By Margie Plunkett
Golf carts with speeds under 20 mph will be subject to regulations designed to enforce responsible driving, according to a Gulf Stream town ordinance in the works that stops short of requiring operators to have a valid driver’s license.
State laws already regulate golf carts with higher speeds — and require a driver’s license.
Gulf Stream’s regulations would limit the number of people riding in the cart to the number of seats and would prohibit standing, towing and children on the driver’s lap.
Golf carts driven at night would be required to have safety equipment including headlights, taillights and turn signals. Commissioners approved the new rules on first reading in November and will hold a public hearing and final vote at their Dec 11 meeting.
Commissioners have long wrestled with how to regulate the lower speed golf carts in town, where residents and their children use the vehicles for school drop-off and pickup, errands and general transportation. Safety has been the primary concern as the town receives resident complaints about kids hanging off overloaded golf carts and golf carts towing skateboarders.
“We’re trying to be proactive instead of reactive,” Mayor William F. Koch Jr. said after the November vote. By regulating golf cart operation, the commission gives the Police Department the muscle to enforce against violations, Vice Mayor Joan Orthwein said.
One of the sticking points during commission discussions was whether to require a driver’s license. Children can get a learner’s permit at age 15 and a license at age 16. Children under 14 are not allowed by state statute to operate golf carts, the police chief said. Panel members were reluctant to banish younger teens from driving if they acted responsibly.
In other business, Gulf Stream authorized Delray Beach to handle its building permit process and gave final approval of ordinances that add a 10 percent utilities tax to electric and gas bills; prohibit discharge of a firearm; and require a $150 permit fee for use of PODS and other on-property portable storage after 48 hours and limit their stay to seven days.
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