Park City Council asks staff to gather public input on golf carts and other unconventional vehicles

Park City — The Park City Council on Jan. 28 asked staff to gather public input before pursuing an ordinance to allow golf carts and other unconventional vehicles on city streets.

Police Chief (name not specified) told the council that unconventional vehicles provide low-cost, low-emissions mobility but present safety and visibility risks because they are not built to federal motor-vehicle crash standards. Chief said, "My personal professional opinion is I would not like to see them on the streets." He urged the council to weigh multiple regulatory options if it chooses to pursue an ordinance.

The presentation outlined five state-law vehicle classes that municipalities commonly address — ATVs, low-speed vehicles, golf carts, worksite utility vehicles, and micro utility trucks — and noted each class carries different statutory speed, equipment and road-access rules. The chief and staff pointed to common local controls used elsewhere: age limits, registration or decals, insurance requirements, time-of-day restrictions, slow-moving-vehicle emblems and route limits.

Council members asked about liability and operation. A city legal advisor responded bluntly to a question about city exposure, saying, "None because the city under state law would be immune from liability," adding the immunity arises from state law for legislative actions. The chief and several council members said experience and enforcement considerations argue for a cautious approach; the chief said permitting and registration would help officers identify allowed vehicles.

Brandy Bailey, Councilmember, said the council should limit access to sidewalks and pedestrian areas if it moves forward: "The only thing ... keep these vehicles off of sidewalks or where you're gonna have pedestrians out there." Several members said they would like community input before drafting specific ordinance language.

Council president Charlie Davidson, Council President, summarized the council direction: staff should solicit community feedback on whether and how to permit unconventional vehicles, then return a draft ordinance and any survey results for council consideration. Councilmembers generally supported public outreach; several said they favored limiting use to residential streets and establishing registration requirements.

Next steps described during the meeting included staff (the police chief) working with Sean (city staff) and Doug (city staff) to prepare community outreach and an initial draft ordinance to bring back to council after public input is collected.

Ending: The council did not vote on an ordinance. Instead it directed staff to gather public feedback and prepare a draft ordinance and a set of recommended regulations for council review at a later meeting.