[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Arbor
Vitae 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 2-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide for a safe
means for Town residents and visitors to use all-terrain vehicles
on designated Town roads to facilitate access to trail systems located
in the county or in adjoining counties.
Road and road segments may be added and authorized as all-terrain
vehicle routes through the following process:
A.
A property owner within the Town must petition the Town to add a
road or road segment.
B.
The Town Board shall, within 90 days of receipt of the petition,
review the petition and make a determination as to whether the road
or road segment in question is appropriate for use as permitted under
this chapter. The Town Board shall make this determination.
C.
The Town Board shall hold a public hearing on the petition. This
public hearing may be held in conjunction with a regularly scheduled
Town Board meeting. That public hearing shall be considered first
consideration of a proposed change to the Town's Municipal Code. The
Board shall make reasonable efforts to ensure residents on affected
roads are given notice of the public hearing.
D.
If the Town Board gives tentative approval to the ordinance change
at first consideration, the Board shall bring the matter up for second
consideration at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.
[Added 5-16-2018; amended 4-16-2019 by Res. No. 1-19]
All Town roads will be open to all-terrain vehicles unless otherwise
posted. This will be reviewed on a yearly basis. Any Town road requested
to be closed as an ATV route must have signatures of homeowners on
that road, have over 51% who agree and the request must be submitted
by April 1 of that year. Wis. Stats., § 23.33(8)(e)3, for
signage was also adopted.
[Amended 2-21-2024 by Ord. No. 1-2024]
To operate an all-terrain vehicle or utility terrain vehicle,
a person must:
A.
Comply
with the age requirements set by the State of Wisconsin in Wis. Stats.,
§ 23.33;
B.
Possess an all-terrain vehicle safety certificate, unless the operator
was born on or before January 1, 1988;
C.
Operate at a speed no faster than a vehicle speed limit of 25 miles
per hour or as posted;
D.
Operate only on the right side of the roadway;
E.
Operate
with headlights on at all times.
The Lakeland ATV Club, in coordination with the road department
shall:
A.
Purchase and post all-terrain vehicle route signs as required by
state law accompanied by 25 miles per hour ATV speed limit signs;
B.
Purchase and post signage indicating the termination of routes in
locations as directed by the Town road foreman;
C.
Purchase and post local-use-only signs in locations as directed by
the Town road foreman;
D.
Purchase and post quiet-zone signs in locations as directed by the
Town Board.
Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be
punished by a fine or forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than
$200 per violation, together with the costs of the action. Each time
a violation occurs shall be considered a separate and distinct offense.
As a substitute for or in addition to forfeiture actions, the
Town Attorney may, on behalf of the Town, seek enforcement of any
and all parts of this chapter by court actions seeking injunctional
orders or restraining orders and/or pursuing nuisance actions against
the violator.
[Amended 4-16-2019 by Res. No. 1-19; 2-21-2024 by Ord. No. 1-2024]
All paved Town-maintained roads will be open to year-round ATV/UTV
use unless posted otherwise. Vandercook Road, Plum Vitae Road, Day
Lake Road and any other Town-maintained gravel road is subject to
a sunset clause and open to ATV/UTV use from May 1 until October 31
unless affirmatively reauthorized by the Town Board.
[Added 2-21-2024 by Ord.
No. 1-2024]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An engine-driven device which has a net weight of 900 pounds
or less, which is originally manufactured with a width of 50 inches
or less, that is not tracked, which is equipped with a seat designed
to be straddled by the operator and which is designed by the manufacturer
to travel on three or more low-pressure tires.
A commercially designed and manufactured motor driven device
that does not meet federal motor vehicle safety standards in effect
on July 1, 2012, that is not a golf cart, low-speed vehicle, dune
buggy, minitruck, or tracked vehicle, that is designed to be used
primarily off of a highway, and that has, and was originally manufactured
with, all of the following:
A net weight, without fluids, of 3,000 pounds or less.
Four or more low-pressure or nonpneumatic tires.
A steering wheel.
A taillight.
A brake light.
Two headlights.
A width of not more than 65 inches.
A system of seat belts, or a similar system, for restraining
each occupant of the device in the event of an accident.
A system of structural members designed to reduce the likelihood
that an occupant would be crushed as the result of a rollover of the
device.
