Henniker OHRV committee recommends keeping key roads open after heated noise debate

HENNIKER, N.H. — Residents pressed the town’s OHRV committee on the noise, safety and quality‑of‑life impacts of off‑highway recreational vehicles (OHRVs) on several northeastern roads, but after extensive public comment the committee voted to recommend that the Board of Selectmen keep Dodge Hill Road, Hemlock Corner Loop, Colleague Pond Road and Lone Pine open to OHRV use.

The decision followed a string of public comments from residents who live along the affected routes. “OHRVs are excessively loud,” said Steve Fine, a Henniker homeowner who read a letter signed by many neighbors and urged the committee to recommend that the select board rescind authorization for OHRV use on the named roads. Several residents, including Dan Filbrick and Sam Young, said packs of 30–60 machines on busy weekend days have made their neighborhood roads noisy, dusty and less safe for horses or children.

The dispute centered on two linked issues: measurement and enforcement. Residents pointed to statutory limits for OHRV sound and argued that the vehicles’ group behavior amplifies the disturbance. “The town of Henniker wants to make an effort to control noise,” Fine said, citing the town’s noise ordinance and noting that New Hampshire law allows OHRVs to emit up to 96 decibels at manufacture limits. Committee members and the police chief, however, warned that the formal, statute‑specified procedure for certifying decibel readings is complex and difficult to implement in the field.

“We have to follow a 24‑step pretest: positioning, ambient‑noise recording, calibrated meters, RPM verification and more,” Police Chief Matt said. Chief Matt told the committee that the department has the meter but that proper decibel enforcement requires controlled conditions, calibration and trained personnel — steps that make routine on‑the‑spot enforcement impractical. He added that officers commonly rely on visible modified exhausts or other violations to issue citations rather than attempting a full statutory sound test.

Club and trail advocates told the committee that clubs contribute money and maintenance to local roads. Steve Wilke of the New Hampshire Off‑Highway Vehicle Association and a local club president, Keith, described grant‑in‑aid programs and registration funds that have paid for road maintenance, dust control (calcium chloride) and a storm‑damage fund, and noted that many modern four‑stroke machines are quieter than older two‑stroke models.

Residents countered that even stock machines, when traveling in groups and on worn or rutted surfaces, produce repeated and prolonged noise at distances that interfere with daily life. Several speakers, including Elizabeth Butters and Bill Ryan, emphasized health effects and loss of quiet enjoyment for longtime homeowners; one speaker noted that some residents work night shifts and must sleep during the day.

Committee discussion acknowledged both the maintenance and public‑safety benefits the trail connections and club grants can bring and the real impacts on specific neighborhoods. After debate, member 11 moved to recommend to the select board that the committee retain OHRV access on the listed roads; the motion was seconded and, following roll call, carried with a tally recorded in the transcript as 7 in favor and 2 opposed. The committee’s recommendation does not change the town’s ordinance; the select board must consider the recommendation and schedule any required public hearing. A town official on the record said the Board of Selectmen does not meet until July 17 and would need to direct posting of a hearing date.

The OHRV committee also discussed options for addressing residents’ complaints short of closing roads, including targeted enforcement against modified exhausts, improved signage and efforts to reroute trails around sensitive areas. Club representatives said they already reduced group sizes in sensitive areas, sponsored road maintenance grants and offered to help identify quieter routing. Police and staff emphasized the limits of current enforcement tools for measuring sound and said training and calibrated equipment are necessary before a decibel‑based enforcement program could be relied on.

Next steps: the committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen for possible public hearing and further action. Residents seeking formal decibel enforcement were told the town presently lacks the capacity to carry out the statute’s prescribed testing steps and that enforcement is more likely to proceed on modified‑exhaust and other observable violations in the near term.