Orange board advances ordinance to curtail street takeovers and illegal recreational vehicle use

The Board of Selectmen voted Thursday to send a proposed ordinance to a public hearing that would implement state Public Act 25‑80 in Orange and add two code articles: one addressing illegal use of motorized recreational vehicles and another prohibiting street takeovers.

Town Attorney Weaver told the board the state law strengthens penalties and gives municipalities new options when vehicles are used illegally in public — including seizure and, in some cases, destruction. “Portions of that act took effect Oct. 1,” Weaver said, and the proposed local code would delete redundant older sections and add the updated provisions to Chapter 366.

Weaver described safe‑harbor periods written into the state law: owners may reclaim seized ATVs within 90 days under certain conditions and have six months for seized property under the street‑takeover provisions. He said the chief of police would make the determination whether to auction or destroy seized vehicles; the ordinance text also provides that municipalities may opt for destruction when resale encourages circumvention of penalties.

The board moved the ordinance to a public hearing at the November meeting and approved sending it forward for consideration. Weaver noted that the town will incur the cost of publishing full ordinance text in the newspaper as required and that some towns that have adopted similar measures recently have used crushing or other destruction methods when resale proved ineffective.

The public hearing will be scheduled when the formal ordinance text is filed; the board did not adopt the ordinance Thursday but authorized staff to prepare the required notices and materials for the November hearing.