WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) — Wisconsin Rapids residents have not heard of a proposed ATV/UTV ordinance.
After the City Council voted down a proposal last spring and the failure of a November referendum, the proposal is back at the Council level. Mayor Matt Zacher says they’ve made some changes to the proposal. “It is a different ordinance and it isn’t against the law to bring a new ordinance to the table, or even the same ordinance,” said Zacher.
One of those changes drops language that would allow those between the ages of 12 and 15 to drive the vehicles under parental supervision. Zacher says he feels the ordinance would have passed earlier if the authors had limited it to licensed drivers aged 16 and up.
He says that doesn’t mean City leadership isn’t listening to the public. However, the city is getting pressure to implement an ordinance. “I didn’t realize how much the state was involved in this, and that puts pressure on the county who worked hard to get other areas opened up. The county did open one of our roads, which is a county highway, because they said we didn’t have an ordinance at all so they superseded us.
“This is going to keep coming back,” he added.
Wisconsin Rapids is one of the last communities in Wood County that does not allow ATVs and UTVs on city streets. Discussion on the ordinance is expected at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Other topics Zacher discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Welcome to 2025
4:00- Return of the ATV/UTV ord
13:22- What to expect in the year ahead
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