By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó If you ride a dirt bike or all-terrain vehicle in an unauthorized location, the town of Landis is proposing an ordinance that may have your wheels spinning.
Alderman James Furr, who put forth the proposed ordinance at the Monday meeting, said he was not aware of this issue until a complaint from a resident.
At the May meeting, Landis resident Dale Hartsell, asked the board to address problems that have arisen from bikers and ATVs using the roadway and some property near his home.
Hartsell told the board the property is behind his Garden Street home, on a lot and on the road that runs between North Zion and Garden streets. The lot was closed by the town board two years ago. He said the four-wheelers and dirt bikes send up a cloud of dirt and are constantly in the area.
Furr said he saw what Hartsell had been referring to.
“No citizen should have to put up with this,” Furr said.
He said the ordinance is not being established to prevent people from riding but to set a specific riding area, times when riding is allowed and to control the constant noise.
There is currently no such ordinance.
Under the proposal, a motorized dirt bike or ATV will not be allowed on lots of less than two acres.
Riders must adhere to the following: established riding areas can be no closer than 100 feet from a lot line, dust and noise-control measures must be maintained by the property owner, and they must abide by specified riding times (9 a.m.-7 p.m. through the week and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on weekends.)
Noise control can be done by planting tall trees or erecting a “board-on-board style” fence.
Town Attorney Rick Locklear and Town Administrator Reed Linn will look at the ordinance proposal for any conflicts or issues. A public hearing is scheduled during the July 13 meeting.
In other matters, the board:
– Discussed solutions to the gang graffiti problem that has plaqued the town.
Alderman Furr said this has been a major problem for at least the past two years. The amount of graffiti has increased. Gang members or “wanna-be” gang members are “tagging” buildings and even defaced the Welcome to Landis sign.
His proposal is to enforce a clean-up ordinance that would give property owners up to seven days to remove the graffiti. If the property owner does not remove the markings, the town will remove it and charge the owner.
The issue was not approved, but Locklear and Linn will draft an ordinance using some of the information Furr submitted and bring it before the board.
– Approved a resolution for discretionary grant funding for the replacement of the Yadkin River bridge.
The board agreed this resolution needs to pass. The Cabarrus-Rowan Transportation Advisory Committee is asking each jurisdiction to support the application and its request for $300 million to re-route and construct a new bridge.
The project consists of widening to an eight-lane roadway from North Long Ferry Road in Rowan County to U.S. 29-52-70/Interstate 85 business in Davidson County, which would include replacing the bridge.
The board also voted to push next month’s meeting back a week to July 13 because of the July 4 holiday.