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Council debates low-speed vehicles and rental-car rules; asks solicitor to clarify zoning and state law
Summary
Council members asked the town solicitor on June 4 to clarify whether local zoning and state law allow limits on low-speed vehicles and whether the town can license vehicle rentals to set fleet size, permitted vehicle types and operating hours.
The New Shoreham Town Council discussed on June 4 whether the town should regulate low-speed vehicles (LSVs) and to what extent existing zoning approvals authorize commercial vehicle rentals.
Council members said they are concerned about public-safety risks, particularly after dark, and about the apparent increase in rental LSVs and other lightweight vehicles on town streets. Several members asked the town solicitor to clarify whether the town may limit LSV operation on town roads for safety reasons and whether the town can create a local licensing regime for vehicle rentals that would place conditions on the number, type and hours of operation for rental fleets.
Town solicitor James said the statutory language suggests “vehicles” in local zoning was intended to mean automobiles (traditional cars) and that LSVs are often treated as a separate vehicle class under state law; he said there is room for legal argument and advised further research. “I think vehicles means automobiles,” James said during the meeting, while noting interpretations may vary and advising staff to check state statute and precedent.
Council members noted three prior special-exception approvals that explicitly authorized car-rental businesses at certain sites; during the meeting staff said one earlier decision listed 15 vehicles at the Boat Basin. Members asked staff to confirm the numeric limits in those historical approvals and to identify whether those approvals permit LSV rentals in addition to or instead of standard automobiles.
Council members also asked the town to check DMV and Department of Business Regulation rules about reciprocity for out-of-state registrations, whether gas-powered carts are permitted, whether LSV registration and equipment requirements apply (headlights, reflectors, slow-moving-vehicle emblem), and whether Rhode Island law permits municipalities to prohibit LSV operation on town roads and/or to limit hours of operation.
Several council members proposed a short-term, practical step: ask rental operators voluntarily to mark or number vehicles on their lots so the town can verify compliance with any existing numerical limits. Staff said they would pursue legal research and follow up with formal recommendations to the council.
No ordinance or regulation was adopted on June 4; the council directed staff and the solicitor to return with legal analysis and suggested regulatory options.
