DAYTON – The city of Dayton is considering allowing licensed all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, on city streets. City Clerk Trina Cole said she has drafted an ordinance, with input from the council's safety committee, that will go before the city council, and the community at three public hearings, before the council will vote on it. The first hearing will be the Monday meeting next week at 7 p.m.

Dayton resident and ATV aficionado Matt Wiens spoke to the city council last month urging city leaders to allow these vehicles on the city's roadways.

"I'm just trying to get them to allow ATV riders to legally use the roads," Wiens said. "We're hoping they'll allow them on all or a majority of city streets to avoid confusing tourists and to make it easier for law enforcement."

Wiens, who spoke before the city council and with The Times for this story as a private citizen, is also a deputy with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

The Washington State Legislature passed house bill 1632 into law in 2013. The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, was intended to expand all-terrain vehicle access and positively affect the economy throughout the state.

"This bill is a collaborative effort of all-terrain vehicle riders, the environmental coalition, ORV and ATV dealers, city and county governments, and Republicans and Democrats alike," Shea said when proposing the bill several years ago. "It will have an economic impact of an estimated $50 million, bringing people back to Washington State to enjoy off-road vehicle recreation, giving our disabled veterans more places to ride, expanding the use for our agriculture and timber industries, and creating countless new jobs while protecting the environment."

The bill addresses allowed usage of "wheeled all-terrain vehicles" or WATVs, which include four wheelers and utility-type vehicles.

"The problem has been Washington's overly restrictive laws concerning the use of off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles," Shea said. "This is a very popular sport and there are places just outside of many of our rural communities where people bring these vehicles to ride. But state law prohibits them from operating these vehicles on any public roadways. So they cannot ride into town to have lunch, buy gas or do any shopping. That's pushed a lot of these folks to go over the borders to Idaho and Oregon where they can ride. This measure will bring them back to Washington."

The bill provides for decisions to be made at the local level regarding usage of WATVs, which is where Wiens' request and Dayton City Council's response comes into the picture.

"The new law would allow local jurisdictions to have their say of whether to open local roads up to this usage and designate which would be open for these all-terrain vehicles," Shea said.

The bill requires WATVs to display a metal tag on the rear of the vehicle. Those who wish to use their WATVs for on-road use must register and receive an on-road tab to display on their vehicle.

The bill contains accountability measures to protect private property owners as well as public lands from abuse. It expands exemptions for on-road WATV operations for emergency management purposes and for the production of timber and agriculture products. However, the bill does not allow WATVs to be operated on state highways outside of city limits, and it contains certain restrictions involving the ability of the vehicles to cross a public roadway.

"The state law makes WATV use on county roads with posted speeds of 35 miles per hour automatically allowed," Wiens said. "But cities, even small cities, aren't automatically in the program. They have to pass an ordinance saying they're going to allow the WATVs on the roads."

Wiens did not want to speak on behalf of the sheriff's office on this matter, since he has been pursuing the issue as a private citizen, but Undersheriff Richard Loyd told The Times that the sheriff's office "doesn't feel that allowing these WATVs on city streets will be an issue."

Washington licensed WATVs require just as much safety equipment – inspected and certified by a registered dealer – as do street-legal motorcycles, Loyd said.

STATE RULES FOR WHEELED ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES:

[All information taken from the Washington State Department of Licensing Website at dol.wa.gov]

All wheeled all-terrain vehicles meeting the definition below, are required to display a metal tag. To ride your wheeled all-terrain vehicle (WATV) on approved public roads, streets and highways in permitted counties you’ll need a metal tag with an on-road tab.

WATVs that need a metal tag:

A motorized, non-highway vehicle with handle bars

* That is 50 inches or less in width.

*Have a seat height of at least 20 inches.

*Weighs less than 1,500 pounds.

*Has 4 tires with diameters of 30 inches or less.

OR

A utility-type vehicle designed for, and capable of, travel over designated roads that:

*Has 4 or more low-pressure tires of 20 psi or less.

*Is less than 74 inches wide.

*Weighs less than 2,000 pounds.

*Has a wheelbase of 110 inches or less.

*Meets 1 or more of the following:

*Is at least 50 inches wide.

*Weighs at least 900 pounds.

*Has a wheelbase of over 61 inches.

How to get a WATV metal tag:

Visit a vehicle licensing office location

If you’ve completed all the steps to modify your WATV for on-road use, we’ll add “modified for on-road use” to the vehicle registration.

As a WATV owner you’re required to:

*Attach the metal tag on the back of the WATV.

Sign the registration and carry it when driving the WATV.

Meet the off-road requirements, get an off-road tab to put on metal tag. Fee is $18*.

*Meet the on-road requirements, get both an on-road and an off-road tab and put on metal tag. Fee is $12*.

Replace your metal tag every 7 years. Fee is $2*.

* Fee doesn’t include filing

Steps to modify your WATV for on-road use:

Make sure the vehicle has the following equipment installed. See RCW 46.09.457 -

*Head lamp – used whenever you’re driving on a road.

*Tail lamp. 

*2 Tail lamps – For utility-type vehicles.

*Stop lamp.

*Reflectors.

*Turn signals. 

*Brakes in working order.

*Mirror on left or right handlebar.

*2 Mirrors – For utility-type vehicles. 

*Horn or warning device.

*Spark arrester and muffling device.

*Windshield, unless the driver wears glasses, goggles, or a face shield that meets the requirements by the state patrol.

*Seatbelts – For utility-type vehicles. 

Have a WA licensed WATV dealer or repair shop inspect the vehicle. They’ll complete Part 1 and sign the Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicle Road Use Declaration form.

Your safety inspection cost can’t be more than $50.

Take the following to a vehicle licensing office:

*The Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicle Road Use Declaration form.

*A copy of the receipt showing you paid for the inspection – attached to form.

*The vehicle’s title – If your bank has the title, contact them to get it and the road use declaration submitted.

**Note: All equipment must meet the requirements within Chapter 46.09 RCW.

Do I need a driver license to operate a WATV on a public roadway?

Yes. It must be valid and you must comply with all applicable rules of the road, except that wheeled all-terrain vehicles may not be operated side-by-side in a single lane of traffic.

Do I need a motorcycle endorsement?

No.