PETERSBURG – On the same day the New Jersey Office of Attorney General (OAG) was issuing guidelines for all-terrain (ATV) and off-road vehicles (ORV), May 22, Upper Township Committee was hearing complaints from residents about ATVs and ORVs.
The OAG issued its guidance on state law on the improper use of ATVs and ORVs “in parks, preserves and other protected natural spaces,” as well as “on public streets.” The OAG was trying to raise awareness among law enforcement about available laws and regulations for citing violators.
Meanwhile, Upper Township administration said they do not have the authority to tell law enforcement to do a certain job, and the police feel hindered by the OAG’s directive on juvenile justice.
The matter came up in the May 22 committee meeting after resident Joe Cotton said he was forced to put up with the sound of ATVs or dirt bikes all day long. Cotton lives in the area of the mining pit, known as the Gandy Pit, adjacent to township property and located at the ends of Regal and Red Clover drives.
“The noise I hear all day long is outrageous,” Cotton said.
“Noise pollution” was listed in the OAG announcement, along with the inappropriate use of ATVs and ORVs, such as motorized dirt bikes and four-wheelers, on public lands and streets, causing environmental damage and safety hazards.
Under New Jersey law, snowmobiles, ATVs, and dirt bikes are banned from use on public streets, while counties and municipalities may have similar local ordinances or regulations restricting those vehicles’ use on public roads.
However, the township said there is little it can do to regulate ATV use on private land, and it cannot tell the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) to make arrests.
“It’s very difficult – almost impossible – to tell the state police to station a guy here to do this or that,” Upper Township AdministratorDeMarzo said.
Newman said the township cannot police certain actions.
“The township can’t enforce laws,” Mayor Jay Newman said, referring to state laws. “And the police can’t chase them.”
“They are under orders not to chase them,” DeMarzo said.
The administration was specifically referring to juveniles, who were the subject of the attorney general’s directive on juvenile justice, dated December 2022. The directive was intended to keep juveniles out of the criminal justice system. Efforts by adjacent property owners to erect barricades have been foiled by ATV riders who would cut up tree trunks placed across trails.
“People put up barricades and they are down in an hour,” Newman said.
DeMarzo said residents have spent a lot of money to put up signs telling ATV and dirt bike riders to keep out, with no positive result.
“You can police people as much as they want to be policed,” DeMarzo said. “They know what’s right and what’s wrong.”
DeMarzo said the OAG guidelines on ATV and ORV use are mainly targeting use on public lands. In Upper Township, the ATV and dirt bikes tend to be ridden on private property not belonging to the riders.
Another resident said the riders enter the mining pit property via cul-de-sacs, meaning they get to the Gandy Pit via public roadways. The administration said they could not ask NJSP to station an officer in the area to prevent trespassing and illegal use of ATVs on roadways.
Committeeman Curtis Corson asked if the riders could be cited now. Township Solicitor Anthony Monzo said it would require the property owner to sign a complaint.
“It’s an enforcement issue relative to an enforcement agency,” DeMarzo said.
One resident said he went to Dunkin Donuts and spoke to the police chief about the problem.
Cotton said the sound is like living next to a motocross track and he feels it will lower his property value.
Another resident, Mike Scanlon, said ATVs and dirt bikes, like hunting, are simply part of living in Upper Township.
Members of the committee concluded by saying they were going to erect barricades, but DeMarzo said where they would be erected remains to be seen.
“We can’t put them on someone else’s property,” he said.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
