This article shall be known as the "Off-Road
Recreational Vehicle Regulation Ordinance of the City of Oneida."
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
City to prevent excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise and
unlawful acts of trespass upon private lands by off-road recreational
vehicles. It is further declared that the provisions and prohibitions
herein contained and enacted are in pursuance of and for the purpose
of preserving, protecting and promoting the public health, comfort,
convenience, safety, welfare and the peace and quiet of the City and
its inhabitants.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings assigned to them below:
The sound pressure level measured by the use of an instrument
with the metering characteristics and A-weighting frequency response
prescribed for sound level meters.
The Commissioner of Public Safety of the city.
Every person who operates or drives or is in actual physical
control of an off-road recreational vehicle, whether or not such vehicle
is actually in motion.
A device consisting of a series of chambers or baffle plates
or other mechanical design for the purpose of receiving exhaust gas
from a sound source and effective in reducing noise.
Any vehicle which is propelled by any power other than muscular
power that is designed for or capable of cross-country travel, such
as a motorcycle, trailbike or minibike, but not a snowmobile.
The owner shall be the person having title to the off-road
recreational vehicle.
[Amended 6-17-2014 by Ord. No. 14-06]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 180-36, Registration; fee,
was repealed 6-17-2014 by Ord. No. 14-06.
No person shall operate or permit or suffer
to be operated an off-road recreational vehicle on a public highway
unless such vehicle meets the equipment and licensing requirements
contained in the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law.
A.Â
No person shall operate or permit or suffer to be
operated an off-road recreational vehicle unless such vehicle shall
at all times be equipped with an adequate muffler and exhaust system
in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any unnecessary
noise; no such muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped with a
cut-out, bypass or similar device.
B.Â
No person shall modify or cause to be modified the
muffler, exhaust system or other noise control device on an off-road
recreational vehicle in a manner which will increase the noise emitted
by such vehicle above that emitted by the vehicle when newly manufactured,
regardless of the date of manufacture. No person shall operate or
permit or suffer to be operated an off-road recreational vehicle so
modified.
No person shall operate or permit or suffer
to be operated an off-road recreational vehicle if the vehicle exceeds
a sound level of 105 dB(A). The limit shall apply at a distance of
1/2 meter from the exhaust in accordance with the stationary test
method of the Motorcycle Industry Council.
[Amended 2-20-2007 by Ord. No. 07-01]
No person shall operate or suffer to be operated
an off-road recreational vehicle on private property other than that
of the owner/operator, or within 125 feet of a dwelling other than
that of owner/operator, unless a written permission slip from the
owner of the property is in the immediate possession of the operator.
No person shall operate an off-road recreational
vehicle designed for racing except at a facility used for racing events.
The City may, by specific action of the Common Council, issue a permit
authorizing a specific competition event, which excepts a person from
these restrictions for that specific event.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
article, a person shall not operate any off-road recreational vehicle
so as to create a nuisance.
A.Â
Any person operating an off-road recreational vehicle
in violation of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any
owner who shall knowingly permit or suffer or authorize an off-road
recreational vehicle to be driven in violation of this article shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any parent of any child and any guardian
of any ward under the age of 16 years or any person with whom said
child resides who shall knowingly suffer or permit any such child
or ward to violate any provisions of this article shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.
B.Â
Every person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation
of any provisions of this article shall be punished by a fine of not
less than $25, nor more than a fine of $100, or imprisonment of not
more than 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
