South Weber council asks staff to draft possible golf-cart rules after committee review

The South Weber City Council asked staff to draft a proposed ordinance to regulate golf carts after a committee discussion weighing safety, state law limits and neighborhood use.

Committee members summarized state law that treats most e-bikes and e-scooters as bicycles and therefore generally permits them to follow bicycle rules on the roadway, while ATVs and four-wheelers must be licensed and roadworthy to operate on streets. The council said those state classifications leave the most local policy discretion around golf carts, including setting a minimum operator age, where on the city street network carts may operate and whether passengers or sidewalk operation are allowed.

Council members and staff said the committee was wary of broadly allowing carts on high-speed corridors such as South Weber Drive and opposed allowing carts on sidewalks. The group discussed examples used by other Utah cities (committee members referenced St. George as an example) that carve exceptions for limited segments of roadway rather than an across-the-board allowance. Council members also flagged enforcement and safety trade-offs, including the fact that cities generally cannot mandate separate insurance for golf carts under state vehicle classifications.

Council direction to staff was procedural: staff (Jamie and others) will prepare a draft ordinance that maps specific streets and proposes age, speed and passenger restrictions; the draft will go back to the committee first for refinement, then to the full council for consideration. No ordinance text was adopted at the meeting.

What happens next: staff will return a draft to the standing committee, which the council intends to review before any formal council vote.