ATV plan sparks little opposition in Port, unlike in Belgium

Allowing all-terrain vehicles on town roads has been the height of controversy in Belgium but not in the Town of Port Washington, where on Monday a dozen people attended an informational meeting on a proposal to allow ATVs and utility-terrain vehicles on rural roads and only three opposed it.

Most of the people at the meeting and those who emailed the town characterized the proposal as one that would further a legitimate recreational opportunity for town residents and visitors alike and benefit area bars and restaurants.

“We’ve traveled the whole state on UTVs. It’s a very enjoyable sport,” Mark Didier, who lives on Hillcrest Road, told the board. “And I think it would help a couple of businesses in Ozaukee County.

“I think Port should embrace this. You guys should do the responsible thing and pass this.”

By contrast, several of the more than 80 people who attended a similar meeting in the Town of Belgium last fall — many who live on or near Lake Michigan —  said an ordinance allowing ATVs and UTVs on rural roads would bring unwelcome traffic and noise to bucolic neighborhoods. Some, including an Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy, also opposed the proposal because of safety concerns.

Of the 251 people who contacted the town, all opposed the proposal, Belgium Town Clerk Ginger Murphy said at the time.

Yet last month the Town of Belgium Plan Commission voted 5-4 to recommend the Town Board approve the ordinance, and on Tuesday, the board did just that, making Belgium the second township in the county to allow ATVs and UTVs on some rural roads. The Town of Fredonia passed a similar ordinance last year.

The Town of Port Washington may be headed in a similar direction. The board voted Monday to draft an ordinance allowing ATVs and UTVs to operate on some rural roads. It could vote on approving that ordinance as early as next month.

“I think we should at least go to the next step and maybe we’ll get some more feedback,” Supr. Greg Welton said. 

The board’s decision came after Al Kultgen, who lives near Mink Ranch Road, told supervisors that ATVs and UTVs would add to the congestion on that road and others.

“We have a lot of people walking, jogging and biking on these roads. I don’t see the point of adding ATVs and UTVs to that mix,” he said. “I think this would be a safety issue.”

Jean Schanen, who called the proposal “ridiculous,” said that while an ATV/UTV ordinance would not affect the road she lives on, Highway C is an example of what could happen to other roads if all-terrain vehicles are allowed to operate on them. “I’m very concerned about creating more noise in our world,” she said. “There’s so much traffic that it (Highway C) has become a very dangerous road.

“I just don’t see the need for this.”

James Kultgen, who lives on River Lane Road just off Mink Ranch Road, said allowing all-terrain vehicles on roads would be an invitation for some riders to trespass on private land as has happened in the past.

“People don’t have any respect for our property,” he said. “We put up with this for years, and I don’t want to see it go back to that.”

But Mink Ranch Road resident Jeff Gahan said most riders respect the law.

“I’ve been ATVing for years, and most people who do it are responsible,” he said. 

Bob Hubing, a member and past president of the Belgium-based Lakeshore ATV/UTV Club, the organization that is proposing the ordinances in Ozaukee County, called the group a “family friendly club” whose members follow the law.

“As a club, we police ourselves,” he said. “If we see a violation, we call it in to the DNR warden.”

The Lakeshore club is participating in a statewide movement to give all-terrain vehicles access to rural roads throughout Wisconsin. 

Under its proposal, ATVs and UTVs would be allowed to operate on town roads in addition to county and state roadways with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Riders would have to use the far right side of the road except when making left turns and ride single file.

Under state law, children as young as 12 can operate ATVs, but not UTVs, on roads as long as they are supervised by a parent or parent-approved adult and have a Department of Natural Resources ATV safety certificate. People 16 and older can operate ATVs and UTVs alone on roads if they have safety certificates. All drivers and passengers younger than 18 must wear approved helmets.

Towns are, however, able to enact their own restrictions, and one the Town of Port should consider is setting a time after which ATVs and UTVs cannot be driven on roads, town resident Pete Didier said.

“I’m basically for this, but I like the idea of putting a time limit on it,” he said. “A lot of goofy things happen around midnight.”

The ordinance approved by the Belgium Town Board Tuesday prohibits ATVs and UTVs on roads on the far east side of the town as well as on all town roads between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. (See related story on page 10B.)