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Mukilteo council adopts updated personal motorized mobility device ordinance
Summary
The council unanimously adopted a revised ordinance expanding definitions for scooters and similar devices, setting age- and road-speed rules, and allowing impoundment for under-16 operators in place of penal fines that the city cannot reliably enforce through juvenile prosecution.
Mukilteo’s City Council unanimously adopted a revised ordinance updating rules for personal motorized mobility devices, the council decided June 1.
Chief Fleming of the Mukilteo Police Department presented the ordinance update, saying the city’s prior scooter ordinance was roughly 24 years old and did not cover newer devices. Fleming said the new code broadens the definition to include scooters, hoverboards, one‑wheels and three‑wheel contraptions while excluding electric bicycles governed by state law.
The ordinance sets a tiered framework for where and when minors may operate devices: under‑12 riders require adult accompaniment; riders 12 and older may operate on roads with lower speed limits, and older teens may ride on higher‑speed roads when a bike lane is present. Fleming told council the rules mirror how bicycles are treated in the state and reflect input from neighborhood parents and students.
On enforcement and penalties, Fleming explained Washington law limits nonjuvenile infractions for people under 16 and that municipal prosecutors lack authority to pursue some civil infractions. To address that, the ordinance authorizes officers to impound devices used by under‑16 operators and return them only to a parent or responsible adult, rather than relying on a juvenile infraction that prosecutors are not taking, the chief said.
Council members asked about e‑bikes and enforcement. Moon said he favored stricter limits but saw the ordinance as a workable first step; Fleming said e‑bikes have a separate state statutory classification and that electric motorcycles (no pedals) are treated like motorcycles under state rules.
The council made and seconded the motion to adopt the ordinance and voted to approve it unanimously. The ordinance number as read on the floor was reported in the motion as “5 3 1 5 3 5” in the meeting record.
The council did not record a roll-call vote with named tallies in the public record; the meeting minutes record the motion as passing unanimously. The ordinance gives the police department authority to adopt implementing procedures and forms for impound, release and tracking.
