POWNAL, Vt. (AP) — Voters in the southern Vermont town of Pownal have overturned an ordinance regulating the use of ATVs and allowing them on most local roads.
The ordinance was adopted by the Select Board in July but then challenged in a citizen petition drive, the Bennington Banner reported. A vote was held on Tuesday, with 616 residents in support of overturning the ordinance and 477 favoring keeping it, Town Clerk Julie Weber reported.
“My main goal was to bring this to a townwide vote. The voters have spoken,” Jim Kocsis, a leader of the petition effort, told the newspaper on Tuesday evening. “I hope we can now come together as a town to see how this will all work out going forward.”
Select Board Chairwoman Angie Rawling said the board “put a lot of hard work into this ordinance.” Now “another year will go by with no rules or regulations.” She urged residents to call the police or sheriff’s department when they have issues with ATV use and not to call or email the board to ask members what they are going to do about it.
Allowing ATVs on town roads has been a controversial issue in Pownal for years. In 2011, the Select Board voted to open all town roads to their use but then rescinded the vote after receiving complaints.
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