Rural ATV Riders Rock Neighbors, Township’s Mum

SOUTH DENNIS – Throughout the year, the walls in Gary Gibson’s home vibrate from the sound of all- terrain vehicles surrounding his South Dennis neighborhood. For the past four years, Gibson, a retired New Jersey state trooper, has tried in vain to take back the peace and quiet that he and his family once enjoyed when they moved to the area over 32 years ago.
Gibson is not alone. Residents throughout Dennis Township have long been complaining about illegal all-terrain vehicle use on public roadways and the constant noise that the off-road vehicles produce.
“I wouldn’t move here for a million dollars,” said Gibson. “It should be one of the most beautiful places in the whole entire county to live; instead they’ve torn up the signs, they’ve ripped up the fencing. I’m literally fighting for my property rights and to see if I even want to keep my house.”
Based on the township’s current laws, there is nothing Gibson can do about it.
“We sit here day to day, we don’t know whether one of these current tracks is going to operate, but I don’t know if tomorrow that guy’s going to build a track across the street because it’s legal,” said Gibson.
Aside from the ATVs riding in and around his neighborhood, Gibson says much of the noise is coming from a large commercial property on Route 83 that is used for ATV riding. Thomas Barry Marine Construction owns the property. Referred to by Gibson as “an attractive nuisance,” the lot features large mounds of dirt that Gibson says are used for jumping.
In 2010, a complaint was filed against owner Thomas Barry with the Cape Atlantic Conservation District over the movement of large areas of dirt on the property. Operations were shut down due to a lack of sealed engineering plans that are required by the state when moving over 5,000 square feet of dirt. Once the engineering plans labeled the project “land grading operations,” the state then granted Barry the approvals to move the soil, even though the dirt mounds are used for ATV riding, a point acknowledged by former township Emergency Management Coordinator Michael DeLuca.
During an ATV subcommittee meeting Nov. 11, 2010, DeLuca said his son, who is a professional ATV racer, rides almost daily at the property, and that he (Deluca) has significant investments in his son’s career.
Gibson has reached out to the township zoning and planning board since March 2011, asking if an ATV track on commercial property is a permitted land use under the township’s current zoning laws. To this day he has gotten no response.
According to Gibson, one of the homes located across the street from the Barry property has been up for sale three times in the last year due to the excessive noise associated with people riding ATVs within the property. There have also been reports of a woman injured while riding on the property in the spring of 2010, but sources connected to the incident declined comment, citing health privacy laws.
Two residents, who sought to remain anonymous, views the property as an attractive nuisance and said it seems obvious that the property is being used for riding.
Yet another anonymous resident contacted township committee with complaints of her own. In the past she has been forced aside from walking trails in the Beaver Swamp Wildlife Management Area while exercising.
Another couple said they wouldn’t even bother coming home from work until it was dark because of the ATV noise taking place directly across from their house.
“I have not been vociferous regarding my feelings about this. And I do worry about being harassed and/or vandalized or even perhaps my pet harmed,” the woman said.
“I’ve spoken to a few neighbors and they don’t like the ATV activity, but will never come forward,” she added. “They just don’t want to get involved.”
Gibson described the township as a “magnet community,” saying that riders come from Upper and Middle townships to ride because Dennis lacks any enforcement with regards to noise and ATVs. “Every nuance of ATV abuse you can have, on private property, on public roads, on private gamelands, it’s just a major situation that’s going on here,” said Gibson.
In addition to riding at the Barry property, Gibson pointed out a property located across from the Ocean View Center for Rehabilitation and Continuing Care that sees a lot of ATV activity. “Upper Township, just two-tenths of a mile up the road, has a noise ordinance,” said Gibson. “There are actually people in Upper Township that can hear this track and they don’t have any recourse. It’s not only crossing property lines, neighbor to neighbor, it’s crossing municipal lines, and nothing’s being done about it.”
Gibson, after speaking out against ATVs during a committee meeting, required a police escort to his vehicle after he was stalked across the parking lot. “This guy came out and physically threatened me. I had another incident where his son threatened me,” said Gibson. “This is like the Wild West out here. There’s no accountability out here. A lot of these people are afraid.”
Additionally, Gibson’s home has been vandalized six times in the last two years. His extended family is afraid to visit.
In November 2010, an ATV subcommittee was formed to examine the complaints being raised by Gibson and others. As a part of the subcommittee, Gibson and township resident Walter Noll, provided officials with dozens of ordinances, including a state model for an ATV noise ordinance.
“They never allowed us to present all the material that we had. They stopped the meeting,” said Gibson. “We went to one workshop March 1, 2011. We go in and they distribute a draft nuisance noise ordinance modeled after Upper Township.”
Gibson continued to say that the ordinance, drafted and distributed by Solicitor Jeff April, was taken away at the request of Mayor John Murphy. “Murphy tells April that we’re not going to review the noise ordinance, that it never should have been drafted,” said Gibson.
When Gibson asked why they couldn’t move the ordinance forward for public discussion, he said Murphy’s response was, “Because I said so.”
“I’m extremely frustrated,” said Gibson. “It’s not only private citizens being shut out, it’s official business on the township committee being shut out, and it’s a township solicitor’s, whose official business for the township is being shut out.”
