Compromise on ATV and off-highway motorcycle use in East Peoria, Illinois
Feb. 3, 2004 – The City Council in East Peoria, Illinois, which last July banned any use of ATVs and off-highway motorcycles within city limits, has approved a new ordinance to amend the law.
Under the new law, approved January 20, residents are now allowed to ride their ATVs and off-highway motorcycles on their own land, but they need to get the permission of any neighbors who have homes within 10 feet first.
The new law also provides for trespassing fines ranging from $250 to $750.
The law is seen as a compromise since the July law banned the use of ATVs and off-highway motorcycles completely within city limits, even on a rider's own land. That law outraged ATV and off-highway motorcycle riders, who contacted the AMA/ATVA for help. AMA/ATVA State Programs Development Specialist Terry Lee Cook was immediately dispatched to East Peoria to help organize opposition.
With Cook's guidance, the enthusiasts formed an AMA Community Council to carry on the fight locally with continued support from the AMA/ATVA Government Relations Department.
At an August 5 Council meeting, Bobbie Berryman, secretary for the AMA Community Council-East Peoria, presented the City Council with a petition containing more than 1,000 signatures opposing the ban. The Council then voted to allow ATVs and off-highway motorcycles to be used for property-related chores, and formed a committee made up of citizens and city officials to study recreational use of the vehicles on private land, and possibly make recommendations to amend the law.
Those efforts resulted in the new, compromise law.