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Residents and rental operators press council on proposed golf‑cart and LSV permit rules in Orange Beach
Summary
During the Committee of the Whole, local rental operator John 'Tater' Harris and council members debated proposed rules requiring city permits for low‑speed vehicles (LSVs) and golf carts, focusing on road access limits, potential double-taxation concerns, enforcement, and rental-company responsibilities.
Local rental operators and city officials engaged in a lengthy Committee of the Whole discussion Sept. 17 about proposed changes to Orange Beach’s golf‑cart ordinance and whether low‑speed vehicles (LSVs) should also be required to obtain a city permit.
John "Tater" Harris, speaking from the audience and identifying his address and business associations, argued that LSVs — which receive state-issued tags and for which owners pay ad valorem taxes — should not be subject to an additional city registration. "That would be double taxation, in my opinion," Harris said, urging the council to distinguish LSVs from standard golf carts and to limit city requirements for private LSV owners.
City officials and council members responded that state statute differentiates LSVs from golf carts and that any city permit would be a fee to cover administration rather than an additional tax. Mayor Kenning said, "It's no different than license and a boat. It's a fee. Fee and taxation are two totally different things." Staff and council members emphasized the need to define terms clearly in the ordinance, to specify which roads and multimodal paths are off-limits to LSVs (members mentioned Canal Road and Perdido Beach Boulevard as roads that should not allow LSVs), and to outline rental‑company responsibilities such as age limits for renters and visible stickers or documentation.
Practical details were discussed at length: council members noted the city has nearly 3,000 golf carts, rental companies asked whether stickers should be displayed on dashboards or windshields, and staff explained the permit exists in part to cover administrative costs associated with allowing golf carts on city streets and paths. Rental operators confirmed willingness to purchase permits for rentals but cautioned about enforcement and the practicality of sticker placement.
What happens next: committee members asked staff to refine definitions and bring clarified ordinance language back for additional review; public hearings and further committee discussion were indicated but no final ordinance text or vote occurred at this meeting.
Representative quotes: "You could take my truck outside and say I need to put a sticker on it as well," Harris said when arguing against duplicate registration requirements. Mayor Kenning replied, "We just want to explain why there's a permit — it's a fee to cover administration."