The subcommittee was disbanded without explanation after three meetings. When asked if there are any plans to reinstate the committee, township officials said no.
“This alleged municipal process and this citizen participation relevant to transparent government was all a bunch of baloney,” said Gibson. “As soon as it got a little dicey, as soon as we pointed out where it was going, it was shut down.”
Additional letters of complaint submitted to township officials include a nurse who has difficulty performing at her job because excessive ATV noise outside of her home prevents her from sleeping, while another recounts an 82 year-old woman trying to recover from brain surgery while ATVs ride past her window.
Not everyone in Dennis Township is at war with ATVs. Even members of township committee, including Brian Teefy and Frank Germanio, have admitted to riding ATVs on a regular basis.
“The sound of an ATV or dirt bike is music to my ears, because I know someone is outside enjoying this great place and having fun,” said Jason Krwawecz, township resident and founder of Rider Free Ministries, a Christian-based organization that delivers the message of salvation and freedom through Jesus Christ to members of the community. “To me, riding in Dennis Township is like surfing in Ocean City, it is what it is.”
Krwawecz said riding promotes a positive outdoor activity for children and families, but he acknowledged that the sport isn’t for everyone. “I read the Spout-Offs (in the Herald) once in a while and it seems a few people want peace and quiet 24 hours a day, seven days a week around here. They make it seem that the noise is an everyday thing, but as a rider myself, I know that can’t be completely true,” said Krwawecz.
Krwawecz said that a lot of riders don’t get out as often from October to March because of the cold weather and lack of daylight, and in the summertime the excessive heat and dust keep can keep riders away. “The spring and fall are basically the best time to ride here in New Jersey,” said Krwawecz.
“I grew up here in South Jersey, surfing, skateboarding and riding dirt bikes,” said Krwawecz. “But not everyone just does that who is involved in our ministry. From riding Harleys to horses, we all enjoy the ‘ride’ here at Ride Free Ministries.”
Regarding complaints about safety, Krwawecz said he and the ministry do not engage in or support the riding of ATVs on roadways or riding without a helmet. No stranger to noise complaints, Krwawecz praised state troopers for their handling of each case, but said ultimately neighbors must find common ground.
“I myself would have no problem shutting the bikes down if my neighbor asked because they were having a family birthday outside. But I believe neighbors have to meet in the middle or you are making someone a prisoner on their own property that they pay taxes on,” said Krwawecz. “Call me old school but respect for your neighbor is important, on both sides.”
Eric Stratten, owner of PC Competition in Dennis Township, said the ATV-related problems would disappear if people had some place to ride. While the state opened Mount Pleasant State Off-Road Vehicle Park in January 2013, the regulations, according to Stratten, are too restrictive.
According to state law, riders under the age 14 are not permitted on public lands. “You have kids racing at 3-years-old,” said Stratten. “A kid that I sponsor is 8-years-old. He’s a winning motocross racer and he can’t ride there (Mount Pleasant).”
Stratten possesses much knowledge when it comes to ATVs. He, along with the late Louis Bianchino, owned and operated a private ATV track at the current Mount Pleasant site until 2005. The track shut down shortly after the death of Bianchino, who was killed while grooming the track in 2003.
Stratten explained that ATVs manufactured today must pass strict sound standards. The American Motorcyclist Association and the International Motorcycling Federation require bikes to be quiet. “There’s been a big push in the last 10 to 12 years to make dirt bikes quieter,” said Stratten.
“The sport with me is not a hobby, it’s a passion,” said Stratten, who is a certified instructor offering private lessons, safety classes, and bike repairs. He has been training riders professionally since 1980. In addition to teaching proper safety and operating basics, Stratten also promotes respectful riding. He often tells parents of his riders that if the child doesn’t do what is expected of them, in the home or at school, then they should take away riding privileges.
“The sport teaches conditioning, mental sharpness, responsibility, and respect,” said Stratten. It also, according to Stratten, has a positive impact on the surrounding community.
“I got so many emails from local businesses in Woodbine when we first opened up, saying that weekend business was through the roof,” said Stratten. He said local restaurants and ATV dealerships would benefit from local riders, as well as riders who had traveled from other parts of the state, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New York.
Like Krwawecz, Stratten agreed that neighbors need to be respectful of one another. After a neighbor complained about the noise generated from a property where Stratten used to ride, he modified the track and agreed to start riding at a later time.
“We were willing to make concessions and it made all the difference in the world,” said Stratten.
While Stratten would love nothing more than to open another private ATV track, he needs money from investors to help make it a reality. “If the state got their act together and changed these laws to what is viable, or if riders had a privately-owned track to go to, all of these problems would go away,” said Stratten.
Until then, Dennis will continue to be a township divided. The current administration refuses to draft a noise ordinance, even though every other municipality in the county has one.
According to officials, the number of those in favor of any type of noise ordinance is few, compared with those who have spoken out against it. They suggested that Gibson have neighbors sign a petition, similar to the approach another neighbor took to get speed bumps installed throughout the neighborhood. Gibson, who acknowledges that he is consumed by this issue, will not stop in his quest for relief.
“It’s a hard way to live, but at the same time I’m living this way because there’s no responsibility,” said Gibson. “At what time are these people going to meet their obligations? Not just for me, but for the betterment of everyone.”
To contact Kirby Reed, email kreed@cmcherald.com.