The Burlington City Council on Monday largely spoke favorably of a proposed ordinance allowing golf carts, all-terrain and utility task vehicles to travel on most city roadways. 

The city began considering amending its current ordinance, which allows the use of ATVs and UTVs on Burlington streets only during snow emergencies and other emergency situations, to mirror a new Iowa law that went into effect July 1 and put in place uniform regulations for use of ATVs, UTVs and golf carts in Iowa's counties. 

That law applies only to counties but still allows cities to regulate their use, creating confusion among ATV, UTV and golf cart users. 

"Some time ago, city staff was approached by members of the public inquiring not only as to what are the regulations for the city for ATVs, UTVs and golf carts, but how does that reconcile with a new state law that went into effect in July," City Manager Chad Bird told council members during the work session. "That state law really only impacted the counties within the state. The only impact on city control or home rule is it pre-empted or removed the cities' ability to charge a registration fee."

The new law also allows cities to require registration or a permit for those vehicles, but they may not charge a fee. 

More:Burlington residents are working to make UTVs legal on city streets. Here's why.

Bird further informed the council that, after consulting with the police department and a group of community members seeking the change in ordinance, he worked with the city's attorney's office, which has worked with other cities of comparable size to Burlington, to create the proposed ordinance that was presented to the council.

Under the proposed changes to the city's existing ordinance, and according to changes to the draft discussed by the council, ATVs, UTVs and golf carts will be permitted on city streets under the following conditions:

Bird said city staff also are recommending that snowmobiles be stricken from the ordinance. 

"While snowmobiles are on the books today under Chapter 81 of city ordinance, staff recommends that we remove the ability to operate snowmobiles in city limits," Bird said. "It just doesn't seem like something that's really necessary anymore."

Speedometers also likely will be required on ATVs and UTVs. 

The draft amended ordinance and the proposed changes by the council, which included striking a portion of the proposal limiting nighttime driving of golf carts, will go back to city staff for review before being placed on a council agenda, at which point the council will seek public input. 

The amended ordinance will require three readings before it is passed. 

Mayor pro-tem Lynda Graham-Murray said that the issue of safety has come up on several occasions during her discussions about ATVs and UTVs with community members. 

"I asked a lot of citizens when we were proposing this, and it was kind of a mixed bag. The No. 1 question I got was safety," she said, addressing Jake Huebner, one of three Burlington residents who have been working with the city to craft the ordinance amendment. "Can you explain to everyone how safe these vehicles really have become?"

Huebner explained that the full roll cage UTVs have are designed to keep riders and drivers safe in a rollover. 

"They have seats like a car, seat belts," Huebner said. "Then you have the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit, so they're not going at a high rate of speed. It drives just like a car does."

He also noted that many UTVs are equipped with a safety feature that will not allow the vehicle to travel at speeds greater than 10 miles per hour if the seatbelt is not fastened.

Mayor Jon Billups said he believes the safety feature requirements, along with the 35 mile per hour speed limit, should ease safety concerns. 

"I think the true point is limiting the speed to 35 mph. I think that helps a lot," Billups said. "They won't be on Roosevelt. They may cross Roosevelt from time to time, but they have to take the most direct route, so when we discussed this earlier, some of the fun and activity level for the riders is finding a route they can take through town."

Council members also raised concerns about ATVs, which lack the seat belts and roll cages with which UTVs are equipped. 

"I just don't think four-wheelers generally are as safe unless you have a lot of experience, and I don't see having those on city streets. The idea of it scares me," councilman Robert Critser said. "The UTVs, I think I'm OK with. The four-wheelers, I wouldn't want to be responsible for making a decision that could get someone hurt or killed in the future."

Critser recalled his experience driving an ATV while doing soil testing and detassling. During that time, he said, he would put about 100 miles on the vehicle in a week. 

"On a four-wheeler, my opinion is if you ride it enough, you're just going to take the random balance off the four-wheeler. It just happens," he said.

Critser said he was thrown from the ATV he was driving when the vehicle hit uneven ground.

"One minute I'm riding along, I hit a little dip and all of a sudden I'm sitting on the ground like I'm still driving the thing. I didn't even realize I'd popped off there," he said. "You can hit a little wash-out or a divot or something that stands you up on end faster than you can respond. People can panic and whiskey throttle a little bit."

Billups said he believes ATVs are not much different than motorcycles in terms of safety. 

"We've got these little mini bikes that are legal now," he said. "Hell, we even have motorized bicycles that are running around, and they don't have any of these (safety) features, so for me, if we follow the state law, which we're doing, I'm comfortable with doing it."

Burlington Police Chief Marc Denney indicated he is in favor of the city ordinance reflecting the state law as it would make enforcement easier for his department.

"This is low-hanging fruit for us," Denney said. "It would help immensely if we just follow the state statute so everyone's on the same page so we know what we can enforce, and if we have violators, reckless drivers of these vehicles, those are the ones we want to get off the roadways."

Rinker also indicated he is in favor of crafting the amended ordinance to line up with the state law after asking Huebner for his opinion on ATVs.

"I see most towns leaving that open," Huebner said. "I think that's probably the hottest topic right now, to allow them or not."

Huebner also likened ATVs to motorcycles and said that portion of the ordinance could be amended in the future if issues arise. 

"Assuming they have all this equipment and the insurance, I don't see them being a lot different from a motorcycle," he said. "I would ask the council to try to leave them in there and if there's ever an issue, maybe it's something we could bring up for amendment later on. I would hate to leave them out without giving them a chance."

Rinker also questioned whether it's safe for ATVs to carry passengers, to which Huebner explained ATVs have stickers on them explaining how many people they are rated for.

Huebner noted that the cities surrounding Burlington have legalized the use of ATVs and UTVs on their streets, drawing owners of those vehicles there to spend money at gas stations, restaurants and local businesses. 

"The biggest thing I see is the community around here all goes outside of Burlington to take these vehicles other places to use their services, and we want the opportunity to bring those people into Burlington and eat at our restaurants, buy our gas and spend money in the city," Huebner said. 

He also told the council that a group of Burlington and Des Moines County residents are forming a UTV/ATV club, and members hope to host an interactive and informational event to educate people on what they need to do to make their vehicles street legal should the amended ordinance pass. 

"You could start your own RAGBRAI with wheelers," Murray said. 

Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.