Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya Bhatt wants the city to explore a voluntary program that would allow residents to surrender illegal ATVs, dirt bikes and pocket bikes, potentially in exchange for financial incentives.

The proposal appears on the Wednesday, Oct. 14, City Commission agenda. It calls for referring the idea to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee and the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee for further study.

The commission has not yet voted on the referral, and no buyback program has been approved.

The proposal outlines a voluntary surrender initiative modeled on firearm buyback programs in other cities. Possible features include financial incentives, secure collection sites, police oversight and the disposal or recycling of surrendered vehicles.

A surrender option without penalties is also under consideration, but its terms have not been established.

City would study costs, eligibility and enforcement

If the referral advances, city staff would examine which vehicles could qualify, how much a program might cost and where residents could surrender them.

The review would also consider coordination among the Miami Beach Police Department, Transportation and Mobility Department and Communications Department.

No proposed budget, incentive amount or launch date has been announced.

Bhatt, who serves on the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee, is the referral's sole sponsor.

The commission memorandum describes the proposal as a "non-punitive opportunity" for residents to give up prohibited vehicles.

The initiative would represent a potential alternative to relying exclusively on traffic enforcement and vehicle seizures. Whether it would significantly reduce illegal riding remains an open question.

August crash injured 10-year-old girl

The proposal follows an Aug. 22 incident in which a dirt-bike rider struck a 10-year-old girl on an Ocean Drive sidewalk while fleeing police.

According to the Miami Herald, police received reports of four dirt-bike riders speeding along Collins Avenue in the Art Deco District.

Officers located the riders near the 700 block of Ocean Drive. One rider, identified as Mandrell Ceydrec Rolle Jr., 29, of Pembroke Pines, allegedly fled when officers approached.

Police said Rolle rode onto the sidewalk and struck the girl, knocking her to the ground beside her mother.

The child suffered injuries to her elbow and leg and was treated at the scene by Miami Beach Fire Department personnel.

Rolle was arrested Sept. 2 on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, reckless driving and resisting an officer without violence.

"There is zero tolerance for reckless behavior that endangers the lives of our residents and visitors," Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne A. Jones said when the department announced the arrest.

Commissioner David Suárez also called for stronger enforcement against illegal off-road vehicle riding following the incident, according to Diario Las Américas.