Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Noise Otv topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents tell Moab City Council off‑highway vehicle noise has risen to public‑health concern
Summary
Two residents urged the council to enforce existing speed and noise ordinances and called rising rental OHV traffic a public nuisance and health risk, citing noise sampling and vibration exposure.
Pete Chris, a local resident, opened public comment at the July 8 Moab City Council meeting with an anecdote about natural quiet and overflight noise before turning to off‑highway vehicle (OHV) concerns.
Bill Agee, who said he lives at 621 Mill Creek Drive, told the council OHV noise has “significantly increased over the past few years” and described rental OHVs and private vehicles using neighborhood streets to access public lands. He said rental operators run multiple guided tours from about 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., producing repeated pass‑bys and vibrations that he and other residents find intrusive. “OHVs are now the primary rental vehicle for off road use,” Agee told the council.
Agee said there are “7 to 8 licensed OHV rental agencies with a combined fleet of over a 100 OHVs” and estimated multiple tour groups can result in roughly “200 to 400 drive bys per day” on some streets. He said his spot noise sampling found “78% of OHVs exceed Moab's noise ordinances” and that the average measurement was about 78 dBA at roughly 50 feet from the source, which he said is comparable to a large commercial truck driving by a home.
Agee asked the council to prioritize enforcement of the city’s and Grand County’s 2022 speed and noise ordinances. He argued that speed enforcement is an obvious initial step because faster vehicles typically generate more noise, and he urged stricter application of existing rules to reduce neighborhood exposure.
No formal response or new enforcement action was taken during the meeting; the item was raised during the public‑comment period and was not on the council’s business agenda.
Ending
Council members acknowledged the concern during subsequent department updates and asked police staff to continue examining speed studies and enforcement options in affected neighborhoods.
