There were some bumps in the road for a local Hummer tour operator at a public meeting on a zoning bylaw amendment Monday.

Ride On Ltd., owned and operated by Mark Bourbonnais, has been taking customers on the tours for about three years. Part of the tour involves a 15-minute loop through land owned by Shaun and Faun Talbot, near Banks.

Since the tour is a commercial operation, a zoning bylaw amendment is needed to operate on the rural property. The company hasn't had zoning permission during the first three years of operation. The zoning permission would be temporary, for the next three years, to give the company time to look for another off-road trail.

The tours, which start from the Village at Blue Mountain, have become a popular attraction for visitors to the area. Casey Thomson, of Blue Mountain Activity Central, told the meeting the Hummer tour is the most-requested activity for Village visitors. Thomson referred to Bourbonnais as "a tour guide extraordinaire".

The operation also got support from several customers and tourism-related businesses through letters submitted for the public meeting.

Bourbonnais said that part of the tour uses a trail that was made for a logging operation on the site. He added that he uses bio-fuels and that Ride On Ltd. has planted trees to replace some of those removed in the past by the loggers.

But a couple of neighbours expressed concerns about noise.

One neighbour, through a lawyer, submitted written concerns about "children and adults screaming like they are on a roller coaster". Another neighbour, Simon Schreiber, attended the meeting and said he has no problem with the Hummer tour in itself, but has been bothered by noise.

"I think the Hummer tour is wonderful, but it's a great ride at the wrong location," Schreiber said. He added that he and his family have horses and want to establish an equestrian centre, but are concerned about the impacts of noise from the Hummer tour.

He added that he is also concerned about the town's liability if the operation is allowed to continue and there is an accident, and about the impact on his and other neighbours' property values. Schreiber also cited environmental concerns, especially for wildlife disturbed by the tours.

Bourbonnais responded that there is an old quarry on the property and customers do sometimes scream or cheer as they descend into the quarry.

"That happens for about 10 seconds, and it's maybe one out of every two trips," he said, adding that the company has one Hummer that makes up to seven or eight 90-minute trips per day during the peak summer season. For much of the year, he added, there are only one or two trips a day.

Several of the people who spoke or wrote letters in support of Ride On said Bourbonnais tries to be environment-friendly.

"Mark is very environment conscious," said Reg Knight.

Grey County Planning and Development Committee noted there is an Area of Scientific or Natural Interest (ANSI) on the site. Both the County and the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority called for an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) before approval is given. County planners said the the application shouldn't be considered until the impact study is complete.

And the Conservation Authority suggested the EIS should look at whether restrictions are needed on the hours and/or seasons of operation to avoid harmful impacts on wildlife.

Several members of council were interested in whether the trail can be moved to alleviate the noise.

Town planner Shawn Postma will be meeting with the interested parties to see whether the issues can be worked out and report back to council.

Deputy-Mayor Duncan McKinlay pointed out that the town is working on a new comprehensive zoning bylaw and one of the discussion papers brought to council, as part of that process, deals with recreational uses of  local properties.

"The public should take an interest in that process because it deals with these issues," McKinlay said, adding that the town is looking to establish the right balance between environmental issues,  the rights of property owners to use their land and the rights of neighbours to not be adversely affected.