End nearer for off-road site near Cathedral City

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End nearer for off-road site
Cathedral City wants to restrict off-roading within the city

12:58 AM PDT on Sunday, September 18, 2005


By HENRI BRICKEY / The Press-Enterprise

CATHEDRAL CITY - It's one of the most popular playgrounds in the Coachella Valley for off-road vehicle enthusiasts -- for now.

But the vast sand dune north of Interstate 10 between Date Palm Drive and Palm Drive in Cathedral City could be placed off limits to motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles before long.

Next week, city officials will discuss banning off-roaders from the area known by many as Edom Hill.

Six months ago, the police began ticketing riders in the area for helmet violations, riding double, alcohol-related offenses and other infractions.

Now, city officials want the police chief to develop a plan that would put more teeth into the city's ability to restrict use of off-road vehicles.

"There have been a lot of problems ranging from injuries to abuse of property," Councilman Chuck Vasquez said.

Police Chief Stan Henry said recently that if and when the new policy goes into effect, off-roaders will likely have to find another in the near future.

"There probably will not be any land out there available for off-road use," Henry said.

The City Council is expected to hold a study session Sept. 28 to discuss the zero-tolerance off-road vehicle policy.

For many of the riders who spend their weekends at the popular site, the city is disrupting their way of life.

"If they close this down, where do we go?" said Marcos Ceja, 24, of Cathedral City.

Ceja, who lives in the northern tip of Cathedral City, said easy access to off-road vehicle areas is part of the reason he and his friends live in the area.

John DiCiaula, a motorcycle mechanic who lived in Cathedral City in the early 1980's, said authorities put pressure on riders 20 years ago. DiCiaula moved to the western Riverside County town of Aguanga, where he can ride his motorcycle legally on his 10-acre parcel.

For those off-roaders without their own property, DiCiaula said the future looks bleak.

"If you want to talk about endangered species, talk about the American motorcyclist," DiCiaula said.

C.J. Stewart, an off-road vehicle advocate in Lake Elsinore, says the future of off-roading depends on the riders learning where they can legally ride.

Stewart visits places where people illegally ride their off-road vehicles and gives maps with directions to places where it is legal to ride.

"It's very important that off-roaders join an organization so they can become educated so they can hook up with other families to go legally riding," Stewart said.

Stewart said she doesn't ride at Edom Hill because she respects the law, and she urges other off-roaders to do the same.

Jim Foote, an outdoor recreation planner with the Palm Springs office of the Bureau of Land Management, said the BLM has wanted to restrict access to the area for years.

The Edom Hill area is not naturally barren sand dunes. A thin layer of vegetation usually covers the sand, and those plants are important for local wildlife species, Foote said. The vegetation also helps prevent erosion of the sand dunes, he added.

Restricting access on the land has been difficult until now, because the area is divided among so many owners, according to Foote. Edom Hill has a checkerboard of ownership, with parcels owned by private individuals, and others by the BLM and city. Other portions belong to a local Indian tribe."This is what was really required -- a coordinated effort to deal with the (off-road vehicle) use," Foote said.

If the council passes the policy, Foote said BLM law enforcement rangers will assist police by patrolling the area and ticketing trespassers.

Even if the policy isn't approved, some say it's just a matter of time before development pushes the off-roaders out of the area north of I-10.

Officials have hinted that developers are looking to build a commercial and residential development near the intersection of Varner Road and Date Palm Road, adjacent to the Edom Hills.

"There's interest in doing something like that out there," Vasquez said recently.

There's nothing on the books yet but Pulte Homes is planning for a sewer line that would run through the area, according to city officials.

Until then, Ceja said he'll keep riding at Edom Hill.

Reach Henri Brickey at (760) 837-4417 or hbrickey@pe.com