City Council
MEETING DATE: 5/11/2016
TITLE:
Title
Golf Carts and Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV's) on City Streets
End
FROM:
Pat Milos, Community Development Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council receive the presentation and provide direction to staff regarding the preparation of a Golf Cart Transportation Plan.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Per Ordinance 620, Municipal Code Chapter 11.52.030 "No person shall operate any off-highway motor vehicle on private or public lands within the jurisdictional boundaries of the city." This prohibition precludes the use of golf carts and NEV's on any street in Cathedral City. Valley Cities including Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indio have implemented Golf Cart Transportation Plans. These plans are intended to help develop a convenient transportation system that is safe and environmentally sensitive, generating zero auto emissions.
DISCUSSION:
The following discussion, prepared by Nick Hermsen, presents information regarding golf carts, NEV's and the procedures that must be followed to allow them to operate on City Streets.
What is a Golf Cart?
There are actually two different classifications of vehicles that a layperson might term a "golf cart":
A "golf cart" is defined by the Vehicle Code as "a motor vehicle having not less than three wheels in contact with the ground, having an unladen weight less than 1,300 pounds, which is designed to be and is operated at not more than 15 miles per hour and designed to carry golf equipment and not more than two persons. (Vehicle Code section 345). This type of golf cart is exempt from registration. (Vehicle Code 4019).
A "low speed vehicle," also known as a "neighborhood electric vehicle," is a motor vehicle that: (a) has four wheels; (b) can attain a speed, in one mile, of more than 20 miles per hour and not more than 25 miles per hour, on a paved level surface; and (c) has a gross vehicle weight rating o...
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