New Rules Rein In Off-Road Riders

Spurred by homeowners tired of the noise, dust and environmental destruction, Riverside County on Tuesday approved a crackdown on off-road vehicle use on private property, and neighboring San Bernardino County may soon adopt its own restrictions.

The off-roading limits have slowly gained political support in the fast-growing counties, where housing developments are encroaching on once-remote deserts and mountains that are popular destinations for Southern California dirt-bikers and other all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts.

The restrictions in Riverside County, which the Board of Supervisors approved 4 to 1, follow two years of protracted debate and will limit riding times and the number of vehicles residents can ride on their property.

Supervisors also approved strict new noise limits, although they apply as much to garage bands as they do to dune buggies.

The supervisors acknowledged that most off-roaders were responsible riders who should be able to enjoy their own property, but “unfortunately it’s the bad apples that are causing the problems for those of you that are doing it the right way,” said Supervisor John F. Tavaglione.

Off-road proponents called the new county rules too severe but agreed that the family-friendly activity was being marred by the recklessness of a few riders.

“By putting restrictions on people like that, it’s just it’s like saying you can’t play baseball in your frontyard,” said Jill Purczynski, 36, of Sage, in southern Riverside County. Her son, Cameron, 14, hopes to be a professional motocross rider and makes tracks on the family’s 5 acres almost every day.

The region is a hotbed of motocross riders, with its open, rocky terrain well-suited for stunts on wheels. Nearly 20% of the state’s more than 960,000 off-highway vehicle permits were issued in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, said Brian Klock, manager of external affairs in the state park system’s off-highway vehicle recreation division.

Residents in Los Angeles and San Diego counties account for 25% of the state total.

Most of the illegal riders in Riverside County come from coastal counties, said Cpl. Dennis Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.

The clash between property owners seeking rural solitude and those defending their right to ride has smoldered for some time, aggravated by the quickening pace of development in once-vacant desert regions of the counties.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties have gained nearly 1.3 million residents since 1990, and surging home prices in coastal counties have pushed families to the once-remote regions that had been open to all-terrain riders.

Sometimes new arrivals “want to bring their coastal values to the areas that have been more open,” said Fred Wiley, executive director of the 400-member Off-Road Business Assn., headquartered in Bakersfield. “I’m not saying that their values are wrong. They’re different.”

Riverside County has drafted and re-drafted the off-road ordinance, with eight contentious public hearings, since fall of 2004.

The version approved would allow off-roaders to ride between noon and 5 p.m. on private property in unincorporated Riverside County.

It also places a limit of one off-road vehicle in use per 10 acres and requires riders to stay 100 feet from property lines and 250 feet from neighbors’ homes.

Off-roaders can ride more vehicles on their property with a neighbor’s written consent; more than four, however, will also require a conditional use permit that could cost as much as $10,000, officials said.

The debate in Riverside County mirrors that in neighboring San Bernardino County. Though that county has 300,000 acres on which the Bureau of Land Management allows all-terrain vehicles, plus some U.S. Forest Service trails and privately owned parks, some riders have balked at new rules that supervisors are expected to consider in April.

The proposed ordinance would introduce penalties for riders who enter private property, kick up dust, emit smoke and fumes, or whose vehicles are too loud.

A rider who committed four or more violations within three years could face a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.

The ordinance would also address “staging” -- when a large group meets to ride on private land. The new rules would require groups of 10 or more to apply for a special-event permit, which could cost up to $150 and require neighbors to be notified.

San Bernardino County Board Chairman Bill Postmus, whose high desert district is the epicenter of the county’s off-road battles, said the new rules would be accompanied by a funding request to hire more code-enforcement officers.

Postmus called the proposed ordinance a “good compromise” that would give law enforcement flexibility in enforcing it.

“Both sides agree this is the right legislation -- it’s not too lenient or too strict,” Postmus said.

Brahm Elmendorp fumed at the all-terrain vehicles that scarred his 10 acres in Morongo Valley in San Bernardino County, stirring up dust clouds and roaring like big-rig trucks.

“They say this is the desert and we can do what we want,” said Elmendorp, a retired physical therapist who moved from Los Angeles six years ago.

“The desert is my desert just like everyone else’s. I don’t want it destroyed.”

All-terrain devotees literally booed Tuesday’s Riverside County measure and warned that it would hurt the county’s booming off-road industry.

“When all the arm-waving and teeth-gnashing is done, we want the right to recreate on our own property,” said Anthony Migliore of Temecula.