Campton Hills trustees agree to draft local ordinance to regulate e-bikes on village paths

Campton Hills trustees directed staff to prepare a draft local ordinance that would regulate electric bicycles and scooters on village paths and give the village a local enforcement option.

In a presentation, the village attorney outlined proposed language that would treat class 3 e-bikes differently from class 1 and 2 models and allow the village to issue local citations and penalties rather than sending every case to circuit court. The attorney said class 3 e-bikes can reach “approximately 28 miles per hour,” and noted that state law currently imposes age limits for scooters (18) that do not apply at the state level to class 1 and 2 bicycles.

Police Chief (identified in the discussion as the department chief) told trustees officers prefer education and informal interventions and urged a narrowly tailored approach to avoid heavy-handed enforcement of low-speed devices used by children. “We don't want to go issue citations,” the chief said, adding that officers often resolve complaints with a conversation and parental accountability.

Trustees raised practical concerns about who actually uses these devices in the village, with several noting many users are children under 16. One trustee said the town should be “realistic about our limitations” when considering minimum ages and enforcement. The attorney said the village could adopt more restrictive local rules than the state but could not create less restrictive standards for items the state already regulates.

After discussion, trustees indicated consensus to move the draft ordinance forward for preparation and later formal action; the record shows direction to prepare the ordinance but no formal roll-call vote during this meeting.