of an uadvisory council" part of the necessary procedure in drafting regulations. Representatives of bike and buggy clubs, conservationists, landowners and other "interested parties" would be included as members. "Our objective is to make this law constructive rather than punitive - a model law," said Tedd Tuttle, director of boating registration for the board. His office will administer the vehicle registration if the bill passes. Close study of the bill seems to bear out his "model law" contention. "All federal agencies are encouraged and agencies of the state and its subdivisions are directed to refrain from closing any public land -to responsible recreation vehicle use, except where just and reasonable cause can be demonstrated," the bill states. In one clause, it recognizes that the state has no closure authority over federal land, and that land should be considered open until it must be closed. It wasn't always so. The first draft of, the bill was formulated by a subcommittee of the Legislative Council's "Committee on Natural Resources," with a member of the Sierra Club as its chairman. The original draft called for closure -of the entire state, except for "those areas designated and posted for such use." It also called for a second registration of jeeps and bikes that already have license plates, and permanent confiscation of an offender's vehicle. This draft was then turned over to the Board of Parks and Recreation. Representatives of bike, snowmobile, buggy and jeep clubs were consulted; along with vehicle dealers. Lengthy By Elaine Jones discussions and a public hearing followed, and seven drafts later, the A big step forward was taken by the present bill was introduced as Utah Riverside City Council wh en they Senate Bill 134. unanimously voted to revise the newly The overall closure, double passed ordinances banning off·street registration and confiscation were riding in this town. eliminated in the process, but the The major force that has brought much-debated property tax is still a part about this change are a group of sixty of the bill. boys and girls under 14 years of age The Utah Snowmobile Assn. is who call themselves the C&H strongly for the registration and Mini-mites_ These kids had been riding strongly against the property tax, an area (that has recently been closed)' according to its president, George for five years without complaint and Sanders. ''Why should snowmobiles be under the new ordinances were unable taxed, when other pieces of sports to obtain the necessary written equipment such as golf clubs, are not?" permission to co.ntinue with their rallies. he asked. Instead of sitting back and crying, Harold J. Tippette, Director of Parks these kids and their parents started and Recreation, told·the public hearing writing letters to Councilmen, that the Utah Constitution requires that Supervisors, Senator Tunney and the property tax go hand and hand with local paper explaining what their registration. "If we leave it out, the problem was and what their riding Legislature will surely put it in," he meant to them. It all culminated with said. their appearance before the Riverside The bill sets. the registration fee at City Council where they offered $ 5, with the revenue specifically themselves as proof of what they were. .earmarked for ",administ,ation of the The Council was impressed and tried to - 'act, -and' to develOp -t""ils ana-other give permission, but because of facilities for the use of "recreation legalities, tbey were unable to. Ho:-vever, vehicle users.'" .,', .. " 7'" ~; . they told the kids to l(o ahead anI!- ride, .'. Property tax for most dirt. bjk~s will :,. range from about $8 to $20, regardless of whether they are' r:eglSrer~ll. as'·· recreation vehicles' or as motor .v...ehicles. License plates now cost $2.50; b.ut-': street legal macpines must have a safety~ inspection, so the total cost difference in the choiceis 5U.d:nts. PHOENIX, ARIZ9NA, Feb. 7, 1971 The bill allows ou t-of-state recreation' - Dr_ Albert Hahn, Ph.D., today outlined vehicles to be us<;d in Utah -for 30· days the organization caped MECCA which in any one y~r without regismi,'tion. he hopes will involve mot.orcycliSts with There is also a passage excepting_ ecology problems and sO"ciety. machines brought for a race or other Th e Motorcycle Enthusiasts contest for eight days. This ~ no~.' needed now, but ·the plan is to t..ke:the Concerned Citizens Association, which has begun a massive Arizona F 30-day exemption out of the act:after membership drive will, according to Dr. most states require registration. Hahn, "educate the public at large and The' bill addresses itself to- the problems which' spawned "it, wlien it . motorcyclists in particular regarding the says: "No person' shall oPerate a.. ecological merits of the motorcycle as a J. recreational vehicle·-and as a means of reereation· vehicle -in connection with acts of vandalism, harassment of wildlife transportation. " including game wardens, to make an arrest. An important part of the drafting of the bill was the contacting of federal land-administrating officials. The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and others have agreed to work with Parks and Recreation to formulate an' overall plan of .recreational land use, according to Mr. Tippetts. "We are in the recreation business, and we recognize off-road riding as a legitimate use of public land," he said. His assistant, Mr. Tuttle, argued: "If this bill does not pass, then punitive . . 