ATV ordinance may be OK’d

An ordinance to allow all-terrain vehicles and utility-terrain vehicles in the Town of Belgium may become a reality on Tuesday, Sept. 7, after more than a year of sometimes heated debate.

The Town Board will hold a public hearing on the ordinance at 7 p.m. and could approve it immediately following at its monthly meeting.

The ordinance, which town attorney Paul Alexy checked over, received a positive recommendation from the Plan Commission on Aug. 11.

The Town Board in July, in front of a standing room-only crowd of about 60, approved allowing the vehicles to travel through the town with a few conditions, and designated that the Plan Commission determine the ordinance’s wording.

The commission developed an ordinance and had Alexy look it over before sending it to the board for approval.

Some of the rules in the ATV/UTV ordinance are:

• The vehicles may run from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

• They may only use state and county roads with speed limits of 35 mph speed limits or less

• They are limited to areas west of Lake Church, Clay Ridge and Six Mile roads, as well as Silver Beach Road between Lake Church and Clay Ridge roads and Jay Road between Clay Ridge and Six Mile roads

• The ordinance will be reviewed annually.

Debate started last year on the ordinance, which some town residents argued against for reasons ranging from safety to noise pollution. A Plan Commission meeting in August 2020 was held in Community Park that drew 80 people.