Laguna Hills council directs staff to draft e-bike ordinance, agrees to town-hall review

The Laguna Hills City Council voted unanimously Jan. 28 to ask staff and the city attorney to draft a regulated mobility-device ordinance based on Rancho Santa Margarita’s framework and to present the draft at a town-hall meeting for public input.

City Engineer Ames described the traffic commission’s months-long review and said commissioners focused on three sections of the Rancho Santa Margarita ordinance—purpose and intent, definitions and unlawful operations (a “do’s and don’ts” list)—and recommended a companion education-and-enforcement plan. He said the commission reviewed 18 specific operating prohibitions and recommended many for inclusion, while commissioners were split on items such as banning e-bike operation on unpaved trails or in some park areas. Police services told the commission there were six reported e-bike collisions in Laguna Hills in 2024, and the commission emphasized enforcement must be practical and paired with education.

Traffic Commissioner Miller, who helped compile the commission’s recommendations, said the panel examined neighboring cities’ rules and adopted the Rancho Santa Margarita ordinance as a comprehensive template. “We bumped it up to 8 miles an hour,” Miller said, explaining the commission chose 8 mph as a more practical sidewalk-speed benchmark than lower limits some cities use, and added officer judgment-based language so enforcement would focus on whether travel was ‘‘safe’’ rather than relying only on a speedometer.

Public commenters urged caution and infrastructure investment. Miss Lund, a daily rider who works at a bicycle shop, said enforcement alone won’t solve safety problems near schools and narrow sidewalks: “What’s the point of an ordinance if it’s for safety, if we’re not addressing the bigger problem around city ability to be safe for riders?” she asked.

Councilmembers debated trade-offs between enforcement, education and unintended consequences for youth. Councilmember Hazel warned against overly punitive penalties for children, saying she did not want to “penalize kids for being kids,” and urged a mentoring-first approach tied to school outreach. Several councilmembers supported partnering with the Saddleback Unified School District’s helmet-and-bike-safety program to pair education with any new ordinance.

Mayor Sweeney moved to direct City Attorney Simonian and staff to prepare a draft Laguna Hills ordinance modeled on Rancho Santa Margarita’s regulations, tailored to local conditions, and to present it at a town-hall meeting so stakeholders could comment before the measure returns to council. The motion, as amended to add the town-hall step, passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff and the city attorney will draft the ordinance and return the draft to council after a town-hall presentation; any changes would be debated at public council meetings before adoption.