'R~ r,(\e(' Never Underestimate The Power .Of A Child " but they refused, stating they would be breaking the law and that is against what the club stands for. The Council did promise the new revisions would be passed as swiftly as possible and these would approve Off-street riding in certain areas of Riverside with no written permission necessary. The City Planni.ng Department is drawing up maps to define the areas of the City approved for off-street cycle use. It's only a start but it's a good start because the lines of communication have been opened and both sides are working together. The City Council is even going to request a' plaque be given to the Mini-Mhes commending them for .the responsible way they are working for this change. A great deal of credit has to be given to Ken Conover, owner of C&H Motorcycles, and sponsor of the Mini-Mites and Chuck and Louise Stanart who have beel! very able guiding lights for the club. Riverside may prove itself to be a model from which other cities can learn a great deal. And just thin k... it took a bunch of kids to show us the way! . M.E.C.C.A. To Promote 'Cyclecology' In Arizona He further suited the group would "be a force for initiating programs to change the public image of the motorcycle rider. The group will publish a newsletter "MECCA-phone" to inform its members of ecological problems. Hahn said MECCA will also 'work to keep Arizona motorcycle enthusiasts informed of any legislation they should be concerned with, along with community events they should become involved in. He added the entire program is designed to get motorcyclists to become "concerned citizens." action by the counties and federal agencies will certainly make off·road riding much more restricted five years from now, then it would be under the bilL" ~ His point is illustrated by ordinances passed by Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah's largest population centers. Both ordinances contain the provision that the rider must have "written permission" on his person, whether he be on private or public land within the city limits. Salt Lake's law went into effect last spring, but Ogden's has been delayed until late spring of 1971, "to wait and see what action the Legislature takes on the recreation vehicle bill." Two pitfalls lie ahead for Utah: -The question of whether the bill will be changed in to a "monster" by the Legislatu reo -And those all.important regulations that would be draw up under the. act. Utah riders can best avoid the first pitfall by supporting the Sportsman Riders Assn. (SRA) , which has represented their interest from the outset. The names of one's legislators can be learned from the Legislative Council, State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Utah; or from the county clerk. For the second consideration, an active interest in selecting the right people for the advisory committee will be all-important. Mr. Tippetts has said the regulations will probably set different "classes" of land, ranging from 'lopen for use, no muffler required" all the way to "closed." However,' other suggested regulations include such unreasonable things as a tailligh t on a dirt bike. The primary representative of motorcyclists during the negiotations on the bill was Edward C. Henry, SRA president. "We would like to go on riding unregulated, but there are enough of us now that such can no longer be the case," he said. "The re-written bill is a reasonable approach, and I think it is important to the future of our sport that it pass." FOREST TRAILS There will be a public meeting on March 18 at the Palmdale High School at 7 :30 p.m. to discuss the o (i-road us e to trails by motorcycles in the Angelus National Forest. Members of the U.S. Forestry Service will be attenc:J,ing. " ROUND ONE TO BIKERS _ By Randy D. Bailey PHOENIX, ARIZ., Feb. 7, 1971 Arizona motorcyclists may have won round one in the legislative battle aimed at closing Arizona's public lands to their use. Rep. Stan Turley (R) Mesa, sponsor of the controversial H-B 63 which would make it a misdemeanor to drive a vehicle onto any Arizona public land, said the bill as it was originally written may die in committee. Rep. Turley said Thursday, after the bill was reported in a sub-committee of the Natnral Resources Committee, that the bill may never leave the NRC, which he chairs. "The bill as it was written is pretty stiff in its penalties," he added. Turley said the bill was introduced into the legislature to draw attention to the problem of off·the-road vehicles misusing public lands. He contended this misuse is destroying Arizona's wildlife. "This bill is sort of like horse trading,'" continued. Turley, H you start high, and then you come down to where you in tended." Spokesman for the newly organized Arizona Recreation Council (ARC), Lee Moore, said Rep. Turley would not "let up until he gets something passed_" Moore said the ARC will work in the future to see that the rights of the public are protected in the - area of ou tdoor recrea tion. "We're not going to let anything sneak by," he said. M 8, :. ~ w Z w .j o >o

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