Golf carts may soon be legal to drive on the streets in Southgate. However, some city council members raised concerns about the proposed ordinance during its first reading on Wednesday.
Discussion of the topic began several months ago. Council members noted that golf carts were not allowed on Southgate city streets, but many residents, especially those living in subdivisions near Highland Country Club, did have them.
Police Chief John Christmann noted he had seen the vehicles in people’s driveways but had not seen anyone driving the carts on the city streets.
The question arose on whether the city should leave the prohibition or replace it with an ordinance allowing golf carts as long as they meet city regulations. Council asked city attorney Mary Ann Stewart to draft a sample golf cart ordinance for discussion.
Stewart presented some preliminary material for discussion in September. The police chief outlined some of his concerns as did Mayor Jim Hamberg and council members.
After listening to the concerns and examining similar ordinances in Fort Thomas, Bellevue and Dayton, as well as state law on the matter, Stewart presented a draft ordinance for a first reading on Wednesday.
The ordinance would repeal the section of city code prohibiting golf carts and replace it with language outlining which streets might be authorized for the vehicles. The ordinance also outlines inspections and city permitting, establishes speed limits and required equipment (such as seat belts), establishes hours of operation and sets the age limit for those who can obtain an operators’ license.
Stewart said she set the operating age at 19, the same age required in Fort Thomas’ ordinance. She said she tried to be consistent with that neighboring city’s ordinance since it is adjacent to Southgate.
The ordinance also establishes a fine of $25 per violation of one or more of the provisions of the ordinance. Golf cart drivers are also subject to any state statutes, she noted.
Council member Aileen Okura said she was concerned about a section in the proposed ordinance that stated that if a golf cart is slowing the normal flow of traffic, the driver must yield to other vehicles. She anticipated this could cause trouble between drivers.
“This is just too subjective. I mean, who’s going to decide that they’re slowing the normal flow of traffic?” said Okura. “I think it just opens the door for other drivers to be mean to golf cart drivers. And if we’re not going to have that many, just slow down when you see them. Go slowly behind them.”
The discussion then moved to whether having the ordinance at all might open the door for additional issues.
Christmann questioned whether the ordinance would be needed.
“I’ve been here almost 13 years,” said Christmann. “We’ve had zero complaints on golf carts, zero. Other cities aren’t having issues with it. So that’s actually a good thing, my issue is we’re putting in a big ordinance here, which I don’t think we need. I think we just leave it as is because we’ve had zero complaints, zero problems with it.”
Discussion continued with about half those present unsure if a change in the ordinance was needed at all. Finally, the mayor encouraged council members to continue the discussion before the next meeting. At that meeting, scheduled for Oct. 16, council will vote on whether to add the ordinance or keep the golf cart prohibition on the books.