A Unity family seeking to change an ordinance to allow them to ride ATVs, quads and dirt bikes on a farm’s trails is facing opposition from residents of the Cambridge Point housing development near the property.

The Municipal Supervisor will be tasked with deciding whether to amend the Municipal Ordinance on race tracks, hiking trails and training facilities for off-road vehicles in areas designated as agricultural land.

More than 100 people crowded into the board’s meeting room in late July to attend a hearing where speakers sought to protect the right to freely use one’s own property, but clashed with neighbors who complained that they could hear the noise of dirt bikes in their homes and that it was affecting their quality of life.

“The ordinance essentially prohibits recreational riding. My kids only want to ride on their property,” said Windmere Road resident Keith Fulton, who along with his wife, Kimberly, wants the municipality to loosen regulations on riding dirt bikes in an area zoned for agricultural use.

The couple purchased 34 acres along Myers Road in July 2021 and their family was out on the ATVs until October, when they were notified that the noise violated the ordinance, Keith Fulton said.

Gary Falatovich, attorney for the municipality, repeatedly stressed that the ordinance does not prohibit recreational cycling on agricultural lands, but does establish rules for the use of bike paths.

“Driving on a path is not a trail,” said Matthew Schimizzi, a Greensburg attorney who represents the Fultons.

The Fultons proposed the changes after the planning board rejected their request for a special permit that would have allowed them to continue driving on agricultural land. The planning commission did not make a recommendation on the proposed changes, Falatovich said, but some members later sent supervisors emails expressing their opposition.

The Fultons want the municipality to allow motorcycle riding on farmland as small as 15 acres, instead of the current standard 50 acres.

Christopher Vecchiola, who lives on Sussex Way and is president of the Cambridge Point Homeowners Association, a housing association located about a mile from the Fulton property, questioned why the Fultons wanted to lower the requirement to 15 acres when they have more than 30 acres.

“Fifteen acres opens up possibilities for additional locations,” Bocchiola said.

Cambridge Point residents are concerned about pollution from the motorcycles, the impact on their quality of life and potentially declining property values, Bocchiola said.

A fair interpretation of the existing ordinance is that it applies to businesses like Latrobe Speedway, a motocross race track on Pleasant Unity Road, Schimizzi said.

“These are very different situations,” said Schimizzi.

But Falatovich said the township’s ordinance, last amended in 2023, does not prohibit people from driving their off-road vehicles on their farm property. It prohibits the construction and operation of a trail system on farm property without a special permit.

“I think a compromise must be found that satisfies both sides,” said Schimizzi.