Eagle Mountain is looking to legalize some off-road vehicle access, vowing to then crack down on anyone who continues to ride outside the law.

A handful of ranchette owners who live along the city's rural Lake Mountain Road attended a special meeting with the mayor to discuss nascent and already controversial plans to designate trails for off-road vehicles.

Before the meeting, residents said they already fight a continuous battle trying to get illegal riders off their property -- most ranchette owners here have five-acre lots or larger. Owners said they were concerned that the city's plan to build an OHV trail on a city-owned easement between their homes would only exacerbate problems with dust, trespassing and noise.

Residents did not come to Tuesday's meeting unprepared. They brought maps showing the city where they felt trails could be built on Bureau of Land Management land far from their homes.

"I'm glad you came up with good solutions for me, thank you," Mayor Jackson told homeowners after examining their maps and suggested alternate routes. "I want us to find something that makes everybody happy and really solves the problem."

The problems have been going on for a decade. As the city's population has increased, a rural area has urbanized, and off-highway vehicle users have increased even though it is illegal to ride in city limits. Sheriff's deputies at the meeting said they do all they can.

"I don't want your property damaged any more than you want your property damaged," the mayor told homeowners. "Unfortunately, it is really difficult to police all that with the number of people that use them."

Jackson said she is also looking at separate trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders.

Residents were skeptical when Jackson said she wanted to launch an education campaign with the new trails to show people where it is -- and is not -- legal to ride.

"Education is great but we have been trying to educate these riders for ten blessed years," said resident Jody Hooley.

Sheriff's deputies described one area near homes here as "Little Moab," noting that all of it is privately owned property and everyone riding there is doing so illegally.

"Channel them away from us," said Hooley, showing city officials on a map where residents would prefer access to trails on BLM land be located. "I have been nice for ten blessed years [talking to illegal riders] and it has not gotten me anywhere."

"They rip our fencing in half and ride through anyway," said Marcie Taylor. "They come up in trucks and haul our firewood right out. They steal our "No trespassing" signs. And there is major dumping. It is unreal what they are dumping -- wood, mattresses, barbecues, old washers, all kinds of crap. We've had them come right in and shoot. We've had bullets going through our trees, shooting over at our house with shotguns."

At the end of the meeting some residents said they were pleased with the city's willingness to look at moving proposed OHV accesses away from homes, but said they will not be mollified until the city acts on residents' suggestions.