County to hold ORV hearing Aug. 13

Emmet County residents will have an opportunity to comment on a potential resolution regarding allowing “Off Road Vehicles” (ORVs) to access and use the sides of public roads within the county during a special hearing before the Emmet County Board of Commissioners set for 5:45 pm, Thursday, Aug. 13 at the Emmet County Fairgrounds Community Center. The hearing will be followed by the Commission’s regular meeting.

A state law, signed into effect last summer, allows northern Michigan counties to open up the sides and shoulders of local roads to four-wheeler and dirt-bike riding.

Should Emmet County adopt such an ordinance, it could also close up to 30-percent of county roads to such ORV traffic for safety and environmental reasons.

Townships also have the right to adopt their own ordinances regarding use of roads within their jurisdiction. Cross Village and Readmond Townships have adopted such ordinances permitting ORV use.

Issues that confront the county commissioners include such things as safety concerns in general; specifically, if passed, which roads would be closed to ORVs; additional amendments to the legislation are circulating in Lansing which could change how the county addresses the issue; enforcement and exactly where the law allows ORVs to operate on roads also remain issues to be resolved.

This newspaper interviewed Emmet County commissioner Tom Shier, chair of the Transportation Committee, this week. That interview will be published next week, prior to the public hearing.

-Charles O’Neill

This is part of the August 5, 2009 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.

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