The Pecos City Council voted May 8 to repeal Ordinance 23-06-01, the local regulation that had allowed limited street use of certain registered off-road vehicles (ROVs) and similar small “side-by-side” vehicles under specified conditions.

Mayor and council members debated the item for more than an hour, with police and staff reporting enforcement data. City records provided during the meeting showed 45 registered ROVs in the city’s system, 12 of which were listed as expired and 33 current; police recorded roughly 30 traffic stops related to these vehicles and nine municipal citations to date.

Council members said they had expected a stronger period of compliance and community self-policing after the ordinance’s adoption; instead, they reported seeing more young drivers and vehicles on streets where operation is not permitted. City law enforcement also described incidents involving underage drivers.

“Not long after we approved the ordinance you could see the numbers coming more and more,” a council speaker said in the meeting. Council members raised the recent, widely reported fatality involving a similar vehicle elsewhere as part of their concern about the risk to pedestrians and unlicensed drivers.

The motion to repeal Ordinance 23-06-01 passed with one dissenting vote. Councilman Randy Graham recorded the sole recorded vote against the repeal.

What the repeal does and does not do: The repeal removes the city’s local rules that previously allowed limited on‑street travel under permit. It does not impose a new criminal penalty beyond existing traffic laws, nor did the council adopt a replacement regulatory framework at the May 8 meeting. Council members discussed possible alternatives — including a public town‑hall meeting, improved registration/plates or a designated off‑road area — but took no formal follow-up action that night.

Why it matters: Council members framed the vote as a public-safety step driven by repeated compliance problems, enforcement limits and reports of underage operators. Several members asked staff for a follow-up public meeting to explain the repeal and to work with registered operators who wish to legalize vehicles under state law or pursue other compliance paths.

Quotes reflect the meeting transcript and are attributed only to speakers who spoke on the record at the May 8 meeting.