ATV Debate Puts Upper Saucon Neighbors at Odds

A discussion about whether an ordinance regulating the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) should be enacted pitted proponents of the rural, off-roading lifestyle against their suburban neighbors at Monday's Upper Saucon Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting.

Peggy Sharrer told board members her family relocated to Upper Saucon 23 years ago, in part for the rural lifestyle they felt they would be able to enjoy as residents.

Sharrer was accompanied at the meeting by her 24-year-old son, Josh, and a group of his friends, who have gathered for years to ride ATVs in a neighbor's field near West Hopewell Road.

That field is near the Curly Horse subdivision, which was built about five years ago.

Sharrer said that since the construction of the new homes, the ATV riding that her son and his friends love has been under threat.

Both testified that they have felt harassed by unidentified Curly Horse neighbors, who they said regularly call the Upper Saucon Township Police to register complaints about the use of the ATVs.

"We don't feel that this ATV situation is really an ATV situation," Sharrer said. "We feel that this is a Curly Horse vs. 'us' situation."

"We don't want to lose the rights and the freedoms that we have in this township," she said.

Sharrer told board members that a proposed restriction on where ATVs could be ridden could be burdensome.

That restriction would prohibit ATV riding within 150 feet of a neighbor's residence.

Another restriction would prohibit any riding between dusk and 9 a.m. throughout the year, and ATVs could not be ridden within 30 feet of a public right of way.

"Convoy riding" would also be prohibited.

"I don't like the 150 feet [restriction]," Sharrer said. However, she added that some setback would be appropriate.

Patrick Price, a resident of Rolling Ridge Drive within the Curly Horse subdivision, told board members he thinks the proposed ordinance represents a good compromise solution to what has been an ongoing issue in his neighborhood.

He conceded that "some of my neighbors believe [the proposed ordinance] doesn't go far enough."

For example, he said some would favor an ordinance that designates minimum setbacks from property lines and/or minimum acreage requirements.

"In the interests of compromise, that's why I'm speaking," he stated. "I see this as a middle ground."

Tom Nicoletti, an Upper Saucon police officer who spoke as a resident of the subdivision, echoed Price's sentiments and said he has had cordial, face-to-face discussions with ATV riders in an effort to prevent misunderstandings.

"It's never been an adversarial [relationship] in my opinion," he said.

Nicoletti told board members that if a large ATV is ridden close to his property line, "it shakes the house."

"If you were further in the field, you wouldn't have the calls [to police]," he told the riders and their supporters.

Zoning board member and township supervisor Steve Wagner stressed at the meeting that there is no plan to ban ATV use in the township.

Several others, including township Police Chief Robert Coyle, told the riders an ordinance could actually help protect them from the harassment they now perceive themselves to be victims of.

"That's the problem. There is no ordinance," Coyle said. "They're going to keep calling because they know there's no set time or rule."

The zoning hearing board will ultimately make a recommendation to township supervisors, who have the final say on any proposed ordinance.