Scott County officials weigh ordinance to allow street-legal utility vehicles on county roads

Scott County Judge Crickett told the court on Friday that the meeting would include a presentation on “SLSPVs.” “In case you don't know what that acronym means, it's street legal special purpose vehicles,” he said, and asked county staff to explain the law’s options for the county.

Why it matters: Kentucky’s new law allows counties to adopt ordinances that permit certain off-road vehicles to be made street legal and used on county highways. Scott County faces a near-term timeline: state rules were discussed as being effective June 27 and staff recommended the court prepare a local ordinance draft and wait for Kentucky Transportation Cabinet guidance before finalizing rules.

County staff summarized the state framework and local options. A staff member identified three choices: take no action (which would bar SLSPVs in Scott County), adopt a countywide ordinance permitting them, or adopt a limited ordinance permitting SLSPVs only on enumerated roads. The presenter noted some state-set parameters discussed in the packet and said the statute calls out a 20-mile limit for travel "at a given time on the county highway" and specific equipment and safety…