ATV Florida Forum

Please avoid the western Loxahatchee area near 59th & 200th. Once the signs are up, strict enforcement will be in place. We will also have a detail watching the signs to insure they are not removed. The residents will also be notiying us of any activity. Please get the word out, so the sport can avoid any further negative publicity.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbcwest/content/local_news/epaper/2006/02/01/w1B_noise_0201.html



Rural residents complain of noise from unattended land
By Mitra Malek

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

LOXAHATCHEE — A few tacked-up signs might have stopped months of stress, sleepless nights and vandalism in a Loxahatchee neighborhood.

Every weekend, rowdy trespassers descend on dozens of undeveloped acres at 59th Lane and 200 Trail North, setting fire to the trees they've felled after tearing across the land with noisy all-terrain vehicles. Residents say the revelers shoot off guns and come onto their property long enough to leave behind beer bottles and steal parts off cars.

 
Neighbors say they've called authorities, but Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies have done little because they need permission to enter private property.

"It's like we're forgotten out here," said Patti Albritton, whose property backs up to the land. That worries her. Last month, after enduring hours of noise, she awoke to find her thoroughbreds loose. Someone had opened their stall, and two Budweiser bottles were inside. She moved the horses to a friend's property — in Alabama.

Dalco Properties, which owns part of the land, has not put up "no trespassing" signs from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, although the Boca Raton company filed a trespass affidavit several months ago. The affidavit allows law enforcement to make arrests, but the signs must be up, sheriff's Lt. David Kronsperger said.

Dalco's agent, Ledger Kellier, said he thought everything was done when he sent in the authorization.

The lapse in communication has led to mild attempts to oust the crowds.

"We warn them; they leave; then the next weekend, other groups come up," Kronsperger said. "We're trying to get results."

Residents aren't so sure. They say the deputies have stopped coming out and that dispatchers aren't happy to hear from them.

Resident thingy Macdonald has gone on the property several times to address the trespassers himself. "They listen," he said. "But they come back."

Residents say the motocross crowd has been using the property for years. It started small, when the land was thick with trees. Now the loud trucks come by the dozen. "It's all day, all night," Albritton said. "I might as well live in a zero-lot-line community, a college dorm."

They speculate that development pushed the four-wheeler crowd from where they rode before. Eventually that can happen here, too. Kellier said Dalco bought the land to build on it. A second property owner, Ramon Vilarino, owns adjacent land that the trespassers ride on as well. Vilarino could not be reached for comment.

The residents said they'll wait a little longer for the signs to go up and the activity to die down.

Otherwise they have a proposal for the landowners: Let residents lease the land for $1 a year, raise a cow on it and erect a fence.

"We'd have to pay for it ourselves," Albritton said. "But that's one way to do it."

I read that article this morning. It was a nice little place to ride with the family.

It is ashamed that a small few are able to ruin almost all good riding areas around the state. I guess some people are just dumb!

d**n, that sucks ass. We loved that place. Matter of fact we were out there last weekend for some good riding. Most people are out of there by around 6, but alot of the sports stay out longer and tear up dirt, there was this huge swamp thing out there yesterday driving around like a party boat on land. It's only around 3-4 miles from our house if you take the short route.

the same thing happened here in panama city the best and only place to ride was distroyed by 4 wheel drive trucks  they tear up the trails and leave garbage everywhere. burned everything in sight including old cars, and left garbage everywhere. the land was owned by a huge company from another state and as soon as they got word of what was happening  they closed it and posted sherriffs there every weekend. now there is absolutely nowhere to ride unless you own ur own property.and property here isnt cheap  companys from out of state  like the st joe company is buying everything in sight for huge money and plopping down housing developments there is only one track for hundreds of miles  and they get 20 dollars per bike for riding and just made it so atvs cant ride there whatever happened to riding for fun and leave it like you found it  just goes to show ya there are jerks everywhere that just dont give a sh%t :'( 

Sounds like the damage is done, don't worry those assholes will be out somewhere else, it's a shame you guys can't find a way to punish(catch)the folks that do the stuff that get us all the bad press.  Thanks for the warning roscoe