Crystal Falls schedules hearing on off-road vehicle ordinance updates

Crystal Falls is set to hear proposed wording changes to its off-road vehicle ordinance on Monday, June 8, in a review that could shape where ORVs can travel through city alleys and streets without changing how police enforce the rules.

The city council first addressed the ordinance publicly at its May 11 meeting, and Police Chief Brian Zelakiewicz and Mayor Tim Bean have both stressed that the language update is not intended to alter day-to-day enforcement. For Crystal Falls, that distinction matters. ORV rules affect more than recreation routes: they shape neighborhood traffic, access to trails, the way property owners move through town and how officers decide whether a rider is following city code.

Crystal Falls’ current ordinance, Ordinance No. 2.21 as amended, says its purpose is to allow what state law permits and prohibit what state law forbids. It incorporates Michigan’s ORV law by reference and gives riders a 25 mph maximum speed under its local rules. The ordinance also requires ORVs to stop before crossing an alley or street, yield the right of way to oncoming traffic and use the outermost five feet of the alley or street while traveling in single file with traffic.

The ordinance further says ORVs may use the most direct route available through city alleys and streets to reach recognized trails or to buy retail goods and services. It also says ORVs shall not be operated on streets that parallel adjacent alleys or recreation trails. The posted language requires a lighted headlight and taillight, and the city’s ordinance text says that, beginning January 1, 2010, ORVs shall not be operated unless they display both lights at all hours.

State law places its own limits on ORV use. Michigan law generally prohibits operating an unregistered ORV on a street, county road or highway except in limited circumstances, including legal crossings at right angles, permitted special events and certain farming operations. Michigan Municipal League guidance says local governments may adopt ORV ordinances under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, but they cannot rewrite the state-imposed operating conditions.

That is why the June 8 hearing carries practical weight in a town where ORVs are part of work, recreation and access to the outdoors. Riders want clear routes. Neighbors want predictable traffic and noise rules. City officials want language that lines up with state law and leaves little room for confusion when questions come up on Crystal Falls streets and alleys.