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Council begins process on new rules for off-highway vehicles and downtown parking
Summary
Shelby council held first readings of ordinances to regulate off-highway vehicles (noise, hours, proximity and graduated penalties) and to revise parking rules including oversized-vehicle restrictions and expanded snow-emergency procedures; public comments thanked the council for proposing the off-highway vehicle rule.
Shelby City Council on June 16 opened debate on two items intended to address neighborhood complaints about noise and to update parking rules downtown and across residential areas.
During public comment, Jane Butler of 10 Windermere Drive thanked the council for the proposed ordinance addressing four-wheeling, dirt bikes, noise and dust: "It is going to be so wonderful to be able to enjoy my backyard, have family over for barbecues, and the grandkids playing the swing set in the summertime," she said.
The council then held a first reading of an ordinance amending chapter 446 to regulate snowmobiles, off-highway motorcycles and all-purpose vehicles. The police chief told council the town had received a number of complaints and that the city's existing noise ordinance was subjective. "We needed to have something that was a little bit more objective," the chief said, describing a graduated enforcement approach that would begin with warnings and could escalate to misdemeanors for repeat violations.
Separately, the council took up a substantial package of parking code changes (first reading) that would revise snow-emergency rules (expanding some snow-emergency restrictions beyond the central business district to boulevards, cul-de-sacs and certain collector streets), add clearer municipal parking-lot signage and create a consolidated event-permit process. The revisions also include a new oversized-vehicle parking section intended to address long-term street parking of trailers and large vehicles; the chief said the language was adapted from another city and that enforcement typically begins with education and warnings before citations.
Both ordinances passed their respective first readings on roll calls; council members said they expect additional committee and public review. The off-highway vehicle ordinance establishes enforceable hours, proximity limits to neighbors and a penalty structure that escalates for repeat offenses. The parking ordinance adds clearer definitions for municipal lots, repeals some obsolete sections (taxi stands and bus stops moved to traffic commission authority), and expands snow-emergency authority to facilitate snow removal.
