Supercross riders Jeremy McGrath...
Supercross riders Jeremy McGrath and Nathan Ramsey sign autographs for Riverside county residents.
From 10:30am -12:30pm Jeremy McGrath, Rick Johnson, Nathan Ramsey, and Andrew Short signed autographs in front of the Riverside County Administration Center in an attempt to show the County that as written this ordinance will restrict families from recreating together on their own property. Approximately two hundred parents and kids, many wearing the gear they ride in, attended the meeting and received autographed posters from some of the most respected names in the Industry.
The Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), EcoLogic, The McGrath Family and several residents have been working with the county for the past 18 months on this issue.
Ed Moreland, Vice President of Governmental Relations for the AMA added "despite thoughtful comment from national, state, and local rider organizations, small businesses, the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division and literally hundreds of riders in attendance, the Supervisors voted almost unanimously to criminalize families who recreate together on private property while offering no real solutions for penalizing those who are truly riding illegally".
"Between the noise ordinance, which is the most restrictive of it's kind that I have ever heard of, along with the OHV ordinance, the Supervisors have banned OHV use for the average property owner" stated Meg Grossglass of ORBA. According to Jack McGrath, "The noise ordinance makes it impossible to start our motorcycles and the OHV ordinance makes us criminals when we ride them."
David Hubbard, attorney for Ecologic, stated, "I am very disappointed in the actions taken by the board today and my clients are looking at every political and legal alternative available."
ORBA is a national trade association comprised of off-road related businesses united to promote common goals that support the prosperity and growth of the off-road industry.