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Council adopts UTV ordinance after dropping sundown restriction
Summary
Council adopted an ordinance allowing off-road utility vehicles (UTVs) on city streets after removing an hours-of-operation restriction; council members noted heavy public comment both for and against the change.
The Pella City Council adopted an ordinance amending city code to permit off-road utility vehicles (UTVs) to operate on city streets, removing a previously proposed sunset-to-sundown hours restriction.
Staff said the draft ordinance is largely similar to the version reviewed on Sept. 2 but that the key change before council was deletion of the hours limitation. Several council members acknowledged receiving public comment both for and against the change; one member said, "I did get a lot of comments on that." A council member asked whether law enforcement recommended waiving readings for immediate adoption so the police department could implement the rules; the council set aside rules to move the ordinance through second and third readings and ultimately adopted it at the meeting.
Council members indicated a desire to review the ordinance's effectiveness in about two years and directed staff to schedule a future review. The ordinance text will govern UTV operations and any related enforcement procedures going forward.
