SECTIONS 5090.30-5090.38 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5090.30-5090.38

5090.30. There is in the department the Division of Off-Highway
Motor Vehicle Recreation. Whenever any reference is made to the
Office of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, it shall be deemed to
be a reference to, and to mean, the division. Section 507.1 does not
apply to the division.

5090.31. The division shall be under the direction of a deputy
director appointed by the director. The deputy director shall have no
responsibilities other than directing and managing the division and
the program.

5090.32. The division has the following duties and
responsibilities:
(a) Planning, acquisition, development, conservation, and
restoration of lands in the state vehicular recreation areas.
(b) Direct management, maintenance, administration, and operation
of lands in the state vehicular recreation areas.
(c) Provide for law enforcement and appropriate public safety
activities.
(d) Implementation of all aspects of the program.
(e) Ensure program compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)) in state
vehicular recreation areas.
(f) Provide staff assistance to the commission.
(g) Prepare and implement plans for lands in, or proposed to be
included in, state vehicular recreation areas, including new state
vehicular recreation areas. However, a plan shall not be prepared in
any instance specified in subdivision (c) of Section 5002.2.
(h) Conduct, or cause to be conducted, surveys, and prepare, or
cause to be prepared, studies that are necessary or desirable for
implementing the program.
(i) Recruit and utilize volunteers to further the objectives of
the program.
(j) Prepare and coordinate safety and education programs.
(k) Provide for the enforcement of Division 16.5 (commencing with
Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code and other laws regulating the use
or equipment of off-highway motor vehicles in all areas acquired,
maintained, or operated by funds from the fund; however, the
Department of the California Highway Patrol shall have responsibility
for enforcement on highways.
(l) Complete by January 1, 2009, a strategic planning process that
will identify future off-highway motor vehicle recreational needs,
including, but not limited to, potential off-highway motor vehicle
parks in urban areas to properly direct vehicle operators away from
illegal or environmentally sensitive areas. This strategic planning
process shall take into consideration, at a minimum, environmental
constraints, infrastructure requirements, demographic limitations,
and local, state, and federal land use planning processes. The
strategic plan shall be reviewed by the commission and updated
periodically.

5090.34. (a) In cooperation with the commission, the division shall
make available on the division's Internet Web site information
regarding off-highway motor vehicle recreation opportunities,
pertinent laws and regulations, and responsible use of the system. At
a minimum, the Web site shall include the following:
(1) The text of laws and regulations relating to the program and
operation of off-highway vehicles.
(2) A statewide map and regional maps of federal, state, and local
off-highway vehicle recreation areas and facilities in the state,
including links to maps of federal off-highway vehicle routes
resulting from the route designation process.
(3) Information concerning safety, education, and trail etiquette.
(4) Information to prevent trespass, damage to public and private
property, and damage to natural resources, including penalties and
liability associated with trespass and damage caused.
(b) The division shall create a guidebook of federal, state, and
local off-highway vehicle recreation opportunities that includes
contact information where current specific maps and information for
each facility can be located. Contact information may include Web
site addresses, telephone numbers, and addresses of offices where
maps can be accessed. The guidebook shall also include the address of
the Web site where the information in subdivision (a) may be found.
(c) The division shall work with retailers of off-highway motor
vehicles and off-highway recreation associations to distribute the
guidebook developed under subdivision (b) and to increase awareness
of the resources available on the division's Internet Web site.

5090.35. (a) The protection of public safety, the appropriate
utilization of lands, and the conservation of land resources are of
the highest priority in the management of the state vehicular
recreation areas; and, accordingly, the division shall promptly
repair and continuously maintain areas and trails, anticipate and
prevent accelerated and unnatural erosion, and restore lands damaged
by erosion to the extent possible.
(b) (1) The division, in consultation with the United States
Natural Resource Conservation Service, the United States Geological
Survey, the United States Forest Service, the United States Bureau of
Land Management, and the California Department of Conservation shall
update the 1991 Soil Conservation Guidelines and Standards to
establish a generic and measurable soil conservation standard by
March 1, 2006, at least sufficient to allow restoration of
off-highway motor vehicle areas and trails. The 1991 Soil
Conservation Guidelines and Standards shall remain in effect until
they are updated pursuant to this subdivision.
(2) Upon a determination that the soil conservation standards and
habitat protection plans are not being met in any portion of any
state vehicular recreation area the division shall temporarily close
the noncompliant portion to repair and prevent accelerated erosion,
until the soil conservation standards are met.
(3) Upon a determination that the soil conservation standards
cannot be met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area
the division shall close and restore the noncompliant portion
pursuant to Section 5090.11.
(c) (1) The division shall make an inventory of wildlife
populations and their habitats in each state vehicular recreation
area and shall prepare a wildlife habitat protection program to
sustain a viable species composition specific to each state vehicular
recreation area by July 1, 1989.
(2) If the division determines that the habitat protection program
is not being met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation
area, the division shall close the noncompliant portion temporarily
until the habitat protection program is met.
(3) If the division determines that the habitat protection program
cannot be met in any portion of any state vehicular recreation area,
the division shall close and restore that noncompliant portion
pursuant to Section 5090.11.
(d) The division shall monitor the condition of soils and wildlife
habitat in each state vehicular recreation area each year in order
to determine whether the soil conservation standards and habitat
protection programs are being met.
(e) The division shall not fund trail construction unless the
trail is capable of complying with the conservation specifications
prescribed in subdivisions (b) and (c). The division shall not fund
trail construction where conservation is not feasible.
(f) The division shall monitor and protect cultural and
archaeological resources within the state vehicular recreation areas.

5090.36. The division may enter into contracts with concessionaires
and grants or cooperative agreements with other public agencies,
pursuant to laws and procedures specified in this division, for the
care and maintenance of lands in the system, including law
enforcement services with public agencies having law enforcement
authority.

5090.37. Eminent domain shall not be exercised to acquire any
interest in property for a state vehicular recreation area, the
California Statewide Motorized Trail, or any grant program area or
trail by the division or any public agency that has entered into a
grant or cooperative agreement with the division.

5090.38. No owner or other person having legal control of property
in the vicinity of any lands in the system is liable for any actions
of any type resulting from, or caused by, the user of an off-highway
motor vehicle who is trespassing on property outside the system; and
no owner or other person having legal control of property in the
vicinity of any lands in the system is liable for any one's actions
of any type commenced on, or taking place within, the boundaries of
lands in the system.