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I received an anonymous phone call the first Saturday evening in May. I don't generally <br />respect anonymous callers, but this lady seemed quite reasonable. Her question concerned <br />motorcycles and mini -bikes in Arden Hills. Apparently on her street there were several of <br />them zippitgup and down all hours of the day and night, particularly on week -ends. She and <br />I agreed that we hate to bother the police with such things; we want our Police Force to be <br />rescuing kidnap victims with the S.W.A.Te team and breaking up International Drug rings in- <br />stead. However, motoreyoles CAN be a nuisance. <br />Lieutenant McCall of the Arden Hills Police Department says they've received many calls <br />this spring on the same subject. So here are a few reminders from him: Schoolgrounds, <br />Ramsey County Open Spaces, and 'Honda Hills' are all closed to cycles. In Schmidt Park, <br />it's O.S. to drive your cycle on the paved portions, but NOT on the foot trails. Stay off <br />private property. Motorcycles and mini -bikes can use any public road if the vehicle is <br />properly licensed. The driver must be 16 and have a valid operator's license also. The cycle <br />must have a state -approved muffler. Although you no longer need wear a helmet while driving <br />a motorcycle, you must have some sort of eye protection. <br />It bothers me though that this lady is being disturbed by noise pollution, and yet it <br />appears to be legal. Isn't there some compromise solution? Can't she call the cyclists, who <br />apparently live close, and discuss the problem? Perhaps they could find a non-residential <br />area in which to ride. I guess that's why there are lawst to decide what is most fair to <br />the greatest number. <br />Along the same line comes Arden Hills' proposed new dog ordinance. Currently in AH, <br />you must have yoxr dog under "effective control" at all times, but it's very difficult to <br />define just what this means. In order to clarify the situation, a new dog ordinance has <br />been proposed. It is very similar to New Brighton's ardinance because both villages want, to <br />use the same dog catcher. In essence, a dog will be legal onl when he is in his house, in <br />his fenced yard, or on a leash (not to exceed 8 feet in length. A complaint about a noisy <br />dog must be made by two people of different households. A lifetime dog license will be is- <br />sued (rather than a yearly one) and rabies vaccinations will be required. All feces must be <br />picked up and disposed of in a sanitary fashion (not defined). <br />At the April 25th Council meeting, the dog lovers turned out in force, and I must say <br />I have seldom heard such eloquent and well -thought-out arguments. It was suggested that such <br />a restrictive ordinance would reduce the number of dogs in Arden Hills, and thus the number <br />of 'poor man's burglar alarms' and crime would increase. One man wanted to know how the <br />police were going to enforce the part about cleaning up feces, especially at night. The <br />Council referred the ordinance over to the May 5 Public Safety Committee meeting for a <br />recommendation. <br />At the Public Safety meeting, the dog haters arrived. They were less restrained than <br />the first group, maybe with just cause. One man said he was afraid to complain about a <br />neighboring barking dog to its owner because of fear of retaliation. (I really became a <br />little upset that this type of situation occurs in our community.) Several other speakers <br />agreed however.Amthw problem occurs when people walk their dogs off -leash in an open area <br />and then do not see to it that the dogs stay out of surrounding landscaped yards. <br />The Council hopes to make a final decision on the ordinance at their June 27th meeting, <br />so if you have strong feelings on the matter, please call, write or come. Remember, it's <br />YOUR council. r,2. <br />"You realize it's very <br />difficult for us to be completely objective about the new <br />dog ordinance." <br />